Tag Archives: central park

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: New York City, Photographs: Travel

Balcony Bridge, Winter

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Photo of Balcony Bridge, Central Park, in winter snow.
“Balcony Bridge, Winter” — A winter scene at Balcony Bridge in Central Park, Manhattan

I have photographed and walked across Balcony Bridge in Central Park frequently. It is near the edge of “The Lake” in a popular area of the park, and in warm weather it is common to see lots of people pausing on the bridge to enjoy the view and take pictures. But it had a very different feeling on this cold and snowy winter day.

It only snowed for a few hours on the late-December morning, but it was enough to cover the ground with an inch or two of white, transforming the appearance of the park. The snow and the mostly-barren trees presented a starker landscape, one that reminded me of some well-known Bruegel winter paintings.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” from Heyday Books, is available directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: New York City

Winter Reflections, Central Park

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Lake edge with ice and reflections.
“Winter Reflections, Central Park” — Trees reflected in a strip of water at the edge of a frozen lake, Central Park.

I photographed this little scene on a cold morning walk through New York’s Central Park this past December. We were fortunate to have light snow one morning, and that changed the appearance of the city and the park. It had already been cold enough to freeze most of The Lake’s surface, but the light snowfall covered imperfections. In this spot fallen leaves rested on new ice and the reflected the silhouettes of nearby trees.

The concepts of “nature” (and even of “wilderness”) are complex and, I think, not entirely fixed. Sometimes we accept the notion that these things mean “devoid of evidence of humans.” But there’s a problem with that idea — it suggests that humans are independent of the natural world. Finding the natural world in places like this — even if you can perhaps hear car horns in the distance — is a reminder that nature is everywhere and we are a part of it.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” from Heyday Books, is available directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: New York City, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Central Park, Trees, Snow

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Photo of Central Park, Trees, Snow — Manhattan
“Central Park, Trees, Snow” — Tall trees silhouetted against a backdrop of Manhattan buildings on a snowy day in Central Park.

I seem to attract “interesting” weather when I visit New York City. Part of this may be my predilection for visiting in August when, as any New Yorker knows, the weather is atrocious. (There’s a reason that August is a traditional vacation month for residents of the city.) For years we also tended to visit over the holiday break, when the weather can be very cold, at least by California standards. I made this photograph during our recent December visit.

I have been told by people who live there that snow isn’t that common until after the New Year. But we had a morning of light snow just before Christmas. To be honest, it was a treat for us, and we went for a couple of long walks in Central Park to enjoy the wintry scene. The photograph looks through a grove of winter-dormant trees towards the tall buildings of Manhattan.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Photographs: Fall, Photographs: Fall Color, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: New York City, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Autumn Reflections, Central Park

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Autumn Reflections, Central Park
The Manhattan skyline is reflected in the water of The Lake on a hazy autumn day, Central Park.

Autumn Reflections, Central Park. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

The Manhattan skyline is reflected in the water of The Lake on a hazy autumn day, Central Park.

We arrived in New York City late in the day, too late to do much other than meet up with family, get a bite to eat, and head back to the hotel. We stayed on the Upper West Side, more or less to the west of the Natural History Museum, and thus a short walk from Central Park. So the next morning — after coffee, of course! — we headed that way to walk and do a bit of photography. We were happy to see that there were still many trees with autumn foliage.

We casually ambled around this lake, known by the descriptive name of “The Lake.” To get photographs from the park that include the Manhattan skyline, I usually seek out open areas that are less obstructed by trees, such as meadows and lakes. The lakes have the added attraction of providing interesting reflections. So here the scene is the lake (oh, sorry, “The Lake”), the autumn foliage of the surrounding trees, and beyond that the skyline of Manhattan just south of the park.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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