McGinley, who was born in New Jersey in 1977, began photographing his circle of friends on New York's Lower East Side when he was a graphic-design student at the Parsons School of Design. In 1999, he produced a book of his photographs, called The Kids Are Alright, on his desktop computer and sent copies to 50 magazine editors and artists he admired. The book, which includes this jittery shot of his friend, hipster artist Dash Snow, tagging a wall against a jaundiced night sky, was an immediate hit. Editors from Index and Vice called with assignments. Fashion designer Agnes B. exhibited his pictures in her Los Angeles shop. The Whitney offered him a show—he's the youngest artist ever to be given a solo show there—and the next year, P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center exhibited his new work. He's been profiled twice in the arts pages of the New York Times. And last month, the International Center of Photography named him Young Photographer of the Year. Supersonic success like McGinley's is bound to raise the question: Is he any good, or is it all just hype?