Going back and reviewing your photos for the year is a good idea.  It gives you a chance to reflect on what  you’v accomplished photographically during the year.  Also, after you’ve done it for a few years, it gives you the ability to compare your Top 10 against previous Top 10s and see how you are growing (or possibly regressing) in your photography.

That being said, here are my Top 10, in chronological order:

1. Florida Sunrise

Florida sunrise, taken from Lake Worth, FL

I was in Florida in March, visiting my father and stepmother.  While I was there, I went to Lake Worth to capture some sunrise photos over the ocean.  I took a number of exposures that day that I am quite proud of, but if I had to narrow it down to one, I’d say that this is it.  I’m a color junkie (as you’ll see from the shots that follow) and this shot simply had both great color and the leading line of the pier leading the eye to the sunrise.

Canon 7D, 41mm, f/14, 1/13, ISO 100

2. Lake Mendota

Lake Mendota

In May, I had to travel to Madison, Wisconsin for business.  While there, I brought my camera gear along, figuring that I could do some photography after the day’s work was done.  One of the places I visited was Tenney Park.  I went there, hoping to catch the sun setting over Lake Mendota, one of the two lakes bordering Madison.  Alas, the sky did not agree with my plans, as cloud cover prevented me from getting that sunset shot.  However, rather than give up, I decided to just work with what I had.  I pulled out my wide angle lens, found some rocks that a tree that jutted out past the shoreline and snapped away.  This shot is the result.  No, it’s not the sunset I wanted, but it still worked quite well for me.

Canon 7D, 13mm, f/5, 1/80, ISO 100

3. Green

Central Park, NYC

I’m a photographer who loves to shoot nature and happens to live in New York City… one of the most unnatural places in the country.  Fortunately, New York has a good number of parks where one can go to forget the hustle and bustle of the urban jungle for a time.  The most famous of these places is Central Park.  Located smack dab in the middle of the busiest island in the country, it’s an oasis of green in the midst of concrete, glass and steel.

I’ve taken quite a few shots in Central Park over the years, but this is my favorite from this year.  I just love how the green explodes out of the image, surrounding the bridge and making you believe that this is located in some far away remote jungle, rather than in Manhattan.

Canon 7D, 70mm, f/4, 1/20, ISO 100

4. Schoodic Sunset

Schoodic Peninsula, Acadia National Park, Maine

In August, Lisa and I took a trip up to Maine to visit Acadia National Park.  If you’ve never been there before, I highly recommend that you go there.  It is one of the most beautiful places on the East Coast.

There are two main parts to the park.  Most of the Park is located on Mount Desert Island.  There is another part of the park, about an hour away on the mainland.  This is the Schoodic Peninsula portion of the park – and only about 10% of visitors to Acadia make it to Schoodic Peninsula.  Lisa and I took a trip out there one day and waited by the southern end of the peninsula for sunset.  We were not disappointed.  When I saw it, I took out my new wide angle lens (Sigma Art 14-24mm) and began snapping away.  This shot was the result.  I personally like how the sunset is sandwiched between the rocks and cloud layer above.

Canon 6D Mark II, 18,mm, f/22 (I wanted those star burst rays), 1/20, ISO 100

5. Bass Harbor Sunset

Bass Harbor, Maine

On our last night in Maine, we visited the Bass Harbor Lighthouse in Southwest Harbor, Maine.  Officially a part of Acadia National Park, it’s not connected to the rest of the park.  We got there shortly before sunset and were treated to the most amazing colors as the sun went down for the night.  This shot was taken just after sunset, while the colors were still in the sky.  As I said above, I’m a color junkie, and this sky was just full of the entire range of colors.

Canon 6D Mark II, 38mm, f/8, 1/50, ISO 100

6. The Brook

Near Kaaterskill Falls, NY

In October, I went upstate to photograph Kaaterskill Falls, one of the larger falls in the Hudson Valley.  Even though I went to shoot the falls, my favorite shot of the day turned out to be this one, a small brook near the falls.  The autumn color just beginning to show up and I had to try to capture it.

Canon 6D Mark II, 24mm, f/5.6, 1/20, ISO 100

7. Dark Hallows Falls

Dark Hallows Falls, Shenandoah National Park, Virginia

The last four shots all come from my trip to Shenandoah National Park in October.

I love waterfalls and one of the hopes I had for my Shenandoah trip was to capture some of the waterfalls of the region.  One of the hikes I took led me to Dark Hallows Falls, a 70 foot cascade  I got there at mid-morning and when I saw the sun positioned over the falls, I knew I had to get that shot.

Canon 6D Mark II, 24mm, f/18 (again, I wanted that starburst), 1/2 second, ISO 100.

8. Tunnel Overlook

Tunnel Overlook, Shenandoah National Park, Virginia

There is one major road that runs through Shenandoah National Park, and it runs north-south.  There are many places along this road where you can pull over and be treated to a spectacular view.  One of the most popular is the Tunnel Overlook, in the northern part of the park.  I made sure to get to this east-facing overlook before sunrise.  I was treated to a wonderfully colorful sunrise.  It would have been nicer had there been some great clouds in the sky, but, as with the sunset by Lake Mendota above, you have to work with what you have.  Even so, I just love how this shot came out.

Canon 6D Mark II, 15mm, f/11, 1/50, ISO 100

9.  Point Overlook

Point Overlook, Shenandoah National Park, Virginia

One of the most popular sunset locations in Shenandoah National Park is Point Overlook.  I spent quite a bit of time here, from about an hour before sunset to about thirty minutes afterwards.  Of the shots I took at this location, this one is my favorite.  I love how the distant mountains fade away in a line and how the sun gives the entire scene a magical glow.

Canon 6D Mark II, 70mm, f/5.6, 1/800, ISO 100

10. Great Falls

Great Falls, McLean, VA

On my way back home from Shenandoah, I made a stop at Great Falls in McLean VA.  I had never heard of it before I began planning the trip, but once I found out about it, I knew I had to visit.  The place did not disappoint.  The Potomac River rushing through the gorge makes for some wonderful waterfalls.  After trying several compositions, including some close ups of some of the falls, I decided that my favorite was this shot, showing how the river tumbles through.

Canon 6D Mark II, 47mm, f/4.5, 1/2 second, ISO 100

And, that’s it.  Those are my Top 10 for the year.   However, I do have three more shots that I wanted to share — not because they were particularly great photographs, but because they have special meaning.

Manhattan Bridge

I took this shot of the Manhattan Bridge back in July.  It’s not a perfect picture — the horizon is uneven for starters.  But I really like this shot, as it was a moment of inspiration that caused me to take this shot.  I’ve shot this bridge many times before, but for some reason, it never occurred to me to take it from this angle before.

Milky Way

Milky Way, taken at Seawall Campground, Maine

As I mentioned above, I live in New York City, the most light-polluted place in the country.  As a result, I don’t get to see too many star filled skies, and especially not the Milky Way.  So when we took our trip out to Acadia (timed to coincide with the new moon), I made sure to bring my tripod and wide angle lens to shoot the Milky Way.  This was my first attempt.

Rainbow Snort

This picture is the result of sheer luck.  Lisa and I went whale watching while we were in Maine and I just happened to catch a rainbow refracting through the water droplets snorted out by a whale on the trip.  It’s not a great photo, but it’s a reminder to myself to just keep shooting no matter what — you never know what’s going to happen.

And so, that’s it.  How do you think I did compared to last year’s Top 10.  Please feel free to reach out and let me know.

Zev

Serenity

Way back in January, I got up one frigid morning and took my camera and tripod down to Brighton Beach to capture the sunrise.  While I got some very nice sunrise images (which, sadly and painfully, did not make the final cut), this was my favorite image of the day.  I love the calmness and the serenity that the picture conveys.  I also love the fact that if I didn’t tell you it was in the dead of winter, you’d probably think I took this during the summer.  I used my (then) brand new Lee Big Stopper (a 10ND filter) to be able to keep the shutter open long enough to smooth out the ocean while not having the entire picture blown out by all the light.  42mm, f/16, 13 seconds, 100 ISO, 10ND filter, tripod.

Arches

Central Park is one of my favorite places to shoot.  Being a nature lover who lives in the middle of the largest urban jungle in the country sometimes presents a challenge.  Sure you can get great cityscapes (some of which you’ll see later), but for greenery and such, it leaves much to be desired.  Unless of course, you head to one of the city’s parks — and Central Park is the biggest one of the bunch.

Bethesda Terrace is one of the most recognizable places in Central Park.  Most people have seen the famous fountain at 72nd Street.  However, aside from the fountain and the terrace which overlooks it, there is also the underside of the terrace, with it’s unique architecture and design.  I shot this one for 52 Frames for their “Black and White” week and it ended up earning one of the Top 4 spots for the week (out of close to 800 photos).

I don’t normally like to shoot black and white.  At heart, I’m a color junkie and I *love* seeing all the wonderful color that is out there.  But yet, I found that, for this shot, I ended up liking the black and white version better.  Perhaps it’s because the lack of color allows me to focus on the lines, textures and shapes in a way that I could not do with the color dominating the picture as it does in the color version:

I don’t know that this will inspire me to do more black and white shooting (it hasn’t really since I took it back in January), but I still happen to like it.  30mm, f/4.5, 25 seconds, ISO 100, tripod.

Rockefeller Center Flags

I don’t often shoot at Rockefeller Plaza.  In fact, the night I went to shoot this shot, I didn’t intend to go to Rockefeller Plaza to shoot.  I shot a picture of the status of Atlas and St. Patrick’s Cathedral for a 52 Frames photo and then, wandering around, came across the plaza.  It didn’t take me too long to notice how the flags were blowing in the night wind and to realize that, with a long enough exposure, I could get some interesting motion in the flags.  Add to the fact that all these world flags had tons and tons of color in them (I did mention earlier that I love color, right?) and that they could make a very interesting shot.  So I set up my tripod and shot the flags with various exposures and from various angles.  This was my favorite shot.

24mm, f/18, 6 seconds, ISO 200, tripod.

Colors of the City

There are plenty of great places to shoot the famous New York skyline.  Most people know about shooting from Brooklyn Bridge or Liberty State Park or from Weehawken.  Somewhat less known, however, is Gantry Plaza State Park.

Gantry Plaza State Park is located in Queens, just across the East River from Manhattan.  It’s a wonderful spot from which to shoot the skyline.  I arrived there on Presidents Day shortly before sunset and began shooting.  Since I was facing west, I had the sun setting behind the buildings and it made for some very nice shots.  Alas, some of those shots were the last ones to be cut for this Top 10.  The shot that did make it, however, was one that I took well after sunset.  The sky was already beginning to darken when I noticed how the colors of the skyscrapers were reflecting off the East River.  I realized that if I left the shutter open long enough to smooth out the motion of the water, it might make for an interesting shot.  This is the result:

I really like the reflection of the colors in the river.  I was originally ready to go home after sunset, but I’m glad I stuck around to see what other opportunities would develop and this one didn’t disappoint.  35mm, f/16, 30 seconds, ISO 100, tripod

Red Gerbera

Last year, I began taking photos of flowers on black backgrounds (in fact, one of them made it into last year’s Top 10).  I like the way the absolute darkness of the black contrasts with the color of the flower and makes it really stand out.  My favorite of the ones I shot this year is this one of a Red Gerbera.  Daises are wonderful flowers for photography, as they give you a defined center that the viewer can instantly focus on.

I don’t use my flash and umbrella too often (most of my shots, as you can easily see, are taken out of doors), but for flowers, they are perfect.  I’ve been experimenting with different lighting angles and different setups and hope to continue to improve at it over the coming year.  100mm, f/11, 1/30 second, ISO 100, tripod, flash, umbrella.

Little Red and Big George

Aside from the skyline and the skyscrapers, probably the most photographed feature of New York City is its bridges.  Nineteen bridges connect the island of Manhattan to other landmasses.  Eighteen of them are on the east side of the city.  Only one is on the west and, aside from the Brooklyn Bridge, it is perhaps New York’s most famous.  This bridge is the George Washington Bridge.

Getting to Fort Washington Park is a bit of a pain, as it’s a bit of a hike from the nearest subway stop, but the view from there can’t be beat.  Once you arrive in the park, you can stand right under the bridge and watch the sun set over the New Jersey Palisades.  Also located there is the famous Little Red Lighthouse, made famous by the children’s book by Hildegarde Swift and Lynd Ward.  Since the lighthouse is almost directly under the bridge, you can easily capture both of them and the setting sun in the same shot.

The sun was casting a fantastic orange glow that day, which is reflected in the sky, clouds and river.  I love this shot despite the fact that it’s not the most technically proficient.  In most cases, the type of lens flare that exists in this shot would more than likely cause me to discard the image, but in this case, I’m more than willing to overlook it.  24mm, f/18, 1/15 second, ISO 100, tripod.

Venus Over The Smokies

In August, Lisa and I took a trip to Tennessee to catch the solar eclipse.  The eclipse itself was an incredible and awesome event and I encourage everyone who has even the slightest chance of seeing a total solar eclipse to do so.

My eclipse pictures didn’t come out too well.  My focus was a bit off (partly due to the fact that I didn’t learn the true purpose of a tripod collar until after the eclipse was done) and, as a result, none of my shots from the eclipse made it into my Top 10.  However, we had an incredible view of the Smoky Mountains from our cabin porch and I made sure to take as many shots as I could (including getting up before sunrise).

My favorite shot from that vantage is this one:

I actually shot this as part of a panorama, but it looked so good as a stand alone shot that I processed this part by itself.  Venus was hanging over the mountains and I love the fact that I was able to capture it as part of the sunrise (it’s the brightest dot on the left hand side of the shot).  As I mentioned earlier, I’m a color junkie and this picture has such deep colors, with beautiful purples, blues, yellows, reds and oranges, that I just fell in love with it.  In addition to the wonderful colors, I also love the isolated trees sitting on the hill.  I had a lot of difficulty picking my Top 10 shots for the year, but if I had to pick a #1, my heart would say that this is the shot.  24 mm, f/4, three shots centered on 1/2 second, ISO 100, tripod.

Great Smoky Mountain Morning

Another shot taken from our cabin porch.  This one was taken later in the morning than the previous one, when the sky had lit up enough to allow the greens to stand out, while still showing off the grand colors of the sunrise.  18mm, f/5.6, 3 shots centered on 1/13 second, ISO 100, tripod.

Half Sun

Another Smoky Mountain shot, this time taken on the next day as the previous ones.  I love how the sun is going into hiding as it rises behind the clouds.  135mm, f/5, 1/1600, ISO 100, tripod.

Morning Mountain Abstract

I’ve always loved mountain photos that are abstracts, where the detail is gone and all you see are shades of mountaintops and the sky.  This shot isn’t quite exactly like that (you have some of the detail in the foreground here), but otherwise, I think this might qualify.  I love how the sunlight, filtering in through the clouds, casts rays on the mountains that, in the background, begin to blend into the mountains themselves.  47mm, f/6.3, 1/1600, ISO 100, tripod.

Tumbling Through the Gorge

I love waterfall shots and, whenever I have the chance, I like to go to one of the waterfalls in my area to shoot it.  In October, I took a trip up to the Finger Lakes region of New York State, which has some amazing gorges with glens and waterfalls running through them.  Watkins Glen is perhaps the most famous of these gorges.  I spent almost an entire day there, shooting the falls and rock formations.  One of my favorite images from that day is this one:

I like how this shot captures not just the flowing glen and the waterfall, but also the rock layers that have been formed by the flowing water over the rock over the last few millennia.  31mm, f/14, 3 shots centered on 1.6 seconds, ISO 100, tripod.

And that’s it, that’s the Top 10.  Well, actually, I do have to admit that I cheated… there are actually 11 images here.  I *tried* to get it down to ten, but simply could not bear to cut any of the images here so, I admit, I cheated a bit.

So, how did I do compared to last year’s Top 10?  I think my photography has improved, but sometimes it’s hard to tell if that’s because I had opportunities this year that I didn’t have last year (such as my trip to Tennessee) or if I really have improved in the technical and artistic senses.  I suppose I need to think about it more.  What do you think?  Have I improved?  And, if not (and please don’t be afraid to tell me so if that’s what you think), what do you think I can improve on?

Zev

On Monday, I began with the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge:

The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge at sunset in July, with Shore Park in the foreground.

The VerrazanoNarrows Bridge was built in the early 1960s, to connect Brooklyn and Staten Island. At the time it was built, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world (just as the Brooklyn Bridge had been). Before it was built, the only way for Staten Island residents to get to the city was to use the Staten Island Ferry, or drive into New Jersey and take one of the Hudson River crossings.

Tuesday’s shot was of the Brooklyn Bridge.

The Brooklyn Bridge with the Tribute In Light memorial to the victims of the September 11 attacks in the background. Taken in Brooklyn Bridge Park.

Built in the 1870s and 1880s, it was an engineering marvel of its time, and when built, was the longest suspension bridge in the world. Today, it’s a national landmark and one of the most famous tourist attractions in the city, in addition to being a vital transport link between Brooklyn and Manhattan.

The Brooklyn Bridge is, by far, the most famous and most photographed bridge in the city. You’d be hard pressed, I think, to find a person in the US who could not identify the bridge when shown a picture of it. There are many great places from which to shoot the bridge — Brooklyn Bridge Park, southern Manhattan, standing on the bridge itself and others. Sometimes, it’s a bit of a challenge to find a new and unique way to photograph it.

Last September 11, when the city put up the Towers of Light memorial in honor of the victims of the terrorist attacks of 2001, I was in Brooklyn Bridge Park to shoot the lights. After I got the shot I wanted, I wandered around the park. At some point, I noticed that the towers of the bridge intersected with the towers of light, and I could not resist taking the shot. In the end, I do believe that it offers a very different view of the bridge than most people see and expect.

On Wednesday, we looked at the Manhattan Bridge

The Manhattan Bridge at Sunset, with the Brooklyn Bridge and the Manhattan skyline in the background.

The Manhattan Bridge was the last of the three lower East River bridge crossings, opening in 1909, after the Brooklyn and Williamsburg bridges. The bridge’s walkway was closed for over forty years before being reopened in 2001.

This shot of the Manhattan Bridge at sunset was taken from Brooklyn Bridge Park. I decided to utilize the rocks as a leading line, guiding the eye of the viewer straight to the bridge. In the background, you can see the Brooklyn Bridge as well as a portion of the NYC skyline.

On Thursday, our focus was on the George Washington Bridge

Of all the bridges connecting Manhattan to other bodies of land (and there are about twenty or so of them), the George Washington Bridge is the only one on the west side of the island. Built in 1931, the bridge, like the Brooklyn Bridge before it and the Verazzano Narrow Bridge after it, was the longest bridge in the world when it opened. It proved so popular that a second (lower) deck was added to the bridge in 1962.

Today, the bridge is the most traveled bridge in the US (and possibly, but I could not confirm it, in the world) with over 300,000 people crossing it daily.

This shot of the bridge was taken a few weeks ago from Fort Washington Park. Many people have seen standard shots of the bridge, but I wanted to go for something a bit different — so I tried to get the underside of the bridge, right by sunset. This was the result.

And on Friday, we went with a non-vehicular bridge, the Bow Bridge in Central Park

Finishing up “NYC Bridges Week” here at The Graceful Image, we have a reminder that not all of NYC’s bridges are huge spans of metal running thousands of feet that are meant to carry cars and trucks from one boro to another. Some of the bridges are meant purely for pedestrian traffic and aesthetic beauty. This one only runs 60 feet, but it is unmistakably as much a part of NYC culture as any of the other bridges I’ve featured this week.

The Bow Bridge, in Central Park, is one of the most popular features of the park. Designed by Calvert Vaux, (one of the designers of Central Park) and Jacob Wrey Mould, it is a popular place for romantic walks, photographers, people taking a stroll, and just about anyone who wants to appreciate the beauty of the Lake in the park.

Believe it or not, when the park was first being planned, the designers requested a suspension bridge, but eventually, they settled on the design that we have today.

I took this shot of the Bow Bridge back in October 2015 (in fact, I shot it on my birthday). I love the late fall, when nature gives us a wonderful nature show and Central Park just lights up with a wonderful chromatic display.

It’s funny how life can be charging along at full speed, everything going right (or about as right as it usually goes) and then, when something happens and everything comes crashing to a halt.

I had personal goals set for the year – goals related to work, goals related to photography, goals related to other hobbies that I have.  For example, I belong to a weekly photography group called 52 Frames.  I managed to have a perfect submission record in 2013 and 2014 — and I stared that way in 2015 as well… until my mother died in February – and then my life came to a crashing halt.

It took me longer than I expected to get back into my routine.  Needless to say, I did not maintain my perfect submission record.  In fact, there were times, even months afterwards, where I just didn’t feel motivated enough to take and submit a picture.  Even when I began to emerge from the mourning, I still wasn’t always 100% motivated to be creative.  As a result, my photography suffered.

That’s not to say, of course, that I didn’t produce anything of value over the last year.  I have a number of shots (see below!) that I’m extremely proud of from 2015… it’s just that I think that, had circumstances been different, I could have done far better.

Well, 2015 is just about done and I’m ready to face new challenges.  I’m looking forward to submitting to 52 Frames all 52 weeks of the year, as well as try some new, personal photographic challenges.

All that being said, let’s take a look at what I did do in 2015, and some of my favorite shots from the past year.

Macro and floral photography have always been among my favorites.  There’s just something about a beautiful flower, bursting out in color, that puts some life back into the spirit.  In addition, it’s always refreshing to see them in new ways, from angles and perspectives at which you don’t usually see them… and there are two such shots from this past year that capture those ideas.

The yellow rose is a standard macro shot.  I really like the detail that you can see in the rose petals in that shot.  Most of us don’t really stop and really look closely at roses and other flowers and I always marvel at the beauty contained in them when I do.

The second shot is a daisy shot from behind.  When we look at flowers, we generally look at the front — and for good reason.  But every now and again, it pays to look at them from the other side.  Sometimes, the shift in perspective is interesting in and of itself.  And, again, I love the detail that can be seen on the back of the stem.  Details in pictures are, to me, like sweet maple syrup on pancakes… you could live without it, but why would you want to?

The next two shots are from the city that I call home – New York City.  New York City is famous for lots of things including it landmarks and skyscrapers.  Of course, as a New York resident, I try to photograph them as well.  However, as with the flowers, sometimes you need to find a different way of seeing them, a new angle to explore.  I tried to do that in these next two pictures.

Downtown Manhattan as viewed from Brooklyn Bridge Park

Nightfall on the Hudson

Both of these shots are of structures that, if you’ve seen pictures of New York City, you’ve seen lots of times.  We’ve all seen shots of New York’s famous skyline and I’m sure many of you have seen the George Washington Bridge before.  However, hopefully, these shots are different than the ones you’ve seen before.

The first of these shots was a lucky accident.  I was on a date with my wife down by the Brooklyn Bridge when we stumbled across this view of downtown Manhattan.  Naturally, I went down to photograph it.  Lucky for me, my wife is a very good sport regarding my photography and was willing to put up with me taking the time to grab a few shots of the scene.  I liked the way the wooden remains of the old pier seemed to “point” right at the southern tip of Manhattan.

The second shot, too, was a lucky accident.  I was shooting up in Fort Tryon Park on the northern end of Manhattan, when I decided to head over to the river and see if I could spot (and maybe photograph) the famous Little Red Light House.  While hiking on a path near the river, I found a clearing that offered this view of the bridge.  As it turns out, it was just about sunset then as well, and I figured that this was the perfect place to capture the bridge as night began to fall.  This shot was the result.

This next shot was shot off of Red Hook in Brooklyn.

A sailing ship in New York Harbor, shot from Red Hook, Brooklyn.

I went to Red Hook to take sunset pictures of the Statue of Liberty.  Unlike other parts of the city and surrounding neighborhood, you can see Lady Liberty’s face from Red Hook.  I got some interesting shots of the statue, but this shot turned out to be my favorite one of the night.  The schooner (at least, I think it’s a schooner — I’m far from a naval expert) happened to pass right under the sun so that the sun was setting right on it’s mast.  The red glow of the sunset just filled the frame with this wonderful color that made this my favorite shot of the night.

Billings Arches at Fort Tryon Park

This shot was taken on a trip to Fort Tryon Park.  Part of the park used to be the estate of the Billings family once upon a time and this arcade, which leads to the Henry Hudson Parkway (and served as the entrance to the estate), is among the last of the remnants of the Billings house on the site.

Another shot that I’m proud of is this one:

Patriotic water drop refraction

When I started posting this picture in Facebook groups, lots of people asked me how I did it.  I happen to love water drop refraction photography (you can see some of my other refraction shots here) and I’m always looking for something new to try in this area.  The idea here is to focus on the water drops and not on the background.  I did this on July 4 (hence the patriotic theme) and almost everyone I showed it to really liked it a great deal.

The last three shots were all taken on the same day and, oddly enough, I have my boss to thank for it.

My birthday is in the autumn and I love to take pictures of the fall foliage.  The colors are simply amazing.  As it turns out, my boss suggested that I take my birthday off and do something fun.   So, I took the day off and went to Prospect Park in Brooklyn and Central Park in Manhattan.  These shots are the results:

The first two shots were taken in Prospect Park.  I couldn’t help but shoot the leaves on the ground and the puddle.  The third shot, taken in Central Park, is a long exposure shot of the Lake and the San Remo, taken just as it was getting dark.

So, those were my favorite shots from 2015.  On to a new year and new adventures!

Zev

I never really noticed how late in October the fall foliage season lasts here in New York City, and I was kind of surprised by how much color there was to shoot.  I decided to try to do my best to have the color “explode” off the page in a lot of the shots, and I think I managed to succeed.

I’ve been displaying these shots on Facebook over the last few days and have, so far, received quite a bit of positive feedback on them.  Some of the shots were released on Facebook while others are being shown here for the first time.  Feel free to scroll through the images…

I had such a great time taking these pictures that I think I’m going to take my birthday off of work every year and do this…

As always, comments are welcome, encouraged and appreciated.  Please feel free to let me know what you think of them.  Which are your favorites?

Zev

Despite what you would think, there are quite a few places in New York City where you can get decent nature shots.  The city is blessed with several large parks where nature shots can be found and even some of the smaller parks can give you a decent nature picture if you choose your angles correctly.

One of my favorite places to shoot in Manhattan is the North Woods, located in the northwest corner of Central Park.  When you walk through the North Woods, it’s very easy to forget that you  are smack dab in the middle of the busiest island in the US.

I happen to love waterfall shots and, as it turns out there are some waterfalls in the North Woods.  Towards the northern end of the woods, you can find this idyllic scene, which is the shot that I submitted:

When the weather gets a bit nicer and as the woods blossom with their spring green, I’ll have to go there again and spend more time shooting in the North Woods.

What do you think of this shot?  Comments, criticisms and critiques are always welcome, encouraged and appreciated.

Zev

This is the shot I submitted.  These are the famous red stairs by the TKTS booth in Times Square.  I took this shot while seated on the ground in front of the stairs.  I thought about the best way to try to capture these iconic steps.  My first few shots were okay, but nothing to write home about.  Eventually, I hit upon the idea of tilting my camera to the side to give us this unusual view.

Among the other shots I took that day include:

A tourist on the red Times Square steps.

This is a variation of the shot I actually submitted.  I debated back and forth between this shot and the one I actually submitted.  Ultimately I went with the other one because I love the diagonal tilt.

Other shots that I took again include:

The two shots above are from Central Park.  I went on a photo walk the previous Sunday in Central Park by Belvedere Castle.
This last shot was taken by the Apple Store on Fifth Avenue.  To be fair, this is not an original shot — I saw it in a blog post on stair shots.  Nonetheless, I went there to see if I could find an original take on the shot.  I didn’t have a lot of time to spend there and so I didn’t really have a chance to experiment much.

What do you think?  Did I choose the right shot?

Zev

The San Remo is home to a number of celebrities.  It is said to have amazing views of Central Park from its uppper stories.  A two-bedroom condo in the San Remo could be had today for a mere $5.9 million. 

I captured this shot of the San Remo at sunset.  The setting sun reflected off the side of the building, creating an almost unreal lighting on the north tower.  I quickly snapped off a few shots, hoping to capture the lighting as best as I could before it disappeared completely.  I’ve learned from experience that lighting in these situations can change *very* quickly and, sure enough, within a few minutes, the light was gone.

As always, feel free to comment.  In addition, please feel free to LIKE my Facebook page The Graceful Image.

Zev

One of my favorite parts of the park is The Lake.  The Lake is located (mostly) on the west side of the park from 72nd to 77th street.  One of the most-photographed places in Central Park is Bethesda Fountain, which is right by The Lake.

There is a path that goes around The Lake, which includes many of the iconic spots of the park, including the Bow Bridge and the Boathouse.   After spending some time around the fountain, we walked the path around The Lake.  This shot was taken from that path.

As always, feel free to comment on the picture.  In addition, please feel free to like my Facebook page and share my pictures.