5th Avenue & W53rd Street, New York City

October 19, 2013

I made these pictures in the 2 minutes and 26 seconds after 3.38pm. I had been walking along W53rd Street when I noticed how the sun, shining down 5th Avenue, was being bounced around by the high-rises and shop fronts. It was not the first time I had found backlighting with beautiful front fill light on the streets of New York City.

5th Avenue & W 53rd Street, NYC - Images by Paul Foley

Street photography requires a photographer to be ready for the moment. I like to shoot on either manual or shutter priority so I make sure to adjust exposure whenever I move into different light. The first few frames were shot at a high shutter speed (1/2000th of a second) which narrowed the depth of field. I quickly changed down to 1/250th to increase the range of focus. I set the exposure compensation to -2/3rd of a stop and framed the picture to include the lit part of the street corner while levelling the camera as best as I could. I wanted to avoid creating distracting convergence angles on the buildings, which happens when a camera is tilted too far, as well as to give a sense of the streets of New York.

I photographed during a single lights change, standing still, as shoppers, tourists and business people walked past me heading downtown. I didn’t really concentrate on any particular face - it was all happening so quickly.I did notice, however, that some people were looking down 53rd with very interesting expressions as they came up to me. I wondered what it was they were looking at but knew if I turned to see I would miss shots. The light could disappear at any moment so I kept shooting before turning to cross the street just as the red hand flashed. I never did work out what they had been looking at.I often walk the street looking for pictures with my large professional camera - the Canon 1Dx. I’ve tried compact cameras but have never been happy with the images made with the smaller sensors. I can’t afford a Leica and, while I am hearing good things about Fuji cameras, at this stage I am sticking with the full frame sensor.

In the somewhat vain hope that I can make the 1Dx more discreet I use Canon’s very compact 40mm ‘pancake’ lens to lessen the apparent bulk of the camera. This is not always a success as the tiny lens looks so out of scale on the body it often causes photography enthusiasts to ask me about it. I’m always happy to talk photography and very happy to rave about this small, simple lens. It is one of the cheapest that Canon manufacture and, from my testing and use, one of the sharpest.

Featured on the NSW Tales Blog

I was very pleased when asked to be featured on the NSW Tales blog. Not only a great resource for all that is happening in NSW it is also a regular showcase of the state's photography talent. I was very honoured to be included.

This is a sample of the pics on the blog but you should head over to the blog to see them all and find out more about what is going on in NSW! If you do visit please be sure to like the page (if you like what you see of course!)

Have you visited my Collectable Photography website recently? If not it has had a major facelift - I hope you can find a little time to have a look.

Spring is Springing!

As I sit at the computer tapping this out the forecast tells me the temperature is heading towards 26 Celsius today. For some the first day of spring is tomorrow so it looks like its arriving right on time.

I took these pics a couple of days ago on the delightfully named Yellow Rock Road in the beautiful Shellharbour hinterland in NSW, Australia. The red buds are just beginning to show on these historic Coral Trees (Erythrina) that line the road leading to a series of dairy farms.

Country Road - Images by Paul Foley


According to a document prepared by Shellharbour Council, Coral Trees (aka Flame Trees) are historically part of the Illawarra and this Avenue of Coral Trees is an excellent yet now rare fragile example of the cultural planting fashionable from the 19th century. The Avenue is a culturally significant marker in the historic and wider landscape.

Coral trees were once prevalent around all farm areas of Shellharbour. Tree avenues were fashionable in the 19th century, especially around a homestead or along the drive leading to the homestead. They were generally sought as a shade tree, to make roads and entrances and to protect the farm from the southerly winds. Cultural plantings are evidence of settlement and the taming of the landscape for agricultural, industrial or aesthetic purposes.

A quote from papers dated 1839-1861 of Dr Robert & Mrs Menzies of ‘Minnamurra House’, Minnamurra Lane, Jamberoo by Arthur Cousins gives a clue to their planting:
"There was also a fence whose posts were beautiful coral trees, attractive to dollar birds and others and affording good shade in summer to the cattle."

Menzies is also attributed as being the first person to bring Coral tree cuttings from Capetown, South Africa sometime around 1839. Whilst some coral trees remain near homesteads and scattered in former paddocks, an extended avenue like the one along Yellow Rock Road is rare. This particular Avenue is attributed to being planted in c1895 by local farmers in the area of the Robb, Couch, Clarke, and Dunster farms.

Many species of 'Erythrina' have bright red flowers (cf. Greek erythrós meaning ‘red’) and growth of the branches can resemble the shape of sea coral. All species have bean-like seed pods. The resilient buoyant seeds are often carried by the sea for large distances and may be called ‘sea beans’. The seeds are eaten by many birds. The leaves are used as food plants by the larve of some species. Many birds visit the nectar-rich flowers, including some parrot species e.g. Lorikeets.

As this wonderful display of colour is only going to get better over the next few weeks it might be a good time to Visit Shellharbour.