Early Photo Projects
Engel did many independent photo projects, and some of his earliest and most important are of Rebecca and her family and Fred the shoeshine boy. He photographed Rebecca and her family for two weeks, creating a unique series of her everyday life in and around her Harlem apartment, and at school. Engel found Fred the shoeshine boy on 10th Street where he lived, and photographed him shining shoes, having fun with his friends, and with his family. Some of the photos from these two series are some of his most known images. In addition, he photographed a horse auction in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, which was fairly unusual, and also dockworkers down at the Hudson River piers.
Rebecca
Shoeshine Boy
Horse Auction
Dockworkers
