Fenway Appreciation

October 30 Update: The Red Sox can definitely go pound sand. Bah.

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A few nights ago I had the pleasure of watching my St. Louis Cardinals defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers for the National League Championship*, which means we're going to the World Series**! This weekend, the Boston Red Sox defeated the Detroit Tigers, which means we're getting a rematch of the 2004 World Series. I am looking forward to our avenging the 2004 World Series loss and putting the Sox down. Payback time, baby. But I'll set aside my hostilities for but a brief interlude:

On another one of my many work trips this year, I traveled to Boston and actually had an opportunity to see a game at the venerable Fenway Park (or Fenway Pahhk). I don't know what exactly I was expecting it to be like, but I think going in, I wasn't expecting it to be very nice, since I knew it was also rather old.

My experience was diametrically opposite of my expectations. Fenway Park was really really nice. It was far smaller of a park than I expected, and I'd hazard a guess that it's one of the smallest of the 30 major league stadiums. But small in this case translates to an unexpected benefit: even the cheap seats felt very close to the action. The park had apparently recently undergone some renovations; whatever they did paid off, and I really enjoyed my experience.

The Red Sox, as far as I'm concerned, can go pound sand. But their stadium richly deserves its hallowed reputation. Here are a few photos I took during my visit.

Like I said: no bad seats

Fenway Franks guy***

I came away from Fenway an admirer of the stadium. Utterly wonderful Temple of Baseball.

Ok, that's enough nice things. Let the hostilities recommence! Go Redbirds!****

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*Woooooo!!

**Woooooo!!

***Upon showing Sharon this photo of the hot dog guy, she exclaimed, "Yeah, that's totally a shot you would make."

***WOOOOOO!!!

2013 Project 52, Week 41: Street Photoessay St. Paul/NYC

Week 41: October 8-14

I spent a little time in the past week reflecting on this photography project and on the minor miracle of my keeping up with the weekly entries up to this point. Doing something for 40 straight weeks does instill a bit of a routine and

So this past week I tried to make a more conscious effort to practice at finding street photography subjects. My entry for this week came from a work trip that took me to St. Paul, MN, for a few days. I noticed this bank of windows across the street from my hotel entrance one morning on my walk to the meeting location, and I returned to it later in the day to snap this shot.

35mm (DX) : ISO 200 : f/4 1/20s
St. Paul Self Portrait

2013 Project 52, Weeks 36-37: Two for the Beach

I spent all of last week in Palm Beach, Florida, for a course on Power Engineering ("Modeling and Simulation of Generation Units". Sexy, I know). Sharon came down with me for part of the week for a hard-earned and well-deserved mini vacation. The days were split between the class from the morning til afternoon and out on the town with Sharon and the guys (we stayed at a hotel next to a mall. Sharon did just fine while I was occupied in class), with a little work sprinkled in between.

I brought the camera along for two separate visits to the Singer Island beach and the Atlantic Ocean (and thanks to the Tuesday-through-Monday setup of this Project52, I scored "two weeks' worth" of images):

Week 36: September 3-9

35mm (DX) : ISO 200 : f/4 1/500s
I can see the ocean in her eyes shades

Week 37 September 10-16

10mm (DX) : ISO 400 : f/16 1/25s
Palm Beach sunset

2013 Project 52 entries:

Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | 

Week 8 | Week 9 |  Weeks 10-13 | Week 14 | Week 15 | Week 16 | 

Week 17 | Week 18 | Week 19 | Week 20 | Week 21 | Week 22 | 

Week 23 | Week 24 | Weeks 25-27 | Week 28 | Week 29 | Week 30 | 

Week 31 | Week 32 | Week 33 | Week 34 | Week 35 | 

2013 Project 52, Week 33: Halifax Harbor

Week 33: August 13-19

I spent a solid two days and two nights in beautiful, if rainy and foggy this time, Halifax, Nova Scotia, this week. One aspect of my job that I appreciate all too little is the opportunity it provides for me to travel across the Northeast of North America, not just the United States. Prior to taking this job, I would not have been able to point out Nova Scotia on a map; now, Halifax is one of my favorite cities to visit. (The same goes for Quebec and its jewels, Montreal and Quebec City. Ask any random American where Quebec is- I guarantee they will locate it incorrectly more often than not).

There's curiously a lack of people showing up in my photos from the trip; I don't recall that being an intentional feature. As much as I like Halifax, I think I wasn't totally comfortable going for the more street photography-type shots I look for; this combined with the cloudiness and low light (not a good excuse, but one I will lean on until I break free from it) kept me going for the street photography subjects to which I am more naturally drawn and instead pointed me mentally towards the more landscapey, landmarky images that comprise my idea of "travel photography". Maybe that's not what I feel most comfortable doing? I do remember walking all over the place looking for a good vantage point with middling success.

Whatever. I like this shot of this boat in the harbor. Everything on the water in Halifax is just pretty to me. Even the refineries and industrials across the bay. I want to get to the point where I can capture that and feel confidently competent enough to see it and do it.

10mm (DX) : ISO 800 : f/8 : 1/80s
Halifax Harbor

Old Town Clock on Citadel Hill

Art installation on the Boardwalk

2013 Project 52 entries:

Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | 

Week 8 | Week 9 |  Weeks 10-13 | Week 14 | Week 15 | Week 16 | 

Week 17 | Week 18 | Week 19 | Week 20 | Week 21 | Week 22 | 

Week 23 | Week 24 | Weeks 25-27 | Week 28 | Week 29 | Week 30 | 

Week 31 | Week 32 | 

2013 Project 52, Week 28: The Poconos

Week 28: July 9-15

Sharon and I took a long weekend trip this past weekend to celebrate our fifth wedding anniversary. (Five years! How time flies. And many more to come!) We've been looking forward to an opportunity to get out of the city and slow things down a bit. We figured we'd explore some vacationing spots close by to the City, and we decided on the Poconos in Pennsylvania, just an hour and a half outside of New York, to kick our feet up for the weekend. It's lovely out there; it's not our usual cup of tea, but we happy to go.

10mm (DX) : ISO 200 : f/8 : 1/20s
Buttermilk Falls

On Saturday, we rented bikes and set off on the trail running through the Lehigh Gorge State Park. We stopped a few times along the way to admire the scenery to snap copious amounts of photos at the photogenic sites interspersed throughout the park. The perfectly-named Buttermilk Falls was located just yards away from one of the main checkpoints of the bike trail, and it proved to be a popular stop for families and their kids. I snapped a few shots of the falls and, when most of the people had cleared out of the area, grabbed this photo, shooting from the hip, of a lady and her daughter playing in the pool.

I took many photos this weekend of the beautiful rustic scenery of the Pennsylvania Poconos; it figures I would select one of the few I took featuring (say it with me...) actual people in it for the project. It really reinforces the idea to me that I should get out and shoot more since I have here (this, here, being New York freaking City, after all) an overabundance of people milling about to compliantly position themselves in front of my viewfinder. Lying about the house isn't going to produce the same possibilities; given the time I have on my hands, particularly when Sharon is out, I could do much better than sit around the house by my lonesome with a bunch of furry little morons for company.

More from the weekend:

2013 Project 52, Week 22: Fog After the Storm

Week 22: May 28 - June 3

10mm (DX) : ISO 200 : f/11 : 1/10s
Fishing in the Fog

I was in Cooperstown, NY, for a conference last week. This was my second time there; we'd been at this same location a year ago, and I had come and gone last time without

1. visiting the National Baseball Hall of Fame and
2. bringing my camera and capturing the stunning beauty of Otsego Lake and its surroundings.

I was not going to repeat these mistakes this time around.

A severe thunderstorm/tornado warning-generating storm had just rolled through Otsego County just after the first day of our conference had ended*; but you'd never know by looking outside after it had passed. My coworker decided to go on a bike ride and lent me his tripod (after I'd finished kicking myself for neglecting to bring my own). Fog began settling in over the lake, and the wind made some rippling hatching across the water. After a tumultuous, at times frightening stormy interlude, it was actually a beautiful evening.

2013 Project 52, Week 20: Beantown

Week 20: May 14-20

I spent a day and a half in Boston this week for work- it was for a noon-to-noon type meeting. While packing for the trip, I initially decided against bringing my camera along. It was such a short meeting, what chance would I have to get my camera out for anything?

I slept on it and awoke with a changed mind. I stashed my camera in my carry-on before running out the door.

I'm glad I did this. There's a saying among the photography sites I frequent and read: "the best camera is the one you have with you." It proved true this week for me. After dinner with colleagues Thursday night, we went our separate ways, and, while kicking myself for not also stuffing my tripod into my luggage, walked around looking for inspiration and did not have far to find it.

What I found in the dark Boston evening was a wealth of forms and glowing electric lights. With the sun down and few colors to consider, I found myself thinking mostly about shapes, lines, form, and shadows:

10mm (DX) : ISO 800 : f/4 : 1/30s
B&W Metro Entrance

I saw the Rowes Wharf arches from three blocks away...

2013 Project 52 entries:

Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | 

Week 8 | Week 9 |  Weeks 10-13 | Week 14 | Week 15 | Week 16 | 

Week 17 | Week 18 | Week 19 | 

2013 Project 52, Week 16 - Charm City

Week 16: April 16-22

I mentioned that I had been in Baltimore for an entire workweek for a series of meetings. I took the Amtrak to and from, which allowed me to pack a bit more cavalierly than I otherwise would- train travel means neither any of the usual TSA hassles nor any of the ghastly baggage fees of today's air travel. It. Is. Great.

Initially I thought I might bring my camera and more than one lens with me, since I would probably have time in the evenings to walk around. But, having to pack for a week meant that my bags were filling up with clothes and overflow for work related notebooks, I put my money where my moaning and groaning mouth was and packed only the 10-20mm lens.

I had a few evenings to wander with the camera and one evening at the Orioles' wonderful ballpark at Camden Yards. I went shutter-happy at the ballgame and came away with a few that I liked, though it wasn't until Sharon looked over them and was able to verbalize what was compelling to her about the images I took that I was able to pin down and file away some more notes on compelling storytelling via photography.

10mm (DX) : ISO 200 : f/4 1/25s
On his own

This was not originally the one I was going to pick; but after taking to heart Sharon's explication on the lines leading towards home plate, stadium curves, and focus on the solitary man in the outfield (Baltimore's Nick Markakis), I was convinced of its post-worthiness. There is so much to learn and keep in mind when I'm out shooting- to say nothing of the settings and technique- that have very little to do with the mechanics of arranging the camera to take a shot and very much to do with the mechanics of creating an image and crafting a story. This is my real struggle, to engage all parts of my mind equally (or perhaps, learning how best to apply it unequally) between the analytical and creative.

2013 Project 52, Weeks 10-12: Catch-Ups and Recaps

Even though I put up my two "What I Did On Vacation" posts (Barcelona here; all other locations here), they don't really count as Project 52 entries...

[A quick programming note: I'll just come out and say that I missed Week 13 altogether. I was swamped from catching up on work and going through vacation photos that it just didn't happen. It's too bad, since it is the quarter pole for 2013, but I won't lose any sleep over it. I have two entries for one week, as you'll see below, so it can take the place of Week 13. Week 14's entry is already shot, so I am back on the horse.]

Week 10: March 5-11
These two photos (I can't choose between them both) from our first two days of the trip turned out to be my favorite and possibly my best. I think I've said before that I turn photos to B&W when I run out of ideas or options or just can't figure out the color. But both of these shots had such great lines/curves to go with the textbook high contrast conditions for B&W that I think I knew I would go this direction as I was shooting it (could this be... am I learning? :D).

10mm (DX) : ISO 200 : f/4 : 1/50s
The platform at the Glories metro station in Barcelona, the closest to our hotel

10mm (DX) : ISO 200 : f/4.5 : 1/15s
Passageway in the Castel Montjuic

Week 11: March 12-18
There were so many memorable sights from the Lanzarote trip, but as soon Sharon and I walked into town in Arrecife and saw the sky and the water, we knew it would be gorgeous. I'm still learning to use this wide angle lens properly, and I don't think sticking it at 10mm is quite the answer all the time, since it sucks out so much at that focal length... but that doesn't mean I can't get off some great captures with it.

10mm (DX) : ISO 200 : f/8 : 1/2000s
Lowtide in Arrecife

(Did I say I am going to try to learn shooting at something other than 10mm? I just realized every photo in this post is at 10mm. Oh well.)

Week 12: March 19-25
Malaga was beautiful and interesting; I only wish the weather had been better especially while we were exploring the Castle Gibralfaro. I ducked into a turret when it began drizzling and decided to try shooting through one of the windows that faced the Mediterranean.

10mm (DX) : ISO 800 : f/8 : 1/200s
Through the lookout hole in the Castle Gibralfaro

2013 Project 52 entries:

Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | 

Week 8 | Week 9 | 

Sailing to the Canary Islands and back

Continued from the first post on our days in Barcelona (¡Visca Barça! ¡Visca Catalunya!).

We departed from Barcelona on the Norwegian Spirit for a cruise that took us through the Strait of Gibraltar (in the dead of night in either direction, to our disappointment) to Madeira, Portugal; Tenerife and Lanzarote of The Canary Islands, Spain; and to Malaga, in the Spanish region of Andalusia. All of these places were so lovely and interesting it felt like a pity that we had but a few hours at each setting to take things in...

Click here for the entire set of photos from everywhere-but-Barcelona.

Barcelona in Photos

Our vacation began in Barcelona. I went into our trip armed with only a modicum of information about this city where we were about to spend a few nights- I went mostly with the attitude of "let's just see what we find." What we found was an incredible city. Barcelona was beautiful, vibrant, but laid-back and full of interesting things to see and delicious things to eat.

It was also quite photogenic. After the jump, I've posted several of the photos taken that I consider "keepers" (with a few others mixed in); the full "keepers" set can be found on my Flickr page. The entire album of presentable photos strictly from Barcelona has been posted to Google+. (There is another post to describe the other places we visited, coming next).