A Bow for Every Season

Today’s Post by Mildred Alpern

From an archer’s bow

With it graceful sweeping curve

Cupid’s arrow flies

Why shoot the same image time after time? Let me suggest some reasons.

Invariably, I am drawn to Bow Bridge, the perfect arc of a bridge in Central Park that is the site of many marriage proposals and Woody Allen movie romances. In every month it is beautiful, drawing local and out-of-town visitors.

Season after season, I prefer to shoot from the far side of the Lake where the sixty foot bridge span shows off its graceful curve, casual boaters glide by, and the framing trees exhibit the time of year. The site has all the elements of a fairy tale setting.

A different prime lens (12mm, 45mm, 78mm) makes the shoot an interesting exercise for comparisons of focal length and magnification. The different seasons add an ever-changing backdrop. In December the autumn leaves in full color are disappearing; in April, the fresh greens are sprouting; and in October, the summer greens still dominate. For both technical and aesthetic reasons, Bow Bridge is a lure.

The autumn and spring images were shot with the Olympus E-M5, the autumn with the Olympus Zuiko 12mm f/2 lens with an exposure of 1/1600 sec at f/3.5 and ISO 200; the spring with the Olympus Zuiko 45mm f/1.8 with an exposure of 1/250 at f/11 and ISO 400.The summer green’s was shot with the Olympus E-M5 Mark II with the Olympus Zuiko 75mm f/1.8 lens with an exposure of 1/1000sec at f/7.1 and ISO 1250.