Times Square in Motion
After years of photography, I finally got my chance to visit New York City.
The first location I wanted to shoot was the overshot and cliché image of Times Square.
Except I didn't want to contribute to the endless stream of identical tourist shots of Times Square, that gets taken thousands of times a day 365 days a year on cellphones.
I wanted to make something unique. Therein lay my challenge. How do I take one of the most iconic scenes in modern history and create something unique?
I decided to tackle it head on.
I googled for days to see what others had done, to try and get some inspiration. After sifting through hundreds of photos on different photo-sharing sites, I concluded cynically that there was no originality and there was no possible way to shoot this that hadn't been done before. But I went anyway.
As I rode the underground towards Times Square, armed with my camera gear, I recalled a physics paper I read many years ago. It covered “time”. It theorized that the three dimensions (length, width and depth) made up the universe, but that “time” as a seemingly 4th dimension, made every view of the world completely unique, as it is never the same as the second by second, as it was only a few minutes ago.
I decided to experiment with this concept of time to help me create a unique take on this world-famous landmark. But as it turned out, it was an act of pure chance that created this end result, independent from my original plan.
After half an hour of fruitless attempts at originality, I decided to get bold, and place my tripod on in the middle of the street where the cars flew by, but I'd plan it in between the red lights to give myself the time and space I needed.
So I ran into the road right in front of a very curious looking taxi driver with a huge mustache, staring at me wondering what the heck I was up to.
I set up the shot and started the 5 second timer. I did this as the light was low but also to capture the blur of motion in front of me, contrasting with the static buildings behind it. No such luck.
As the 4 second mark arrived, the light turned and an almighty horn rattled my skull. I jumped and knocked the tripod over.
Everything went into slow-motion, and I caught the camera right before it hit the ground. At the same time, my finger accidentally turned the camera off. I rushed back to the sidewalk safely and looked at the screen in shock.
4 and a half seconds had caught Times Square at night, and half a second had captured the falling camera sweeping in a perfect arc, crashing to the ground.
I had somehow “stumbled” upon a completely unique picture of Times Square. What are the odds of that?
Production and Shipping Time:
Glossy Photo Paper: 5 days for printing, 5 days for shipping.
Ready-to-Hang Canvas: 5 days for printing, 5 days for shipping.
SHIPPING DETAILS
There are 5 ways to print these images.
1) Premium Glossy Photo Paper are high quality, professional paper-prints.
Sharp, Vivid and rich Color sets this apart from a casual photo print.
You'll feel like you're there.
Premium Glossy Photo Paper will last a long time.
This option is available in 8x10 inches, 11x14 inches or 16x20 inches.
They are designed to be placed in a glass frame, which can be purchased separately (starting at a few dollars at your local Target or online).
2) Ready to Hang Canvas are ready to hang right out of the box with zero assembly required. Ultimate convenience.
Gorgeous finished look. It comes out of the shipping box finished and ready to hang with a simple nail in the wall.
Canvas Prints are a well-known, high-end way of displaying photographs.
1.5 inch thick wooden stretcher-bars that give it shape, in the same way an oil painting is traditionally assembled. There are no staples or ugly lines visible on the sides (very important).
Estimated delivery time for printing, assembling, packing and shipping is around 10 days.
3) Ready to Hang Canvas (split into 3 panels)
This is for larger pieces, and the photograph is split into 3 even panels, 3 separate canvas panels which put together make a single large image.
This gives a modern look, and allows spectacularly large sizes on your wall!
4) Aluminum Metal Prints
Create elegant wall decor that shines with high-end, exclusive and unique aluminum metal prints.
Create a polished addition to any home or office. 3/64" thick aluminum panel. Features a glossy coating and rounded edges.
UV resistant ink prevents fading. All metal sizes are ready to hang on your wall, right out of the box.
5) Acrylic Prints
Create eye-catching home decor with modern acrylic prints. Light refracts through the museum-quality acrylic bringing vibrancy and depth to your photos. The .22" thick clear acrylic produces superb image quality from edge to edge and absolutely stunning, brilliant color!
UV resistant ink prevents fading. All metal sizes are ready to hang on your wall, right out of the box
The first location I wanted to shoot was the overshot and cliché image of Times Square.
Except I didn't want to contribute to the endless stream of identical tourist shots of Times Square, that gets taken thousands of times a day 365 days a year on cellphones.
I wanted to make something unique. Therein lay my challenge. How do I take one of the most iconic scenes in modern history and create something unique?
I decided to tackle it head on.
I googled for days to see what others had done, to try and get some inspiration. After sifting through hundreds of photos on different photo-sharing sites, I concluded cynically that there was no originality and there was no possible way to shoot this that hadn't been done before. But I went anyway.
As I rode the underground towards Times Square, armed with my camera gear, I recalled a physics paper I read many years ago. It covered “time”. It theorized that the three dimensions (length, width and depth) made up the universe, but that “time” as a seemingly 4th dimension, made every view of the world completely unique, as it is never the same as the second by second, as it was only a few minutes ago.
I decided to experiment with this concept of time to help me create a unique take on this world-famous landmark. But as it turned out, it was an act of pure chance that created this end result, independent from my original plan.
After half an hour of fruitless attempts at originality, I decided to get bold, and place my tripod on in the middle of the street where the cars flew by, but I'd plan it in between the red lights to give myself the time and space I needed.
So I ran into the road right in front of a very curious looking taxi driver with a huge mustache, staring at me wondering what the heck I was up to.
I set up the shot and started the 5 second timer. I did this as the light was low but also to capture the blur of motion in front of me, contrasting with the static buildings behind it. No such luck.
As the 4 second mark arrived, the light turned and an almighty horn rattled my skull. I jumped and knocked the tripod over.
Everything went into slow-motion, and I caught the camera right before it hit the ground. At the same time, my finger accidentally turned the camera off. I rushed back to the sidewalk safely and looked at the screen in shock.
4 and a half seconds had caught Times Square at night, and half a second had captured the falling camera sweeping in a perfect arc, crashing to the ground.
I had somehow “stumbled” upon a completely unique picture of Times Square. What are the odds of that?
Production and Shipping Time:
Glossy Photo Paper: 5 days for printing, 5 days for shipping.
Ready-to-Hang Canvas: 5 days for printing, 5 days for shipping.
SHIPPING DETAILS
There are 5 ways to print these images.
1) Premium Glossy Photo Paper are high quality, professional paper-prints.
Sharp, Vivid and rich Color sets this apart from a casual photo print.
You'll feel like you're there.
Premium Glossy Photo Paper will last a long time.
This option is available in 8x10 inches, 11x14 inches or 16x20 inches.
They are designed to be placed in a glass frame, which can be purchased separately (starting at a few dollars at your local Target or online).
2) Ready to Hang Canvas are ready to hang right out of the box with zero assembly required. Ultimate convenience.
Gorgeous finished look. It comes out of the shipping box finished and ready to hang with a simple nail in the wall.
Canvas Prints are a well-known, high-end way of displaying photographs.
1.5 inch thick wooden stretcher-bars that give it shape, in the same way an oil painting is traditionally assembled. There are no staples or ugly lines visible on the sides (very important).
Estimated delivery time for printing, assembling, packing and shipping is around 10 days.
3) Ready to Hang Canvas (split into 3 panels)
This is for larger pieces, and the photograph is split into 3 even panels, 3 separate canvas panels which put together make a single large image.
This gives a modern look, and allows spectacularly large sizes on your wall!
4) Aluminum Metal Prints
Create elegant wall decor that shines with high-end, exclusive and unique aluminum metal prints.
Create a polished addition to any home or office. 3/64" thick aluminum panel. Features a glossy coating and rounded edges.
UV resistant ink prevents fading. All metal sizes are ready to hang on your wall, right out of the box.
5) Acrylic Prints
Create eye-catching home decor with modern acrylic prints. Light refracts through the museum-quality acrylic bringing vibrancy and depth to your photos. The .22" thick clear acrylic produces superb image quality from edge to edge and absolutely stunning, brilliant color!
UV resistant ink prevents fading. All metal sizes are ready to hang on your wall, right out of the box
