Tag Archives: central-park-photos

Operation Proposal

November 17, 2010 – 6:59 pm
We’ve been getting a lot of requests to secretly photograph marriage proposals.  What a fantastic idea – love the romance and forethinking of the husband-to-be’s to contact us to capture this special moment!  During the summer, Todd contacted us to say that he was coming to NY and was planning to propose to his girlfriend in Central Park and wanted us to photograph the whole thing.  His plan was to propose on a row boat.  My familiarity with Central Park and both of our practical planning skills were put to the test to come up with a foolproof plan for “Operation Proposal.”  With both Todd and I being former boy scouts, we fully understood the important of  planning.  For you non boy scouts out there, “Be Prepared” is the Boy Scouts’ motto.

Photographing a couple in the middle of a lake in a park full of tourists requires careful planning. Especially when Todd’s travel plans did not allow for us to meet beforehand to see what the other person looked like.  Not only did we exchange photos of ourselves, we sent photos of the clothing we would be wearing.  I wanted to be sure that I was taking photos of the right couple.  Todd also wanted to know that his paparazzo was ready to capture the big moment before popping the question.

During the week, we finalized logistics and I recommended a spot on the lake that would give me a few good vantage points for photo taking at that time of day. When I arrived at the park on the morning of “Operation Proposal”, I realized that the South side of the lake where I told Todd I would be standing was closed for renovations!

I sent Todd a text to tell him that I had to change my shooting position and hoped that he would get the message in time.  If he didn’t go to the other side, I wouldn’t be able to get candid photos of them on the lake before he popped the question.  I was relieved to see Todd rowing towards the North side of the lake – looks like he got my text.  I could tell Melissa was enjoying the ride while Todd nervously rowed the boat.

I told Todd that he should propose just East of the Bow Bridge.  He was hesitant because he was worried that there would be a lot of boats near the bridge.  I convinced him that it wouldn’t be a problem. As luck would have it, when Todd moved into the spot, there was a bit of rowboat gridlock.  So I watched him nervously hover around the spot waiting for some of the other boats to pass.

Meanwhile, on the shore, a group came over and started to have a wedding ceremony inches from where I was standing!  The couple is probably still talking about me and saying that I was an inconsiderate TMZ photographer so concerned with getting a shot of an unsuspecting celebrity that I didn’t move away from their wedding ceremony.  Sorry, guys, but I was there first and had an important job to do.

After the congestion cleared, Todd was ready to propose.  I photographed Todd’s proposal while listening to another couple’s wedding vows.  I love the reaction from the woman in the boat behind them.

After Melissa said “yes”, they went back out on the lake to take in the moment.   When they got back to shore, we took a little “photo walk” around the park and I got some portraits of the happy couple.

As part of Operation Proposal, we also interviewed them about their experience.  Check out the following slide show with images and audio clips from the interview.

Many congrats to Todd and Melissa.  We are so pleased that everything went as planned without a hitch and Melissa said “yes” to getting hitched!

By aliceandjames | Posted in Engagement Shoots, Funico Studios News | Also tagged , , | Comments (4)

Sledding in Central Park After the Big Snow Storm

February 13, 2010 – 12:27 am

Alice and I went to Central Park the night of the Big Snow Storm. I brought my little Fujifilm point-and-shoot camera instead of our regular big cameras and lenses because I knew I would be meeting friends to play in the snow. As you can see, the park was beautiful.

Central Park After February Snowstorm

The snow-covered trees lit up by the park’s lamp posts made for some great photos!

Central Park in the Snow

These photos are a testament to why I think the FinePix F31fd is one of the best point-and-shoot cameras for low light photography. Most point-and-shoot cameras produce very noisy images when there is not enough light. As you can see from these images, my little camera did pretty well using only the park’s street lights. Of course, there was some Photoshop magic added (a little run-of-the-mill camera can only do so much!) I am a big fan of this camera, but I don’t want this posting to become a point-and-shoot camera review.

Sledding in Central Park

The camera also survived our late night sledding experience. Actually, most of the time we were riding down the hill on anything but a sled. With school canceled, all the sleds in the stores were long gone by the time we went to the park. No problem. Who needs a sled when you have a pile of broken sleds and makeshift options left by others after their fun in the snow? There was a group of about 20-30 adventurous souls in the park that night sliding down the hill on anything that would do the trick. Those who did bring the real deal, for example, a big wooden toboggan and a vintage flexible flier, were eager to share. It was a late night slip-sliding-fest with everyone trying a plethora of sledding options. Here we are holding a few of our “sleds.” I have the top of a garbage can, Scott is holding part of a sign and Richie is holding a deflated tube. Don’t let looks deceive you. That little pink tube provided one helluva ride.

Makeshift sleds

For those who live in Manhattan, I highly recommend visiting Central Park when it snows. For those looking for some late night sledding fun, you should know that you can always find a fun crowd at Cedar Hill (East Side of the park between 76th and 79th Streets). At this spot, sleds are optional.

By aliceandjames | Posted in Funico Studios News | Also tagged , , , , , , | Comments (2)

Another Best-in-Show Winning Print

December 18, 2008 – 11:28 pm

One of my prints recently won Best-In-Show at the WPPA quarterly print competition.  I’ve been a member of this local PPA chapter for a few years and have won awards in many of their quarterly print competitions.  It’s such an honor to win because I have such high respect for my fellow members.  I’m competing against some very established and experienced photographers and also new rising stars in the industry.

As a professional photographer, I find these competitions very valuable because each print gets judged and critiqued by certified judges and master photographers.  Of course, constructive criticism can sometimes be frustrating (don’t want to lie and say that criticism is always music to my ears!), but it’s also a powerful learning experience. 

The award-winning photo below is a candid that I had captured at the Renaissance Faire a few months ago.  When I was growing up, I would always see the Renaissance Faire commercials on TV, so Alice and I were excited to go this year.  The judges said that the lighting and expression of the guitar player is what makes the photo so powerful.

Some of my other entries that scored high but did not win ribbons included some High Dynamic Range (HDR) photos I had taken in Central Park, NYC.  HDR photos are created by taking several images of the same subject and then merging them together to bring out the photos’ highlights and shadows.  These were my my first attempts at creating  HDR photos and I look forward to mastering this new technique.   This one was taken at the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir.  The judges loved the lights and reflections in the water but said it lacked a central subject.  I guess I will have to go back and do it again while some ducks are swimming in the water! 

 

This is a photo of Central Park’s recently-renovated Bethesda Terrace Arcade.  The judges felt that the cropping and details in the highlights could be improved.  This can be done on the computer and will not require any bird control tactics.

By aliceandjames | Posted in Awards, Funico Studios News | Also tagged , | Comments (0)