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

Jay Pritzker Pavillion at the Millennium Park, Chicago, USA

Weekly update 003 - 2016-10-31 : Spring morning at Chicago's Millennium Park

October 31, 2016

This week I would like to share the sights from the Millennium Park in Chicago, captured on a crisp Spring morning in 2015. Located by Lake Michigan, just next to the Art Institute of Chicago, the Millenium Park is actually a roof-top garden, built to cover railway lines and automobile garage which were rather unpleasant to the eye on such a prime location. It is an ultra modern and interactive park with state of the art fountains, sculptures, theater and plenty of garden space to relax and enjoy in the heart of the Windy City.
One of it's most iconic attractions is the "Cloud Gate" sculpture by Anish Kapoor, also known as the Bean since it resembles a giant mercury jellybean, it is made out of a seamless series of highly polished stainless steel plates. Spending some time looking into it from different angles offers impressive views of the city's skyline, and when standing beneath it a feeling of being inside the house of mirrors at a carnival.
The Jay Pritzker Pavillion is a must see for all architecture fans. Designed by the mythical architect Frank Gehry, it follows in his use of fluid lines and panel, with a sense of weightlessness and organic shapes. "The Pavilion stands 120-feet high, with a billowing headdress of brushed stainless steel ribbons that frame the stage opening and connect to an overhead trellis of crisscrossing steel pipes".
I was also fortunate enough to be there when a large sculpture installation by Spanish artist Jaume Plensa titled "Jaume Plensa: 1004 Portraits". The entire installation is comprised of four large-scale portrait sculptures of young girls positioned in the Park, the tallest of the four sculptures, "Looking Into My Dreams, Awilda," is made of resin and rises 39 feet above the ground.

On other news, I have started the selection of the photos from Boston, which is the final city from the 2015 US trip. These should start being posted in a couple of weeks, just as I finish off the posting the Chicago photos.
With Chicago and New York done, I think this is the time to do a small update to the websites galleries. Since I also got a new piece of hardware that finally allows me to consolidate all the catalogs from the past 10 years of photography, I hope to do a big refresh to the whole website and include a lot of my concert photos as well as past trips.

Until next week,
APN

#project365 [day 87] Sunset from the Top of the Rock

November 26, 2015

The last photo that I'm posting from the Top of the Rock, in Midtown Manhattan, is actually the first I took. Having arrived to the top observation deck just as the sun was going below the horizon to the west of the city. This was the the view that made me say that a visit to the top of the Rockefeller Center is obligatory for every visitor in New York City. The Empire State Building stands out in the middle of the frame, with One World Trade Center just behind it to the right. The lights from the huge adverts on Times Square spills into the frame on the far right, and in the distance the Hudson is still bathing in the dying sunlight.

-- Gear
Fujifilm X-T1
Fujifilm XF10-24mmF4 R OIS
-- Post
Lightroom : Panoramic photomerge, initial toning and final crop
Photoshop: Sharpening, colour blending and clean up
NikCollection Color Efex Pro 4: Toning and Detail extraction

#project365 [day 86] Manhattan Postcard

November 25, 2015

This is one of the most photographed views of Lower Manhattan. I have seen inumerous versions of this view, and always wanted to know where it was taken from. And thankfully my wanderings through Brooklyn's shoreline got me to the right place. Unfortunately not at the best time, sunrise will reward you with the loveliest of light falling on the skyline, but at least I had some very interesting sky to help me out. The abandoned pillars make for an interesting foreground. Specially with long exposures which render the water with a velvety texture, which contrast with the well defined pillars. But I was there at midday, and without a Big Stopper to help me out, so the water looks very choppy. Whenever I get the chance to back to NYC, this is on my list to retake. It was taken at the end of the Brooklyn Bridge Park, and you may want to venture even closer to the water than me.

-- Gear
Fujifilm X-PRO1
Fujifilm XF10-24mmF4 R OIS
MeFOTO Backpacker Tripod 
-- 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 78] Manhattan from the porthole

November 17, 2015

Taken from the Brooklyn Bridge Park, in NYC, looking over downtown Manhattan. I have described this view a couple of times before, but I really wanted to show it again with this image. It's not really taken through a porthole, just a cheap variable Neutral Density filter that was not big enough not to block the extreme wide angle field of view of this lens at 10mm. But it did allow me to get an exposure time of a couple of seconds at the middle of the day, which in turn allowed for a softer water, it was very choppy this day, and also a blurry New York Water Taxi coming in from the right. Thankfully I had my trusted MeFOTO Backpacker with me, It was actually brand new at the time, a very nice little travel tripod that has become a fixture of my camera bag. I will do a small review of the tripod very soon.

-- Gear
Fujifilm X-PRO1
Fujifilm XF10-24mmF4 R OIS
MeFOTO Backpacker Tripod 
-- 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 72] Dusk to the West, from the Top of the Rock

November 11, 2015

Night settles down in New York City with a clear sky, and from the Top of the Rock the views turn from stunning to spectacular. From the viewing platform to the West the last rays of the sun are still visible, but the city lights are what catches our eyes. From here you can see the rooftops of Hell's Kitchen and the skyscrapers of Midtown, after that the Hudson River and then West New York.
This a must for anyone visiting NYC, seeing sunrise and/or sunset from the top of the Rockefeller Center offers you with some of the most spectacular views over the whole of the city. You need to plan it well, since it is one of the big tourist spots and always crammed full of people. Also no tripods are permitted, otherwise it would be impossible to walk around, so be inventive and try other ways of stabilizing your camera. Also the viewing platforms are completely enclosed with security glass, with some small gaps between each pane where only small lenses can fit.

-- Gear
Fujifilm X-PRO1
Fujifilm XF10-24mmF4 R OIS
-- Post
Lightroom : Panoramic photomerge, initial toning and final crop
Photoshop: Sharpening, colour blending and clean up
NikCollection Color Efex Pro 4: Toning and Detail extraction

#project365 [day 58] Brooklyn classic

October 28, 2015

Back in days 13 and 24 I showed the two elements that make this image on their own. The iconic Brooklyn Bridge and the landmark Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory form the landscape of the Fulton Ferry Pier. Together they represent the most classic image of Brooklyn.

-- Gear
Fujifilm X-PRO1
Fujifilm XF10-24mmF4 R OIS
-- 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 53] St. Bartholomew's Church, Park Avenue

October 23, 2015

Another cold morning in NYC, but this time with a glorious sunshine to help keep our spirits up and our pictures illuminated. Located in Midtown Manhattan on Park Avenue, one of the busiest avenues in New York, is a fine example of Byzantine Revival design erected in 1916-17 was designated a landmark in 1967. This Episcopal Church is noted for its pipe organ, the largest in the city of New York and one of the ten largest in the world.
One of the services available at this church, which I found very surprising, is Brunch + Bible which combines bible studies with food for the body, it even has a vegetarian option.

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

#project365 [day 49] Brooklyn Museum

October 19, 2015

This is the third largest museum in New York, at least in physical size, holding an art collection of roughly 1.5 million works of art. Founded in 1895 near the Prospect Heights neighbourhood in the borough of Brooklyn. The building designed by McKim, Mead and White it was planned to be the largest art museum in the world, the initial design was four times as large as the actual size, compromised by the specifications of the New York City government. The museum struggled to maintain its building and collection, until it was revitalised in the late 20th century.
The day was turning grey, after some respite while we were at the Brooklyn Bridge Park, with lots of menacing clouds over us (it would eventually rain). This made for a very flat light, which allowed me to capture the facade with lots of detail in the shadows, and added some drama to the sky. To be able to capture the whole front of the building, which is very wide, I decided to go with stitching 3 photos together and then cropping to a panorama.

-- Gear
Fujifilm X-T1
Fujifilm XF18-135mmF3.5-5.6R LM OIS WR
-- Post
Lightroom : Crop, tone and vignette
Photoshop: Panorama stitching, sharpening and clean up
NikCollection Color Efex Pro 4: Toning and Detail extraction