Main staircase of the McKim Building, Boston Public Library, Boston, USA

weekly update 010 - 2016-12-19 - A farewell to Boston

December 19, 2016

This week marks the end of my showcase of last year's trip to the USA, namely to the cities of New York, Chicago and of course Boston. And to finish things off on a high, nothing better than sharing the inside of the McKim Building of the Boston Public Library. Founded in 1848, it contains 23 million items that range from books to DVDs, maps to microfilm and music scores. It's main two buildings are the Johnson building, opened in 1972, and the gorgeous McKim building which opened in 1895 pictured here.

And I'll leave you with a different version of the same picture I showcased when I was there, the George Washington statue at the Public Garden on a cloudy afternoon. Passing through these gardens became my favourite part of the day during our short stay in town. Hope to come back for a visit soon.

Since I'm flying back to Portugal for the Holidays, expect some nice shots from the westernmost country in Europe, which I called home for most of my life. Until then, enjoy the season with your loved ones, and indulge on your favourite treats.
See y'all next week.
APN

George Washington Statue at the Public Garden, Boston, USA

Boston and the Massachusetts Bay from the Skywalk, Boston, USA

weekly update 006 - 2016-11-21 - high above Boston

November 19, 2016

This week's update comes from high above the city of Boston. On the 50th floor of the Prudential Tower you can find one of the best views of Boston, from the Skywalk Observatory.

The photo above shows the downtown area, the Logan International Airport and beyond that all the way to the Massachusetts Bay. The huge tower right in the middle of the shot was known as The Hancock Tower until 2004 when the company that gave its name to the tower moved to new premises. Now officially called "200 Clarendon", it still is known at the Hancock to most of the locals.

Below you can see views of the Charles River, still partially frozen from the harsh Winter. And beyond the waters, you see Cambridge Massachusetts, named after the University of Cambridge in the UK, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. It is known across the world as the home of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University.

I'll leave you with a photo taken at the end of the day, as the sun was setting, which produces wonderfully warm tones even on a cold, cold day. Next week I'll be showing the images from Cambridge.

Until then,
APN

Sunset shines over the George Washington Statue at the Public Garden, Boston, USA

#project365 year1 [day 015] going underground

June 15, 2016

Thankfully not all trains run overground in Chicago, and there are some fine underground stations like the Lake station pictured here.

-- Gear 
Fujifilm X-T1 Fujifilm 
XF18-135mmF3.5-5.6R LM OIS WR 
-- Post 
Lightroom : Initial tone and final crop. 
Photoshop: Clean up and sharpening. 
NikCollection Color Efex Pro 4: Toning and Detail extraction.

#project365 year1 [day 002] Dailies from Scotland

June 3, 2016

#project365_year1 [day 002] Dailies from Scotland

Driving from Edinburgh to Loch Lomond, passing through Stirling to take a look at the Castle. Stopped by Brea Restaurant for acouple of nice gourmet burgers, before attempting the climb up hill towards the castle. I do recommend a brief stop at café by the Church of the Holy Rude.

-- Gear
Fujifilm X-PRO1
Samyang 8mm f2.8 Fisheye
-- Post
Lightroom : Initial toning and levels
Nik's Silver Efex Pro : B&W conversion

#project365 [day 94] Welcome to Chicago,Il

December 3, 2015

Chicago, the windy city, gave us a sunny and chilli welcome. The clear blue sky, and the strong sun makes it look like a summer day, but the freezing air temperature, coupled with the ever present wind, made it clear that the city had just survived one of the worst Winters in recent memory. For the first few hours in the city I was just trying to get a feel for this town, that looks so different than New York where I spent the previous week. This was taken on the North side of Michigan Ave. Probably one of the busiest streets of the center, right on the Magnificent Mile. On the other side of the road, dwarfed by the skyscrapers, stands the Fourth Presbyterian Church. Built in 1912 in the Gothic Revival style and designed by architect Ralph Adams Cram.
This marks the start of me showing the great images taken from this great city in the three days I had the pleasure to spend there. This series will probably run into the fifth month of my project.

-- Gear
Fujifilm X-PRO1
Samyang 8mm f2.8 Fisheye 
-- Post
Lightroom : Initial toning and final crop
Photoshop: Sharpening, colour blending and clean up
Macphun AuroraHDR: HDR toning

#project365 [day 79] World Trade Center Memorial

November 18, 2015

Visiting the World Trade Center site in NY is a bit of surreal experience. Doubt that anyone in the world hasn't been affected in someway by the tragic events that happened more than 14 years ago. Even for those of us that had never visited the Twin Towers when they existed, the NY skyline seems to miss something. In their place two gaping holes exist extending to the former foundations. Transformed into two great fountains, surrounded by the names of all who lost their lives in the horrible attacks. This is a place of remembrance, a certain quietness is easily felt across the whole site, although it was still a construction site when I was there. And towering over it all the new One World Trade Center building, showing that the spirit of the city refuses to be broken.

-- Gear
Fujifilm X-PRO1
Samyang 8mm f2.8 Fisheye
-- Post
Lightroom : HDR photomerge, initial toning and final crop
Photoshop: Sharpening and colour blending
NikCollection Color Efex Pro 4: Toning and Detail extraction

#project365 [day 75] NY City Hall Park

November 14, 2015

This 8.8-acre downtown park is the perfect spot for afternoon lunch meetings as well as people-watching—newlyweds coming from the new Manhattan Marriage Bureau are often seen strolling the grounds. The park is home to more than a dozen monuments, and its bike path leads to the Brooklyn Bridge. In 1999, a $34.6 million project not only added a central walkway and gardens but also helped to bring a restored Jacob Wrey Mould fountain back to the park from the Bronx's Crotona Park. Almost all other photos I could find of this fountain show it with flowing water, but I guess that because of the harsh winter they have cut off the water and treated it as a garden. The Bethesda fountain at Central Park was also dry at this time of the year.

-- Gear
Fujifilm X-PRO1
Samyang 8mm f2.8 Fisheye
-- Post
Lightroom : HDR photomerge, initial toning and final crop
Photoshop: Sharpening and colour blending
NikCollection Color Efex Pro 4: Toning and Detail extraction

#project365 [day 74] Fifth Avenue Presbyterian

November 13, 2015

Fifth Avenue at Midtown Manhattan, NYC, is known worldwide as the epicentre of designer shops and luxury retail. But like many other idiosyncrasies in the city, you can also find some sanctuaries for the soul. Here is the Presbyterian Church, located on Fifth Avenue at 55th Street. In 1875, when it was dedicated, it was the tallest building in Manhattan with its steeple rising 87 meters high. Designed by Carl Pfeiffer, whose engineering skills are evident in the technological innovations he introduced in the sanctuary. Wooden louvers installed beneath the pews allowed warm air to rise into the sanctuary from steam pipes in the basement. On warm days, enormous blocks of ice were delivered to the basement, where fans blew cooling air upward. The Sanctuary did not have modern air conditioning until 2003.

-- Gear
Fujifilm X-PRO1
Samyang 8mm f2.8 Fisheye
-- Post
Lightroom : HDR photomerge, initial toning and final crop
Photoshop: Manual layer blending, sharpening and colour blending
NikCollection Color Efex Pro 4: Toning and Detail extraction

#project365 [day 60] William Cullen Bryant Memorial

October 30, 2015

On the back of NYPL's Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, you can find Bryant Park, a tiny 39,000 square meter public park with a wonderful lawn in the middle of all of midtown Manhattan's skyscrapers. Previously known as Reservoir Park, in 1884 it was renamed Bryant Park to honour the New York Evening Post editor and abolitionist William Cullen Bryant. In 1899 the construction of the New York Public Library building began, and when it finished in 1911 the memorial was also created. On it's center you can find the bronze statue of Bryant created by Herbert Adams. The history of the park has been marked by a great period of deterioration, and by the 1970s it had been taken over by drug dealers, prostitutes and the homeless. In 1980 the Bryant Park Restoration Corporation was created with the purpose of restoring the parks former glory, which had been achieved by the 1990s after major rebuilding projects.

-- Gear
Fujifilm X-PRO1
Samyang 8mm f2.8 Fisheye
-- Post
Lightroom : Initial toning and final crop
Photoshop: Sharpening, colour blending and clean up
NikCollection Color Efex Pro 4: Toning and Detail extraction

#project365 [day 44] I'm on top of the Rock

October 14, 2015

Out of all the photos I took at the 'Top of the Rock', some of them with breathtaking views, this is the one I think translates better the feeling of being up there. The sense of being high above the streets, above most buildings even, and the city lights stretching almost infinitely in all directions.
Below us is the Fifth Avenue, where you can see St. Patrick's Cathedral, a Neo-Gothic church built in 1879 whose twin-spires measure 100m tall and seem tiny from up here. This was taken from the 69th floor, 256 meters from the ground (that's 840 feet in imperial), and I can't recommend enough going there when in NY. Even the elevator trip up there has been transformed into a ride.
Again using the fisheye lens, this time to give more of the impression of really being there, not to try and include more in the frame. This tiny lens has found a permanent place on my travel bag.

-- Gear
Fujifilm X-PRO1
Samyang 8mm f2.8 Fisheye
-- Post
Lightroom : Initial toning and final crop
Photoshop: Sharpening, colour blending and clean up
NikCollection Color Efex Pro 4: Toning and Detail extraction