Blissful Park Afternoon

There’s an excellent playground in Hartford’s Bushnell Park. Its large jungle gym, visible with its bright yellow and white upper structure in the foreground, is a miniature model of the State Capitol, found on the other side of the park.

Blissful Park Afternoon

On Being There

Though I have my fair share of images that were only possible with the full capabilities of my best camera (just wait for Monday’s post), I’ve been experiencing the impact of Chase Jarvis’s famous quotation lately: “The best camera is the one you have with you.” This perfect warm spring afternoon moment on Trinity College’s main quad was one I serendipitously passed and the image that resulted wasn’t one I would have missed for not having the “perfect” camera.

On Being There

Spring Light Highlights the Long Walk

Though a city might not seem like the most obvious place to celebrate Earth Day, I’ve honestly been astonished since my move to Hartford just how many big old trees shelter the city. Between the greenery and the public transportation, this place gives me some optimism.

Spring Light Highlights the Long Walk

Dublin Street Corner

Dublin in late autumn has a damp energy that I found unquestionably intriguing; the optical artifacts from shooting into the setting sun do a fair job of approximating the feeling that every bit of asphalt and brick have some eerie effect taking place beneath them.

Dublin Street Corner

And a bonus Piper shot from just about the same moment as we explored the city.

Piper on a Dublin Street

Sun Column on the Rive Gauche

I took eight years of French classes as a middle- and high-school student, and those courses’ textbooks inevitably had charming pictures of Parisian locales throughout. In trying to cover a wide range of French experiences, those books tended to show “everyday” life alongside the expected pictures of the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre, and so I came to associate all of these images with a sort of “imaginary,” idealized Paris.

Imagine my surprise when I arrived in France and found that it looks exactly like my books.

Sun Column on the Rive Gauche

Fishing at Picchetti Ranch

Hiking in the hills of Picchetti Ranch in Cupertino, views over Stevens Creek Reservoir and the Bay beyond present a classic Californian landscape. Like a postcard from the mid-twentieth century, the little shape of a kayaking fisherman in the foreground (or the people fishing at the shoreline in the background) shows an ideal Saturday afternoon.

Fishing at Picchetti Ranch

Old Under New

Striking modern architecture next to industrialization-era brick and ironwork makes for a dramatic combination. It’s also the bedrock style of my favorite cities, including New York and San Francisco. In this particular image, the sport bike and the small group enjoying breakfast at front add the perfect hint of scale.

Old Under New