# Student Photographer's Detroit Negatives Resurface

> A student photographer's 1972 Detroit negatives, stored for decades, now win an award and teach us about revisiting old work.
- Title: Student Photographer's Detroit Negatives Resurface | Shortify
- Summary: A student photographer's 1972 Detroit negatives, stored for decades, now win an award and teach us about revisiting old work. Dave Jordano's 1972 Detroit…
- Keywords: dave jordano, seattle, center for creative studies, detroit, 1972, 35mm camera, all about photo, solo exhibition, negatives, photography, jordano, detroit city
- Source: Digital Camera World — https://digitalcameraworld.com/photography/galleries-and-exhibitions/a-student-photographer-wandered-the-streets-of-detroit-with-a-camera-in-1972-then-left-the-negatives-in-storage-for-four-decades-now-theyre-an-award-winning-exhibition-and-that-teaches-us-something-profound-about-viewing-our-old-work
- Published: 2026-10-01T07:05:00+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: dave jordano, seattle, center for creative studies, detroit, 1972, 35mm camera, all about photo, solo exhibition, negatives, photography, jordano, detroit city
## Coffee Break
In 1972, a student photographer wandered Detroit streets with a 35mm camera for a year.
## Negatives Stored for Decades
Dave Jordano kept his negatives but didn't print them, putting them away for 40 years.
## 2013 Discovery
Jordano found his negatives in 2013, surprised by their quality and quantity.
## Award-Winning Exhibition
A selection won All About Photo's Solo Exhibition competition, titled The Year I Arrived.
## Detroit in 1972
Detroit was still Motor City five years after the 1967 riots, with societal changes underway.
## Ordinary Life Focus
Jordano's photos show people going about their ordinary day, not the city's turmoil.
## Greektown Scene
In Greektown, young women sat outside an electrical store with a hand-painted sign for 25 cents soft drinks.
## Anti-War Rally
At an anti-war rally, Jane Fonda spoke while Tom Hayden chatted in the crowd with fairground rides overhead.
## Suburban Child
In Sterling Heights, a child with a purse stood on a sidewalk flanked by new lawns and trees in 1973.
## Direct Engagement
Jordano's subjects knew he was there, looking directly into the camera with no distance.
## Key takeaway

Dave Jordano's 1972 Detroit photography, stored for 40 years, won an award and shows early work can be unexpectedly good.