Flying a drone in downtown Hartford requires some extra permissions, but they’re worth chasing for the opportunity to capture shots like this one: Bushnell Tower, the State Capitol, and a rain-checked fireworks display arrayed above Bushnell Park.
Category: Hartford
Capitol/Capitals
My first drone flight in Hartford—floating above the trees of Bushnell Park—coincided with Juneteenth. The Connecticut State Capitol (former site of Trinity College) and this vibrant mural are located at the western side of the park.
Bicentennial Fireworks
This weekend, my wife and I celebrated our sixth wedding anniversary alongside Trinity College‘s bicentennial. Given that we met at college, the symmetry felt impactful. Though the fireworks might not have been intended to be exclusively for us, they felt just a little extra special.
Time Series: Travelers Tower
The move to Hartford has offered me the opportunity to capture this time sequence (like the ones I took in Kentucky and the North Country) with a dramatic view of Travelers Tower over the course of a day. If the image appeals, it’s also available as a dynamic wallpaper for macOS that will change your desktop with the time of day.
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Hartford by Night
Moving to downtown Hartford, Connecticut placed this view just outside my window. I used to look across the city to Travelers Tower (the illuminated building at right) from my dorm room at Trinity College; 15 years later, I realize it shone like a beacon because it was being actively lit from nearby rooftops. Perhaps that’s a good lesson for life: the achievements that stand out don’t do so by accident, but because of conscious effort.
A Chance Return
Big changes are coming to the world of Decaseconds: Next fall, I’ll be returning to Trinity College (my alma mater) as their newest physical chemistry professor.
I took this picture of Trinity’s chapel, framed by foliage, as I packed up my car to leave at the end of my interview. Though I didn’t yet know what I do now (I’m going back there!), the warm breeze and familiar smells and satisfaction of a successful interview left me with a sense of calm, comfort, and peace.
Chapel with Moon
While I was a student at Trinity, all of the lighting on campus was from orange sodium vapor lamps. The transition to white LED lighting has made a dramatic shift in the feel of the place at night, but the golden hue of the chapel here provides a little nostalgic taste of the one-time colors of the place.
Stairs to the Fred
The building density of an urban campus like Trinity College’s makes for lots of retaining walls and stairs and additional structure. A well-designed campus is a delightful place to explore.
Dorm Bridge
Trinity College’s “concrete jungle” of dorms have some surprisingly cool architecture for utilitarian dorm buildings.
Neogothic Tunnel Lights
Though much of Trinity College’s campus has switched to white LED lights, this section still has the orange sodium lights I remember from my days as a student.
Jarvis B
Jarvis B was my dormitory during my freshman year at Trinity College. Before it was renovated into quads, it was once a block-long hallway of architectural weirdness.
Reunion on the Quad
The first warm days of the spring immediately put me in mind of summer nights.
Night Comes to Jarvis
Trinity College’s Long Walk was my home for four years, and I still find its warm evening glow to be comforting.
Dean’s Office
At the northern end of Trinity College’s Long Walk is the Dean’s Office. On a warm summer evening ‘neath the elms, however, it’s less an intimidation and more a charmer alongside the rest of the red stone structure.
Summer Sky Over Hartford
There’s a bit of irony that a 10-year reunion, an opportunity to wander around campus and feel nostalgia, occurs during the summer—a season when I never experienced campus when actually a student.
My favorite little detail of this image is the airplane contrail just past the crescent moon.
Decaseconds 