PHOTOS: Jean-Pierre Laffont Saw Us

Photojournalist Jean-Pierre Laffont devoted his life to recording the most important world events for close to 55 years. He is not only a savvy photographer with a camera in his hand at all the right times but a businessman who founded the U.S. bureau of Gamma Agency with his wife. In 1973 he went on to cofound the Sygma Photo News Agency, again with his wife, Elaine Laffont.

The photos included here are a special selection from his book, Photographer's Paradise: Turbulent America 1960-1990. Laffont recorded the progress of LGBT life in America over a few decades with an insider's eye while not being an insider.

Paging through Photographer's Paradise is like watching a nation grow and crumble under its own weight. His images record the vast diversity of communities, societies, and often people on the fringes of those groups. Laffont's photojournalism becomes a historical record of the times.

Mr. Laffont will be speaking at the International Center of Photography on November 12, and will be presented by Pulitzer Prize winner, Michele McNally, the Director of Photography at The New York Times.

All images (c) Jean-Pierre Laffont, 2014. From Photographer's Paradise -- published by Glitterati Incorporated www.GlitteratiIncorporated.com. Available on Amazon.com.

New York City, New York / Summer, 1967
The couple who had originally introduced me to an inside look at the life of working-girl transvestites strike a romantic pose on their fire escape.

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Manhattan, New York City, New York / June 27, 1971
Demonstrators carry signs during the second Gay Pride Parade in New York City, calling for urgent attention to equal rights.

Manhattan, New York City, New York / June 27, 1971
The Second Annual Gay Pride Week in New York City.

All images (c) Jean-Pierre Laffont, 2014. From Photographer's Paradise -- published by Glitterati Incorporated www.GlitteratiIncorporated.com.

Manhattan, New York City, New York / 1977
Boys gone wild at New York's legendary Studio 54, where debauchery, sex, drugs and disco ruled from 1977 until 1981, when amidst scandal and legal action, the nightclub was sold by founders and creators Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager.

Manhattan, New York City, New York / May, 1980
A trans prostitute stands in the doorway of the long-since-closed Hotel Normandie. Only a couple of the classic Times Square "flophouses" remain, where a guest can rent a room for the night or by the hour if need be.

San Francisco, California / August, 1982
Two men kissing, with their winning medals hanging from their necks at the First Annual Gay Olympic Games.

Self portrait: Jean-Pierre Laffont

All images (c) Jean-Pierre Laffont, 2014. From Photographer's Paradise -- published by Glitterati Incorporated www.GlitteratiIncorporated.com. Available on Amazon.com.