Window Shopping
The connection is shops. The festive tree is within a shopping area in Birmingham and this image of engrossed window shoppers is from a bookshop in Bordeaux. Given the time of year, the image could be a refreshing and relaxing alternative to one of shoppers rushing around during the annual pre-Christmas splurge.
This was another use for my old Nikon 4500 stealth camera, although the two chaps would’ve been oblivious to someone using a big camera as they were so engrossed in the books. I’m not sure what happened after I left the scene, perhaps one or both of them went inside to continue their browsing….and maybe two other people started looking in the window. I wonder what treasures the chaps might’ve found and how long it took them to do so.
Less agreeable and relaxing window shopping scenes are shown below. The sheer audacity of the graffiti from somewhere in Spain contrasts with what would we might ordinarily regard as a pleasant and welcoming town centre environment.
Despite being situated opposite a shop, the campaigner from Belfast some years ago is probably not window shopping. I like the contrast in style between the information on the tabard and that in the shop window. Does stark black type on a white background work better than the image of the girl and simply showing the price of the clothes? There’s intrigue about the nature of the evil deeds that might result in some people asking the chap for more information, but the image of the girl would probably instantly connect on many levels to many people. Few people however seem to be interested in either the chap’s message or the image in the window, so both marketing techniques are failing to a certain extent. Maybe I should’ve used this photo as the main connecting image for this blog posting because there’s probably a lot to say about it. I think I just preferred the symmetry of the bookshop scene!
By the way, the scene below might be the first stage in the process of window shopping, ie the lady glances at something she finds interesting, after which she walks over to the shop to take a closer look…or simply walks into the shop. I don’t know, I was just trying to get a nice photo of the curving street and buildings! I wonder how many of my apparently simple photos I can turn into comments on human behaviour?
Connection to the next instalment has multiple possibilities; there are books, windows, people etc to choose from. It’ll need to be straightforward though because the festive period is upon us, which although potentially relaxing will inevitably result in some rushing around. Hopefully the image of the bookshop window will remind me to relax and try to make time stand still for a while.