weekly update 007 - 2016-11-28 - welcome to Cambridge, MA

November 28, 2016

This week I have a more image heavy post, I blame it on the architecture of Cambridge, MA. Also on the fact that we got to spend a wonderful sunny day, although still very cold, walking around some of the most revered and well-known universities in America. As many of you may know, Cambridge is home to the Harvard university and the MIT. Starting the day at the Harvard station of the Red Line of "The T", as the MBTA is also known, which has a mid 20th-century vibe and is dominated by the crimson color of the Harvard University.

Walking over to Harvard Yard, the oldest part of the Harvard University and it's historical heart, you can find the statue of John Harvard under a big USA flag. John Harvard was an English minister in America, "a godly gentleman and a lover of learning", is properly considered one of the founders of Harvard College mainly due to his deathbed bequest of half his monetary estate and more importantly leaving his scholar library of more than 300 titles. Strolling around in the, usually grassy, Harvard Yard does feel like walking around a place steeped in heritage. I would suggest that after wandering around the university grounds, you should head down to the riverside and have a look at the old student houses, like the McKinlock Hall picture above. On the way there try and find the Harvard Lampoon Building, an historic building that is best known as the home of The Harvard Lampoon, an undergraduate humor publication founded in 1876, and for its unusual design including the blue and yellow door.

Heading towards the MIT, it is worth paying attention to the buildings along Massachusetts Av., where amongst new buildings you can find some interesting examples of art-deco and the beautifully utilitarian Lafayette Square Fire House. The facade of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, is the most impressive part of the MIT, but I need to go back to have a look around the rest of the campus. Just before you arrive here, do stop at the MIT Museum, at least to have a look at the shop which is full of interesting souvenirs for all science geeks out there.

I'll leave this week with an image of the Charles River, and one of the many bridges that cross it, this is known as the Weeks Footbridge and connects Cambridge with the Allston neighborhood of Boston.
Next week I'll show a brief view of the architecture of Boston, in what should be the penultimate post focusing on the Boston area.

APN

John W. Weeks Bridge over the Charles River, Cambridge, USA

site update - 2016-11-23 - new gallery online

November 23, 2016

A small update to the site, but a big change in appearance of the landing page.

I'm inaugurating a new temporary exhibition in memory of the great poet and singer Leonard Cohen that left us on the 7th of November. This was a harsh year for the arts, a music in particular lost quite a few icons. Thankfully I had the good fortune of being able to see , and photograph, him in concert when he stopped by Lisbon in September 2009.

Hope you enjoy the new gallery, I'm also working on a couple more updates that should go live before the end of this year.
And I leave you with one of my favourite quotes from the man itself:

"Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in. "

Leonard Cohen in Anthem

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

weekly update 005 - 2016-11-14 - Welcome to Boston

November 14, 2016

Arriving at the Logan International Airport, Boston, USA

So after 3 great days in the Chicago, we head off to the historic city of Boston, Massachusetts. With the Logan airport located on a peninsula in the Massachusetts Bay, the approach to the city is a great calling card for the area in which the city is located, surrounded by water on three sides. Continuing with the theme of an extremely cold Spring, we are greeted with lots of snow still hanging around. That is very visible on all the photos from the Boston Common Park, located on the heart of the city, and one of the places I recommend visiting even when covered in snow.

For the first post about Boston, I'm just leaving you with a view of my first impressions. Mainly for the area around the main parks, the Boston Common Park and the Boston Public Garden, which you can see below. Beyond its frozen lake, you can find the original Cheers pub, made famous by the 80's sitcom of the same name. On the coming weeks, I'll be publishing more photos from my days in Boston, including a visit to the Universities of Cambridge, Massachusetts, and also some great views from the top of the Prudential Center building.

Until next week,

APN

The frozen lake of the Boston Public Garden, Boston, USA

Hard Rock Hotel at the Carbide and Carbon Building, Chicago, USA

weekly update 004 - 2016-11-07 - Up close and personal with Chicago's Architecture

November 7, 2016

This week we are up close with the extraordinary architecture that characterises the downtown area of Chicago. With a mixture of modern steel and glass skyscrapers, stone gothic facades and wonderful art-deco details, it makes for great images for all architecture enthusiasts. The raised lines of the "L" train give a different view of the streets and buildings, by elevating us above the normal viewpoint of the buildings facade at ground level. As the picture above illustrates, this city is a must for all lovers of art-deco, with the Carbide and Carbon Building being just one of the many, beautifully preserved, examples of that style present in the city. Hope to stay there next time, and see what it looks like on the inside.

This marks my last post focused on Chicago, and next week I'll move on to show the wonders of the last leg of the USA trip of 2015, the historical city of Boston, Massachusetts. The days spent in Chicago left me with the need to come back and delve deeper into the history and architecture of the Windy City, of the three cities it was the one that inspired me the most.

I'll leave today with one of my favourite shots from those few days in Chicago, taken under a viaduct that connects to the Navy Pier. Street art and derelict spaces are always attractive and make for great subjects. Here the tricky light made it even more compelling, giving it an almost ethereal vibe to the street grime.
Until next week,
APN