23 Striking and Surreptitious Photographs That Capture Street Scenes of Pennsylvania in the 1970s

Mark Cohen is an American photographer best known for his innovative close-up street photography. For years, on the streets of his home city, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and surrounding working-class towns, Cohen shot quickly and assertively. He held his flash in one hand and his camera in the other and shot extremely close to his subjects, frequently focusing on a single body part or article of clothing. He never looked through his viewfinder to compose the frame.

“If you’re very close to people and someone takes a swing at you, you don’t want to have your head behind a viewfinder because you can’t be aware of the situation,” he said.

People on Porch, 65, 63, 1977

Three Boys Posing, 1975

Girl with Bat and Ball, 1977

Woman with Red Lips Smoking, 1975

Woman by Steps with Bag, 1974

Boy with Chain

Man in Red Shirt in Car with Baby, 1977

Woman in Scarf, 1975

ine Street School, Hazelton, 1977

Two Boys and Open Car, 1977

Improvised Beach, 1975

Inner Tube and Toys on Porch, 1977

Legs and Boy in Pool, 1977

Young Limbs, 1981

Boy in Yellow Shirt Smoking, 1977

Flashed Boy in Blue Jacket With Six Shooter, 1974

Girl and Man at Road, 1975

Girl Holding Blackberries, 1975

One Red Glove, 1975

Small Hand by Yellow Shirt, 1975

Karate Stance, 1977

Family Walking, 1977