Photographer Charles Chessler to Exhibit Portraits and Wildlife Work in Rutgers Sanctuary

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By Bobby Panza

With one hand, Charles Chessler angles a bounce board to catch the sunlight in Verdi Square as I pose for a rare picture. Mike, aka Maestro, plays the piano in his usual spot on the rounded marble seating at the park’s north end this early Saturday afternoon. The two clearly know each other—they exchange greetings while I move timidly through the midday hustle and bustle. Then suddenly, everything feels right.

In Chessler’s other hand is a camera. He tells me to think about the moment—then snap. After a couple more quick shots, we’re done. Whoa. I’m left awestruck, glowing with anxious curiosity. I can feel something special has just happened. Thanks to Chessler’s sage-like grip on the moment, a speck of time is now captured forever—a visual asset I don’t have many of, as I’ve historically passed when asked to strike a pose. “You were at ease because we chatted for two hours,” Chessler said in a follow-up interview. That Saturday afternoon, we’d just met and talked for hours over coffee at Slate Café inside The Ansonia on West 74th Street. We covered everything—from his growing up in the neighborhood to his years as an actor, his travels through Italy and South Africa, and how all of it threads into his photography practice, now culminating in his upcoming show at Rutgers Presbyterian Church.

“That creates rapport,” Chessler explained. His exhibit, Agreeable Witness, is rooted in exactly that dynamic: capturing portraits of people who say yes. On June 3 at 6:30 p.m., Rutgers Presbyterian Church—located between Broadway and West End Avenue—will host a showing of his photographs as the finale to their season.

The exhibition features two series: Agreeable Strangers, a collection of portraits of willing subjects, and a selection of images from Chessler’s travels in South Africa, where he serves as an ambassador for the wildlife conservation nonprofit Wild Tomorrow. Chessler will share insights about both bodies of work beginning at 7 p.m., with a reception to follow.

“To see it tangibly—with a poster or prints or whatever it is—it’s an awesome feeling,” said Chessler about his upcoming event. He first picked up a camera in 2005 as a way to cope with his father’s illness. “I would walk back and forth across Central Park with it instead of taking the bus—he was at Mount Sinai East and I lived on West 106th Street—and I discovered the beauty of the park and bird life.”

Photography became a newfound joy and by 2011, Chessler was carrying a camera every day, with his eyes set on going professional. “I’ve been passionate about it for 15 years, and to see something organic and tangible come of it is incredibly satisfying. It makes me emotional,” he said, his voice full of verve.

By 2018, at 57 years old, Chessler finally began making a full-time living doing the thing he loves. Up until then, he’d worked a myriad of jobs while climbing out of debt: bike shop manager, caterer-waiter, personal trainer—the beat goes on. “I’m the poster child for never giving up on your dreams,” he said, proclaiming that photography had saved his creative soul.

He estimates he’s taken about 3,000 portraits for Agreeable Strangers—20 of which will be on display at the event. “I go through periods where, maybe for a month, I’m doing it every day and photographing three people a day, and then I’ll go four months without photographing anybody.”

Agreeable Strangers is Chessler’s way of celebrating the beauty and diversity of people he encounters. “I think there’s value in witnessing people,” he said. “And I’ve learned over the years that people want to be witnessed—if you ask them in the right way.”

Chessler needs just two minutes to make the magic happen. “We’re all running around. All our brains are going,” he said, describing the initial moment. “I get them to slow down and [do] what I call ‘drop in’—to be present with me for this random moment.” Afterward, he sends them the files so they have the portraits for their own records, too. Most of the images in Agreeable Strangers were taken around New York City, with a couple from Italy—a country he loves to visit for the culture and pizza—and at least one from South Africa, a place he never imagined going. Now, he’s documenting rhino dehornings while working with Wild Tomorrow, an organization that feeds children and preserves biodiversity.

Currently working full-time as a photographer specializing in headshots and portraits of actors, authors, musicians, businesspeople, and corporate clients, Chessler also has a book in the works. It will feature 150 to 200 people from Agreeable Strangers, bound in hardcover. His friend Charlotte, a fellow photographer who works at Snap Collective—an old family publishing company in Europe—had him in mind when she landed her role there. “It’s a thrill for me that the opportunity came, and that’s really pushing me to go through all of my thousands of witnesses to see what’s going to make the cut for the book,” Chessler said. At the event, one wall at Rutgers will showcase Agreeable Witness while the other will feature Chessler’s work with Wild Tomorrow in South Africa. Images will be available for sale, and 10 prints will be raffled off. Chessler said he’ll also offer some of his most popular prints, including what he calls his “most elegant flower photo”—a backlit white tulip at the entrance to Central Park by 72nd Street.

When I asked the lifelong local about some of his favorite things to do in the neighborhood, he said, “I like to walk. I never get tired of Lincoln Center.” But he kept things in check. “It’s not like I can do whatever I want. I wish I could go to the Beacon [Theatre] and see a concert once a month, but my favorite things to do—which have always been my favorite—are to sit outside, whether it’s in Verdi Square with a cup of coffee, watch the world go by, work on my Agreeable Strangers, and connect randomly with people.”

Charles Chessler: Agreeable Witness. Opening Reception and Artist Talk 6:30-8:30pm, Tuesday June 3, Rutgers Presbyterian Church, 236 W. 73rd Street, just west of Broadway. Register for this free event — Here.

Additional exhibit hours: Saturday June 7th, Sunday June 8th, and Tuesday June 10th, 12:30 p.m. till 2:00 p.m.