I recently discovered that Stanley Kubrick was a New York City photojournalist before he became a filmmaker. In 1945, while only 17 years old, Kubrick sold a photo to Look Magazine. The folks at Look, must have liked that image. From 1946 to 1950, Kubrick shot more than 300 assignments for the magazine while detailing and documenting the sights and people of New York City.

Based out of New York City, Look magazine also sent Kubrick to different locations. One of these locations was Chicago where, in the summer of 1949, Kubrick shot images for a story called “Chicago, City of Contrasts.”

As one might expect, the images Kubrick captured are both unique and wonderful. Each image represents a forgotten moment in time from a lost Golden Age in America directly after World War II. Sometimes gritty… Sometimes thought provoking… These images all foreshadow the creative perspective and genius that Kubrick later develops as a filmmaker.

Presented below are a few images from Stanley Kubrick's photojournalism work. You can also see more by following the paper trail links at the end of this post. In addition, some of Kubrick’s early photography work can be viewed in a collection curated by Museum of the City of New York.

Enjoy!!