Greetings, Citizens:
People love to address New York in conceptual, often superlative, terms: “New York City IS ________.” So here is such a statement: New York is the best city in the world to be a flaneur, somebody who walks, looks at things, and thinks thereon. Maybe sometime I’ll talk about why, and why it is better for this than other cities, better even than cities you might consider more beautiful.
I love New York in the winter, after the holidays. The light is almost always gray and even, wonderful for photography. Tourism is down. People hurry, not lingering in the damp chill. There’s a sense of purpose in the air. Food and beer and warmth are really good.
After an early meeting, and getting my sea legs back, as it were, I spent much of a day last week walking around Midtown. The delicious luxury of being a flaneur is not hurrying, even if everyone else is. These pictures are all from that day. I took other pictures, some pretty good (children ice skating against a backdrop of skyscrapers!) but on this outing, “storefronts” is the theme.
As always, best viewed on a screen.
As it happens, my first skis were Kastles.
I feel rather ambivalent about this picture. The spaces and lines work, the colors are great, and there are obvious and not so obvious layers of meaning. So it ticks a lot of boxes, and that’s what makes me nervous. It’s not exactly prettifying, but maybe a little precious? Looks staged, though it wasn’t. Like a lot of “good” war photography, one wonders if the formal care doesn’t end up being a bit callous? On the other hand, is one not supposed to treat such things at all?
When not too inconvenient, I ask people if I may take their picture. They say yes. But sometimes it is not possible, consider a crowd, or just seems wrong. I did not wake this man. Perhaps my impulse to ask is strange, even silly, some sort of holdover from a more discrete age. Our overlords with their ubiquitous CCTVs and other forms of surveillance do not ask. “You are being filmed right now, but do you mind if I, a nice guy with no real power, take your picture in an effort at art?” Maybe that’s why they say yes. Manners, even nostalgia.
Note the beer, too. The store front was pretty cool, but I felt Hemingwayesque. I stopped by to see Pedro, who makes my cigars . . . I could barely breath.
This is from a rooftop bar, decorated for the season. So not exactly a store. And it is from inside, looking out, so not exactly “storefront.” But close enough. I love lights, glass, looking through and reflecting back. Which, I suppose, is what being a flaneur is all about.
Safe travels.
— David A. Westbrook
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Great pictures!
That picture with the banana - given what we know a banana with some gaffer tape can sell for - contrasted with the absolute wretchedness of the poor chap on the floor is ... well its superb