From Spiderman to Strangers in the Crowd: What 8 Years in Times Square Taught David Graham About New York
Welcome to this edition of [book spotlight]. Today, we uncover the layers of 'Times Square project,' by David Graham. We'd love to read your comments below about these insights and ideas behind the artist's work.
David Graham will never forget seeing Times Square completely empty.
It was March 2020, just after the lockdown started. The streets were wet, gray, and silent. No people, no traffic, just glowing signs and rain. For a place known for noise and crowds, it felt almost impossible to believe. Suddenly, the pictures felt like a record of something much deeper
Times Square is the last place most photographers want to go.
New Yorkers say to avoid it, tourists are everywhere, and the light is a mess. But for eight years, David kept returning with his camera, chasing color, movement, and sometimes, stillness. He used natural light and patience, waiting for the right moment.
David Graham’s Times Square
Over the course of eight years, David Graham documented Times Square, one of the most photographed and most avoided places in New York City. What began as a local project turned into a long-term exploration of urban life, chaos, and fleeting human moments. Shot entirely with natural light and no tripod, the work captures everything from street performers and tourists to quiet scenes of intimacy and surprise. Graham was photographing here before, during, and after the pandemic, creating a visual timeline that moves from packed crowds to eerie emptiness and back again. While Times Square is often dismissed by New Yorkers as a tourist trap, this project reveals its complexity, absurdity, and strange beauty, one candid frame at a time.
Genesis of the project: What motivated you to embark on a long-term photographic exploration of Times Square, especially considering its reputation among New Yorkers?
I love to photograph urban chaos, so it’s of little surprise my first major in college was in urban planning. My selecting Times Square, a mess of urbanity, as a long term photography project was a no brainer. I love to play with the manic juxtapositions, saturated colors and the barrage of capitalistic signage looming above the hoards that jam this iconic neighborhood on a daily basis. Conversely, finding a quiet moment in the middle of one of the most congested intersections on the planet is equally safisfying. That this iconic locale is seriously disliked by New Yorkers furthers the challenge, but it’s so damn photogenic and fun to shoot.
Contrasting environments: Having previously worked on a project in Mexico City, how does photographing Times Square compare in terms of challenges and experiences?
Compared to Mexico City, Times Square is easy. It’s a small concentrated area, so I’m not running around as much. The intensity of this dense neighborhood can prove exhausting and challenging, but there are quieter side streets if you want to find a a more secluded moment or just escape the madness. In Mexico City I did a lot of shooting in the heart of Zona Rosa, which pulses with people, colorful signage and nightlife, so there are definitely some similarities.
Has working in one changed how you see or approach shooting in the other?
Hmmm… not really. I mean, I see so many cities and town for work and travel, nothing is really an altering experience for me. Much of Times Square is somewhat banal when you think of the architecture and buildings. It’s the signs and then the people that add the color and excitement. Mexico City, there’s less color and diversity with the people on the streets, but theres all the wonderful foliage and greenery everywhere, and the architecture is very diverse, from beautiful colonial structures, grand plazas, to exciting modern architecture.
Capturing the essence of Times Square: In a place often dismissed by locals, what unique aspects or stories have you discovered that you aim to highlight through your photography?
As Times Square is so well known, by virtually anybody on the planet, it’s hard to convey something new or unseen. We all know it's this diverse crush of crazy New Yorkers and gobs of tourists, jam packed with lights and advertising and a deluge of traffic in the center of Manhattan. Finding bits of humanity within this gawdy grid is my driving force. There’s a million different stories to be told. I did get familiar with a number of the street characters, the Spidermans and Hulks, doing their thing enticing wandering tourists to pose with them and get as much as they can for a tip. They are struggling people and so easily dismissed. God knows what hardships they have gone through to get here and that is a story in itself. The area is a major source of employment as the heart of American theater, so ‘Broadway’ is always a backdrop. A close friend, Steven Hoggett, is an award-winning choreographer, and one day I was reviewing my edits, and there he is in sharp focus on a densely packed street with him center frame racing to a Harry Potter rehearsal. I had no clue I had even photographed him, everything is moving so fast around me when I shoot. What a great surprise to see that photo. I do play with the famed Times Square signs at times, looking for unique juxtapositions. So much of that is chance, as to what the boards may be showing that moment and combining it with an interesting passerby or element on the street.
What’s been the most unexpected or surprisingly intimate scene you’ve come across?
Most of Times Square is the over the top, boisterous, chaotic, loud spectacle to largest degree. However, occasionally I do encounter a quiet moment, which grounds you. This photo is one of those moments. It's in front the Majestic Theater, where Phantom of the Opera ran for 35 years, making it the longest running musical in Broadway history. The photo was taken in its very last year on Broadway in 2023. It’s late afternoon by the stage door. This mother and daughter have traveled from somewhere across America to greet the stars as they leave the matinee performance. They’ve arrived extra early for a prime spot and the best chance to maybe grab an autograph or a selfie with a star, if they are lucky. She’s brought a mask and dressed up in the appropriate costume and eagerly awaits, and she'll remember this day the rest of her life when her Mom took her to Broadway.
There’s something very sweet about this, the girl’s expression - her hope and desire, the loving mom looking carefully to her daughter, the stars of the musical looming behind them pasted larger than life on the street wall. It’s become their last run too. It’s a good metaphor for life on Broadway, the hopes, the dreams and how things come and go in constant cycles.
Evolving landscape: Over the eight years you’ve been documenting Times Square, what significant changes have you observed, and how have they influenced your work?
I started this story before the pandemic and continued to shoot it through the pandemic and finally watched it slowly return to normalcy afterwards. If I presented the story as a timeline, we’d see the packed pre-pandemic Times Square, then Times Square completely empty, then slowly filling up with the tentative masked visitors and then each visit after that we got to see it slowly get back to the throng. Aside from the changing billboards, the rest of the neighborhood stays pretty much the same.
Was there a particular moment or image that really captured that transition for you?
Seeing Times Square empty captures the pandemic transition. Its is beyond startling. We’ve all seen images of empty business districts during Covid. And it’s always quite a site, equally astonishing and alarming. And perhaps I’m biased, but a Times Square void of people is the most startling of all. This first photo is that of Times Square in March 2020, shortly after lockdown began. It’s actually a dark and stormy morning and there’s not a sole in sight.
The 2nd image is in late April, and the first signs of life were starting to stir in the city. I was astonished to see the Naked Cowboy coming out, strumming away happily to near empty streets. Things were still really shut down. But there were a few people starting to trickle back. And seeing him was definitely a harbinger that the next chapter of the pandemic had started. When the Naked Cowboys comes into Times Square in his underwear and strumming his guitar, I knew, somehow, we would climb out of this global disaster, and all be ok!
Could you share your preferred equipment and techniques for capturing the dynamic and vibrant atmosphere of Times Square?
I shoot with a SONY a7iv. No flash. No tripod.
Balancing candidness and consent: With the diverse mix of tourists, workers, and performers, how do you navigate obtaining candid shots while respecting individuals’ privacy and rights?
On one hand, Times Square is one of the easiest spots on the planet for street photography. Just about every single person is snapping a photo or being photographed. Nobody says a thing here about being photographed. It's almost being given carte blanche. Also, street photography has more latitude in the US than in Europe where you have to be more careful. As long as a photo is not used for advertising, you’re not shooting into somebody’s home or you’re not putting somebody on the cover of a book you’re selling, if you’re on the streets (as I understand) things are approaching public domain.
I don’t have releases signed for the hundreds of people that enter my frame. If this story did become a book one day, I’d edit a few shots out that could be seen as compromising, but most are not.
Personal connection to the subject: How has your perception of Times Square evolved since you began this project, and in what ways has it impacted your broader perspective on New York City?
New York sometimes fails to live up to its reputation as the 24 hour city. I lived in Chelsea for years, one of the most central neighbourhoods in all of Manhattan, and honestly, finding a place to have dinner after 10 pm is impossible on a weeknight. However, when I enter Times Square, the notion of the 24 hour city comes alive. There is always life and activity. It’s this pulse that I love to see and feel. And especially the tourists with their mouths agape, seeing Times Square for the first time. It is awe inspiring, and it reminds me of me seeing it for the first time myself in the late 1980’s. While I do miss what some might call “the old New York”, the gritty old days when the city was not filled with chain stores and had a hint of danger, part of the joy of NYC is that it constantly reinvents itself, and we see this ten fold in Times Square, so for me that is exciting and reminds me why I love New York so much.
Cross-project reflections: In our previous discussion about “Locations From a Movie I Never Made,” we explored your ability to transform everyday spaces into cinematic scenes. How does this approach influence your portrayal of the theatrical and often surreal environment of Times Square?
This is probably my favorite thing about shooting in Times Square. It’s an assault on your senses, you can’t begin to process all that is there. With a single photograph, we can focus on an individual that was lost in the sea of people and see their story: the bedazzled tourist, the frenzied office worker late to work, a half dressed Superman taking a break, etc... I love singling out somebody and getting that moment, often with the juxtaposition of the visual onslaught around them. There’s so much we miss because there’s so much going on. There are lots of ways I can play with that contrast and I really never know what surprises I’ll end up with until I download my photos.
Advice for emerging urban photographers: What insights or lessons from your extensive experience would you offer to photographers interested in undertaking long-term projects in bustling urban environments like Times Square?
Lighting can vary on a project, but certain neighborhoods require different times of day to shoot, so I’d say planning for available lighting is key. Oddly, I really enjoy shooting Times Square in mid day with strong sun and hard shadows, usually the worst time of day to shoot. And at night of course capturing the saturated signage. But mid morning or mid afternoon always felt flat for me. And to take advantage of shooting in a rich, dense neighborhood and be a little more fearless. What might scare away most other photographers could be your pot of gold.
More photography books and interviews?
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