Best of 2021: Photos

Here are my favorite New Yorker photos of 2021:

1. Jerome Strauss’s photo for “Above & Beyond: The Annual Arrival of Cherry Blossoms,” April 19, 2021 (see above);

2. Amy Lombard's portrait of Jake Paul for Kelefa Sanneh's "Punching Down" (November 8, 2021);

3. Brian Emfinger's photo for Heidi Julavits's "The Fire Geyser" (August 23, 2021);

4. Lakin Ogunbanwo's portrait of El Anatsui for Julian Lucas's “Structure and Flow” (January 18, 2021);

5. Gus Powell's photo for Hannah Goldfield's "Tables for Two: Smashed NYC" (June 7, 2021);

6. Thomas Prior's portrait of Kate Orff for Eric Klinenberg's "Manufacturing Nature" (August 9, 2021);

7. Naila Ruechel's photo for Judith Thurman's "Eye of the Needle" (March 29, 2021);

8. William Mebane's photo for Hannah Goldfield's "Tables for Two: Dame" (January 25, 2021);

9. Sofia Yates's photo for Hannah Goldfield's "Tables For Two: Rolo's" (February 8, 2021);

10. Phyllis Ma's photo for Hannah Goldfield's "Tables For Two: The New Carry-Out Cuisine" (June 21, 2021).

Best of 2019: Photos

Ivan Forde's photo for "Goings On About Town"

Here are my favorite New Yorker photos of 2019:

1. Ivan Forde's photo of The Illustrious Blacks for "Goings On About Town," January 7, 2019 (see above).

2. Mauricio Lima's photo for Jon Lee Anderson's "Blood Gold" (November 4, 2019).

3. David Williams’ photo of Ali El Sayed for David Kortava’s “Kabab Café’s ‘Snout to Tail’ Delicacies” (August 23, 2019).

4. Shae Detar’s photo of Anderson .Paak for "Goings On About Town" (February 18 & 25, 2019).

5. Dolly Faibyshev’s photo for Shauna Lyon’s “A Tel Aviv Restaurant Brings Bacchanalia and Technique to Hell’s Kitchen” (June 21, 2019).

6. Pari Dukovic’s photo of Todd Haynes for John Lahr’s “The Director’s Cut” (November 11, 2019).

7. William Mebane’s photo for Hannah Goldfield’s “Hot Pot for the Type-A Personality at O:n°” (April 5, 2019).

8. Katy Grannan’s photo for Ian Frazier’s “Pumper’s Corner” (February 18 & 25, 2019).

9. Joakim Eskildsen’s photo for James Lasdun’s “Glow” (April 29, 2019)

10. Yudi Ela’s photo for Hannah Goldfield’s “Tables For Two: Pilar Cuban Bakery / Win Son Bakery” (November 11, 2019)

"Tables For Two" Photos: 5 Favorites

Zachary Zavislak, "Nur" (2017)

I relish “Tables for Two.” Among its many pleasures – the food descriptions, the evaluative criticism, the piquant details – are the photo illustrations. Many of them are inspired. Here are five of my recent favorites:

1. David Williams, “Van Da” (May 27, 2019)

I love the way the top of that luminous green bottle thrusts up into the shot. Most photographers would remove it before shooting. Williams uses it to jazz his double portrait with a translucent bit of jade.

2. Heami Lee, “Teranga” (May 6, 2019)

The star of this gorgeous shot isn’t the food; it’s the circular yellow-and-black table. What a yellow! Van Gogh would’ve loved it.

3. Dolly Faibyshev, “HaSalon” (July 1, 2019)

The rakish angle, the way the rough edge of the tabletop slashes the composition, the black-framed rectangles of sky and city street – all combine to make this shot impeccably original.

4. William Mebane, “Hanon” (July 22, 2019)

So many great Mebane photos to pick from. I chose this quasi-abstract still life for its elegant simplicity.

5. Zachary Zavislak, “The Fly” (April 1, 2019)

Like Mebane, Zavislak is a master “Tables for Two” photographer. The above still life features no less than twenty artfully arranged items (not counting cutlery). 

Who is the best “Tables for Two” photographer? There are at least seven candidates: David Williams, Dolly Faibyshev, Eric Helga, Krista Schlueter, William Mebane, Amy Lombard, and Zachary Zavislak. But for me it comes down to Mebane v. Zavislak. I give the edge to Mebane on the strength of his striking portraits. This one, for example, from Hannah Goldfield’s “Tables For Two: Sofreh” (September 14, 2018):

March 4, 2019 Issue

The best New Yorker pizza shot is Davide Luciano’s scrumptious illustration for Amelia Lester’s “Tables For Two: Prova” (April 13, 2015):

Davide Luciano, illustration for Amelia Lester's "Tables For Two: Prova"

But William Mebane’s Rhode Island pizza photo for Hannah Goldfield’s “Tables For Two: Violet,” in this week’s issue, is a close second. Mebane captures the pie's grilled “black lines” and the “large shears for custom cutting” that Goldfield describes in her delectable piece.

William Mebane, illustration for Hannah Goldfield's "Tables For Two: Violet"

Best of 2018: Photos

Lauren Lancaster, "Diana Tandia" (2018)

Here are my favorite New Yorker photographs of 2018:

1. Lauren Lancaster, “Diana Tandia,” for Hannah Goldfield’s “Tables For Two: Berber Street Food” (October 29, 2018).

2. David S. Allee, “Naumburg Orchestral Concerts,” for “Goings On About Town” (July 23, 2018).

3. Davide Monteleone, “Su Xiaolan,” for “Portfolio: A New Silk Road” (January 8, 2018).

4. Dan Winters, “SpaceShip Two,” for Nicholas Schmidle’s “Rocket Man” (August 20, 2018).

5. George Steinmetz, “Rio Grande River,” for Nick Paumgarten’s ”Water and the Wall” (April 23, 2018).

6. Zora J. Murff, “Clarissa Glenn and Ben Baker,” for Jennifer Gonnerman’s “Framed” (May 28, 2018).

 

7. Krista Schlueter, “David Hockney,” for Françoise Mouly’s “David Hockney’s ‘The Road’ ” (newyorker.com, April 16, 2018).

8. William Mebane, “Nasim Alikhani,” for Hannah Goldfield’s “Tables For Two: Sofreh” (September 24, 2018).

9. Gillian Laub, “Alex Katz,” for Calvin Tomkins’ “Painterly Virtues” (August 27, 2018).

10. Dolly Faibyshev, “Le Sia,” for Hannah Goldfield’s “Tables For Two: Le Sia” (June 4 & 11, 2018).

11. Kevin Cooley, "The Woolsey Fire, Near Los Angeles, Seen from the West Hills," for Bill McKibben's "Life on a Shrinking Planet" (November 26, 2018).



12. Cait Opperman, "Habibi," for "Goings On About Town" (January 15, 2018)