Central Park Bench

Michael Kenna’s photograph”Central Park Bench”is one of my favorites among his New York City photogragh collection.When you first look at it you think its nothing more than a bench, but if you take a closer look at it again you’ll see that the photo is very detailed in certain areas.Its a simple approach , but very eye catching.When I look at this photo I feel very calm.The mood is set by the black and white tones and the lights that look like twinkling stars.Almost like a dream,which is why I find it to be such an interesting piece of art.The photographer only focuses on the front part of the bench and as it gets farther away from him its blurred along with the tree and lights. From the cameras vantage point I see that Michael was squatting next to the bench to get that straight line structure because the camera is aligned with the bench.He framed the bench just right only get a clear shot of the bench and the floor in front of him instead of the whole scenery.

There are uses of horizontal and vertical lines mainly from the bench and cemented pathway.The photo was taken at night time and contrast with the white of the street light and lightbulbs on the tree.The tree with light farthest from the camera seems to have no shadow,while the on a little past the camera seems to make a shadow on the floor.There also seems to be some light that touches the bench softly making me think that there is another tree with lights on it placed in front of the bench.Which could mean theres some sort of pattern with the trees being aligned in the park. Only certain trees seem to have lights not all. The cemented stones could also be a continuous pattern.

Michael’s other photo “fifth Avenue” caught my attention right away. It made me remember why people refer to New york city as the the city of lights.The photo displayed big skyscrapers and lots of lights.Thus showing the busy and energetic lifestyle of New york city.

http://www.michaelkenna.net/gallery.php?id=14