Last week my good friend Paul and I ventured into New York for an engagement shoot. Great, right? Only thing, it was in the middle of a TORRENTIAL DOWNPOUR! But we soldiered on!
Now many of you who know me, clients and friends alike, all know how adamant I am about NOT rescheduling my engagement shoots because of rain. Why not, you ask? Well, what if it rains for your wedding? We can’t reschedule that, can we? And don’t you want a photographer who is comfortable and confident in all weather conditions? I know I would! I have to say some of my favorite shoots were done in the rain. I also really and truly love being forced to think outside of the box, and an e shoot in the park during the pouring rain will certainly do that!
So we met up at the Boathouse restaurant in Central Park and decided to duck into this little tunnel right near it for cover from the deluge above…. so while we are shooting, I see these Hari Krishnas come floating down the stairs, and I say to Scott and Nicole (who have not seen them yet) ‘Whatever happens, just stay focused on each other, ok?’ And then they descend and it was so fun to see this unexpected little splash of color on our dreary day!
So we just hung out in the tunnel for a while and waited for the rain to subside…. they got right into it and were a dream right from the start!
Our next stop was the Bethesda Fountain, which is right next to the pretty tile place that is yet unnamed in my brain- and as yet is unnamed in my awesome Central park iphone app! This app is the BOMB, and I love it and highly recommend it. It will locate where you are on the map, and where all of the spots to check out as well! My favorite feature? The SOS button that will located the closet bathroom, food and water! How cool is that!
So the best thing about a rainy day? The light!
These two were super spontaneous and up for some fun, I loved how they kept me on my toes!
Once the rain stopped we hit up the fountain!
Love the shoe shots here, and how they are snuggling with their toes
The second best thing about when the rain stops? PUDDLES!
Come on with these reflections, right! OK, the third best thing? No people are around in the park!
These two have some serious camera chemistry!!
I love all of the textures in the park, they seem never ending
My 14-24 2.8 came in right handy here! Being able to show the scale here of them to the bandshell is nice!
Texture Central
My favorite thing about New York is how incredibly random everything can be, most of all the people. During the better part of our shoot I feel like this rollerblading maniac of a guy was everywhere, and I slowly became obsessed with him. This guy was super expressive, and would come all close to us with his arms spread all wide! He was rocking OUT on his head phones to god only knows, and was just a flailer through and through. My bet? That he is a surgeon and this is how he chooses to blow off steam.
Texture Country
Scott loves the Mets, and so we did a little baseball theme for a spell, as I lay in the wet grass
Our last stop was at their apartment….which featured a rooftop pool! I was all over it!! And so were my pocket wizards
So to show you where we were, with no creative slant or anything, I set my camera to program and took this shot. Yes, it’s blurry or out of focus, whatever. Stop judging!!
ISO 500 shot with my 50mm G lens at 2.8 / 1/30th of a second
This is what was in my head.
ISO 250 / 50mm G lens at f 5.0 / 1/ 50 of a second.
Why did I shoot this at f 5.0? I wanted to show as much detail in the clouds as I could, and show some buildings, even though there weren’t that many. Where we were was important, and I wanted to show that. I slowed my shutter down to 1/50th to let in a little ambient light in addition to the remote flash I had set up behind Scott and Nicole.
This one was shot at: ISO 250 on my 14-24mm at 14mm 2.8 lens; at 3.2 1/40th of a second.
Same reasons as above, but I knew with such a wide lens I would have way more depth of field even at a wider aperture, and I wanted that. I really am happy with how they turned out!
Here Paul utilizes a ladder, because he’s not tall enough! Keep in mind we are on TOP of a 35 story building in New York! Or something like that! YIKES!!
I love the tones of these next few, and of course, the flare
Gold heels? Yep.
Many thanks to Scott and Nicole for putting on a brave face at the beginning and going with it! I am really excited for your wedding!
And many thanks to Paul for coming along, I had a blast with you!!
xo
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