Who want to be on the cover of Vogue?  Everyone:

Even mannequins want to be on the cover of Vogue.

Nicephore Niepce took the first ever photograph some 150 or so years ago.  It was triangles of light and I am somehow inspired by that photo continually.  I saw an interview one time with Martin Scorsese and he said he saw a shot of a hand with a gun in it in a movie a long time and he’s done the shot again and again.  Its kind of funny how seeing something once can inspire you for so long.

First a photo and then the words:

Like most things in New York, Times Square has seen its ups and its downs.  When I first came to New York in the 1980s, it was a place as a resident that you didn’t go.  It was seedy, full of the kind of things that no one but the real fringes of society wanted to take part in.  I don’t remember anyone I knew going there or there being anything of interest to anyone there.

But then about 15 years ago, it underwent a change.  Gone were many of the old style theaters, replaced by toy stores and it became a kind of family friendly place to go.  As a person who takes photos, I started going there a lot.  The secret to my photos of New York is that I walk around a lot and just photograph what I notice, what catches my eye.  On these walks, more often than not, I’d stop in Times Square, simply because there always seemed to be something going on there.

Now its become sort of a haven for people doing all kinds of things.  There are people dressed in costumes, naked cowboys, etc.  Its just sort of this gathering of humanity, interacting with one another, but not fighting with each other.  Kind of like the city itself, a lot of the time.  I never felt like I was in danger there, I never felt like there was any reason to be worried for my own safety.

Then I heard about a shooting in Times Square about a week ago.  It was scary to me on a few different levels, mostly because I do spend a lot of time in Times Square.  It also reminded me of how different New York is now.  The city has gotten so safe that a shooting in Times Square is a shock and not an everyday occurrence.  I hope the shooting doesn’t make people less likely to go to Times Square because it is a kind of funny and often times strange place to hang out that was never dangerous.  Cities need that kind of thing.  For lack of a better word, every city needs a heart and Times Square is the heart of New York.  Don’t put a bullet through it.

The nuns, foreign sailors and of course, this thing:

Wait, did you not pay attention?  I am never in any of these because I am the one taking them:

I always shoot on program because I think it is easier.  OK, guilty, but in this instance, the program setting was overexposing my photo, by a lot.  I kept right on shooting and I thought the result was kind of cool, if not really overexposed.  Well, though the magic of post-production, I got it back to near normal and as to where I thought it was a good photo.

Then I thought to myself.  Why not use the manual setting every once in a while?  Just for kicks, you see.

I couldn’t help notice that suddenly I’ve had a lot of black and white photos.  I think it is something to do with winter and the winter light and how well it applies itself to black and white.  Not to mention sometimes when you are photographing something really classical looking, black and white really captures it well.  Let’s check out my latest productions and then I will give commentary.

Angels in the windowsill:

Angels are a pretty classical subject matter, don’t you think?  They always invoke religious themes, of course and that is also always seen as coming from the past.  Where did I take this?  In a Christmas ornament shop, of course.  That photo above is about the only edgy thing that will ever come out of that place.

Next up:

Another classical subject matter and another in black and white.  I guess the two really do work well together!  Of course I love old trains and there seem to be so many in South Station.  I love Grand Central of course, but they always seem to have some kind of beautiful trains in South Station.

The last:

I’d say the ultimate winter light black and white shot.  It just worked better in black and white, I thought.  Let me know if you thought any of these would have been better in color.

Only:

Let me just say that almost freezing to death to get these photos was totally worth it.

You know who you are: