Stunning portraits show the softer side of the Big Apple, with incredible images illustrating raw and remarkable moments from across New York.
Photographer Phil Penman took to the streets every day between 2019 and 2023 and captured a series of sensitive moments as the world stood still during the pandemic.
His moving black and white photographs, published in his new book New York Street Diaries, provide a glimpse into the calm and tranquil side of the city during lockdown.
For over thirty years, Dorset-born Penman has worked as a professional photographer, with an extensive catalogue, including his mesmerizing images of Michael Jackson, Madonna, Jennifer Lopez or Bill Gates.
Penman says he quickly realized how important it was to document what was happening in one of the world’s largest cities at such a sensitive time.
When disaster struck New York on September 11, 2001, Penman was there with his camera to capture the history as the terrifying scenes unraveled before his eyes.
“The Covid 19 pandemic was no different,” Penman told DailyMail.com. ‘I knew we were going through a life-changing event.
“For me, my life began and ended as it was on September 11th. I feel for many of us it was the same during COVID 19.
‘We experienced something the world had not seen for a long time. Hopefully something we never have to witness again.’
Every day he went out early in the morning until late in the evening and tried to take as many photos as possible.
He says the pandemic has taught him ‘how much we all need each other’.
‘I went out to capture the streets as I saw them. The hustle and bustle of the streets was gone. Instead, we saw seagulls on 8th Avenue, or heard birds chirping, and the sounds of ambulance sirens in the background. Another loved one taken from us by the horrific Covid 19 virus.
‘The homeless population had emerged from the shadows. These were the people I would chat with on a daily basis. They no longer asked for money, but for a mask or some food. They had long relied on the food left out of the back of restaurants. Unfortunately this no longer existed because the restaurants were closed.
“I remember walking down Broadway one day. I saw someone’s house being thrown into the back of a sanitation truck. Standing next to the truck was the owner, a man wearing a jacket that said “F**k Everything.”
‘I went up to this man and asked if I could photograph the jacket. He replied, “Where are you from?” I said “England”.
‘It turned out we grew up about 10 miles apart in Dorset. Now we found each other in the middle of a pandemic lockdown, chatting on the streets of New York.
‘It was rewarding to receive all the wonderful messages from people around the world who bought the book and how it means so much to them that this period has been depicted.’
A series of stunning images show the Big Apple in all its glory with portraits that illustrate New York style, including this breathtaking view from Top of the Rock with the Empire State Building
The Statue of Liberty watches over a man sleeping on the Staten Island Ferry during the coronavirus outbreak in March 2020
An older woman wearing a fancy dress mask stops to pose for a photo on Halloween night in Washington Square Park in October 2019
An awe-inspiring photo from inside ‘The Summit’ on 42nd Street of the Empire State Building
Shirtless sport jeans and tribal headgear seen near the Port Authority in March 2019
A masked person walks past a street mural downtown in March 2020
Locals were seen navigating the stormy conditions on foot when rain fell on Radio City in March 2018
A couple spotted next to two skeletons outside a restaurant in Soho on Halloween 2022
A man walks down an empty street during a snowstorm in February 2021
A photo of a sign outside a church in New York reads: ‘We pray – and listen to the scientists’
A man slumps in his wheelchair near a poster that reads ‘life sucks’
A skateboarder on 5th Avenue wears plaid pants while standing in a crosswalk
A sign in a store window on Broadway, New York City reads: “Hands up if you’ve been vaccinated.”
Low clouds hung over New York from Central Park on April 9, 2020
An eerie image shows an unusually empty space outside Radio City Music Hall in April 2020
A fashionable young woman is seen walking past a poster reading ‘We Are The Walking Dead’ in Soho in February 2020
Charlie (ex-military from just north of Toronto, Canada) found himself stuck in New York when the pandemic hit
A sign at a restaurant on 42nd Street reads “now delivered to The Hamptons” next to an image of the Mona Lisa wearing a mask
We see two women spending their days in Harlem before the pandemic in June 2018
Photographer Phil Penman’s new book, New York Street Diaries, provides a glimpse into the quiet side of the city with images of New York characters like this man posing next to a portable stereo in Washington Square
A man walks with an umbrella over his head on a foggy day in downtown Manhattan in June 2019
The Empire State Building shot through the arch of Washington Square in February 2019
New Yorkers walk from one side of 5th Avenue to the other in March 2020
On a snowy day in January 2018, Penman took this photo of the Flatiron Building
As the world stood still during the Covid-19 lockdown, Penman took to the streets in snow and wind to capture the softer side of New York