He studied first at the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, then under Garry Winogrand, the famous photographer whom Epstein calls his biggest influence. It was Winogrand who pushed him to do street photography and work with color. As a documentary photographer, Epstein took frequent trips across the USA, and, later, to India and Vietnam, where he researched and photographed traces of the American invasion. His art is characterized by political and social themes. He has photographed American power plants, cities and estates, politicians and elections; his subject, in short, is the American way of life. According to Dave Coggins, Epstein “grounds his images (…) in the human condition, combining empathy with sharp social observation, politics with sheer beauty.”