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Speaking candidly

unposed shots of people at work, rest, and play
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No Chinese chess match had more people gathered round the table in this park than this one did. I guessed it was Ali vs. Frazier, so I had to get some shots of the action.
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No Chinese chess match had more people gathered round the table in this park than this one did. I guessed it was Ali vs. Frazier, so I had to get some shots of the action.

chinese chesscandidChinatownColumbus parkfallrainNYC

  • dsc_ 3404 hula hoop girl
  • dsc_ 3405 hula hoop girl
  • dsc_3467-b straw hat & a canvas
  • While the zoom lenses of today are far superior to the ones that existed back when I used to photograph over 20 years ago, one thing that hasn't changed that much, is the small maximum apertures that they possess - unless you can afford a good one that also has a wide maximum aperture, but that is costly. The lack of shallow depth of field tended to bother me when at times I really wanted a softer background than whatever zoom I was using could provide. That's why I decided to purchase Nikon's 50mm f1.8. Light weight, tiny (it could fit in my jacket pocket), sharp and inexpensive, I could toss it in even my smallest camera bag, or jacket and give me a chance to add some nice soft backgrounds to my shots.<br /> <br /> Today was the second day I chose to put my new creative tool to work. I decided to use the Bethesda Fountain area in Central Park as a testing grounds for it, as there is almost always something worth photographing going on there. As per usual it didn't take long for me to find a scene that begged to be captured, and it was a perfect candidate for the soft background treatment to boot.
  • I have taken many shots of people rowing from this spot near the Bow bridge before. But they were all from a higher perspective off near the side of the road. What I really wanted was a shot from a more water level perspective. So I walked down the from the road and gingerly crept to the waters edge balancing myself on some rocks, careful not to fall in to the lake and send my equipment to a watery grave.<br /> <br /> Looking around in both directions for something interesting to shoot, I was there for probably less than 30 seconds before I saw just the kind interesting shot I was hoping for, come floating by. It happened so fast I scarcely had enough time to steady myself on the rocks and compose the shot. Boy was I glad I tried somewhere new to stand.
  • dsc_3539 enjoying the sights & sounds of the Mall
  • Yet one more day I came down to this spot on the west side by a picturesque road near the water, to capture people walking up and down the flower laden path as the sun was setting. I picked an angle where the cityscape would act as a backdrop. Finally I succeeded in picking a day where the sky was clear all the way down to the horizon guaranteeing an evening with a rich red sundown reflecting off the buildings in the distance. But none of those shots were as interesting as the scene I saw taking place off in the distance.<br /> <br /> I noticed two large groups of girls, practicing their gymnastic routines on the pier 30 yards or so from where I was shooting. After getting all the shots I wanted of people walking by, I determined to rush over there before the sun completely set and grab some shots of one of the girls being hoisted up and dropped by her fellow cheerleaders with the city behind them as a backdrop. When I would hear someone shout out "Elevator, one two!!" I quickly found out it was time to get my camera ready. But with the light level so low I had a hard time capturing the moving action I wanted without the pictures getting blurred, and I had to settle for capturing a more static shot instead before there was no usable light left. This turned out to be the only good shot I was able to get. But in this case one good shot was more than good enough.
  • After getting the shot of the cheerleaders practicing, the beautiful clear night succeeded into coaxing me to hang around after the sun went down to take some more shots of the city bathed in night light, despite the difficulty of trying to steady the camera with extremely low shutter speeds to work with. This shot was my favorite one after the sun went down.
  • Last fall, I decided to try out Nikon's 70-300mm zoom. Amongst other things the extra 100mm's of focal length would really come in handy for my bird shots over what I had to settle for with my 55-200mm nikkor. As soon as I walked out of the store, I made a beeline for Central Park to try it out using my favorite testing method - real use under fire, as I looked to capture great moments worthy of adding to my collection.<br /> <br /> I didn't even have to enter the park as right on the corner of 60th & 5th, I happened upon this balloon artist trying to teach his pint-sized patron the understanding of how the marketplace works. Oh he had no problem teaching her to take one of his balloons. Getting her to grasp the finer points of payment upon delivery on the other hand....
  • That same balloon artist who you saw in the previous photo, was also responsible for creating this sensational smile.
  • Feeling my oats after getting those 2 pictures of the girls in front of Central Park, I decided to keep things going and headed out to the West Indian Day parade going on in Brooklyn that day. Still it would probably almost be over when I got there, so the shots would be scarce. This more or less turned out to be the case. Even so my trip there netted me my favorite children's candid shot of all time. I spotted this adorable pair being pulled by their father in that great 'Radio Flyer' almost a block ahead of me. I followed them as I weaved through the huge crowds for several minutes trying vainly to frame them up in my viewfinder. But every time I closed the gap I'd loose it when I stopped to frame up the picture.<br /> <br /> My luck turned when their parents stopped to ask some policemen a question, and that allowed me to get close enough to get the size image I wanted, but stopping to frame them up kept resulting in cut off body parts, or facial expressions that just missed the mark. Eventually their parents made a left to head up an embankment that took them into Prospect Park itself. With my potential picture about to disappear into the tree trunks, I madly ripped off shot after shot trying to capture that one magic image. Finally on the very last shot I took I succeeded, and then they disappeared into the woods, and I never saw them again. Words can not express how elated I was when I flipped my camera around and looked at this image in my view screen.
  • DSC_4992 smiling for the camera
  • One of my favorite parade photo's
  • The two photo's of the little girls outside of Central Park was enough to convince me of the quality I would receive from my new 70-300mm zoom, and I knew then and there I was going to keep the lens. Here a week later, it proved it's worth at more traditional telephoto tasks, pulling in this schooner full of tourists from my position on the shoreline along Battery Park.
  • When I left my house this particular soggy morning, I wanted to capture some interesting moments in Chinatown that included umbrella's. So when I saw the match going on at this table I went straight for it. I wanted a shot of everyone looking at the chess board which was sopping wet from the rain, to increase the drama, but the man on the left was intently reading his newspaper instead. Given the amount of people around this particular table I guessed that it was a very good match, and that sooner or later the ebb and flow of the game would draw his attention back again, and he would finally put his paper down. My hunch was correct. Then I just waited for the player on the right to let out a nice long drag of cigarette smoke, which would stand out nicely because of the navy jacket behind it, if the man wearing it didn't move, which as fortune had it, he didn't. As soon as I snapped the shutter I knew I had one heck of a shot.
  • DSC_5215 social gathering
  • No Chinese chess match had more people gathered round the table in this park than this one did. I guessed it was Ali vs. Frazier, so I had to get some shots of the action.
  • dsc_5275 old school vs technology
  • When I finally managed to slip into an opening, I guessed that at heart of this scene was the age old man vs. machine saga played out here in 2009 at this quaint little park in Chinatown. It appeared that the opponent on the right, strumming his playing pieces, was using that mini laptop to chart every move he and his opponent on the left made. The gentleman on the left on the other hand, just used his brains, and at times gave the crowd animated comments on his strategy, while his opponent remained pretty much silent throughout.<br /> <br /> Not knowing the game it's hard for me to say who was winning and by how much. Originally I thought the opponent on the left had to make a big comeback because I didn't see a lot of his men on the board, but it turned out several of his pieces were blocked from my view, and when I reviewed my shots later, by the number of remaining pieces, the battle seemed very even throughout. The crowd certainly seemed to remain transfixed throughout this match between this jovial fellow and his quiet studious opponent, seeking an advantage through technology.
  • After taking some pictures in Battery Park I headed north on the R train to my ultimate objective that day, Chinatown. Coming up out of the station on Canal street, I zigzagged side streets branching off Chinatown's heavily commercialized tourist flooded street, in search of spots that might give me real views of those that live, and not just visit there. Two blocks south of Canal as I approached Bowery St. (4th ave.) I hit pay dirt, a modest sized park that all sorts of it's native population gravitated to. Dominating the park is a marvelous structure known as the Columbus Park Pavilion, and it was bursting with activity in every corner. I got hundreds of shots there and in the park that it resides in. Despite having plenty of lights hanging from the ceiling of the edifice none of them came on even as the sunlight was starting to fade. Not wanting to startle any of the natives, or break the mood by using a flash I weaved through the crowds in the shadows and captured pictures by available light. This one was my favorite.
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