I saw this picture of a giant yoga event in Times Square, and it’s hysterical. But I couldn’t decide whether or not it was a staged photo. On the one hand, New York is the kind of city where you might find a babushka curious enough to try out this “yoga thingy”. On the other hand, New York is also the kind of city where a marketing professional or an enterprising photographer might seize the opportunity to set up a shot like this.

The photographer is Gus Powell, so I decided to try to contact him. Sure enough he responded, and this is what he said:

it was a serendipitous moment . . . something that i think new york is rather generous with. i don’t know where that fine lady came from but was certainly delighted to see her there. she was at a prime spot - so perhaps some soul in group that was running the event might have encouraged her to take that spot . . . or maybe she just got there early. . . who knows . . . i kept looking for other folks who might have been there with her but never found them . . . she had a wonderful giggle . . .

i took a mess of pictures that day and there were a few that i liked but i knew that that frame was probably gonna make the page . . . and was delighted that TNY was able to use it. it’s been great to get so many warm responses to the image.

Thanks Gus!