Christmas at New York City: Grand Central Station and Rockefeller
Day 3, Part Two of photography workshop with Joe McNally in New York City during the Christmas season.
We spent the morning wandering around the Grand Central Terminal, alternating long and wide lenses, motion blur and slow shutter speed, camera handheld and on a tripod and different white balance settings. We were even lucky to catch the spectacular display “Into the Northern Lights: An Immersive Experience”. This Canadian interactive installation gave a full experiencing the northern lights in Canada with its floor-to-ceiling mirrors reflecting the northern lights in all directions. They even allowed photography inside, of which we took full advantage, of course.
The rest of the images are from somewhere along Fifth Avenue between the Central Park and Rockefeller Center. The lit balloons were a definite theme this year and the police officers were fiercely guarding the elevated surfaces of the Channel Gardens from public recklessly attempting to climb them for a better view of the holiday installations.
Christmas at New York City: Holiday Window Displays on Fifth Avenue
Day 3, Part One of photography workshop with Joe McNally in New York City during the Christmas season.
The assignment was to photograph the holiday window displays of the high end brands on Fifth Avenue. By this time I had a better sense of what was expected of each assignment - do something that would make the viewers stop and get a second glance at your work. How could I photograph the work of insanely talented designers and attempt to add something of my own? I went with a long lens and focused on tiny fragments of the installations, thus making the photographs more about portraiture rather than holidays and shopping windows.
Christmas at New York City: Rockefeller Center and Saks Fifth Avenue
Day 2 of photography workshop with Joe McNally in New York City during the Christmas season.
This time we spent an evening mingling in with the crowds at Rockefeller Center and Saks Fifth Avenue. It was not easy finding a composition or even a spot to stand anywhere near the ice-skating rink, the Channel Gardens or the Christmas display on the frontal facade of the department store.