Steve Riskind Photography

Steve Riskind is a fine arts photographer based in Ridgewood, New Jersey. Riskind’s work combines the aesthetic of black and white film photography with his love for digital photography.

News of Recent Publications

“art | commerce: four artisan businesses grow in an old New Jersey Industrial city"

In March of 2021, Steve Riskind's book "art | commerce" won a starred review from Kirkus Reviews. And in December, Kirkus chose "art " commerce as one of the Top 100 Independently Published Books of 2021. Click here to read the full review.

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"An engrossing portrait of artisanship as a blend of mechanical genius and human fulfillment."
— Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Over a period of eight years, Steve Riskind photographed four small businesses located in or near Paterson, New Jersey. These artisan businesses rely on skilled crafts people and all are family owned. They include a specialty textile firm, jewelry manufacturer, pipe organ builder and stained glass studio with a chapter devoted to each business. Introductions to each business are based largely on Riskind’s interviews with owners of the firms. In some cases additional research supplements the interviews.

Approximately 20 photographs were selected to represent each business. The goal in taking the photographs was to capture the intensity of workers engaging with the materials they use. These are are images of skilled artisans in the process of creation.

“art | commerce” is available at Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and other booksellers. Click on bookseller's name to view the book on their site.

Creating a Pipe Organ: Artisans at Work

The Diapason, a pipe organ journal, published a three-part series of Steve Riskind’s photographs showing pipe organ builders at work. The articles appeared in the August, October, and November 2020 issues of The Diapason. https://www.thediapason.com/

Click on these links to view the first article, second article, and the final article in the series.

Artisans in Industry: An Article in a British On-Line Photography Journal

Early in 2021 Steve Riskind was asked to submit an article about "art | commerce" to the Big Photo Ezine which is published by the Photographer Academy, a British photography training and education organization. The article includes photographs from the book, and while not highly technical, the intended audience is photographers. Click here to view the article.