New York City is, without exception, one of the world’s greatest cities. Glamorous, iconic, tough, and gritty, it has inspired scores of artists. On a voyage of “self-discovery,” Kevin Pineda Gould left his home in Mexico to expand his horizons as a sound engineer in Manhattan. Then the pandemic hit and everything changed.
Needing a creative outlet, he picked up his girlfriend’s camera and began to wander the streets. That simple action has led to a body of photographic work, a book, and an established practice as a street photographer.
Pineda Gould’s images are distinctive, each carrying his unmistakable stamp of chiaroscuro intensity. He gravitates toward light most photographers would avoid—a spectrum of hard contrast and deep shadow. That palette makes his monochrome images mysterious, at times ominous, and always dramatic. He tips his hand to his inspirations in his social media posts, pairing images with music that evokes film noir and the classic black-and-white movies of Hitchcock and John Huston.
We have been fortunate to work with Kevin on a variety of projects, starting with black-and-white silver gelatin prints for his book, “Discovering Light.” The book itself is an impressive achievement, containing 66 stunning images, offset printed and beautifully designed by Simi Mahtani of Studio Simi Inc.. Pineda Gould takes the viewer on a visual journey through a New York that is a compilation of imagined narratives, with forms emerging from the shadows—materializing out of steam, fog, and hidden corners into shafts of light.
Not surprisingly, Kevin is also trained in film production, which brings us to the “why” of this post. We ran into him at the celebration marking the 100th anniversary of the first production Leica camera in New York. Digital Silver Imaging had printed a retrospective of historic images made with Leica cameras, and we were a partner in the events taking place on Gansevoort Square. During the weekend, Kevin mentioned he had an upcoming exhibition and wanted to make a short film around the print production. Of course we said yes. The resulting short exceeded our expectations with its beautiful imagery and poetic exploration of the power of the print.
The video begins with the statement by Kevin, “printing gives light a place to live.” The video accompanies this post, so you can enjoy it yourself and see the scale of Kevin’s print. The print is an Aluma Mount—a pigment print mounted to an aluminum composite known as DIBOND®. The finished print then receives a professional application of our Transparent UV Protective Coating. This seals the microporous surface of the print, protecting it from atmospheric pollutants and fingerprints. The coating also adds a UV inhibitor that extends the life of the print.
We believe Kevin is an emerging photographer of note. If you want to find out more about Kevin Pineda Gould or follow him on social media, we have included links below. His book is available for sale via this link, and he also he also conducts one-on-one street photography workshops and can be contacted through his website.
Thanks, Kevin, for the wonderful video—we can’t wait to see what’s next.
