1986 was a critical year for me. I finished a graduate degree Masters in the Art of Teaching (History) from Rhode Island College and began my career in education. One reason I chose education was that it would allow me to continue my photography pursuits. I always shaped my photographs around some idea or framework. In 1986 that idea involved photographing the nightclubs around Providence.

The Canon Sure Shot had just come out. It was a fully automatic camera with an auto flash and focus. The problem with shooting inside night spots was that it would be too obvious and intrusive, especially with the flash. So, I taped up the camera with infrared filters and put black and white infrared film in the camera. The plan had some drawbacks that made for some interesting photos. I could not see through the view finder. Therefore, the photographs were just pointing and shooting blind. This created some unusual angles and compositions. The results were grainy. Everything red turned white. Eyes became alien like. All of these “drawbacks” contributed to unique visual images.

I went out to some classic places around Providence. Sh-booms, The Living Room, and the Hot Club were some of the places. Looking back nearly forty years ago, the styles have changed. The hairdos on the women were intriguing. People smoked in bars. Cigarettes were everywhere. No phones. Cash only. The most interesting part of these pictures are captured in the fleeting moments. The interactions between people. The happy and sad. The wanted and unwanted advances. The energy of the music. The dancing. The conversations. There is loneliness and togetherness. The drinking. Sometimes too much. The outfits. Some out to impress and others not so much. The search for love.

Lastly, I was thinking as I reprinted these photographs about time. I was twenty-nine years old. I was a skinny kid then. I thought about all the life I have lived since these were taken. I have been lucky. Most of it was good and as I looked at the strangers in these photographs, I wondered how their lives went. Was this the night they met the love of their life? Was it just another stop in a downward spiral? For sure a good number of these people are dead. Time went forward and there is no going back. But it is fun to look back at a time that was.