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Greyshot Arch in Autumn - A Central Park Impression

Greyshot Arch in Autumn - A Central Park Impression

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Greyshot Arch in Autumn - A Central Park Impression

In looking at current photos of NYC, whether on the streets, in Grand Central Terminal, or below ground in the Subways, it's hard not to be unsettled by the eeriness the current medical emergency has brought to locations
typically brimming with humanity and the special bustle that is synonymous with Gotham.

So, a hopefully therapeutic look back to an inviting autumn afternoon last November, a time free of such anxiety. At first glance, one might cue in to the absence of humanity. But I can assure the viewer this was purely a momentary lull on a day lots of New Yorkers and visitors were enjoying Central Park, whether strolling or jogging under Greyshot Arch or as passengers crossing it on the West Drive in horse-drawn carriages. The busy crossing in the southwest corner of the Park was designed by Calvert Vaux.

So, rather than using eerie as a description, may I instead suggest ethereal, for the rendering of
the scene by the Kodak HIE Infrared black and white film in my camera on that autumn afternoon.

©2020 Steve Ember

Comments 3

  • Vinxi 19/03/2020 12:02

    It looks like someone was digging around in his freezer last fall. Steve, I live out in the countryside where even on a busy day things kind of look like the above picture. I would love to see a documentation of New York through the lens of Ember during this extraordinary situation in the city that never sleeps. Very probable you are experiencing the chance of a lifetime to photograph NYC in such a state. Or is that more something for conflict photographers? Nice picture, btw.
    • Steve Ember 23/03/2020 1:28

      Thank you, Vinxi, for that suggestion. I wish I could comply as there would be remarkable facets of the city to capture. However, the present unsettled situation is not a good one for travel to NYC...
      Ah, but you're right about what lurks in my freezer. I do long to shoot more Infrared B/W this Spring, just closer to home and in settings free of crowding. Especially looking forward to including Kodak HIE, my IR Gold Standard (of which I recently located a freezer-stored stash on eBay). It, too, lurks in said freezer!
  • Valery 19/03/2020 8:32

    Good photo!