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Friday, October 09, 2009

One of my favorite things about Boston is that it is a great place for a walk, and a big part of what makes it so is the scenery. It is not much of an exaggeration to say that you can just point your camera in some random direction and get a great shot.

For example, I had to go earlier in the week from our place in Back Bay to Downtown for an errand. It was a gorgeous morning and, for a change, I remembered to take my camera along.

These are all the shots I took on the way but one, and that was just a close-up of the last shot. Other than the fact I had to crop two of these, they turned out really well. Enjoy!


I'd wanted a shot like the one below, of flowers along an alley, for some time, but as I walked towards them, the view in an adjacent alley caught my eye. It's the shot to the left above. Its combination of lighting and subject matter make it my favorite of this bunch.

Above and to the right, you can see one of my favorite kinds of view from our neighborhood: brownstones against high rises.


We move now to a few shots from Southwest Corridor Park.


The shot above is intended just to give a feel for what the park is like. It's a linear park between older neighborhoods filled with brownstones, and occupies land that had originally been cleared for Interstate 95. Local opposition killed that project, meaning that 95 would bypass Boston instead. A rapid transit line was re-routed beneath the cleared land and the park created on its surface.


Here and below are a couple of the many flower beds that the park features. It may seem hard to believe, but these are the only shots I have taken of them.

I look forward to seeing these beds blooming in the spring. Impossible to convey through the photos is how pleasant it was in the park on that sunny, autumn morning, with birds flitting about and chirping.


Above, we have one more shot (left) from Southwest Corridor Park, this one showing another of my favorite aspects of our neighborhood: the frequent juxtaposition of plants and interesting, old buildings. Given the combined effects of the numerous botanical features in the old neighborhood and its urban setting, you can see why my wife thinks of our neighborhood as an "island of civility." (And, since she reminds me of a hobbit, I nicknamed it "The Shire" long ago. We both often call it that now.)

The last three shots are from downtown.

I end on a humorous note. That sign in the center of the left of the last shot (above right) caused me to do a double-take!

-- CAV

3 comments:

mtnrunner2 said...

Fun stuff, and nice pictures. It's surprising what you can find just on an ordinary walk or outing, isn't it?

I enjoy taking pictures of everyday places and people in daily situations, more for me, than public consumption. We spend most of our lives doing such things with people (and pets) we know, and it's nice to keep them in mind and see them later.

And if you look back at history, some of the most interesting photos (to me anyway) are those of everyday life.

BTW, what camera do you have?

Rational Education said...

Great pics Gus!

Jasmine

Gus Van Horn said...

Thank you both.

The camera is a Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T5.