Shooting in the South Bronx in 1976 was running the gauntlet of an apocalyptic landscape of blown-out buildings, drug dealers, muggers and assaulters. Cleared of the danger areas, it was easy to discover large pockets of warm and friendly people. Here I have a group of young locals, posing for the camera in front of my hand-held nude 50's pinup with hand-colored nipples and lips. This is a very early example of staged photography on location. Moreover, it's a street group portrait with a complex formal composition of faces that renders precise positive and negative spaces. As with all my photos, this is a straight shot with no photoshop strip-in manipulation.