Good Luck Life in the Trees

I've been realizing the bad habit that I have when I'm out street shooting. When I'm street shooting I have my eye peeled for everything at eye level...the photo I'm currently using as my banner is a great example of what happens when I'm paying attention to what's directly in front of me. But, I'm trying to break this habit because what you see when you look up is often so beautiful that to miss it would be criminal. Okay, maybe not criminal, but, it would be a damn shame.

It's cold in New York. It's windy most days and it's grey a lot of them. I went down to City Hall to run an errand the other day and thanks to this weather I had the park all to myself so since I never go down there, I decided to sit on a bench for a while. I was leaning back and suddenly all I was able to see were contrasts, lines and shapes. This is something that happens to me a lot when I shoot architecture, but rarely nature. In nature I see curves and shadows, various degrees of lights and darks.

I was humbled by the light shining beyond the branches and the stark greyness of the winter sky. The trees were mostly bare and all the leaves were all dead and about to fall right off yet but there was a sign of life - I heard an uncontrollable chirping. It was deafening. I started to tune out the sounds of the very loud traffic on Park Row and the Brooklyn Bridge. It reminded me of spring but then I started to feel the chill so I decided to pick up and go. I didn't want my luck to run out and have one of the little guys poo on my head...which I'm sure would have happened. But, depending on who you ask, it's good luck.