Holiday Displays of New York
Barneys 35
I realise I have not been very active on the blog towards the end of the year, in fact it tends to ebb and flow with my life. However, there is very good reason for this latest period of inactivity – the recent birth of our son. In between commuting between home and work though I have found myself in the middle of a new photography series that takes as its subject the famous shop displays in Manhattan; Holiday Displays of New York. The short statement for the project is as follows: New York is famous for the shop windows displays that appear in the run up to the Holiday Season. Tourists and locals alike are attracted to the vibrant and creative displays. Though their purpose is to entice customers into the store during largest grossing period of the year for shops, they often are just as successful in simply providing some festive cheer. By photographing at night and exposing for the displays the people viewing them are rendered in silhouette so that their body posture and gesture becomes the focus of this examination of the interaction. This also has the effect of accentuating the colour intensity of the displays.
You can see the series on 500px (profile here), Flickr (set here) and Google+/Picasa. I am posting to each of these three sites to determine which one works best for me or whether they have different roles within my photography workflow. I am therefore extremely interested in hearing about your experience viewing my images in each of these locations. I am also interested in hearing from other photographers as to which one you find works best, or whether you find one is more suited to social interaction vs another for quality of viewing experience. In the spirit of Holiday giving please feel free to leave a comment at the bottom of this post.
I hope you like it. Though the series isn’t quite finished yet I will be taking a break from posting images during the week between Christmas and New Year. Indeed I intend to take a break from all social media and computer-related dalliances to indulge in time spent with my family, who have arrived from the UK, and our new addition. I hope you all have a wonderful Holiday Season.
Great series, Ed. I like the inclusion of the viewer very much. Shows the interaction between the viewer and the window.
Thanks very much Shawn, did you ever get back there with your tripod?
Great concept, great execution. Well done, Ed. As for viewing, I think I liked 500px and Flicker best. Google/Picasa just didn’t view well for me. I liked the slideshow aspect better.
Again, though, really well done.
Mark, thanks for the comments regarding the series and how best to view them. I noted you said you aren’t on some of these sites because you just don’t have the time. I know how you feel. I feel a bit stretched thin and my reason for soliciting feedback is to cut back.
Loving this series muchly Ed!
I vote Flickr, as it doesn’t complicate audience viewing by insisting they negotiate the site’s interface. But Flickr is a dying tool, and audiences seem to demand that new sharing sites have funky interfaces that shape (or, add interest to?) the viewing experience. Maybe i’m just a grouchy old woman…
Charlene, thanks for the comment. You seem quite accurate in your assessment of where Flickr is headed. It’s tough trying to balance time, social interaction and best viewing experience.Thanks for your opinion on that though.