photo sharing and upload picture albums photo forums search pictures popular photos photography help login
Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Sixty Eight: A city portrait -- impressions of New York > Conference, Grand Central Terminal, New York City, New York, 2009
previous | next
19-MAR-2009

Conference, Grand Central Terminal, New York City, New York, 2009

Transportation provides the arterial system of a great city, and in the case of New York, Grand Central would be its metaphorical heart. Over 125,000 commuters enter and leave Manhattan each working day through this concourse. An astounding half million people visit the Terminal each day. They support over 100 businesses, among them a restaurant on the balcony of the Main Concourse known as Metrazur. Over 10,000 meals are consumed in the terminal daily, and Metrazur’s management and staff must be ready to serve its share of them. Three of those staff members were having a conference in front of the restaurant before it opened for lunch, and I photographed them from a balcony across the concourse with a long telephoto lens. I include a towering window as context, which is large enough to contain a series of walkways. A person was crossing on one of them, and I caught him just as he passed high over the heads of the conferring restaurant staff.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1
1/100s f/6.3 at 67.0mm iso250 full exif

other sizes: small medium large original auto
share
Phil Douglis24-Apr-2009 16:19
It is always a special treat to have your thoughts on my pictures, Jen. You make a good point regarding the suggestion of night at the bottom and day at the top of this image. I love your "heat of a party time" vs. "coldness in a loner's heart" metaphor, too. And you bring an entirely new meaning to the image with your idea of the windows as maze preventing the tiny figure on top from finding his way home. One other way to look at it -- the people at the bottom seem relaxed and unrestricted, while the man walking above them seems so constrained by that matrix of windows surrounding him. It make us realize that people's jobs and lives are structured differently. Some have great flexibility and choice, while others must follow a very ordered path through life.
Jennifer Zhou24-Apr-2009 14:16
Looking at the silhouettes of the group people I thought this picture was made in night time, but the top part of the picture was suggesting this is a day time picture.
Two totally different atmospheres were mixed in one picture, the heat of a party time vs the coldness in a loner's heart. And those tiny windows isolated that person even more, he seems like in a maze, couldn't find his way home.
Phil Douglis13-Apr-2009 15:44
I would not have made this image without the people at the bottom and in the window, Chris. They were the whole point of the picture for me. Thanks much.
Chris Sofopoulos13-Apr-2009 09:54
An interesting composition with beautiful light and warm colour. But the best for me is how you used the people in the image. They make the photo so strong!
Carol E Sandgren31-Mar-2009 00:18
That lucky passing figure suggests to me a kind of angel, overlooking this great transportation hub.
Type your message and click Add Comment
It is best to login or register first but you may post as a guest.
Enter an optional name and contact email address. Name
Name Email
help private comment