HDR Photography
I’ve long been interested in visualizing gradients between different levels of density in housing and construction; here in Hartford, Bushnell Tower is the sort of final edge point between the tall structures of downtown and the medium-rise buildings in the rest of the city. Bushnell Park in the foreground acts as a counterpoint to both.
Summer concerts in Bushnell Park have begun and the lawn beneath the Capitol looks idyllic.
Each winter, a skating rink is frozen into the southern end of Bushnell Park. The neighborhood gains a new sort of place to gather and the city gains that extra pop of brightness and life.
Winter finally arrived (properly) to Hartford, Connecticut, and with it, Bushnell Park was transformed into perhaps its most charming version of itself. The tiny silhouettes of people among the glowing lamp posts and decorated trees brings to mind an urban Narnia.
I.M. Pei really outdid himself with the design of Hartford’s Bushnell Tower. While the building is carefully monochrome during the day, I love the various colors exploding from the windows at night.
Does anything better match the dome of a capitol than fireworks in the sky and celebratory crowds in a park beneath?
I’ve shown a lot of images of Travelers Tower (one of my favorite pieces of architecture in Hartford), but in my tradition of showing the viewer and the view, this picture also captures the vantage point in Bushnell Tower where those images were taken.
Fireworks displays in metro areas always mean serious traffic, but the line of stopped cars along Bushnell Park has clearly formed before the fireworks display even ended. From this vantage point, there’s luckily more to see than traffic; the magenta luminescence of excited lithium ions paints its colors across the buildings and treetops of downtown Hartford.
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.
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.
Decaseconds 