Joel Meyerowitz is one of the photographers who have given color a permanent place in art photography. In Where I Find Myself he looks back on a career spanning more than half a century, from his recent still lifes and landscapes to the vibrant street photography he began in the sixties.
Joel Meyerowitz is one of the photographers who have given color a permanent place in art photography. In 2026 he also received the Outstanding Contribution to Photography of the Sony World Photography Awards.
The book is not a traditional overview that starts at the beginning. Meyerowitz actually takes the reader back in time. This allows you to see not only how his subjects and cameras changed, but also how his way of seeing has developed.
A Career in Reverse
Where I Find Myself opens with Meyerowitz's later, more contemplative work. He focuses on trees, objects and still lifes inspired by the Italian painter Giorgio Morandi. The book then moves further back in time, through his photography on Cape Cod, his travels across the United States and his documentation of Ground Zero after the attacks of September 11, 2001.
Eventually, we arrive in New York in the sixties, where Meyerowitz took a small camera onto the streets. Like Fred Herzog he was one of the photographers who early on explored the possibilities of color in street photography.
The reverse order makes it clear that his later, quieter photography is not separate from that early street work. The attention to color, light and small gestures is present throughout his career.
From jazz to classical
Meyerowitz compares his two main methods of photography to jazz and classical music. For him, street photography is fast and improvisational. The photographer responds immediately to what is happening in front of the camera and does not know exactly in advance what the end result will be.
Working with a large-format view camera, by contrast, is slow and deliberate. Meyerowitz used such a camera for his well-known project Cape Light. He had to look for longer, frame carefully and wait until light and space came together just right.
It is precisely the combination of these two approaches that makes Where I Find Myself interesting. The book shows that a photographer does not have to work in the same way all his life. A different camera, a different subject or a slower pace can open up new possibilities, without losing the original way of seeing.
The texts in the book were written by Meyerowitz himself. This makes it not only an extensive overview of his photography, but also a personal story about attention, curiosity and the continued development of his own visual language.
Where I Find Myself – Joel Meyerowitz
Pages: 352
Images: approximately 400
Version: hardcover
Language: English
Price: € 57.75
Publisher: Laurence King Publishing
