A stroll through Central Park

I received a gift today.  A book from my daughter and her boyfriend.  Both are great photographers and the gift was a book about photography.  "Picture Perfect Practice" by Roberto Valenzuela.  I have only read the first two chapters, but so far, I can't put it down.  The parts I have read so far deal with geometric shapes and balance.  It is amazing when you start looking for shapes you start to see them everywhere.  Balance in a photograph is a little trickier and involves training your eye but I am starting to conscientiously try to make my compositions more balanced.  I recommend the book to any aspiring photographers.  What does this have to do with Central Park?  While going through old photos this week, I noticed some shots that I took on one of my trips to NYC to visit the couple that gave me the book.  I thought it appropriate to post several shots of a stroll we took through Central Park.  Notice examples of geometric shapes and balance, or the lack of it, in my photos.


Click on any picture for a larger image
 

These trees were interesting and, to me, just begged to be converted to black & white. 

Bethesda Fountain.  This is an OK shot but not very balanced.  The fountain takes up the frame and dominates the photograph.  This is fine if you are into fountains or are writing a guidebook, but the shot would be much more interesting with a different angle.














 

Love the arches in this one.  You can't help it, you have to look at them.












 

Geometric shapes everywhere in this one.  Squares, arches, rectangles














 

 This is a restaurant called The Boathouse.  Notice the balance while looking at the crowd.  The columns on the right balance the pillars on the left.  Lots of geometric shapes too.  This is, in essence, just a random shot of people eating but the balance and the shapes make it more interesting.

An orchestra was playing and drew a pretty sizable crowd.  You've got to love New York.  Note the strong arch in the center.













 

 Finally we come back to the fountain in the first photo.  Notice how much more interesting this one is?  The people and the arches on the right balance the fountain on the left.









Thanks for walking through a small portion of Central Park with me.  I know that from now on, I will be on the lookout for geometric shapes and trying to figure out how to better balance my photographs.


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