Self Portrait with showgirl Rosemary Williams, 1948. Source: 17-Year-Old Stanley Kubrick’s Photos Of 1940s New York Prove That He Was Born Genius

I’ve always been a fan of Stanley Kubrick’s films, particularly “Doctor Strangelove“. While I was aware that he was a still photographer before he turned to making movies, I had seen very few examples of his work. This article from Bored Panda presents about 70 of them. While for the most part they’re not masterpieces, they’re not bad for a 17 year old either.

Before Stanley Kubrick directed arguably some of the best movies ever made like “2001: Space Odyssey” or “The Shining,” he was a simple teenager in New York looking for a job. But even then, when the 17-year-old got his hands on a photo camera, he couldn’t hide the talent within.

Bored Panda has gathered a collection of his photos of New York from 1945 to 1950, when he was working in the Look magazine. During that time Stanley got many insights into what makes a photograph work: “I think aesthetically recording spontaneous action, rather than carefully posing a picture, is the most valid and expressive use of photography.”

He quickly made a name for himself by telling stories through photos, which eventually led him to moving pictures and his place in the filmmakers’ hall of fame.
Oh, and if you’re into street photography as well, let Stanley himself give you a tip: “Think up ideas for stories, go out and shoot them, and then send them into the magazines. I was lucky; I figured that out when I was young.”

Source: 17-Year-Old Stanley Kubrick’s Photos Of 1940s New York Prove That He Was Born Genius.