Wake Up City: Photos at Dawn, with Daniel Root

11/12/2026

Daniel Root lives by the saying, the early bird catches the worm, explaining, “I always have woken up early, to the point that my mother warned my wife that ‘Danny always gets up with the birdies’.”

Above Photograph © Daniel Root

In this week’s podcast, we take a deep dive into Root’s pre-dawn photo excursions and his multifaceted creative career in New York’s East Village. He joins Derek for an in-depth chat that takes us back to the experimental vibe of the early 80s, which gave him permission to create.

169 Bar, East Broadway, 2020, from the book New York Bars at Dawn
169 Bar, East Broadway, 2020, from the book New York Bars at Dawn
Lovers of Today, East 7th Street, 2022, from the book New York Bars at Dawn
Lovers of Today, East 7th Street, 2022, from the book New York Bars at…
2A Reflection, 2026, from Root’s series on New York City street scenes before dawn.
2A Reflection, 2026, from Root’s series on New York City street scenes…
The Nines, Great Jones Street, 2022, from the book New York Bars at Dawn
The Nines, Great Jones Street, 2022, from the book New York Bars at Dawn
The Duplex, Christopher Street, 2022, from the book New York Bars at Dawn
The Duplex, Christopher Street, 2022, from the book New York Bars at…
Lucy’s Bar, Avenue A, 2017, from the book New York Bars at Dawn
Lucy’s Bar, Avenue A, 2017, from the book New York Bars at Dawn
Rolf’s Bar, Third Avenue, 2016, from the book New York Bars at Dawn
Rolf’s Bar, Third Avenue, 2016, from the book New York Bars at Dawn
Vandal, Bowery, 2019, from the book New York Bars at Dawn
Vandal, Bowery, 2019, from the book New York Bars at Dawn
Bar Bianchi, 2026, from Root’s series on New York City street scenes before dawn.
Bar Bianchi, 2026, from Root’s series on New York City street scenes…
7B Horseshoe Bar (aka Vazacs), Avenue B, 2019, from the book New York Bars at Dawn
7B Horseshoe Bar (aka Vazacs), Avenue B, 2019, from the book New York…
Cortlandt Alley Timothy Goodman, 2026, from Root’s series on New York City street scenes before dawn.
Cortlandt Alley Timothy Goodman, 2026, from Root’s series on New York…
Mott and Grand, 2026, from Root’s series on New York City street scenes before dawn.
Mott and Grand, 2026, from Root’s series on New York City street scenes…
Crosby and Howard, 2026, from Root’s series on New York City street scenes before dawn.
Crosby and Howard, 2026, from Root’s series on New York City street…
Daniel Root

Daniel’s “Say Yes to Anything” attitude kicked off an intrepid journey—from capturing BTS photos of Madonna on set to lucrative freelance jobs capturing production stills and portraits to his recent photo series’ documenting vacant bars and empty city streets.

Second MTV Unplugged, from Root’s book Gimme 5 Minutes: Production Stills 1984 - 2005.
Second MTV Unplugged, from Root’s book Gimme 5 Minutes: Production…
First MTV Unplugged, from Root’s book Gimme 5 Minutes: Production Stills 1984 - 2005.
First MTV Unplugged, from Root’s book Gimme 5 Minutes: Production…
Madonna on set during the filming of Desperately Seeking Susan, from Root’s book The East Village Then and Now.
Madonna on set during the filming of Desperately Seeking Susan, from…
John Popper and Dolly Parton from Root’s book Gimme 5 Minutes: Production Stills 1984 - 2005.
John Popper and Dolly Parton from Root’s book Gimme 5 Minutes:…
Madonna on set during the filming of Desperately Seeking Susan, from Root’s book The East Village Then and Now.
Madonna on set during the filming of Desperately Seeking Susan, from…
Fab 5 Freddie and LL Cool J from Root’s book Gimme 5 Minutes: Production Stills 1984 - 2005.
Fab 5 Freddie and LL Cool J from Root’s book Gimme 5 Minutes:…
Neil Young from Root’s book Gimme 5 Minutes: Production Stills 1984 - 2005.
Neil Young from Root’s book Gimme 5 Minutes: Production Stills 1984 -…
Frank Zappa from Root’s book Gimme 5 Minutes: Production Stills 1984 - 2005.
Frank Zappa from Root’s book Gimme 5 Minutes: Production Stills 1984 -…
The Residents, from Root’s book Gimme 5 Minutes: Production Stills 1984 - 2005.
The Residents, from Root’s book Gimme 5 Minutes: Production Stills 1984…
Ozzy Osbourne from Root’s book Gimme 5 Minutes: Production Stills 1984 - 2005.
Ozzy Osbourne from Root’s book Gimme 5 Minutes: Production Stills 1984 …
Daniel Root

He shares openly about his motivation to make pictures that “give him a bump” and the process that leads to these results, explaining, “with the bar book, and whenever I do an interior, it’s always from the outside. And you can put the lens right on the glass and that stabilizes the camera itself. And, also, that allows you a longer shutter speed, so the camera can collect the light. And you can do things with a camera that you can’t do with your eye. So, if you can get a handheld at two seconds, you can really pull a lot out.”

Close up featuring two books by Daniel Root, photo © Grace Massara
Close up featuring two books by Daniel Root, photo © Grace Massara
Comparison photo: 307 East 8th Street, from the book The East Village Then and Now.
Comparison photo: 307 East 8th Street, from the book The East Village…
Comparison photo: 328 East 8th Street, from the book The East Village Then and Now.
Comparison photo: 328 East 8th Street, from the book The East Village…
Daniel Root in the podcast studio with host Derek Fahsbender, photo © Grace Massara
Daniel Root in the podcast studio with host Derek Fahsbender, photo ©…
Comparison photo: Ray’s Candy Store, 311 Avenue A, from the book The East Village Then and Now.
Comparison photo: Ray’s Candy Store, 311 Avenue A, from the book The…
Comparison photo: 180 Orchard Street, now home to P&T Knitwear, from the book The East Village Then and Now.
Comparison photo: 180 Orchard Street, now home to P&T Knitwear, from…
Root’s 1980’s-era photo showing the exterior of the Christadora House, from the book The East Village Then and Now.
Root’s 1980’s-era photo showing the exterior of the Christadora House,…
Root’s 1980’s-era photo showing the painted mural outside the playground at East 5th Street and Avenue B, from the book The East Village Then and Now.
Root’s 1980’s-era photo showing the painted mural outside the…
Daniel Root in the podcast studio with host Derek Fahsbender, photo © Grace Massara
Daniel Root in the podcast studio with host Derek Fahsbender, photo ©…
Daniel Root portrait, photo © Derek Fahsbender
Daniel Root portrait, photo © Derek Fahsbender
Daniel Root, except where otherwise indicated in captions

If you’ve enjoyed this podcast, please follow us @bhpodcastnetwork and be on the lookout for more inspiring conversations in our new format.

Guest: Daniel Root

Episode Timeline

  • 0:00: Wake Up City: Photos at Dawn, with Daniel Root
  • 2:34: Daniel’s stumble into the New York City artist era in the early 1980s.
  • 5:24: Being ready to say yes to anything, especially Madonna filming Desperately Seeking Susan.
  • 10:28: Living in the East Village in early 80s gave Daniel permission to create.
  • 14:16: Becoming intentional with wanting to do a project: New York Bars at Dawn.
  • 17:13: Daniel’s East Village Then & Now book and a publisher who wanted him to do a “subvention.”
  • 20:24: The process and gear behind Daniel’s Bars at Dawn project, and his newest series in the streets.
  • 24:38: Capturing the mood of Daniel’s New York Bars at Dawn book—he thinks of the bars as people.
  • 26:46: A history lesson about downtown Manhattan streets and neighborhoods.
  • 30:52: Daniel’s quirky new photo project called One-to-One.
  • 33:13: The most enjoyable part of the self-promotion for Daniel’s two books.
  • 36:55: Derek goes down a rabbit hole of 1980s NYC nostalgia.
  • 39:45: The unexpected challenges behind Daniel’s East Village Then & Now project.
  • 46:20: The art of being fueled by adrenaline and always looking for a new way to see.
  • 50:29: Daniel’s current project experimenting with landscapes and different layers of OHP material.
  • 54:28: Trying not to work for social media likes and the importance of pleasing yourself first.
  • 57:25: Daniel’s long history as a B&H customer and his memories of shopping on 17th Street.
  • 59:49: The process to edit down 150,000 pictures from more than 900 pre-dawn NYC walks.
  • 1:04:00: Stories about failing hard drives and losing 25 years of B&W negatives from a basement during hurricane Sandy.
  • 1:08:02: Derek walks himself into a challenge to do a side quest wandering the streets of New York before dawn.

Guest Bio

Daniel Root is a fine art photographer and a principal in the visual arts firm The Root Group. A resident of New York’s East Village since the early 1980s, Daniel’s photography career began in 1984, doing production stills for theater, video shoots, television and portraiture for entertainment and corporate clients. This work continues today and has appeared in most major magazines throughout the world. His popular predawn photographs of Manhattan water holes are collected in the book New York Bars at Dawn, published by Abbeville Press. You can find his daily photos, a practice he’s now maintained for a decade, on Instagram.

Host: Derek Fahsbender
Senior Creative Producer: Jill Waterman
Technical Producer: Peter Maziarz
Editor:Dave Moncion
Social Media: Grace Massara
Music: Gabriel Richards
Executive Producer: Dana Glidden