Get your peek on: Florian Bohm's "Wait for Walk"

The is something wicked and appealing in voyerism. I mean voyerism in the regular, non-Peeping Tom, meaning of watching people who are unaware of your scrutiny. I can't tell if I like it because it makes me feel powerful or sneaky or if it just fulfills an intense desire to stare at people in a way that would involve the cops if done openly.

When I worked in Manhattan, I would take my lunches in Madison Square Park and just watch people at the corners, crossing the street. I was fascinated by the phenomenon of the pause button being pushed on the mad dash most NYC residents are usually in. Suddenly, they are forced to stop and wait, and the window into the individual was awesome. Some would bounce from foot to foot, waiting for a break in traffic. Some would whip out a cell phone or a cigarette. Others stare into space or at the walk light, waiting like a sprinter for the starting gun.

I stumbled across a book, based on a photo collection, which directly appeals to that guilty (and somewhat creepy) pleasure. Wait for Walk, by Florian Bohm, captures New Yorkers like those in the picture at the top of the post. The thing I like best about these pictures is that the are filled with generic characters; we all know the three people in the picture at the top, if not those three people specifically. You can probably see them from your desk. So indulge your inner voyer; check at the photos available at the photographer's site or at this online gallery. Get your peek on.