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Speaking candidly

unposed shots of people at work, rest, and play
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I was walking down Broadway late one afternoon in July, when I came across this scene. Tell the Mayor, I love what he's done with the place.
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I was walking down Broadway late one afternoon in July, when I came across this scene. Tell the Mayor, I love what he's done with the place.

candidmid Manhattensummer

  • Seeing my photographs first hand over the years, my good friend Ron mentioned to me one day about Battery Park City, as he passed through it a number of times to and from some of his tennis tournaments. "The landscaping there is superbly done, you really should see it." So one day on a trip into the city on one of my days off, I left early enough to casually pass through the large park. Ron wasn't exaggerating. As I walked up the esplanade on that warm sunny afternoon I kept imagining the sunset shots I was going to get here with my new DSLR camera.<br /> <br /> <br /> With all the rain in 09' it wasn't until July that I finally got the opportunity to bring along my camera on a clear night when I was off from work. Blissfully enjoying a wonderful summer evening at a place I could see would surely become a new favorite photo opp spot, I enthusiastically headed up north gazing at the New Jersey skyline as it became draped in a spectacular rainbow of colors. Looking for a photo that would truly be worthy of this marvelous evening I kept viewing and rejecting a dozen different scenes as they appeared in front of me in rapid fire succession. Just as the available light needed to shoot hand held started to dwindle, as if on cue, I came upon a young man sitting on a bench with his feet resting on his bicycle. The kind of shot I had been dreaming of for more than 6 months was now spread out right in front of me. "Time to finally see if my D300 can take night time shots as superbly as my old F3 did back when I loaded it with Kodachrome". Oh yes it can, I delightfully discovered - oh yes it can.
  • I took this shot a few minutes and a few yards away from the photo of the cyclist admiring the sunset. Seeing the sail boat coming I waited quietly, hoping nothing would happen to ruin this special moment for what seemed an eternity. When the boat reached the ideal spot, I snapped my shutter. I just love this scene.
  • DSC_9619 pint sized juggler
  • I love Central Park. If someone paid me to photograph in it everyday, I probably would. I enjoy capturing shots of things you don't automatically associate with the City, so when I can I include a slice of the city skyline in the shot, just like I did here. Walking around the court, it was the only spot I wanted to stand at, to capture this wonderful summer moment.
  • I love the Bethesda fountain area in Central Park for taking people pictures. On this day I spotted a girl wearing a great ensemble far off to my left sitting under the edge of the overpass. She was so striking I froze in mid stride. I wanted to get closer, or switch to a longer lens, and most of all get to a lower angle than standing straight up, but there was no time. The girls pose wasn't just good or great, it was perfect. If she moved at all the best I could hope for was a pose just as good, and Murphy's Law clearly states that even that will never happen. So in a possibly vain attempt to not spook her and save precious seconds, I bent my right knee and leaned down lower as much as I could on one side, and tried to look like I was aiming the camera just off to her right and not directly at her. Then as I swung back to the left, I zoomed in as close as I could with my 16-85mm lens. Later when I got home I cropped the shot down to where I wanted it originally.<br /> <br /> Most of the shots I took of her had people walking in front or behind her, but this one was perfect. As was her skin which was a wonderful contrast to the rough stone column. Funny thing is if I asked someone to pose for me, I could never dream up a pose this good. I'm terrible at posed shots. Candid's on the other hand...
  • DSC_9716 capturing the park on canvas
  • DSC_9757 art class in the park
  • dsc_9767 attracting a crowd
  • A tad north of Bethesda Terrace, "The Lake" is a nice spot to stroll thru in Central Park when the weather is warm, or even if just your heart is.
  • Shakespeare Gardens is yet another of the many nice places to visit while in Central Park. As I walked through this area for the very first time, I happily took it all in, but walked by quietly when I came upon these two resting peacefully, then I decided to stop and turn around when I got the feeling that they would make for a pretty good shot.
  • I came upon this scene one Sunday morning after taking a shot of City Hall Park at dawn. After taking that shot I purchased a take out lunch, and stopped by this pond to eat it for brunch, but first I had to grab a shot of this young woman reading her Sunday paper.<br /> <br /> If you've already looked at the shot of the two people sitting on that great looking wood bench that I took, (it's located earlier in this gallery), this woman is sitting less than 20 feet from it.
  • dsc_0214 relaxing between sets
  • Missing the shallow depth of field I enjoyed with my old 50mm F1.8 series E lens from back in my days of manual focus camera's, I decided to buy Nikon's 50mm f1.8. Reported to be razor sharp, in addition to being very inexpensive and small, I couldn't resist. And even if it wouldn't have the same field of view with my D300 as I got with my old 35mm camera's, if I used it to capture people shots the now slight telephoto effect from my camera's cropped sensor would turn it into a great portrait lens. Looking around the park on this beautiful sunny afternoon I found myself thinking "Now where's a good looking face for my first shot?"
  • dsc_1249 practicing at Washington Sq park
  • dsc_1433 bubble man
  • I was walking down Broadway late one afternoon in July, when I came across this scene. Tell the Mayor, I love what he's done with the place.
  • DSC_2035 late day fishing in the East River
  • I absolutely loved this scene when I came across it at Washington Square park. The weathered table, mismatched chess pieces, and great straw hat. The scene felt so Americana I literally had the camera up to my face before I even realized I was doing it. Then I waited for a moment when one of them was moving hoping it wouldn't be the old man, as his pose was absolutely perfect.
  • dsc_2338 fellow performers share tips
  • dsc_2418 jazz band in the Square
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