 On a formal level, Richard D. Zakia notes Davidson's aesthetic use of 'found' symbolism in his environmental portraits, referring in particular to the cover image of his book "East 100th Street".Davidson's extended involvement with his subjects, and their reciprocal trust, is regarded as an exemplar in photography of the "New Journalism" based in authentic documentary content mediated through a subjective, personal perspective and characterised by representations of those who are not part of mainstream culture.For Laura Hapke he is an inheritor of a radical heritage in American working-class studies extending from Ben Shahn.