Starting at around midnight last night, we had about twelve solid hours of rain with just enough cold wind to make it as miserable as possible without actually turning the city into a winter wonderland. While walking to work from the subway station this morning, I became convinced that God meant for us to stay in bed and watch cartoons on days like today.

 

However, the rain let up just before lunchtime, and seeking an escape from the office, I decided to head over to Central Park and take a walk. As opposed to the green trees and hordes of tourists to be found in the park during warmer months, Central Park was all but deserted this afternoon (all the tourists had migrated over to nearby Fifth Avenue for holiday window shopping), and the trees were bare, forming a surprisingly peaceful sanctuary mere yards from the busy streets of Manhattan. If Tolkien's Fangorn Forest had been sculpted by Frederick Law Olmsted and plopped into the middle of New York, then I think it would have looked something like this.

 

Central Park stretches for miles north of 59th Street, but all these photos were taken near The Pond at the southeast corner of the park, about two blocks from my office. Apologies for the iPhone photos... I had inadvertently left my real camera back at the office.

 

Upon entering the park from Sixth Avenue, I decided to snap a photo with my iPhone...

 

 

... And once I started taking photos, it became impossible to stop.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A surprising bit of green in an otherwise gray landscape.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lunch break is over. Time to head back into the wild...

 

Central Park is awesome, but that weather reminds me why I'm in LA right now :-)

Thanks!

I love Central Park.  I love the concept.  I love the design.  Any idea how its footprint would layout over MidTown Cleveland? ;)

Cool!

 

If yo look really closely, you can see MTS waving...

 

Thanks for sharing

Nice! I think the iPhone may have been the perfect device for the atmospheric effects. Sort of like using a Holga for softness.

 

We were supposed to have a high of 41F today with rain and snow mixed, but the temp barely broke freezing before heading back down. We've had flying snow flurries from time to time, but the wind is too strong for anything to accumulate in the open.

 

Temp right now is falling rapidly from 20F, with tonights low forecast 11, and wind continuing into tomorrow. The wind is whistling around my house, and if I go outside my back door, I can hear it roariing in the treetops. It's 30-40mph, with possiblity of gusts 50-60mph in tonight's forecast. Snow is moving in, with only about one inch forecast. Combined with the wind, that translates to acres of bare ground with scattered deep drifts.

 

We're one week away from the anniversary of last year's ice storm that took out power for a week or more in some local areas and caused $6,000-plus damage to my two properties.

Lovely pictures.

 

Cool!

 

If yo look really closely, you can see MTS waving...

 

 

 

I was out of the office most of the day.

 

I was at castings.  FYI.  Just because friends say you should be on TV.....that doesn't mean you should go to the audition.

Nice! I think the iPhone may have been the perfect device for the atmospheric effects. Sort of like using a Holga for softness.

 

Thanks... Funny you mention Holga, as I just came from a gallery opening featuring Holga photos. A friend of mine works for Holga in Hong Kong, and was in NYC for the occasion, which is how I ended up there... I had no idea what a Holga was until just a couple days ago.

Nice! I think the iPhone may have been the perfect device for the atmospheric effects. Sort of like using a Holga for softness.

 

Thanks... Funny you mention Holga, as I just came from a gallery opening featuring Holga photos. A friend of mine works for Holga in Hong Kong, and was in NYC for the occasion, which is how I ended up there... I had no idea what a Holga was until just a couple days ago.

 

Technology-wise, Holga is just about two steps backward from the cheapest Kodak Brownie of sixty years ago. It's all plastic, right down to the lens, and shoots 120 roll film. It can produce photos with a soft and dreamy texture, and the negatives are big enough that someone without an enlarger can contact print them.

Central Park is wonderful... always a must-see when I visit NYC.

you sure caught that weather well (ugh, i am currently sick because of it). anyway how nice to see you pulling the camera out!

 

I love Central Park. I love the concept. I love the design. Any idea how its footprint would layout over MidTown Cleveland? ;)

 

hmm cool idea, i would love it if somebody could whip that up for us? can anybody overlay cp over a midtown cle map?