Portraits of Harlem Kids on Halloween Photographed by Ruben Natal-San Miguel

Last year Halloween was pretty much cancelled in NYC due to Hurricane Sandy and this year it rained. But Ruben Natal-San Miguel, a Harlem resident for 11 years, managed to snap these great portraits of neighborhood kids before the weather turned ugly. He writes: “I’ve always admired Amy Stein’s series ‘Halloween in Harlem’. I just happened to be at home last night, mostly recovering from a Diabetes relapse episode, and the kids were trick-or-treating right on my block, so I said ..why not? Amy moved to California, and I guess this is a way to continue her work and celebrate it.

“Also, when making these portraits, I kept thinking about Helen Levitt and her work in Harlem. I had the perfect backdrop with the beautiful brownstones and kids in full costume. The end result are portraits that pay homage to a great tradition in the neighborhood as well as fellow photographers. I also wanted to demonstrate to the world that although Harlem is pretty gentrified, it is embracing everybody and creating a strong community. It was a beautiful event to witness and document.”

Discover More