How New York Breaks Your Heart - Tapa dura

New Yorkers know better than to stare on the street, but Bill Hayes' camera is allowed to, and often his subjects, whether alone or in pairs, stare right back at him, and now at us. It's in these ocular embraces that we feel the humanity and the beautiful eccentricity of these individuals being revealed. Hayes gives us glimpses into the souls of the city's characters in these arresting on-the-spot portraits. (Billy Collins, former Poet Laureate of the United States)

Bill Hayes' photographs tell the story of what really makes New York New York: its people. (Roz Chast)

[Hayes] immortalizes ordinary people in the city that never sleeps. (Sam Roberts, New York Times)

[Hayes's] arresting pictures celebrate the fact that 'beauty comes in unbeautiful ways' in the city that never sleeps. (Heller McAlpin, NPR)

Hayes provides us an even larger look at a New York we are in constant interaction with--its noises, colors, its claustrophobic (yet somehow thrilling) density, and its openness, welcome diversity, and indeed, its ability to break our hearts. . . . When I think of the great photographers who have depicted this city--Elliot Erwitt, Helen Leavitt, Diane Arbus, Gordon Parks to name only a few--Hayes adds to this bounty with his own tattoo. (Lambda Literary)

A photographic love letter to New York City and its people . . . With every photo, Hayes captures the casual intimacy of his subjects with their natural habitat to show what's most heartwarming about the city: the rare, diverse, and vital spirit of the people in it. (Publishers Weekly)

[Hayes's] photos are reminiscent of Diane Arbus' street portraits, the difference being that Arbus was drawn to the strangeness in people while Hayes is drawn to their warmth and beauty. (Edward Guthmann, San Francisco Chronicle)

Just in time for Valentine's Day, this love letter in photos documents a diverse range of city dwellers while capturing both the excitement and loneliness of living among them. (Publishers Weekly, Top 10 Art & Photography Books)

There's wistfulness in Hayes' title, for the beauty that breaking reveals. With his photos, Hayes seems to say that if a city breaks your heart, look to its people to piece it back together again. (Booklist)

Here we see Hayes' excellent eye, and his ability to portray his subjects with intimacy and immediacy. The photos tell something about the photographer, as well: how he is drawn to people, and must seem worthy of their trust. The delectation goes both ways. (The Bay Area Reporter)