Camilo José Vergara, the Chilean-born photographer, captured a striking image of Bronx dog-walkers in the 1970s. The photo shows children and their dogs standing in a vacant lot, framed by towering housing projects and a subway line in the background. It reflects the urban decay and disappearing neighborhoods of New York at the time. Vergara arrived in the United States in 1965 on a banana boat. He studied at the University of Notre Dame and later at Columbia University in New York. Initially interested in poetry, he was encouraged by a teacher to try his hand at photography. Vergara borrowed money for a Pentax Spotmatic camera and began exploring the streets of New York. That first camera sparked a lifelong passion for documenting the city. Early in his work, Vergara noticed stark divisions in New York. “Half was white and the other half was Black and Latino,” he said. “There was tremendous segregation.” Coming from a family that had lost money, he felt out of place among the wealthy Columbia students. This perspective drew him to parts of the city undergoing hardship, where he could capture the realities of daily life. The late 1960s and early 1970s were a time of massive change. Deindustrialization closed factories and car plants, leaving widespread job losses and empty storefronts. Vergara saw the city as a landscape of both people and structures, and he aimed to capture its full urban reality before it vanished. Walking the streets was often dangerous. Many people were desperate, struggling with addiction or poverty. Vergara recalled encounters with individuals who sought money for drugs. “Sometimes they’d come at you, but they were in such bad shape I could escape,” he said. The tension added urgency and focus to his photography. The Bronx photograph from 1970 reflects this approach. Vergara found children and their dogs in a deserted lot, juxtaposed with towering housing projects. The setting is impersonal, yet the subjects’ personalities shine through in their clothing and posture. He says, “I never think of people as being separated from where I find them.” His work emphasizes the connection between individuals and their urban environment. Vergara aimed to document the city as a whole, not just isolated elements like graffiti or street scenes. “Huge parts of the city were being destroyed,” he said. “This was my attempt to answer the question: ‘How do I preserve this whole damn thing?’” Many neighborhoods, he observed, were disappearing permanently. His photographs remain vital records of New York’s lost spaces. Over his long career, Vergara has earned high honors. He was named a MacArthur Fellow in 2002 and received the National Humanities Medal from President Barack Obama in 2012. His work has been published extensively, including his New York 1970s series by Café Royal Books. Vergara advises aspiring photographers to stay persistent and empathetic. “Hang in there, persevere, the sailing is rough,” he said. His Bronx images continue to inspire, offering a window into a city that is both vibrant and fragile, and showcasing how photography can preserve moments that might otherwise be forgotten.