Shot with Canon 5D, TS-E 24mm f/3.5L, B+W ND3.0 filter
@ 24mm, f/8.0, ISO 400, 60s

This view is what you get when you stand where the Conservatory Water shot was taken, step back about 20 paces and do an about-face. I spent about two hours that day just soaking up the view, enjoying the cool breeze, and all the beautiful sounds of the city.

The technique and equipment (except the lens, just for kicks) were the same for this shot as the last. The original idea was to capture a group of kids playing on the statue (unstaged) for an ethereal feeling. So when a large group of kids came along, I just knew I was going to get what I was looking for.

It was really amusing listening to the kids whisper to one another as I stood there taking long exposure photos – I must have either looked fascinating, or creepy. Hopefully, the former. They said things like: What’s he doing? I think he’s making a movie. [10 minutes later...] Think he is waiting for us to leave? Is he taking our picture? Should we get off the statue?

After letting them wonder for a while, I explained to them exactly what I was doing, and that no, I was not waiting for them to leave; that I actually wanted them to be in the photo, and that they should just keep doing whatever they were doing because they’d end up a blurry sort of mess anyways.

No sooner than I’d finished explaining myself was I approached by their professor – apparently this was a school trip for an art class from London. They were just spending a little time relaxing in Central Park before they were to meet in a designated location to draw the city around them. We talked a bit about the city, where they’d been, etc. and then got back to the subject of photography. The professor mentioned the name of a photographer who’s done some similar work, and it was funny that he brought it up, because when I was doing research before my trip, I did a Google search to see if anyone else had done long exposures in daylight (outside of landscapes) – this photographer (whose name evades me at the moment) was the only one I was able to find with anything remotely similar to what I had in mind.

Looking back, I really regret not having any cards with me to hand out at the time (that was the one thing I forgot to pack). I’d love to be able to show the professor and his art students the results of my photographs that day, and from the rest of my trip.

Unfortunately, the shot I like best, today’s photo-of-the-day, isn’t described by the story above. I felt like the best shot I took at the statue was of one main figure – it just feels right, and I also think the angle/composition tells the story best. Nevertheless, I think I’d be silly not to post some of the photos that show the art class, so I’ve included a handful below. The class is all over the statue, and the professor is the faint figure on the right.

In processing these photos, I started out with my custom Lightroom preset, Sepia, then adjusted exposure, clarity, and color temperature. In every other way, these images are straight out of the camera.

Shot with Canon 5D, 300mm f/4L IS
@ 300mm, f/4, ISO 500, 1/5000s

When I finally made my way to the Alice in Wonderland statue for a shot I’d planned out before my arrival in NYC, I was greeted with a pleasant surprise (though not totally unanticipated). In the Conservatory Water there were a couple of remote control sailboats under the control of some rather young sea captains. I can only vaguely remember seeing such images in posters, or movies, or something… I can’t even recall where. This is one of those things I’d subconsciously wanted to shoot for a long time, so I ceased the opportunity. It was a little tricky because I had to anticipate where they were going to make sure I’d be in the right spot (and the captains had to be part of the image, of course).

Unfortunately, the best shot I got still doesn’t totally thrill me. I mean, I like it, but I can’t help but be bothered by the man on his cell phone behind the crouching captain, and the couple further to the right in the background. I haven’t made up my mind whether I feel that kills the image totally or not, though… I may end up just cloning those people out, but that will be a little more complex a job of cloning than I care to do in Lightroom (Photoshop does still have its uses).

Processing on this shot started out with my custom Lightroom preset, Sepia. The only other thing I did was brush in an exposure adjustment (+) in the water because of clipping shadows (there are still some clipped shadows, but it’s more controlled now).

I hope you enjoy the photo as much as I enjoyed watching this modernized version of a classic scene unfold before me. I’d love to hear your thoughts on the other figures in the shot and whether you believe they add to or take away from the overall photo.

I’ve manually tweaked a lot of photos in Adobe Lightroom 2, and as a result, I’ve come up with some go-to settings that generally work well for my style, or at least give me a great starting point.

There’s nothing secret that’s going on in my photos, and there’s certainly nothing you couldn’t do yourself, if you’ve got the desire and the artistic vision. You just have to know what you want and play around with processing until you get it there. That being said, there’s an old saying: Garbage in, garbage out. If the photos aren’t good to start with, no preset is going to help.

If you like the look of my black and white photos (examples: 1, 2, 3), download my custom Lightroom Preset: Grayscale, Punchy. It’s free, and it should help you gain a little more insight into all the adjustments that contribute to the end result. Don’t be afraid to tweak things a bit, maybe you’ll like a different level of contrast, a different tone curve, or more/less vignetting. Experiment, enjoy, and don’t forget to share your feedback and your results!

Download preset: Grayscale, Punchy

Not sure what to do with this file…? Don’t worry, I wrote-up some quick instructions and even recorded a screencast to help you install Lightroom presets in this post.

Shot with Canon 5D, 300mm f/4L IS + 1.4x extender
@ 420mm, f/5.6, ISO 200, 1/400s

This shot was taken not long after Seeking solace in the big apple, and it’s pretty similar, although easily my favorite of the two. What makes this one stronger for me is the connection between the women as they’re gossiping, talking business, complaining about the men in their lives (your guess is as good as mine). For me, it’s interesting the idea of an entire city of people having one huge place to just go relax, talk, listen to music, nap – whatever. It’s a very important part of the city, and there’s just something magical about Central Park.

Once again, processing on this image was pretty minimal. I started out with my custom Lightroom preset, Portrait – Dreamy, and finished up with some slight adjustments to saturation (-) and contrast (+). This weekend I’ll put up another preset or two for download, so keep an eye out for that.

Shot with Canon 5D, Canon 300mm f/4L IS + 1.4x Extender
@ 420mm, f/5.6, ISO 200, 1/640s

After walking around the city streets and Reservoir Lake for several hours with a camera bag full of lenses plus a tripod, it was time for a little break. So I found a quiet spot near the castle, threw my stuff down, grabbed some dirty dogs from a nearby cart, and proceeded to work hard at doing nothing. Doing what real New Yorkers do, I really felt in-tune with the city as I laid there. Though I’ve been to Manhattan at least five or six times now, this was the first time I’d had the time to just do absolutely nothing in Central Park, while the weather was at the same time cooperating. There’s something special about Central Park… a vast expanse of nature, surrounded on all sides by towering skyscrapers. Like a [beautiful] weed that just sprouted up in the middle of your driveway. It’s one of the reasons I’m so in love with NYC.

In order to capture people absolutely undisturbed and unawares, I pulled out the big guns. Not just the 300mm f/4L IS, but the 1.4x extender in front of that. With this combination, it was like looking through a telescope. The thing that I like about this shot is that there’s nothing at all to indicate that it was taken in the city. To me, that just goes to show how well the park was designed. If things get too hectic and you need to get away, look no further than Central Park. A subtle detail, in the lower-right corner of the photo you can see a couple lying down taking a nap in the lawn. This is New York.

Very little processing was used in this photo. I started out with my custom Lightroom preset, Portrait – Dreamy, and finished off with slight adjustments to saturation (-) and contrast (+).