Jessica Burstein has made a career out of capturing pivotal moments in New York City history. She photographed everything from the building of the new Yankee stadium, to the set of Law & Order, to the revelry in the iconic eatery, Elaine’s.
Being born with strabismus, also known as wandering eye, ironically led to her future profession. After having corrective surgery at 8 years old, she was told to exercise her eye by using a camera. By the age of 11, she already had her very own dark room. And at 22, she beat out countless applicants at NBC to become the first female photographer at a network.
Although she’s been in some precarious positions for work, like standing atop Yankee Stadium’s scoreboard, she is fearless behind the lens. “It’s very interesting, with a camera, you feel as if you’re protected,” she said.
You consider the Yankee Stadium commission as one of your favorite projects.
If you wake up every morning and get paid to go to a place where you’re able to shoot whatever you want, that’s a real gift for a photographer — or any artist. There’s been nothing like that in my life before or since. I’ve had terrific assignments, but this was a long-term commission and I particularly like that because I’m like a long-distance runner. I like projects where there’s enough time to get into a zone. This was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing. This was Yankee stadium. Truly historic. It happened because, at Elaine’s, I got to know George Steinbrenner. I already knew Randy Levine, who’s the president of the Yankees. So I would go up to the Steinbrenner suite, and they allowed me to take photographs and George loved them. I would shoot some stuff and he would send me these beautiful notes. When they were getting ready to build the new stadium, Randy suggested that I put in a proposal to get the photo commission. There were a number of sports guys who thought that they should have it, but it wasn’t a sports’ project. It wasn’t even just architectural, because it was so much about the workers. It was just extraordinary because there were no dictates on what I could shoot and where I could shoot it. The first time I stood on top of the scoreboard, which was maybe two-feet wide, I was scared out of my wits. I had a harness on, and the workers in the stadium all stopped to look.
You were the first woman to photograph for a network. Why do you think you got the job at NBC?
First of all, I was the last person to walk in the door out of 100 some-odd people. At that time, the reality is, they needed to hire what they considered to be a minority, someone of color or a woman. They put me through about a month of tests before I actually got the job. I had to shoot, process the film, show them I could light, and I beat out everyone else. Throughout my four years there, I took pictures of everything from news events to television movies. I traveled in the U.S. and Europe. Despite the drawbacks, it was a plum first job and in the end, I learned a lot. It was crazy what went on because they were uncomfortable about having a female photographer. I had to fight for everything. There were no guidelines, no protective harassment laws, so you had to blaze your own trail. Barbara Walters, whom I’d idolized, wasn’t helpful at all. She was not helpful to women, period. And I wasn’t even an anchor, I was a kid who came in there as photographer and when she could, she tried to make my life miserable.
Did you ever shoot anything that was dangerous?
I’ve done plenty of things that were dangerous. Photojournalists have actually been killed because you feel incredibly powerful when you have this piece of equipment in front of you. I did a whitewater-rafting shoot where I was standing up in a raft on the Chattahoochee River in Georgia. It was treacherous, but I did it.
Let’s talk about Elaine’s. How did your work at the restaurant come about?
I was a regular at Elaine’s. I originally started going there because guys would take me. It was such a big deal years ago. If a guy took you there and knew Elaine, that was a way of impressing you. Elaine’s was like a social club. Writers were the first ones in there, and then fame begot fame. Actors, directors and musicians followed. I would also go there for some NBC stuff, Saturday Night Live events, and things like that, but I wouldn’t dare take a shot because God knew what she was going to do. You have to understand, Elaine was tough. She didn’t care who you were. She screamed at Nobel Prize winners, Pulitzer Prize winners. She didn’t really pay attention to me until I had a photo exhibit in 1990. After I earned her respect, she asked me to document the restaurant. I was going to go to law school, because I had had it with photography. She said, “What are you, nuts? You’re great. You have nowhere to shoot? Come here and shoot.” I was the only one who was officially allowed to shoot in there.
What was the atmosphere like on set at Law & Order?
On these sets, the hours are so long, so people are there more than they’re home. And it’s a family, a very dysfunctional family. People adore each other one day, are annoyed the next, are friends, are enemies — as you would have in any family. As a still photographer, I didn’t have to be there every day, so I would come in and out. But the camera operators, grips, DPs, gaffers, they’re there essentially 14 hours every day for 10 months. It’s very hard, unglamorous work.
I read that story in the Times where you talked about the dark room, Latent Image, that had to close.
That was heartbreaking. I was working on a Law & Order show and got a letter from the lab that said, “Due to digital photography, we will be closing,” and then I had to go back to work. I was on the grip truck, crying. Latent Image was a complete community and you ran into people and made friends there. You had your own darkroom for printing, but everyone washed communally, so you could see everyone’s work. Its closing was the end of an era.
You come from a very accomplished family of six siblings.
We were very privileged, but the demands were enormous. We were given everything you could possibly ask for in terms of things. My father was an international lawyer and a genius. And my mother was a New York State Supreme Court Justice. There were high expectations for us. My eldest sister Karen was a public servant, for a long time, in New York. She was one of the first three women state senators and was the Democratic candidate for New York State Attorney General in ’94. My sister Patricia was one of the first female editors for People magazine. Her twin, Ellen, who died from complications of MS a few years ago, was the first female television reporter for Newsweek and a television news personality. My brother, Johnny, created Slim Goodbody, teaching kids about health. My other brother, Judd, is a great lawyer, but a pain in the butt.
I think people can no longer live in the moment, because they’re so worried about capturing it with their camera phone.
That’s an interesting point of view, because I come at it slightly differently. What I see is the fact that everyone is a photographer now. I wouldn’t want to be coming into this profession today. I think you have to be incredibly dedicated. With film, you had to know what you were doing. You’d process the film, make contact sheets or get your slides, go through them, and then edit and print in a wet darkroom. It was a whole big thing. I think if you want to be in this business, you have to have such incredible dedication. People always come to me for advice, and I want to say, “Don’t do it.” Digital has changed everything. Also, a lot of assignments have dried up, since people can shoot their own photos. So you need to establish a reputation where they really want you. But I don’t want to discourage anyone who’s an artist from following his or her dream. You have to try to be a little realistic, however, although artists usually aren’t. [Laughs]
To see more of Jessica’s work, visit www.jessicaburstein.photoshelter.com