A couple of hours in Boston - The Boston Public Library

I just returned from a quick trip to the Boston area. Knowing that I would have very limited time to shoot images, I got off the plane at 5:30pm, grabbed my rental car, and high-tailed it into downtown Boston while I still had some daylight. 

The first thing that I noticed were these beautiful tulips. I got down low to the ground so that I could get a shot of the flowers without showing the dirt underneath them. (Photographers note: It is always important to have a main subject in any image, so in this image I made sure that the focal point was on the tall purple tulip to the left of this image. I also made sure that the image used the rule of thirds, with the main subject off center of the image.)

Here is a wider shot of the tulips in Copley Square, in front of the main library (left) and the Old South Church. As you can tell, it was a cloudy day, so the skies were rather dull, but at least I did not have to worry about shadows in my images.

Just like my trip to New York a couple of weeks ago, my primary destination was the main public library. Why? Because, like the main library in NYC, Boston has a beautiful reading room and I wanted to capture images in this historic building. This is an image of the entrance to the old library.

Funny thing is, after returning home from the recent trip to NY, I saw an article in the San Jose Mercury News highlighting the most beautiful libraries in the U.S.

Now I can say that I have photographed in two of the most amazing public libraries in the United States.

Just like in NY, I wanted to capture images of the reading room, keying in on some of the people who were studying. 

Then I got back in the rental car and drove to Fanueil Hall to shoot some images during my favorite time of day. The light was fading quickly, so it was time to mount the camera to my tripod and go search for shooting locations.

As I mentioned, it was really cloudy, but you can't let that stop you from shooting photos. In this case, I used the cloudy sky to my advantage, showing how Fanueil Hall was clearer than the tower in the background. 

I came across this cool intersection, with great lighting and nice cobble stone roads. Even though the skies were overcast, the evening light still came through, giving the images a really nice purple background.

This is probably my favorite image from the trip. (Photographer’s note: This image really works due to the combination of colors and lines. Notice how the lights and the curve of the alley draw your eye deeper into the image. I even like the fact that the neon “O” is broken in the sign, giving this image a little more character.)