Main – Decaseconds

The Side of Bushnell Tower with Fewer Windows

2026-Jul-29 adohertyhLeave a comment

Bushnell Tower was originally intended to have a twin rising next to it. Though the cost of the first tower ultimately scuttled plants for the second, echoes of the goal remain in the design. It wouldn’t have done to have windows looking directly into one’s neighbors, so the side of the building originally designed to face its partner was constructed with very few windows. My personal stance is to enjoy the little bit of strangeness in a world that threatens to become a bit more smoothed-down and homogenous.

The Side of Bushnell Tower with Fewer Windows

Lights from the Public Library

2026-Jul-24 adohertyhLeave a comment

The lights of the Hartford Public Library in the foreground provide a safer, more orderly home for the eye than the highly abnormal weather feature expanding forth around Travelers Tower like some portal to an evil dimension.

Golden Gate Bridge from the Other Side

2026-Apr-08 adohertyhLeave a comment

Monday’s post brought me back to the epic imagery of the Bay Area that I suspect I took a bit for granted back when we were starting Decaseconds in 2011. Convincing oneself that one is a photographer is easy when these are the views—but I’m glad I had the potency of these places to get me through those awkward early years of developing as a photographer.*

*Apologies for the wordplay.

Relaxing on the Quad After Finals

2025-May-30 adohertyhLeave a comment

After the stress of final exams tapers away, seniors have a week to kill time before graduating—and where better to spend it than catching rays on the quad?

End of the Blue Hour: San Francisco

2018-Apr-20 adohertyhLeave a comment

A history of design and engineering is visible from the Marin Headlands in the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco beyond it. That’s visible at every hour of the day, so I must conclude that the people jamming the roads earlier on the evening of this image were mostly there for the combination effect with the sunset. As the crowds decamped for dinner elsewhere, the blue hour brought my favorite views of the city.

Dark Island

2017-May-052017-May-04 adohertyh4 Comments

Much of the Bay Area, packed densely with people, perforates with light-emitting devices after sunset. When a volume avoids that, there’s a story and an active effort by conservationists behind it. At either extreme of this picture, Albany and Marin fall clearly into light-emitting category. In between, however, are special spaces: the Albany Bulb in the foreground and the Brooks Island Regional Preserve (the titular island).