It's my first Christmas living in NYC and I think the best way to describe how I feel about it is "comfortable excitement". I'm stoked to see all the holiday stuff everywhere and I'm not cynical about it, but I'm also not running out the door every chance I get to soak it all in.
This only gets to happen once so I've been doing my best to document it all month. It's only the 23rd at the time of writing so maybe I'll get a few more shots this weekend.
 |
|---|
| Big Tree |
I considered a couple of alternates for this one - here they are.
 |
|---|
| Big Tree, first variation |
I like this one because it's a bit more about the person under the umbrella enjoying the view and the "I ❤️ NY" design is positioned just right and the background is enough to tell us where this is without being the typical head-on shot of the tree. But I want the shot I pick to be very much about the tree itself and my first Christmas here, not some random stranger's vacation.
 |
|---|
| Big Tree, second variation |
This second variation is a little tongue-in-cheek. It's a display of the tree in one of Saks's windows, not the tree itself.
 |
|---|
| Another window display |
Speaking of windows, I took this shot of a couple of people enjoying the window displays while I was doing the same. Below is another shot of the windows that I hope to share as part of a different project but I'm still looking for a third shot to round out that set.
 |
|---|
| Kebab |
Switching to another location, I found out this year that when the Washington Square Park fountain is turned off, people skateboard there. Probably NYU students between finals and before going home for the holidays.
 |
|---|
| Washington Square Park |
I think this shot showcases a lot of the things that I like in my photography right now - centered and framed composition with foreground elements included for context and to support the frame with a secondary subject (the skateboarder). I went back for a better, or at least different, version of the shot but the skateboarders were gone and the park was a lot less crowded.
 |
|---|
| Washington Square Park, alternate |
I love the birds, the street vendor, and the layering through the foreground to the background with the vendor, tree in the arch, and the Empire State building in the background. I just wish the tree were lit up in this one and that the perspective was a little less forced - the arch is pretty crooked before correcting in post, it's clear the arch wasn't shot head-on (though that shot would be impossible because of geography)
Thanks for indulging in my rambling and I hope you're having a great Christmas!