Street Photographer Willie Velazquez is surely in a giving mood. At least, that’s how I’m receiving his energy in his new book, You’re Not Alone. In my eyes, he’s one of the best we’ve got right now and his work embraces a wild side of the city that we don’t get to see often anymore. Mr. Velazquez’s photos are the rare, juicy meat of this book. Sandwiched between two thin pieces of paper, inside are layers and layers of meat that have been cooked to perfection. There’s a little bit of saltiness and a little bit of spicy pepper to really make things zing. But most importantly, if you buy the book from Tour Dogs for only $23, you’re essentially getting a bunch of beautiful prints. And believe it or not, that’s totally intentional.
Unlike so many other photo books, the covers are soft. And that’s just fine because it’s such an affordable book to begin with. However, that also means that you need to be careful with it. You’ll also notice that the spine is bound together. If you undo the binding, you essentially just have a bunch of Willie’s images as prints. And you should frame the heck out of these.
Let me restate this. Willie is basically giving you a bunch of prints for $23. He’s not a marketing magician like so many others, but his work is solid. And he deserves even more credit than he already gets. In so many ways, I feel Willie’s work coexists in the same universe as Clay Benskin. But don’t tell Clay that in a way that’s disparaging, as comparison is the theft of joy. And he might otherwise give up photography again. Instead, the two photographers should both be equally celebrated.
If you’re in the northern hemisphere, I recommend taking You’re Not Alone to a window with soft, diffused southern light to experience it in the best way. That’s where you’ll be treated to the modest beauty of this book. Don’t get me wrong, this book isn’t quite on par with the hype that Wagyu beef from Japan elicits. But instead, you should liken it to fresh Bison right here from American soil. Rightfully so, we shouldn’t expect Willie’s highest quality for a price that’s cheaper than some pours of fine bourbon.
What you’ll realize is that because of the layout and intentional idea to give away a bunch of prints, none of the images are split down the middle. Instead, they’re also mostly embracing landscape compositions. It’s nice to see this instead of mostly vertical images designed for social media first.
As you page through, you’ll notice a very eclectic layout. Many of the images seem to play with one another. It gives us the feeling that Willie believes these works to be his children who will inspire photographers in the future. You also get insights into some of Willie’s tough times. Overall, his work praises a man who has gone to therapy and done lots of work on himself while embracing a New York way of life that isn’t spoken about very often—that of the modern New York native. Our stories are far more diverse than what’s been highly publicized and marketed about NYC.
You can buy Willie’s book on Tour Dogs. As of this writing, the second printing is already sold out. Maybe we can convince him to do another.