Boston

[tgtaylor]

Hi all,

I will be in the Boston area on a business trip from Saturday, 16 March to the following Friday (the 21st) and will be bringing an F6 and P645NII to do some photography when not working. What's some good subject matter? I like historic architecture, street, scenic...just about anything that's “photogenic.” I have to work during the day until around 3ish and will have the rest of the day and evening to pursue my photographic interests. The hotel is in Danvers and I plan to spend Wednesday and Thursday visiting the seafood producers in New Bedford. Any tips are greatly appreciated and would be available to meet with other forum members from the area.

Thanks,

Thomas

[diversey]

I know Trinity Church is beautiful and photogenic. David

[JWebb]

From Danvers you have pretty good access to the North Shore. Marblehead's old town is very photogenic and right on the water, There is one home whose corner was cut under to allow the kings coach to pas through. Also in Abbots Hall is the original painting "Spirit of 76". Very narrow streets with numerous homes from the 1700's. Going north on 128 is Gloucester and just a little further is Rockport. Rockport is touristy but it is still very scenic and at that time of year will probably not be crowded. Since your in Danvers stop by Bill & Bobs or Nicks for one of the best Roast Beef Sandwiches you'll ever have.

[jnantz]

there is a sea of 19thcentury
textile mill architrcture in NB and in fall river
might be a bit sketchy
scenics along the charles river ( both cambridge and boston sides )
and an abundance of houses, brownstones, townhouses and fun architrcture
on beacon hill / back bay. there used to be a brick walk called the freedom trail
that would bring you around boston, the north end , quincy market / haymarket
( farmers market on friday and saturday in the am )
for revolutionarry war sorts of stuff ( kings chapel old north church &c )
if you like newish architecture there is a bunch of it there too
tall glass and steel buildings, a facadectamy on state street where they kept the facade of an old building
and built a skyscraper behind it .... chinatown/ midtown cultural district / combst zone isnt dangerous anymore and offers nice streetscapes and buildings and street photography too

have a nice trip!

[Winger]

JWebb and jnanian have good ideas. I'll add that Salem isn't far either and does have neat cemeteries and architecture as well as being on the water (not sure how many boats are in the harbor this winter, but it might still look cool). There's also a museum ( http://www.pem.org - Peabody Essex Museum) if the weather is not great for wandering around. Well, and all the kitschy museums about the witch trials (some are more accurate than others).
In Boston, there are some good scenic buildings near the harbor, such as Rowes Wharf. It's really difficult, imo, to not find something worth shooting along most of eastern Massachusetts.

[Ray Drueke]

Hi,

About New Bedford - during the whaling times it had the highest per capita income in the world! Architecture, large homes etc, from that period reflect that. The Whaling Museum and surrounding neighborhood is very photogenic, including cobblestone streets and the Seamen's Bethel on Johnny Cake Hill.

New Bedford is still a fishing port and the harbor is home to many working boats in port because of catch restrictions. Lots of opportunities there as well.

PM me and maybe we can meet up if the weather is decent either Wednesday or Thursday. I'll shoot some film with you but it probably would be 35mm or MF. Not comfortable with the 4x5 outside in less than ideal weather yet.

Ray.

[jnantz]

new bedford has some beautiful streetscapes and architecture,
but after the sun goes down be careful because the drug trade ( and violence )
seems to have taken over the whaling and textile industries
> tried to cut and paste google search of new bedford drug but my browser wouldnt let me <

have a nice ( and safe ) trip

john

Hi,

About New Bedford - during the whaling times it had the highest per capita income in the world! Architecture, large homes etc, from that period reflect that. The Whaling Museum and surrounding neighborhood is very photogenic, including cobblestone streets and the Seamen's Bethel on Johnny Cake Hill.

New Bedford is still a fishing port and the harbor is home to many working boats in port because of catch restrictions. Lots of opportunities there as well.

PM me and maybe we can meet up if the weather is decent either Wednesday or Thursday. I'll shoot some film with you but it probably would be 35mm or MF. Not comfortable with the 4x5 outside in less than ideal weather yet.

Ray.

[tgtaylor]

Thanks for the replies everyone - very informative! Looks like I'll have far more subject matter than I can possibly cover in a week I arrive at Logan about 5pm Saturday afternoon and by the time I get the car and check into the hotel in Danvers, it will be time to head out with the cameras. Since Salem is near Danvers, I'll start there.

It anyone would like to meetup for coffee or a little photography while I'm there, PM me. Ray, I just sent you a PM. See you over there.

Thomas

[Jim Andrada]

Hi Thomas

Beacon hill is neat - they were going to replace the gas lamps with electric quite a few years ago and the residents chained themselves to the lamps - so the city changed course and kept all the gas lamps and they're still there today. The old State House in downtown built in 1713 has a gilded lion and unicorn. The Harvard residence halls along the Charles River are worth a look as is Massachusetts Hall in Harvard Yard (1718)

A spot most would miss is the Mt Auburn Cemetery just west of Harvard. Just leave the Square on Mt Auburn St and the main entrance will be on your left about 2 miles out. Some amazing statuary and well worth the time. The Audubon Society had keys to the gate for bird watching. There are a couple of small ponds with crypts set into the surrounding small hills - very Edgar Alan Poe-ish on a foggy morning. Somewhere there's a family plot with a glass dog house inside of which is a life-sized statue of the family dog. Some well know monuments - Nathaniel Bowditch of navigation fame, Mary Baker Eddy who founded Christian Science, has a large memorial and there was a phone installed in the crypt because she had an expressed fear of being buried alive - or so the story goes. Another really interesting thing , although they won't let you carry anything in, is a 40 foot or so stained glass globe with all the countries as of around 1914 represented by stained glass with a glass bridge so you can walk though the center of the earth so to speak. Located at the Christian Science mother church on Mass Ave near Symphony Hall.

Plenty of traditional white New England churches in Concord/Lexington and lots of small old cemeteries scattered about here and there. The grounds of the DeCordova museum in Lincoln always have interesting modern sculptures on exhibit and they never seemed to mind when I set up a 5 x 7 to photograph them decades ago.

Rockport is touristy but interesting and you can have a shot at photographing the red lobster shack made famous by being the subject of zillions of paintings and photos - google "Motif No. 1". Gloucester and Bass Rocks area are good if the surf is up.

I second Trinity Church in Copley Sq/Back Bay area. When they excavated for the 60-some story John Hancock tower nearby the water table dropped and since the church was built without any structural steel (except one small I-beam that supports a stairway) and sits atop several thousand wood pilings that were in danger of rotting when the tops dried out there was quite a huge flap and they installed huge pumps to continually keep the pilings wet. The Hancock Tower was the first mirrored glass building in Boston and the 5 by 11 panes of glass started to fracture and fall out onto the street below so they had to replace all 11 thousand of them after construction was complete. I worked across the street from the tower and somewhere I have a box full of glass shards that I refer to as Hancock Crystal.

I don't know if the boats are running yet, but in season you can got to some of the harbor islands and get good skyline shots of the city.

Great area - have fun. I'm in your neck of the woods today, in San Jose for meetings tomorrow and Tuesday then off to Raleigh and back to the desert. I'll be meeting up with my clients from Tokyo later today. No Acros this time, just 100 sheets of 5 x 7 Provia.

[jp]

From the perspective of a Mainer, there are two reasons to go to New Bedford; you're a fisherman who has to, or you are a drug dealer needing a resupply. Boston is New England only for historical and pro sports reasons but is otherwise avoided by most New Englanders. Sort of like Upstate New York is different than the city of the same name. Back to Boston. Plenty of architecture and history there. Great colleges and science museum. A short drive to the west is Worcester which has an amazing art museum if you have time. Gloucester and Rockport and decent visits. I haven't been there but would like to visit Walden Pond, the Larz Anderson auto museum, and the Collings foundation in stow (closed this time of year)