New York Botanical Garden

On Independence Day we took a trip out to the New York Botanical Garden, next to the Bronx Zoo.

Conservatory

Reflections again, using a circular polariser to get a deep blue sky.

Getting the sky to be blue mystified me when I got a DSLR last year. With a point-and-shoot I had learned to be very careful not to shoot into the sun to avoid having the foreground in shadow. Metering on the DSLR took care of the shadow problem but left me with greenish, washed-out skies, and it was a while before I realised that it was because I had forgotten the perils of shooting into the sun. I've relearned that lesson, but a circular polariser mitigates it to an extent and gives bluer skies overall. Using a reflector to increase the light on a foreground subject relative to the background would help as well, but so far I've been put off by the inconvenience of carrying one (I'm a lazy photographer).

Stone Mill

An average shot of the Stone Mill on the Bronx River that runs through the garden, but the framing turned out nicely. Built in 1840!