Day 343 of 365

Last Christmas at Tavern

I joined Casey on a few "errands" this afternoon. As we set out on a self-made, self-guided pizza tour of New York, we made one quick detour to Tavern on the Green so she could take some measurements of a statue for its listing in the catalog for the upcoming auction of its artifacts. It was only my second visit, I believe. I went there one year during Restaurant Week because a friend had always wanted to eat there and figured that the week of reduced entrees (and reduced options) was the only chance she'd get. There may have been one other brief look-see, but I don't recall for sure.

Day 183 of 365

The play's the thing

Couldn't resist a shot of the stage in Central Park, with Belvidere Castle lighted to the left, under the moon.

"Final miles," New York, November 2006

NYC Marathon series, Central Park

The New York City Marathon is coming up again on Sunday, so what better image to depict strength? (OK, one that has the principal subjects in focus.) But even with that minor flaw, I like the contrast in this shot -- the two runners on the left, relaxed, chatting; the one on the right pushing, straining through the final miles through Central Park, the finish line only a few minutes away.

"Central Park colors," October 2006

Central Park Colors No. 5, originally uploaded by DC Products.

I don't care if it's cliche, overdone, banal or played out -- I'll always set aside a day or two in the fall to head out on a photo expedition to let nature do what I might otherwise do in Photoshop.

In this case, it was an afternoon stroll through Central Park before work. It was about a week -- maybe more -- too early for the peak color in the middle of Manhattan, but I found a few hot spots. I'm planning to drive west through northern New Jersey tomorrow to see what remains, though I fear that the gusting winds on Sunday may have ripped the peak color off the trees. We shall see.

It's seemed like a down year for the autumn leaves this year. The trees seemed to change late and not as uniformily as in past years. But a year ago, I did venture out into the New Jersey Highlands during the first week of November and came away with some decent shots, so hopefully more is in store this year.

Central Park cyclist, February 2005

On my first shooting expeditions to Central Park last February during the Gates extravaganza, I walked up the west side of the park from Columbus Circle to 81st Street. On a crisp but clear winter day, the park was teeming with people, many of them, like me, walking around with cameras on a day off or a lunch break. When I reached the back of Tavern on the Green along the road, I stood there for 15 or 20 minutes waiting for the cyclists to come by for a blurred shot like this. Other than the University of Michigan riding uniform the guy's wearing, it's just about perfect.

Gates series

Gates reflection, Central Park, February 2005


Atop Great Hill, Central Park, February 2005


Near the Great Lawn, Central Park, February 2005

If there's one thing that meant "orange" this winter in New York, it was Christo's The Gates. I took close to 200 photographs in four different trips to Central Park during the installations three-week run. I went into the city on two consecutive mid-week off-days and treked from Columbus Circle in the southwest corner (at 59th St.) of the park up to around 100th St. and then east, over to Central Park East and down to the 80s. My plans were more ambitious than I'd expected, and I didn't get to explore the northern edge of the park, which now remains the last great section I've yet to explore.