Derek Fahsbender’s work trawls through concrete jungles, and meets some colourful characters along the way. 

For 40-year-old Derek Fahsbender, New York City and photography go hand-in-hand. Growing up in New Jersey and first picking up a Kodak Pazzazz at age eight, Derek possessed from an early age the two ingredients of legendary street photography – a trusty camera and doorstep access to the world’s most photogenic city. “My mother has always loved NYC, so that’s where my love for it began. I moved to The Bronx and never looked back. Everything I have always loved about the city is right outside my door, which is ideal for a street photographer,” Derek says. 

So ideal are his streetscape subjects that Derek describes New York as “a living, breathing work of art,” with a masterful portfolio to match. Stretching across the five boroughs, his work focuses just as much on the city’s architectural landscapes as it does on the people who frequent them. From subway-bound newlyweds to an umbrella wielding commuter, Derek’s work documents the countless stories that comprise the Big Apple. 

“Taking photos around NYC never gets old for me. For as vast as the city is, it’s strangely very small at the same time. I will run into the same people over and over. But those same streets still deliver a steady stream of unique moments,” he says. Derek’s observant people-watching, which he describes as a “snapshot aesthetic,” has traced him from technicoloured shopfronts to a game of kerbside dominoes, but the impact of his work reaches beyond his passerby subjects. Now an official creator and ambassador for Fujifilm, Derek remains grateful for a craft that “changed [his] life.”

“Photography came into my life and gave me purpose, a reason and vehicle to express myself. An outlet. All these years later and I have a job in the photography industry that I actually look forward to everyday…there’s nothing crazier than turning your life around because of a camera,” he says. 

Catch Derek’s full Frames portfolio below, and head here to follow him on Instagram.