Location scouting

What a gray, humid week it's been. Today was a repeat of the kind of heavy, cool dampness that descended on us Tuesday morning. Only that day I had the energy to still get up and try to beat back the oppressive air with a tour of Central Park. Nacho had been out for an early morning bike ride to Manhattan and back and declared it was a great, quiet day in the park. Since I also have a few photo shoots there coming up, I thought it would be a good idea to have a little walk through of the areas I'm interested in shooting. Never hurts to plan ahead. Even if the photos themselves are unplanned. Spontaneity is the key to good photography, I believe. But as I've been finding out, leading clients around aimlessly in the hopes of finding good seating and back drops takes a little more than luck. It takes good eyes and being quick to make adjustments to how people pose and stand. So with that in mind, we went on a little family adventure and I kept my cell phone handy to frame things and see what worked. It was a beautifully lush day in the park and there were no weekend crowds to beat back. Absolute heaven...

We climbed Belvedere Castle where Carolina promptly asked to see the princess. Of course, she must  have been sleeping. At least, I'm pretty sure that was the most satisfying explanation. It helped that on our way to the top of the tower, there was one more level sealed off with a ladder going nowhere. I pointed this out to Carolina and she bought the story completely. The princess does not want to be disturbed. And who could blame her? Such a damp and listless day. Except for the amazing blooms we inhaled at Shakespeare Garden, the colors were a muddle of greens and browns with few bright spots. But oh, those blooms. I couldn't stop myself from smelling them again and again. It was like being in a perfumeria. I can hardly believe it's taken me so long to check out that area of the park. You would think in 9 years of living here, I would have been there countless times, but honestly that day might have been my first. And it definitely left an impression. So yes, I'll be back. And if the weather cooperates as soon as the weekend. Time to shoot!