The Art of Photography: A Tribute to Harold Feinstein

As I sit here reflecting on my relationship with Harold Feinstein, I am filled with a mix of emotions - sadness, gratitude, and awe. The loss of a loved one is never easy, but I want to shift our focus to the incredible impact Harold had on my life and career as a photographer.

I must confess that I was not worried about Harold at all when it came to dealing with his passing. In fact, I have no doubt that he is now in a place where he can continue to capture the beauty of the world through his camera and enjoy the simple pleasures in life, like Nathan's hot dogs. We may think that we take things with us into the next life, but Harold taught me that it's not about what we own or how much money we make, but rather about the impact we have on others, our families, and the world around us.

Harold's passion for photography was contagious, and I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with him. He saw his camera as an extension of his soul, and that passion was palpable in every photograph he took. What struck me most about Harold was his ability to capture the essence of people and life itself through his lens. His photographs were not just static images; they told a story of the process, the passion, and the love behind each shot.

One of my favorite aspects of Harold's work was his emphasis on the process over the product. He didn't create photography as a way to impress or gain recognition; he did it because it brought him joy and allowed him to connect with others. This approach has had a lasting impact on me, and I often find myself struggling with self-doubt and criticism when it comes to my own work. Harold's legacy reminds me that the true value of photography lies not in the end result but in the journey itself.

As I look through Harold's photographs, I am reminded of the importance of living in the moment and appreciating the beauty around us. He had a way of making everyone feel seen and appreciated, whether it was through his camera or simply being present with those he met. His positivity and kindness were infectious, and I have never met anyone more loving and generous than Harold.

Harold's impact on my life extends beyond our professional relationship. During the last year of his life, he had been dealing with medical issues, but despite his struggles, he remained a shining example of resilience and determination. It was heartbreaking to see him go through so much pain and hardship, but it also reminded me of the fragility of life and the importance of cherishing every moment we have with those we love.

As I wrap up this tribute to Harold, I want to acknowledge the outpouring of love and support from our viewers when Harold passed away. The birthday wishes, comments, and messages of appreciation meant the world to him, and it was a testament to the impact he had on so many lives. One message in particular stood out: a comment from someone who said they loved his work and felt influenced by him. That meant everything to Harold, and I want to share that with you all because it's a reminder of why we do what we do.

In closing, I want to say thank you to those of you who watched the show and took the time to wish Harold a happy birthday. It truly touched his heart, and I know he cherished every moment of it. Harold may be gone, but his legacy lives on through the countless lives he touched, including mine. He taught me more than I can ever repay, and I will carry his memory with me always.

As we move forward, I hope that Harold's story serves as a reminder to appreciate the beauty in the world around us and to cherish every moment we have with those we love. And who knows? Maybe someday, when our time on this earth is done, we'll find ourselves back at Nathan's hot dog stand, enjoying a plate of hot dogs and laughing together with Harold once again.

Harold, I will miss you buddy, but your legacy will live on through the art of photography, which has been an honor to explore.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enthis is a difficult video to make today because I have some sad news yesterday Harold Feinstein was called home he passed away at the age of 84 his home in Merrimack for those of you who have followed the show over the last year know that he has been a big part of what we've done around here I had an amazing opportunity to go up to his home fly up to Boston drive to Merrimack and visit Harold and talk about his work we originally were gonna do it just as an interview for the show and it turned into a bigger project there was so much stuff I thought that it would make much more sense to do a more of a documentary scale project out of this and we're still working on that and Harold has not been in good health for a while and I suppose that we knew this was coming but just you know it's always a surprise what I want to do today is a video to talk about this I want to do a little bit of a eulogy for Harold but first I wanted to show you some clips because I think this puts some context around it I was going through my footage that we shot in December and obviously was a very emotional thing and I was going through and as an editor I'm trying to find little clips that are sage comments of the great photographer speaking of course Harold does do a lot of that but I thought it would be fun to just kind of show you more Harold and one of the things that you have to understand about way we filmed this as we did in their their home and their dining rooms so we were at the dining table and Harold's wife Judith would bring down boxes of prints and Harold and I were going through them and I was filming him talking about them I would prompt him occasionally with questions but he was you know remembering all kinds of things and talked a lot about process and and I think that was really you know the amazing thing of it all and I do need to set this first clip up this is very informal we're all sitting around and and what I wanted to show you is that Harold had a wonderful sense of humor and these were really loose and we were really having fun on a couple of them Harold has a huge affinity for ice cream and anyway at one point he was in the mood and had requested that we take an ice cream break and his wife said hey why don't you guys look through two more images and then we'll reset the table I'll get this and that's where this starts and that's why saying you know every time I ask for ice cream of chocolate you tell me later and it just shows Harold because then he makes a crack as we get back into the photos that is just perfect and I think it really summarizes Harold I also have some of him talking about teaching because I think that's important to understanding what he was like as a person and to what I'm gonna say in the second part of this and then some other things that I have him talking on and one of these is just a voicemail message that is just really special to me in February I was in New York and we were working on Phase two of this documentary project and I was filming people that had worked with Harold during his career to get some other voices in one day is my last day in New York I decided that I would go get some b-roll in Coney Island and so I took my camera I got on the train and and I had left a message with Harold and Judith and said that I was on my way to Coney Island and I was gonna see if there's anything they wanted me to get and as luck would have it you know I'm on the subway he left this on my answering machine and it's Harold so anyway let's go ahead and roll these and then I'll come back and talk a little bit about Harold it's every time I ask for ice cream or chocolate or what have you so it's later well I am in the moment I'm a photographer it makes a really mean egg cream soda I think you guys need to get some ingredients and put his this guy to the test see if he's still making egg cream oh I know I could but we have to be in the corner of Marcy Avenue and Broadway it's location specific that yes yeah yeah because every sister grows pre-close twice a day you had a crowd emerging come be elevated frames this is Coney Island obviously all the truth is I don't think yeah when I'm photographing at least I'm not consciously thinking but and that time on the beach I'd have my camera with me and at that time not everyone had the cell phone with a camera or a camera and so these young people call I remember calling to me hey mister take my picture and hey mister take my picture is a wonderful photograph and they're these young people's enjoyment of being photographed by me and that lovely woman in the front holding a what is called a portable radio which is bigger than a console now is a gift did you post them at all not at all I just walked over to bet on that guy why they said a mr. take my picture oh yes I got a call for a phone call a cone fault I'd like a cone full of ice yes oh yes I'm a natural teacher I mean I love teaching I know I've heard the many artists I'll be grudging about teaching but it was true teaching and the relationship with the various students but I found my own voice and there were some classes that someone taped and when I look read the transcriptions of those tapes they're beautiful and I would I'm looking to teach right now hello hello hello that's true too but welcome to my classes it'll help you and will help me and whether you're a beginner a professional come on open do you solve questions and how I mean I find one of the most important attributes of age that I am experiencing is realizing how much I don't know and I think and maybe one of the reasons I believe in reincarnation is that I'll need another life at least to get to know all there is to know or even a semblance of it Harold was obviously a very special individual and I have been really lucky and fortunate in my life to have on from time to time been able to meet my heroes and I've met some great photographers that I've had the opportunity to thank for the work that has touched my life and I had that opportunity with Harold but Harold stands apart from the other people he was extra special I say that not just because of the tone of what we're talking about today but I say that because I believe that you know I I got to spend a lot of time with Harold and obviously that had deep impact and I got to ask him questions about work that I loved and understand his thinking behind it and when we lose somebody especially somebody close to us it hurts and there is obvious grieving that goes on and this is always I guess an interesting subject to me because we all have to deal with our own mortality I mean we we all there's no cure for death we all have to deal with it it's some some day and it's not something we talk about every day because it's kind of dark but it's something that we all have to face and when we see somebody that we love face that the grieving starts and that's totally normal it's totally natural and it's part of being human and I grieve along with Harold's wife Judith his friends Max and Kathleen they're all very important people to me they've known Harold a long time I just didn't known Harold a little bit over the last year and I feel sadness with them because I know it's gonna be hard for them it's hard for me it's hard for anybody whose life is touched by somebody and the reason I say this is because I think Harold's sold he's already given us the answers to some of these questions of grief for me I'm not worrying about Harold at all I can tell you we don't any shadow of a doubt Harold is somewhere right now in the next life with whatever the equivalent is to his camera and a Nathan's hot dog having a ball that's Harold I have no doubt about that at all you know this is just a shell that we use while we're here and we move on someday and what's interesting to me too is you know when we all know that we can't take things with us our life here is fragile and we move on to the next world and what's important is not what we own or how much money we make or how successful we've been what's important is what we've contributed how we've treated other people how we've treated our families and how we've loved people and that is the important part and in getting to know Harold and a lot of the discussions that we had it's not as if you know here's Harold feinstein and then the camera in the photography this is something that he does with Harold it's all one thing and he was always talking about that everything's the process the camera and the photography is an extension of his soul he it's the act of creating and he called it the gift when we were talking and his point being is that you know having this gift of being able to make things a lot of people don't know what to do with that and I look at myself sometimes and I have a hard time knowing what to do with that I think we all do I'm very self conscious of my own work I'm extremely critical I put an enormous amount of pressure on myself to do stuff even in doing the show I get really nervous about sharing things when I have showing images on the show that I've done and when you look at Harold it's not about that it's it's about the process and the passion behind it and it shows in his work it shows in these photographs with Harold I see the photographs as being kind of these end points you know they're the legacy that's left but the real story is what happened to get that photograph and what led into it and you can see in these photographs Harold's tremendous passion for people his passion for life his passion for creating things his passion for photography just all of that I have never met somebody more positive in my entire life Harold has not been well in the last year he's had a lot of medical problems and my gosh she's in his 80s he had room to complain and be a crotchety old guy and he wasn't he was hilarious he was fascinating there were some moments and and I you know I treasured those and they they're they're special anyway my point being is I think with the sadness and grief is not to be sad for Harold it's okay to be sad because we miss him and as I believe we're not gonna see or I won't see him again for a while maybe one day and that's hard to cope with and we're sad because we miss that person and I think that's that's that's part of being a human being I want to wrap this up by saying a few things first of all I want to thank those of you who watch the show a couple weeks ago was Harold's birthday and he turned 84 and I did a video wishing him a happy birthday and I asked that people rather than leave a comment necessarily is leave a birthday greeting for Harold in the comments and later on after a few days really after a day I talked to Judith and she said that they were so touched by that and honored by it and she said that Harold's eyes were full of tears and he just couldn't believe it and every couple hours he would ask her to bring the page back up and he wanted to read and see if there were any new comments on there he was enormous Lee touched that you guys were wishing him a happy birthday and some people said that you know I've loved your work you've been a big influence and that meant a lot to Harold so I wanted to share that with you because I haven't told you that because we really haven't come back around to this yet and I think that's important to note Harold I'm going to miss you buddy and it was an absolute honor to work with you you taught me more than a few things and I don't even know what to say to say thanks I know that you don't do things to get thanks and recognition but you're very well respected and very much missed here anyway it's about all I got folks it's been the art of photography I'll see you guys in the next video later I guess you're enjoying yourself in Coney Island how wonderful I know Harold wishes he could be there with you but in fact I am Harold lives in the spirit of Coney Islandthis is a difficult video to make today because I have some sad news yesterday Harold Feinstein was called home he passed away at the age of 84 his home in Merrimack for those of you who have followed the show over the last year know that he has been a big part of what we've done around here I had an amazing opportunity to go up to his home fly up to Boston drive to Merrimack and visit Harold and talk about his work we originally were gonna do it just as an interview for the show and it turned into a bigger project there was so much stuff I thought that it would make much more sense to do a more of a documentary scale project out of this and we're still working on that and Harold has not been in good health for a while and I suppose that we knew this was coming but just you know it's always a surprise what I want to do today is a video to talk about this I want to do a little bit of a eulogy for Harold but first I wanted to show you some clips because I think this puts some context around it I was going through my footage that we shot in December and obviously was a very emotional thing and I was going through and as an editor I'm trying to find little clips that are sage comments of the great photographer speaking of course Harold does do a lot of that but I thought it would be fun to just kind of show you more Harold and one of the things that you have to understand about way we filmed this as we did in their their home and their dining rooms so we were at the dining table and Harold's wife Judith would bring down boxes of prints and Harold and I were going through them and I was filming him talking about them I would prompt him occasionally with questions but he was you know remembering all kinds of things and talked a lot about process and and I think that was really you know the amazing thing of it all and I do need to set this first clip up this is very informal we're all sitting around and and what I wanted to show you is that Harold had a wonderful sense of humor and these were really loose and we were really having fun on a couple of them Harold has a huge affinity for ice cream and anyway at one point he was in the mood and had requested that we take an ice cream break and his wife said hey why don't you guys look through two more images and then we'll reset the table I'll get this and that's where this starts and that's why saying you know every time I ask for ice cream of chocolate you tell me later and it just shows Harold because then he makes a crack as we get back into the photos that is just perfect and I think it really summarizes Harold I also have some of him talking about teaching because I think that's important to understanding what he was like as a person and to what I'm gonna say in the second part of this and then some other things that I have him talking on and one of these is just a voicemail message that is just really special to me in February I was in New York and we were working on Phase two of this documentary project and I was filming people that had worked with Harold during his career to get some other voices in one day is my last day in New York I decided that I would go get some b-roll in Coney Island and so I took my camera I got on the train and and I had left a message with Harold and Judith and said that I was on my way to Coney Island and I was gonna see if there's anything they wanted me to get and as luck would have it you know I'm on the subway he left this on my answering machine and it's Harold so anyway let's go ahead and roll these and then I'll come back and talk a little bit about Harold it's every time I ask for ice cream or chocolate or what have you so it's later well I am in the moment I'm a photographer it makes a really mean egg cream soda I think you guys need to get some ingredients and put his this guy to the test see if he's still making egg cream oh I know I could but we have to be in the corner of Marcy Avenue and Broadway it's location specific that yes yeah yeah because every sister grows pre-close twice a day you had a crowd emerging come be elevated frames this is Coney Island obviously all the truth is I don't think yeah when I'm photographing at least I'm not consciously thinking but and that time on the beach I'd have my camera with me and at that time not everyone had the cell phone with a camera or a camera and so these young people call I remember calling to me hey mister take my picture and hey mister take my picture is a wonderful photograph and they're these young people's enjoyment of being photographed by me and that lovely woman in the front holding a what is called a portable radio which is bigger than a console now is a gift did you post them at all not at all I just walked over to bet on that guy why they said a mr. take my picture oh yes I got a call for a phone call a cone fault I'd like a cone full of ice yes oh yes I'm a natural teacher I mean I love teaching I know I've heard the many artists I'll be grudging about teaching but it was true teaching and the relationship with the various students but I found my own voice and there were some classes that someone taped and when I look read the transcriptions of those tapes they're beautiful and I would I'm looking to teach right now hello hello hello that's true too but welcome to my classes it'll help you and will help me and whether you're a beginner a professional come on open do you solve questions and how I mean I find one of the most important attributes of age that I am experiencing is realizing how much I don't know and I think and maybe one of the reasons I believe in reincarnation is that I'll need another life at least to get to know all there is to know or even a semblance of it Harold was obviously a very special individual and I have been really lucky and fortunate in my life to have on from time to time been able to meet my heroes and I've met some great photographers that I've had the opportunity to thank for the work that has touched my life and I had that opportunity with Harold but Harold stands apart from the other people he was extra special I say that not just because of the tone of what we're talking about today but I say that because I believe that you know I I got to spend a lot of time with Harold and obviously that had deep impact and I got to ask him questions about work that I loved and understand his thinking behind it and when we lose somebody especially somebody close to us it hurts and there is obvious grieving that goes on and this is always I guess an interesting subject to me because we all have to deal with our own mortality I mean we we all there's no cure for death we all have to deal with it it's some some day and it's not something we talk about every day because it's kind of dark but it's something that we all have to face and when we see somebody that we love face that the grieving starts and that's totally normal it's totally natural and it's part of being human and I grieve along with Harold's wife Judith his friends Max and Kathleen they're all very important people to me they've known Harold a long time I just didn't known Harold a little bit over the last year and I feel sadness with them because I know it's gonna be hard for them it's hard for me it's hard for anybody whose life is touched by somebody and the reason I say this is because I think Harold's sold he's already given us the answers to some of these questions of grief for me I'm not worrying about Harold at all I can tell you we don't any shadow of a doubt Harold is somewhere right now in the next life with whatever the equivalent is to his camera and a Nathan's hot dog having a ball that's Harold I have no doubt about that at all you know this is just a shell that we use while we're here and we move on someday and what's interesting to me too is you know when we all know that we can't take things with us our life here is fragile and we move on to the next world and what's important is not what we own or how much money we make or how successful we've been what's important is what we've contributed how we've treated other people how we've treated our families and how we've loved people and that is the important part and in getting to know Harold and a lot of the discussions that we had it's not as if you know here's Harold feinstein and then the camera in the photography this is something that he does with Harold it's all one thing and he was always talking about that everything's the process the camera and the photography is an extension of his soul he it's the act of creating and he called it the gift when we were talking and his point being is that you know having this gift of being able to make things a lot of people don't know what to do with that and I look at myself sometimes and I have a hard time knowing what to do with that I think we all do I'm very self conscious of my own work I'm extremely critical I put an enormous amount of pressure on myself to do stuff even in doing the show I get really nervous about sharing things when I have showing images on the show that I've done and when you look at Harold it's not about that it's it's about the process and the passion behind it and it shows in his work it shows in these photographs with Harold I see the photographs as being kind of these end points you know they're the legacy that's left but the real story is what happened to get that photograph and what led into it and you can see in these photographs Harold's tremendous passion for people his passion for life his passion for creating things his passion for photography just all of that I have never met somebody more positive in my entire life Harold has not been well in the last year he's had a lot of medical problems and my gosh she's in his 80s he had room to complain and be a crotchety old guy and he wasn't he was hilarious he was fascinating there were some moments and and I you know I treasured those and they they're they're special anyway my point being is I think with the sadness and grief is not to be sad for Harold it's okay to be sad because we miss him and as I believe we're not gonna see or I won't see him again for a while maybe one day and that's hard to cope with and we're sad because we miss that person and I think that's that's that's part of being a human being I want to wrap this up by saying a few things first of all I want to thank those of you who watch the show a couple weeks ago was Harold's birthday and he turned 84 and I did a video wishing him a happy birthday and I asked that people rather than leave a comment necessarily is leave a birthday greeting for Harold in the comments and later on after a few days really after a day I talked to Judith and she said that they were so touched by that and honored by it and she said that Harold's eyes were full of tears and he just couldn't believe it and every couple hours he would ask her to bring the page back up and he wanted to read and see if there were any new comments on there he was enormous Lee touched that you guys were wishing him a happy birthday and some people said that you know I've loved your work you've been a big influence and that meant a lot to Harold so I wanted to share that with you because I haven't told you that because we really haven't come back around to this yet and I think that's important to note Harold I'm going to miss you buddy and it was an absolute honor to work with you you taught me more than a few things and I don't even know what to say to say thanks I know that you don't do things to get thanks and recognition but you're very well respected and very much missed here anyway it's about all I got folks it's been the art of photography I'll see you guys in the next video later I guess you're enjoying yourself in Coney Island how wonderful I know Harold wishes he could be there with you but in fact I am Harold lives in the spirit of Coney Island\n"