I have been sitting on this photo, along with the campanion piece in my other album, for almost a month now... for some reason I can't quite articulate, I've been reluctant to post it... i think maybe because it feels a little bit like a "gotcha" shot, which is not really my thang...
The story is this... A couple weeks before this photo was taken, I was in the 7th floor office of a colleague... there's construction going on across the street and when the crane swung around, it felt like it was close enough to hit the window! So when I had to go back to her office for a meeting, I brought my camera and took a photo which i posted on flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/northy44/7713525728/in/photostream
But then, this dude decides it is time for a smoke and, well... I had my camera in my hand and...
Perfect - love how the cane emerges from the lower left corner of the shot. I'm not sure why you hesitated posting these ... Was it because they were so high up and you didnt want to distract them? Both shots are fantastic! I like the comp in this ever so slightly better b/c of the lower corner. I love the moments you snapped in each!
Watching him casually looking out from high above the busy world below brings about a sense of conflict..... On one hand I think we all like to look in on things just like he is doing, yet on the other hand he appears so casual about being up so high, in that position most of us would be in a state of trepidation or intense fear over the enormous drop. Fantastic shot Northy :)
Love the composition. Fascinating candid, and yes I also think it has a timelessness to it. Reminds me of the shots taken of the people building the Empire State Building and the like.
@abirkill those shots are very cool! can't imagine folks being allowed to work like this today... everyone must have hard hats and a safety harness or else!
not sure why you hesitated to post these unless something major occurred between the two guys. The one guy in the other pic definitely didn't belong there. Were they partners?
@jsw0109 ha ha... no - nothing happened... technically them being out there without safety gear is a violation of health and safety regulations... if caught, they could get in trouble, their company could get in trouble... of course, anyone on the ground and in any of the surrounding buildings could have seen them and taken a cell phone shot... how many would have had a dslr handy at that level is dubious... i know i do a lot of candid street shots, but generally i try to avoid sneaking / spying ones... and this felt kinda like that ;p
http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/dgkeysearchresult.cfm?parent_id=131032