New York Daily Photo Analytics

Friday, February 24, 2012

People Watcher's Paradise









On April 21, 2009, I wrote Rear Window, referencing the Hitchcock classic film set in New York City and my similar voyeuristic opportunity. I have the privilege of my office windows facing Broadway, and over the 21 years I have been located there, it has been a virtual Time Machine experience as the neighborhood changes, stores come and go, residential tenants move in and out, various dramas play themselves out, and marches use Broadway as the thoroughfare of choice to make their way to City Hall or the financial district.

However, unlike the vista of Jimmy Stewart in Rear Window, a Broadway view for two decades is going to deliver a lot more material than one apartment. It is here that I photographed and wrote about a man who SNAPPED and had to be taken away in an ambulance, tourists caught in a rainstorm atop a tourist bus, a couple enjoying an early spring day precipitously perched on a ledge, an old-school window washer, and an umbrella opportunist. (See these stories by clicking the individual photos in the collage.) SoHo is also a neighborhood where I have shared many experiences and photo ops, which I wrote about in Street Cred and Dead Man Walking.

You can see the rich fodder that I am privy to from just one single New York City perch. In today's photo (top), I caught a fire escape photo shoot. At the end of the shoot, in an ironic twist, the photographer and model noticed that I was photographing them as well. They smiled and waved approvingly in reciprocal voyeurism.

The patient observer will be most rewarded. Over time, from a good perch, one can see a changing and varied world go by with an endless parade of characters, many hard to imagine to be found anywhere else. This is New York City, a People Watcher's Paradise :)

11 comments:

Boye By Red said...

This is a fantastic post. It reminds me of the man who photographed one and the same street in New York for 30 years in the movie Smoke.

Terry at Blue Kitchen said...

You're firing up a lot of memories with this excellent post, Brian. I first thought of photographer Ruth Orkin's wonderful book, A World Through My Window, all shots taken from her NYC apartment. And then I remembered the fabulous recent photography of Gail Albert Halaban featuring New Yorkers seen through their windows. Thanks!

Stefan Jansson said...

That first photo is wonderful.

Karen said...

This is such a great post! Thanks Brian!

vancouverstreetblog.blogspot.com said...

Great shots!

Mary P. said...

You are really a privileged person in this world.

Rose ~ from Oz said...

Fire escape pics get me every time!

glenda said...

Love people watching. Great diversion from work. Great post.

qwadro_fx said...
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Accidental Londoner said...

New York City is like no other place for people-watching. Whenever I visit I can pass entire days happily engaged in a cafe watching life unfold outside.

Cris-Mary said...

I just love this post, is so full of life...a life in pictures.Congrats for your blog, you just win a Romanian blogger fan ;) Have a great weak!