Photographer Gail Albert Halaban went viral recently for her series called Out My Window. In the series, she explores views from one person’s window to another’s. She got the twinkle of an idea for the project twenty years ago when she still lived in New York City and a neighbor reached out after an event she hosted in her apartment. In New York, we pretty much all have view inside our neighbor’s homes, but we often don’t think about who is looking into ours. She then moved her family to Los Angeles, where that’s definitely not the norm. Halaban decided to start the project as a way to make a connection with her neighbors and to feel closer to her New York way of life. She explained her work to her neighbors, asking for them to agree to participate. Once that was locally successful, she began putting out requests for people all over the world, asking for neighbors with views into each others’ homes to consent and collaborate. They also had to send a quick pic of each view. Once she had the consent of both parties and decided the view was worth exploring, Halaban would travel to their location to shoot from their windows.

“This project started when I was hosting a first birthday party for my daughter (now twenty). My neighbors across the street sent us balloons, flowers, and a note wishing her a happy birthday. We had never met but they had been watching us through the window. I had mixed feelings – it was a little creepy but also really friendly. I wondered – is this normal? Do neighbors admit spying on neighbors in New York? This sent me on a two-decade exploration of the relationship between neighbors across the window space in cities around the globe. I photograph from one window to a neighboring window with the consent and collaboration of the neighbors. As I make the pictures, neighbors have shared with me the imagined stories of the lives of the neighbors across the way.” – OutMyWindowGlobal.com

The idea eventually turned into a beautiful book. As a native New Yorker, this project makes so much sense to me. Even living out in the Rockaways, my views are very much of my neighbors’ houses, and I find real beauty in it. I know close living isn’t for everyone, but I enjoy the energy (except on garbage day, but that’s a rant for another day).

You can follow Gail Albert Halaban on her website and on Instagram and Facebook, and you can buy her book on PowerHouse Books.

I don’t want to use Halaban’s photos, so please go to her website or Instagram and enjoy them there. Thanks!