“Those were the days my friends, we thought they’d never end…..”
Soul searching, scrutinizing eyes personify my friend Todd Weinstein.The Great Eyes of a Great Photographer, as exemplified in this Retrospective. I have known Todd for a long time, over 60 years. I first became aware of Todd in 1958. The Weinstein’s lived in the center of an incredible hotbed area of our suburban Detroit community. It seems all the “cool kids” lived within a few thousand feet of the Weinstein’s brick ranch house.
The 60s…..the mere mention of that decade instills trepidation and fascination. Bridging the 50s to the 70s seems an impossible job, but the 60s did it. Starting with “Greasers”, the little Jewish kids of Oak Park MI- a 5 square mile inner ring suburb, did their best to be part of the times….hairdos of “flat top, fenders and a waterfall” (the DA “ducks ass”- was too much). Fashionable ankle tight pants enhanced the look. Greaser looks, not really hoods, though a few of us wound up at Boys Republic.
For the most part, the Oak Park Jewish kids lived in a bubble….not quite Detroit, with our own school system, a terrific park at the center of the community, the envy of many as the place to go. I entered this scene from the East Side of Detroit in 1957, as if to give myself a chance to immerse myself, in preparation for those wild 60s that were yet to come.
The Weinstein’s lived about 500 feet from Pepper Elementary School where I went for 5th grade. His sister, Cheryl, was in my grade. Little Todd was part of that scene, though 3 grades behind us. I am not sure when I first met Todd, it was more like he was always there, solid but not so noticeable, at first. I always noticed Todd’s searching, always observing, eyes. As if those eyes were the natural pre-requisite for an incredible career in photography….
As the middle of the 60s approached, we transitioned from Greasers to mini Frat kids: wearing penny loafers, button down collar shirts, cuffed khaki pants, and crew cut haircuts. The Frat stuff was just a phase, as soon the mid 60s became transformative as the longish hair of the Beatles morphed into wild hippy days: wild hair, bell bottom pants, beads and the drug scene.
The late 60s saw our cities burning, draft resistance, civil rights marches, and the whole world making significant changes. A perfect setting for Todd to use his camera to reflect the changing world around him. We grew up into Woodstock, and Todd was always there watching, as if waiting patiently to become the creative photographer by the end of the 60s.
-Steve Reifman Farmington Hills, Michigan, 2022