Louis Mendes

Louis Mendes (born June 15, 1940) is a photographer from New York City who is known for his signature dapper style, press camera, and street portraits.

Life and work
Mendes was born in a working-class family in Jamaica, Queens, New York, in 1940. He was a young child when his elder sister handed him a camera to begin documenting family events. He bought his first Graflex Speed Graphic camera in the nineteen-fifties, while working as a stock clerk in Macy's and studying electronics.

Mendes uses a Speed Graphic; with modified backs that allow for use of various film types including instant Polaroid film. He has photographed Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Cab Calloway, Lena Horne, Gordon Parks, Denzel Washington, Spike Lee, Swizz Beats, Alicia Keys and Colin Kaepernick.

Publications by Mendes

 * The Magic Within. Raymond Ortiz, 2010.
 * Mestrado Fotografo. Raymond Ortiz, 2010.
 * One Of A Kind. Raymond Ortiz, 2010.
 * Monumental. Raymond Ortiz, 2010.

Publications with mentions of Mendes

 * One Hundred Jobs: A Panorama of Work in the American City. The New Press, 2000. By Ron Howell and with photographs by Ozier Muhammad.
 * Coney Island. W. W. Norton & Company, 1998. By Harvey Stein.