Scaffolding of Life

Upper West Side, New York City

"The architecture of our future is not only unfinished; the scaffolding has hardly gone up." George Lamming

I still remember vividly my very first time in New York City and how I always refused to walk underneath any type of scaffolding. Today it seems hilarious but I quite understand why I did it. I always feared that they would fall on me and lets face it, it's not a very nice scene if that happens.

Today I am very confident. Sometimes, like every New Yorker I don't even realize I am walking under a scaffolding. They are a common sight in New York City and I don't think New York could be New York without these giant structures. 

Besides the symmetry (which was always a subject close to my heart) what I love in this picture are the people doing their activities of daily living. One is paying the meter, another is probably waiting for someone, while the couple in the center are happily strolling away. These are people are certainly not like me when I first arrived in New York City. I thought it's better to get hit by car rather than being squished by some metal structure. Today I am glad I am more rational!

This black and white photograph was captured on my iPhone using the Hipstamatic app. Some minor editing was done in PS CS4. Settings for Hipstamatic were BlacKeys B&W/Lucifer IV