Central Park East: I.  Deb at Sailplanes Unlimited, whose offices are a stone's throw from Central Park East, told me that the cherry trees near the Bethesda Fountain would be at the peak of bloom on Easter weekend. I worked that Saturday, but when Easter Sunday dawned with clear blue skies and bright sunshine, I decided on a photographic foray. Even if Deb were wrong about the Park, I could just head a few blocks further south and take in the traditional Easter Parade on Fifth Ave.

As you can tell from the photos at right, Deb was right. Central Park East was ready and waiting. The mild winter coupled with plenty of recent rain made for bright green lawns and early blooming fruit trees. And just about everybody in New York descended on the Park that day -- joggers and strollers, roller-bladers and bikers, students and seniors, sun-worshipers and lovers, not to mention quite a few folks like me hoping to capture the crowded, glorious Park on film.

Speaking of film, the film I used for the images on this page was a 400-speed proprietary film supplied by Dale Labs in Florida. Although I have used Dale for years and can recommend them unconditionally, I'd still suggest you avoid their house-brand film. The images on this page are small because the color rendition and resolution supported by the film doesn't warrant making them larger!

I should say, "with one exception". The last image, a view of Central Park Lake from the East lent itself to computer wizardry. If you click on the thumbnail image you'll be treated to a magnified, pointillist view of the scene. Skyscrapers dominate the background; their reflection is shared by row-boating couples midground; a couple on the bank of the lake, left foreground, take it all in. Not quite Monet, but still nice!

After changing film to our standard Kodak Gold 200, we took some more pictures from approximately the same viewpoint.