Strolling through Branch Brook Park and admiring the blossoming cherry trees is a pleasant experience. The paths wind through one picturesque scene after another. It should be no surprise – Frederick Law Olmsted was here. Olmsted, perhaps the most well known landscape architect and park designer of the last 300 years, designed in the British style – highly crafted landscapes that give the appearance of a natural setting when in fact every hill, every valley, every tree and bush has been considered.
For other examples of Olmsted’s work, see Central Park and Prospect Park in New York City.
Panasonic GH2 with the Super Takumar 50mm F1.4. I think I was lazy this day because once I put this lens on I didn’t take it off. Like here, when we got to the top of this hill overlooking the cherry blossoms below, I could have taken out a wider lens, like the 35mm in my bag (the 21 was with my sister-in-law). Instead, I thought that I’d try to make do with what I had. It’s a good exercise, and the lessons that primes are supposed to impart – think about ways to tell a story and compose a scene using what you got. In a similar situation, someone with a standard kit zoom would undoubtedly go as wide as they could and capture as much of the vista as possible. That could work, and I would probably do something similar, but then I’d end up with the same shot as everyone else, wouldn’t I?