The sad news came through today that Roy DeCarava has passed away. Roy died of natural causes in Manhattan on Tuesday at the age of 89.

Roy spent his life documenting black America. Born in Harlem, he armed his self with a 35mm camera and took to the streets of New York and captured over four decades of struggle and expression.

His shots are  black and white, raw and simple, yet the way he conveyed the emotions of the everyman in Harlem was unprecedented.

Another area that he pioneered was that of jazz photography. Roy captured many of the great jazz musicians from the 40's, 50's and 60's, and often in intimate like their homes or studios.

In 1952, he was awarded the  Guggenheim fellowship. His goal for the project was "a creative expression, the kind of penetrating insight and understanding of Negroes which I believe only a Negro photographer can interpret."

In a 1996 interview with NPR Roy said he started taking pictures because "there were no black images of dignity, no images of beautiful black people. There was this big hole. I tried to fill it."

In 1955 he collaborated with friend Langston Hughes to make The Sweet Fly Paper of Life, a book that takes a look at the positive side of Harlem. Roy spent his later years teaching at Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in New York, and then at Hunter College.

(top photo: "Haynes, Jones and Benjamin" (1956) by Roy DeCarava via LA Times)

(bottom photo: "David" (1952) by Roy DeCarava via LA Times)