Jan 042012
 

Another shot from Times Square. My mom is from New York and as a result I’m pretty sure that’s where the bulk of my audience is coming from. So, I’ll try to sprinkle my New York shots around liberally for the time being.

I was heading right through the middle of Times Square a few hours before sunset as I meandered towards Central Park. I came to this corner and decided I liked the lines created by all the poles. I’ve also always liked that Bubba Gump Shrimp sign and couldn’t tell you why – I’ve never even been in the place. Looking at the scene, I thought it would be cool to catch the guy snoozing on his chair, and the vendor leaning on his stand, against the backdrop of the hustle and bustle of Times Square. I stood there for a very long time, waiting for the space in front of them to clear enough. Then, this third guy came and lent against the pole to the right. This motivated me to recompose the shot. I began waiting again. At this point everyone’s attention turned to Broadway and I could hear why. What must have been hundreds of bikers came flying through. It was a trail of bikers that lasted a good few minutes. Some doing tricks as they came through the mass of people. It was shortly after this moment I was able to get the clearest shots of the scene. Even so, I’m not sure how many pictures I had to blend together to hide the random foot, hand or arse captured by the camera.

I used to get uncomfortable setting up my tripod in busy areas, which was pretty detrimental to the results. I’ve decided that the best cure for this in the whole wide world has to be setting up in Times Square. It doesn’t get more crowded than here and setting up here is actually a pleasant experience. The majority of people pay you no mind and you feel like you’re stood there in your own bubble as the rest of the world rushes around you. I reckon that even if you don’t have a tripod it’d be worth finding somewhere to just stand still. It seems like very few people do that in Times Square. On top of this, the few people who did pay me any mind all seemed to have cameras in hand and approached to ask questions about which lens I’m using, or why I’m shooting so many exposures. That’s enjoyable too, and makes me feel far more experienced than I am. I’m sure there are other places in the world that could offer up the same phobia breaking experience if you’re having a similar problem. Feel free to suggest some in the comments by clicking below. My goal tonight is to figure out how to make this button more obvious.

One guy snoozing on his chair, a vendor leaning on his stand, and another guy leaning against a pole against the hustle and bustle of Times Square, NY.

 

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