17-Year-Old Stanley Kubrick’s Photos Of 1940s New York Prove That He Was Born Genius

Before Stanley Kubrick directed arguably some of the best movies ever made like "2001: Space Odyssey" or "The Shining," he was a simple teenager in New York looking for a job. But even then, when the 17-year-old got his hands on a photo camera, he couldn't hide the talent within.

Bored Panda has gathered a collection of his photos of New York from 1945 to 1950, when he was working in the Look magazine. During that time Stanley got many insights into what makes a photograph work: "I think aesthetically recording spontaneous action, rather than carefully posing a picture, is the most valid and expressive use of photography."

He quickly made a name for himself by telling stories through photos, which eventually led him to moving pictures and his place in the filmmakers' hall of fame.

Oh, and if you're into street photography as well, let Stanley himself give you a tip: "Think up ideas for stories, go out and shoot them, and then send them into the magazines. I was lucky; I figured that out when I was young."

(h/t: vintage everyday)

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Walking The Streets Of New York, 1946

Final score:

164points

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Student At Columbia University, 1948

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150points

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Girl With A Lipstick, 1940

Final score:

147points

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Couple Sleeping In A Subway Car, 1940s

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147points

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Couple, 1940

Final score:

143points

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High Wire Act, 1948

Final score:

142points

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Tillie Martinussen 7 years ago

Great shot! He really had an eye for angles! Wow! Done with only the equipment ready by then. Wow!

11points

John L 7 years ago

Having not just one, but two counterweights, seems like cheating to me.

2points

Laetitia 7 years ago

Man, I could have 500 counterweights and would still fall on my a**e!

6points

Load More Replies...

Neeraj Jha 7 years ago

Hanging out

2points

Derek Downey 2 years ago

Can you believe this prick!

0points

Valerie Marcley 5 years ago

Looks like actor Darren McGavin on the right.

0points

Stewart Ayukawa 6 years ago

the pic cut off the bottom too much.

0points

endelbendel 7 years ago

Beautiful greys in foreground figure aids composition for otherwise static tableau

0points

Stacie Robertson 7 years ago

this is so crazy awesome!!!

0points

Ed Loftus 7 years ago

Amazingly mature composition, excellent idea, terrific capture of his suit in the sunlight. Absolutely outstanding photograph. Wouldn't work in color btw.

0points

Sophie Le Berre 7 years ago

Speechless angle ... love it

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Shoe Shine Boy, 1940

Final score:

132points

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Dogs In A Convertible, 1949

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113points

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Self Portrait With Showgirl Rosemary Williams, 1948

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103points

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#10

People On Escalators In A Subway Station, 1940

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89points

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#11

Young Girl At Palisades Amusement Park, 1946

Final score:

79points

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#12

Laboratory At Columbia University, 1948

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76points

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#13

Couple Playing Footsies On A Subway, 1946

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69points

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#14

Shoe Shine Boy, 1940

Final score:

69points

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#15

Betsy Von Furstenberg, 1949

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68points

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#16

Girl With Dolls, 1947

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64points

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#17

Students Drawing A Nude Model In An Art Class, 1948, Columbia University

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62points

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#18

Circus Side Show Performer, 1948

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61points

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#19

Shoe Shine Boys (On Fence), 1947

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60points

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#20

Changing The Tire, 1946

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52points

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#21

Showgirls At The Copacabana Club, 1948

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52points

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#22

Shoe Shine Boy, Portrait Of Mickey, 1947

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51points

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#23

Men Sleeping In A Subway Car, 1946

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50points

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#24

Police Athletic League Boxing, 1946

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46points

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#25

Passengers In A Subway Car, 1940s

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46points

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#26

Johnny On The Spot, 1946

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42points

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#27

Rosemary Williams At A Restaurant With Two Men

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42points

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#28

Doorman Walking Dog, 1949

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41points

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#29

Shoe Shine Boy, 1940

Final score:

37points

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#30

Women In A Subway Car, 1946

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35points

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#31

Shoe Shine Boys (Vendor), 1947

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34points

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#32

Girls, 1940

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34points

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#33

Passengers In A Subway Car, 1940s

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34points

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#34

Man Carrying Flowers On A Crowded Subway, 1946

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31points

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#35

Passengers Reading In A Subway Car, 1946

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31points

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#36

Waiting At The Dentist’s Office

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31points

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#37

Painter Tying Rope Around The Model's Waist, 1947

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31points

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#38

Shoe Shine Boy, 1940

Final score:

30points

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#39

Film Crew, 1947

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30points

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#40

Guy Lombardo On A Dock, 1947-1948

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30points

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#41

Woman Watching Model Being Painted For The Billboard, 1947

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30points

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#42

Woman Waiting On A Subway Platform, 1940s

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30points

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#43

Shoe Shine Boys, 1947

Final score:

27points

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#44

Man Studying In A Library, 1948, Columbia University

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26points

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#45

Woman On The Train Platform, 1948

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25points

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#46

Men With German Shepherd On A Dock, 1949

Final score:

25points

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#47

Woman Waiting On A Subway Platform, 1946

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24points

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#48

At An Outdoor Cafe With A Woman, 1948

Final score:

24points

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#49

Johnny Grant, 1946

Final score:

23points

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#50

General Dwight D. Eisenhower At Columbia University, 1948

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21points

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#51

Passengers In A Subway Car, 1946

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21points

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#52

Passengers In A Subway Car, 1946

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20points

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#53

Girl With A Mirror, 1940

Final score:

19points

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#54

Audience Waiting In Line To Get Into A Recording Of "grand Slam"

Final score:

19points

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#55

Mens Fashion Show, 1948

Final score:

18points

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#56

Woman Knitting On A Subway, 1946

Final score:

18points

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#57

Couple In A Subway Car, 1940s

Final score:

18points

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#58

Man By A Garbage Can

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17points

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#59

Circus Woman With Rollerskating Monkey, 1948

Final score:

15points

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#60

Boxer Walter Cartier, 1948

Final score:

15points

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#61

Man Exiting Train, 1948

Final score:

14points

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#62

Rocky Graziano Talking To A Policeman On A Street

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14points

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#63

Passengers In A Subway Car, 1946

Final score:

12points

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#64

People Browsing Through Magazine Racks At A Busy Sidewalk Newsstand, 1947

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#65

Walter Cartier Drinking A Beverage, 1948

Final score:

12points

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#66

Passengers In A Subway Car, 1946

Final score:

11points

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#67

Rocky Graziano With Two Men By A Sign For The Middleweight Championship Fight Between Tony Zale And Marcel Cerdan

Final score:

11points

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#68

Women Walking Near The Train, 1948

Final score:

11points

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#69

Passengers In A Subway Car, 1946

Final score:

10points

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#70

Man Carrying Flowers On A Crowded Subway, 1946

Final score:

10points

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What do you think ?

What I find so enlightening about Mr. Kubrick's early photography is that he was able to successfully balance the subjects with lessons in life that are always worth following. His ability to tell a story with even the most simple subject enabled him to bring this to the screen as a great director.

Do not see that depth of meaning in this selection. Most are still lifes and landscapes with adept management of available light.

-3points

Louiiiise 7 years ago

Talent is nothing without work. And perfectionism. That's what made him such an incredible cineast. What always amazes me is the precision of his framing, and how it serves the storytelling. I miss him very much as a director and complete artist.

9points

Etienne Pisano 7 years ago

A Great Director and a really GREAT Photographer!!!! I miss him very much.....

4points

Diane Balch 7 years ago

These are terrific historical pictures, but number 2 is mislabeled. Women were not admitted to Columbia until 1983. Maybe it was taken at Barnard College?

3points

Ben Hodding 7 years ago

awful 'lotta pictures of that shoe shine boy..

Märtin Hœrnüng 7 years ago

Great subject. Probably local to where Stanley was working.

Raquel Bacardi 7 years ago

I really enjoyed these

1point

Flora Polvado 7 years ago

So. Does anyone know anything about Mickie the shoeshine boy? I'm not gonna be able to sleep tonight!

Jeff McClure 7 years ago

https://blog.mcny.org/2011/06/21/the-tale-of-the-shoe-shine-boy/

Tomasz Borawski 4 years ago

Thanks! F... Genius...

Silver Simphor 6 years ago

A really great photographer.

Jeff Conway 6 years ago

They were some real hell raisers back in the 40's, weren't they?

Stan Mrak 7 years ago

That's why NASA tapped him to film the fake Apollo moon landings. If you doubt this, watch Jay Weidner's documentary, "Kubrick's Odyssey" and see how it was done.

Larry Battros 7 years ago

First two are excellent

Dennis Sweatt 7 years ago

#37 wasn't about the man with the flowers. It was about the little girl with no flowers.

Full Name 7 years ago

Man was access to events and people easier back then. Recording artists, university labs, the Copa, general Eisenhower, boxers ringside. Try that nowadays. You'd also have child services called on you if your kid was a shoe shine boy. This guy had a serious eye for composition and that talent certainly didn't go to waste. Side note: Not one single fat person. Also, no McD's and Taco Bell on every corner. People went to the grocery store about bought vegetables, not Hamburger Helper.

John Thompson 5 years ago

access may have been provided by his job at Look magazine, or was that later?

Mine Zabci 7 years ago

You can teach technique but the photographic eye is the natural gift what he had it. Thanks

Hamlets twin 7 years ago

Admittedly I don't know much about photography. Why are these such "great" examples?

J 7 years ago

I enjoyed these but not as much as he enjoyed little Mickey

fox aesthetic 7 years ago

He loved that shoe shine boy... his name was Mickey :0

Pavle Nikolic 7 years ago

I especially love the fact that he was tall enough to take a photo from over a woman's shoulder when he was twelve.

Gareth Evans 7 years ago

Looks like he was infatuated with shoe shine boys!

-1point

Wombat34 7 years ago

He was a brilliant movie director but these are just ok.

Sick Boy 7 years ago

Good photos but let's not overhype it for once, huh?

17-Year-Old Stanley Kubrick’s Photos Of 1940s New York Prove That He Was Born Genius

Walking The Streets Of New York, 1946

Student At Columbia University, 1948

Girl With A Lipstick, 1940

Couple Sleeping In A Subway Car, 1940s

Couple, 1940

High Wire Act, 1948

Shoe Shine Boy, 1940

Dogs In A Convertible, 1949

Self Portrait With Showgirl Rosemary Williams, 1948

People On Escalators In A Subway Station, 1940

Young Girl At Palisades Amusement Park, 1946

Laboratory At Columbia University, 1948

Couple Playing Footsies On A Subway, 1946

Shoe Shine Boy, 1940

Betsy Von Furstenberg, 1949

Girl With Dolls, 1947

Students Drawing A Nude Model In An Art Class, 1948, Columbia University

Circus Side Show Performer, 1948

Shoe Shine Boys (On Fence), 1947

Changing The Tire, 1946

Showgirls At The Copacabana Club, 1948

Shoe Shine Boy, Portrait Of Mickey, 1947

Men Sleeping In A Subway Car, 1946

Police Athletic League Boxing, 1946

Passengers In A Subway Car, 1940s

Johnny On The Spot, 1946

Rosemary Williams At A Restaurant With Two Men

Doorman Walking Dog, 1949

Shoe Shine Boy, 1940

Women In A Subway Car, 1946

Shoe Shine Boys (Vendor), 1947

Girls, 1940

Passengers In A Subway Car, 1940s

Man Carrying Flowers On A Crowded Subway, 1946

Passengers Reading In A Subway Car, 1946

Waiting At The Dentist’s Office

Painter Tying Rope Around The Model's Waist, 1947

Shoe Shine Boy, 1940

Film Crew, 1947

Guy Lombardo On A Dock, 1947-1948

Woman Watching Model Being Painted For The Billboard, 1947

Woman Waiting On A Subway Platform, 1940s

Shoe Shine Boys, 1947

Man Studying In A Library, 1948, Columbia University

Woman On The Train Platform, 1948

Men With German Shepherd On A Dock, 1949

Woman Waiting On A Subway Platform, 1946

At An Outdoor Cafe With A Woman, 1948

Johnny Grant, 1946

General Dwight D. Eisenhower At Columbia University, 1948

Passengers In A Subway Car, 1946

Passengers In A Subway Car, 1946

Girl With A Mirror, 1940

Audience Waiting In Line To Get Into A Recording Of "grand Slam"

Mens Fashion Show, 1948

Woman Knitting On A Subway, 1946

Couple In A Subway Car, 1940s

Man By A Garbage Can

Circus Woman With Rollerskating Monkey, 1948

Boxer Walter Cartier, 1948

Man Exiting Train, 1948

Rocky Graziano Talking To A Policeman On A Street

Passengers In A Subway Car, 1946

People Browsing Through Magazine Racks At A Busy Sidewalk Newsstand, 1947

Walter Cartier Drinking A Beverage, 1948

Passengers In A Subway Car, 1946

Rocky Graziano With Two Men By A Sign For The Middleweight Championship Fight Between Tony Zale And Marcel Cerdan

Women Walking Near The Train, 1948

Passengers In A Subway Car, 1946

Man Carrying Flowers On A Crowded Subway, 1946

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