Street People as described by Bob Patterson

Like Ave Pildas, I was born and raised in Appalachia along the Ohio River. Although we were separated by a half a generation and a couple hundred miles of muddy river, we share a common heritage. I’m sure that Ave passed through my little river town on his way to Pittsburgh to photograph jazz legends like Coltrane and Monk. This is probably the reason I feel so drawn to his street photography.

Although Ave lives in Southern California and shoots around the world his work shows that he still has some of the grit from that dirty old river under his fingernails.

Some images are quirky others are funny and many are serious. These are straightforward, honest slices of the times and lives of his subjects. Take a close look, you may see a part of yourself in one or two.

I keep coming back to his images from the 70s and 80s, times of younger days. Many of the photographs were taken in other parts of the world but still they transport me back to a time and place that I’ve forgotten. 

—Bob Patterson, Publisher, Street Photography Magazine