Enticing the Light » General

The Secrets of Grand Central Terminal, Part 2

Miserere — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 04:15:29 +0000

by Sean Leahy

During a recent vacation, I was visiting some family in North Carolina for a few days on my way up to New York City for a photography work shop and to visit some friends. While sharing some prints I had made from my last trip to New York City and Grand Central Terminal, my aunt revealed that she worked for the company hired to restore the ceiling in Grand Central, and she was one of the project managers. It reminded me to call my contact at the MTA to see if I could get another special tour while I was in town.

“You’re not going to believe this,” predicted the voice on the cell phone, “but it just so happens that I have a special tour already booked on Wednesday for a photographer from some newspaper in England. If you want, you can tag along.” I said Wednesday would be perfect and confirmed the arrangements.

I emerged from the subway at Grand Central Terminal Wednesday morning a few minutes early, so I decided to get a coffee and make one last check of my gear. I know how my host for the day operates—once we get going, there’s no stopping or going back. I was traveling lighter than usual. Whatever I brought with me was going to be on my back until late that night, so I left my 70-200mm zoom and fish-eye lenses at the hotel. I knew from prior experience at GCT that the long lens had limited value and the fish-eye was an unlikely creative choice for what I expected to see… but what was I going to see?

When I got to the Station Master’s Office, I found out that the itinerary for the day revolved around the same places I had photographed on my last tour of the terminal. “No problem,” I thought, “I can go back and try to get some of the shots that didn’t turn out, or some of the things I missed. Maybe I’ll see the same things in a different way. At least I know what I’m in for this time.” But (to my delight) the other photographer didn’t show. So I convinced my guide to show me something new. And new I got.

“I’m going to take you to a part of the terminal that has never been photographed before. It’s been there the whole time, but it’s also new. You’ll be the first photographer to go in there.” I was lead through a series of doors, elevators and three different security checkpoints, until we arrived at Grand Central’s new (and unfinished) Operations Control Center. I pulled out my tripod and my trusty Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 and took a few long exposures at f/16. Next I was lead through another set of security checkpoints and up a flight of stairs to what, I’m told, the press like to call the “War Room” (much to the dismay of the officials at the MTA, who prefer “Situation Room”).

From these locations, the MTA has communication with every train on the line and a view of every switch and from here can manage all public relations with the media. Sometime this month, as I understand it, there is supposed to be a Discovery Channel feature on Grand Central’s new OCC.

Along the way we took a detour and climbed up behind the clock that faces 42nd Street. It is the world’s largest example of Tiffany glass and it is linked directly, via satellite, to the atomic clock at the Naval Observatory in Bethesda, Maryland. I was told I’d have to go through some pretty tight places to get up there, so I left my camera bag and tripod behind and carried only my camera and a couple of lenses. Through an opening in the wall, not deep enough to be a closet, much less a hallway, an unusual door opened to a dusty space of concrete and brickwork dating back to the early beginnings of the building. It was warm and dark, lit only by a couple of tungsten light bulbs. We climbed up a couple of simple steel ladders, clearly fabricated for this location, through a crawl space, over some large pipes (of unknown purpose), and up another ladder.

We finally arrived at the platform supporting the gear-works of the clock behind the clock face, and I got right to work; but I soon ran into a problem: There was a lot of light coming in from the clock face, relative to the lack of light from where I was standing, and I wanted to get more detail out of the gears that ran the clock. I didn’t have my tripod, so HDR was out. I didn’t bring my hot shoe flash, and although my camera has a built-in flash, it casts a shadow on the floor when using it with my Sigma 10-20mm lens. Solution: I turned the camera upside down and shot with the onboard flash. It worked perfectly! I climbed back down from the gear platform and nodded to my guide that I was ready to move on.

“Wait.” He said, “I have one more thing to show you. Here’s what you’re going to do. I’m going to open this window, and you’re going to hold your camera outside—now, be very careful! Do not drop your camera—You’re going to turn your camera around and shoot backwards and up at the clock.” So I wedged myself into position, stuck my arm out of the window (camera strap wrapped three times around my wrist), and took a few stabs at it. In retrospect, I wish I had brought my fish-eye… Maybe next time.

After our trip through some of the more secure areas of the terminal building, I was taken down to the train platforms to get a few shots of the train and sign pictured at the top of this article. It is hot and humid on the terminal platforms, and very noisy. The day was wearing on, and I knew that my host needed to return to other functions, so I set about finding my locations and angles quickly. Sweat was already dripping down my face as I began setting up my tripod. The train and platform were to be briefly unoccupied, allowing me just enough time to get a few clear shots. To maximize DoF I used f/20 with a 2 sec. timer, MLU and a cable release. (Incidentally, the sign in that photo was backlit, so I used a couple of pocket-sized flashlights to “light-paint” the sign and balance the exposure.)

After I finished on the platform, we couldn’t think of anything more to go look at, and it was time for my escort to get back to work. But I still had about an hour left before I needed to move on to my next appointment. So I decided to get a few more shots of that famous ceiling. The flag that has hung above the information booth in the center of the concourse since 9/11 had been removed (something to do with some sort of promotion, I was told) so I was able to get a clear shot of the whole ceiling.

I stand by my statement in my last article, that you could spend a couple of weeks photographing in Grand Central Terminal alone and never run out of subject material. As I’m taking the opportunity now to review my photos from this and previous adventures into Grand Central, I realize there are still quite a few shot I want to go back and get. I guess that leaves me something to do next time!

More images from my forays into GCT can be found here.

Sean Leahy is a vagabond musician and photographer who employs both as reason and means for traveling the world. Follow him on his blog, 43mm2creativity.

All photos: ©Sean Leahy.

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Wind Up to a Pulitzer Photograph

Miserere — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 20:46:21 +0000

by Miserere

Fire Escape Collapse ©Stanley Forman

Imagine you’re a news photographer hanging around City Hall covering a small demonstration when, without much warning, a race riot breaks out in front of you. You would start taking pictures, of course. Now imagine your camera’s motor drive malfunctions… This happened in Boston on a sunny April 5^th in 1976, and the photographer was Stanley Forman, internationally known for his Pulitzer-prize winning photo Fire Escape Collapse.

On that fateful morning, he would take a photo (see below) that would garner him his second Pulitzer (and even inspire a book). But he almost didn’t take it.

Visit Digital Silver Imaging, where our friend Eric Luden will tell you the whole story and show, for the first time ever as far as I know, the reel of film leading up to that momentous photograph.

The Soiling of Old Glory ©Stanley Forman

Note: Links in this article might be to one of our affiliate stores. Purchases made from our affiliates through these links will benefit Enticing the Light at no extra cost to you.

Stages of a Photographer’s Life as a Graph

Miserere — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 05:05:47 +0000

by Miserere

My friend Doug alerted me to this amusing graph describing the evolution of a photographer’s “life”. As with all good humour, it’s funny because there is some truth in there. Click for full size view.

Found on DataViz.

Do you know what stage you are at? I’m definitely near Death…ha ha ha

PS: If anyone knows who it was that came up with this graph, please let me know.

I'm a Photogrpher Not a Terrorist

Miserere — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 15:44:11 +0000

by Miserere

This bold statement is the war cry of a movement started in the UK to educate the members of the public and law enforcement agencies about street Photography. In recent years there has been an increase in the number of photographers being harassed by police because they were taking photographs in public, and draconian measures have been taken in the UK to limit the rights of photographers. I’m a Photogrpher Not a Terrorist is trying to do something about it. Or at least make a lot noise.

If you are in or near London, UK, on Saturday, January 23^rd, you might want to go to Trafalgar Sq. at 12:00 noon and let the British government know how you feel about their treatment of photographers. Check it out on Facebook too.

Addendum January 23^rd, 2010

Thanks to Lawrence, who e-mailed me the BBC story: Photographers protest over UK terror search laws.

It seems like it was a successful demonstration in that the turnout was good, but nobody got hurt or arrested. The Guardian story reports 2,000 photographers protesting.

Photo Prints for Haiti Relief Fund

Miserere — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 13:20:39 +0000

by Miserere and Peter Zack

UPDATE 21 JAN. 2010
THIS PRINT SALE HAS BEEN CANCELLED

PayPal were not happy with what we were doing and closed down Peter’s account. We have refunded all those who had purchased a print and will be accepting no further orders. We are very sorry it had to end this way as we believed we were doing something good. Thank you to all those who purchased a print, and we apologise for any inconvenience we may have caused you.

Keep the hope, and please donate any way you can.

Miserere and Peter

What We Are Offering

Here at EtL Miserere and Peter would both like to do something to assist the victims of the Haiti earthquake.

To that end, we are offering 8 photos from our personal files that you can purchase as prints. All profits* from this sale will be donated to the Canadian Red Cross Haiti Relief Fund. Why the Canadian Red Cross? For one, Peter is Canadian, but more importantly, the Canadian government has committed to matching any donations made by Canadian individuals up to a total of $50 million. This means your contribution will be automatically doubled!

We will be accepting orders for 4 weeks, but will extended the deadline if interest warrants it)

How This Will Work

You will purchase your print(s) via secure server provided by PayPal; you can use your credit/debit card and do not need to have an account with PayPal. The funds go to Peter Zack. At the end of each week Peter will take the donations to his local Red Cross branch. The receipt(s) will be published here on the site for verification. We will also publish the local phone number of the branch where the donation was made. All donations will be made on behalf of Enticing the Light. Also at the end of each week we will place the orders for your professionally printed photographs, which you should receive within the following week.

I Want to Donate but Don’t Want a Print

No problem! But beware of donation scams. We would recommend donating to a reputable organisation; below we list trusted Haiti relief efforts:

American Red Cross
Canadian Red Cross
American Salvation Army
Canadian Salvation Army
UNICEF

Please note direct donations will not receive a photo.

Print Options

Print Size (inches)	Contribution (US$)
Small (8×10/8×12)	$25
Medium (11×14)	$40
Large (16×20/16×24)	$60

Please note that photos will have a white border around them, so image size will be slightly smaller than paper size given in table above.

The photos will be sent to your address within 2-4 weeks of the donation only dependent on printing and delivery times. At the moment we are accepting donations only from the USA and Canada as delivery pricing for other countries is too high to make economic sense. We recommend that our international readers simply make a direct donation to the charity of their choice.

Choose Your Photo(s)

We offer you 8 photos from which to choose from, all taken by us, and processed to make sure they print beautifully. Don’t think you need order just one; feel free to order as many as you like. The more you purchase, the more money goes towards the Haiti Relief Fund. And remember the Canadian government is matching your contribution!

Click on each image to see a larger version. When you know which one(s) you want, click on the appropriate size below the photo(s) and you’ll be taken to the PayPal payment page. You can order more than one print of each photo, but this will incur an extra $0.50/print to account for increased shipping costs. It’s of paramount importance that you include your shipping address when placing your order, if not, your shipping will be delayed while we contact you to get your address. Plus, it will annoy us. Please don’t annoy us


Order Small Order Medium Order Large	Order Small Order Medium Order Large	Order Small Order Medium Order Large	Order Small Order Medium Order Large


Order Small Order Medium Order Large	Order Small Order Medium Order Large	Order Small Order Medium Order Large	Order Small Order Medium Order Large

Thank You!

We thank everyone for taking an interest in this most worthy cause and appreciate any donations made either through this Enticing the Light print sale or directly to the charity of your choice.

Please help support our efforts by making your friends aware of our print/donation offer.

*From the amount of your contribution we will deduct Paypal’s transaction fees, and the printer’s printing and delivery costs; all the rest will be donated to the Canadian Red Cross, and in no case will EtL keep any money.

10 Little Known Facts from the World of Photography

Miserere — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 18:48:37 +0000

by Miserere

The word “Photography” was coined in 1839 by British mathematician and astronomer Sir John Frederick William Herschel (son of Sir Frederick William Herschel, discoverer of the planet Uranus). Hershel also coined the terms “negative” and “positive” as they apply to Photography. You can see a splendid portrait of him here.
You can’t take a bad portrait of a lion.

While the Leica brand is famously identified with Germany, they have also built cameras in Canada and Portugal.

The single-lens reflex photographic camera (SLR) was invented in 1861 by Thomas Sutton, a native of Jersey (one of the Channel Islands)—it was a large format camera. The first 35mm SLR developed was the Soviet Union’s Спорт (“Sport”), from 1934. Because it wasn’t marketed until 1937, Germany’s Kine Exakta became the first 35mm SLR to be sold when it hit shops in 1936. Asia’s first SLR, the Asahiflex, was introduced in 1952 by Japan’s Asahi Optical Corporation (later to become Pentax).

Around 1888, a Mr George Eastman, of Rochester, New York, decided he needed a unique name for his expanding company. In his own words: I devised the name myself. The letter ‘K’ had been a favorite with me — it seems a strong, incisive sort of letter. It became a question of trying out a great number of combinations of letters that made words starting and ending with ‘K.’ The word ‘Kodak’ is the result.

Professional portrait photographers never ask their subjects to say cheese when posing them for a photo, what they are actually mumbling under their breath is please pay for this session, pleeeease…

Nobody knows why East Asian girls make the peace sign when they pose for photos. That doesn’t mean you can’t have a Flickr Group for it.

Henri Cartier-Bresson once asked Marilyn Monroe to “bless” his camera before a photo shoot. She acquiesced by placing her bum on it. I did not make this up!

People in the 19^th century didn't like being photographed, which is why they are all so serious in those old photographs. Actually, those images were Daguerreotypes, and it took 10-20 minutes to expose a plate—try holding a smile for that long!.

The first portable, compact camera for the masses that did away with the need for a mule to carry photographic supplies was the Kodak Brownie. It was introduced in 1900 at a cost of $1, which is equivalent to around $26 in today’s money.

The Cat that Fought Back

Miserere — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 21:54:41 +0000

by Miserere

A friend of mine believes that the Internet was invented for the sole purpose of allowing people to share cat photos. On Flickr there are over 3.2 million photos tagged with cat (although not all seem to be of the feline variety), while a Google Image search for the word cat returns almost 100 million hits. There are a lot of cat photos out there…and I wonder, do cats even like being photographed?

But now, one cat is fighting back, one cat is saying:

O yea? Wel nowz I teyk fotos of U.
Haw du u like dem apllez!?

Meet Cooper the Photographer Cat. Not only is he a handsome American Shorthair kitty, he also likes to take photos of his adventures in and around the Seattle neighbourhood where he lives with his two servants, Michael and Deirdre Cross.

How does he take photos, you ask? Good question! Cooper ordered Michael to provide him with a camera he could easily carry with him, yet adapted to his anatomical shortcomings (such as not having fingers). Michael, ever the faithful servant, commissioned a special little camera that Cooper could wear hanging from his neck and which would take a photo automatically every 2 minutes. Once a week, Michael puts the camera on Cooper and lets him roam the land, free to practice his Art.

You can see more of his photographs in his Flickr stream.

Philosophical Pondering

And speaking of Art, there are many who think one of the pillars of any artistic endeavour is Intention. That is, a photograph is only Art if the photographer intended it that way. So, for example, if I take a photograph of a dent in my car to send to my insurance company, that’s not Art; if, on the other hand, I set out on a walk with my camera and decide to take a nice photograph of the sunset over the hills, then it is Art. The question I pose to you, then, is this: Given the aesthetic merits of some of Cooper’s photographs (he’s had a gallery showing and is selling prints), can we consider them Art? And if we do, are we then saying that Cooper took them purposefully, and thus that he knew what he was doing?

As an aside, I hate to think of the legal ramifications of getting photographs of other people’s private lives through your pet.

All photos: ©Cooper the Photographer Cat (published here without his written consent)

The Camera You Have With You: A White Squirrel

Miserere — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 17:19:16 +0000

by Miserere

As a card-carrying member (#249, Pentax chapter) of the Worldwide Squirrel Shooters Association, I am always on the lookout for a good squirrel photo opportunity. In general, one needs a fast DSLR with a relatively long lens for this endeavour (a 70-300mm zoom works well), but sometimes a chance encounter with a rare squirrel will have you shooting with whatever camera you may have, because a lousy photo is better than no photo at all.

Such was the encounter I had today. I was driving home early in the morning; it was cold but sunny, and I was in a rush to drop the car off at home before walking to work (I know this sounds backwards, but that’s my life). I had just turned into my street when I saw a white, fuzzy flash of fur cross the road. I looked to the pavement on my left, and right there, looking back at me with beady, red eyes, was a white squirrel. A white squirrel! Possibly the most prized photograph a member of the WSSA can take! I stopped the car immediately.

With trembling hands I took my Canon S90 from my jacket pocket and fumbled to turn it on. Alas, I was too slow, and sensing that she was in danger of being photographed, the white squirrel had fled through a hole in a fence. But I was not giving up! I parked the car and walked stealthily towards the fence; I could hear some rustling and the occasional flash of white in the bushes behind the fence. When I was some 5m away a sudden frenzy of shaking branches and the sound of little feet scampering announced the white squirrel’s departure. All was silent.

I reached the fence and peered over into a large garden with trees in the far side. Nothing moved, and there was no trace of the white squirrel, only the sound of far away traffic. I waited for a minute or so, camera ready and zoomed out to the max, set to Av and auto ISO; I was not going to miss again. And then I saw it. Sitting motionless atop a fence post, it had been there all along, yet remained invisible to my eyes. Not anymore.

I pointed the camera at it and took a few shots (the above is a resized JPEG straight from the camera). I wasn’t close enough for a high quality portrait, but I knew I at least had evidence of my encounter. All of a sudden a regular squirrel appeared in the branches above the white squirrel and started shrieking. The white squirrel shrieked back and scurried up the tree, possibly to claim it as her own. I snapped a few shots while this happened, then sensing it would not be leaving its tree nor coming any closer, I left it to its own devices, my mission accomplished.

As I walked to work a few minutes later I whistled a tune while admiring my catch on the rear LCD screen; I will even admit I skipped a little. It was a cold but sunny morning—and I had just photographed a white squirrel.

The image below is a 100% crop from the first frame, with a little bit of sharpening added.

The Secrets of Grand Central Terminal

Miserere — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 13:00:18 +0000

by Sean Leahy

I know several photographers who go by the axiom “It’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission”. I suppose in the cut throat world where the difference between you and the guy getting paid is whether or not you got the shot, not whether or not you followed the rules, that might be valid. On the other hand, good things do come to those who play it by the book.

At the moment I’m lucky to have a job that gives me some free time in New York City several days a month. A friend, Byron, mentioned in conversation that it might be fun to go into New York’s Grand Central Terminal with a tripod and do some longer exposures. I thought that was a great idea, but began to wonder what the rules were, post 9/11 New York City and all. Once we had decided on when we wanted to go, I started making the phone calls to get the clearance we needed.

“It’s a terminal. Grand Central is a terminal. It’s not a station. It’s a terminal. Trains stop here. It’s the end of the line. The subway has a station, but Grand Central is a terminal.” Once we got that settled, I answered a few questions regarding my purpose in photographing the place. “This is your lucky day!” said the colorful character on the other end of the line. “It just happens that I will be giving someone a tour of the M42, the lowest sub-basement at the terminal, the lowest point on Manhattan Island, and Platform 61—FDR’s private, secret platform at the Waldorf Astoria.” On a second call to firm up a few details, the pot was sweetened to include a trip to a more or less forbidden catwalk above the west balcony.

When we arrived we met our guide, who looked at a schedule board and took us out to the train platforms. “Ok, follow me.” He said, “I’m going to get you set up for some great shots. I know you’re the photographers, but trust me.” I was able to get a few good ones of commuter trains arriving and about 1,000 people pouring out of each.

After about half an hour, and setting up at a few different tracks, we headed for the West side catwalk.

Our guide had to call ahead to let the security know we were going to be there. And we were told to hold on to our camera gear tightly. If something were to get loose and fall from our perch, we’d all take our last breaths before it hit the ground, and more importantly, of course, our host that day would lose his job. We were afforded ample time on the catwalk, never felt rushed, even though our host repeated that we really shouldn’t be there and we should get our shots quickly. Byron and I worked up a sweat in short order—making our shots, changing lenses as quickly and safely as possible, switching between tripod and hand-held, making use of the three open windows available to us. I used my Sigma 10-20mm most for this location, coupled with my Pentax DA* 16-50mm f/2.8. I had my Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 with me as well, for longer shots or detail work, but didn’t use it from this vantage point, or much at all for this shoot.

The special tour we were afforded was originally planned as a birthday gift for Sheryl (AKA *Bitch Cakes*) whom we now met (read Sheryl’s side of the GCT story on one of her other blogs). Sheryl is an interesting character; every day she dresses herself in 1940s and 50s vintage-style clothing, which is in stark contrast to her many tattoos. We followed our guide to a nice vantage point over the main concourse for some portraits (an interesting perk to the photographic marathon that was our day).

Next we were taken down on a rickety old service elevator to the super-sub-basement level of the terminal, known as M42. We arrived as our guide was telling us the story of a plot to sabotage the railway during WW2. The M42 was a super secret level to the terminal that wasn’t on any of the design plans. Few people more than those who actually worked down there or those who built it knew of its existence. During WW2, if you were to find your way down to that level, without the proper clearance, you’d have been held there till the end of the war. Hitler came to know of its existence, though, and launched a plot to sabotage the AC to DC converters kept in the M42 by pouring bags of sand in them. This would have effectively crippled all troupe movement along the Eastern Seaboard. So, if you were caught holding bags of sand when those doors opened, you’d have been shot on sight. The CIA, however, was aware of the ploy, and the would-be saboteurs were caught before they could perpetrate their crime.

The M42 is a large, cavernous room, nearly 3 stories. About half of the floor space along its main concourse holds the current converter grid, while the other half is dedicated to preserving the old machines, for the sake of history.

Upon re-emerging on the ground level of the terminal, we picked up some hard hats and headed outside, crossed a couple of streets and entered into an unassuming little side door at the Waldorf Astoria. It was about 90°F (32°C) outside. Our guide told us, when we returned it would feel like 70°F (21°C)! Down a couple of long stair cases, and we arrived at what was FDR’s secret platform below the Waldorf on Track 61. The area was quite disheveled, more like a construction site than anything that would reveal its rich history. Tracks ending, bare earth, partially finished wooden paths, bare cement and steel foundation works. You can hear commuter trains passing on nearby operational tracks just beyond a retainer wall. The heat was oppressive. Sitting in this environment, quiet and unassuming, is an old rail car with the markings “MNCX 002”.

There seems to be some conjecture as to whether or not this car actually belonged to FDR, but I’m perfectly happy to believe it did. I whipped out the tripod and took several long exposures (20-30 sec). On this one, I used a pocket sized flashlight to add a little more light to the ID markings. We emerged from below the Waldorf, and, as predicted, the 90° heat at street level felt like a cool, breezy 70°F (21°C).

Through it’s many renovations over the last century, a sense of history has been maintained at Grand Central Terminal. While it is a fully functioning rail terminal and subway station with all of the modern amenities, many items of historical significance have been preserved. In the Biltmore Room (aka. The Kissing Room), located near Track 42, you will find one of the original schedule chalk boards. Instead of simply tearing it down and destroying it, when they upgraded to flip panels and later LCD displays, it was encased in glass and left to stand as a testament to time.

This dedication to history and attention to detail goes beyond what one might expect. During a renovation in the mid-90’s, they restored a service elevator (the one that took us to the M42 level). The paint had chipped away over time and use. They restored the paint to its original colors, even though only employees would ever be expected to see it, and only a few of them.

You could probably spend a couple of weeks just shooting the sights associated with GCT alone. Be sure to bring your wide angle lenses to capture the grand scale of this icon of New York City. Inside the terminal I shot 800 ISO almost exclusively. You’ll need at least that if you want to hand hold, and some pretty hearty image stabilization, or use some sort of camera support, like a monopod or tripod.

Shooting with a tripod in Grand Central is absolutely no problem; just call ahead to get the clearance you need to do so. Be prepared to answer a few questions about who you are and your purposes in photographing the place. Upon arrival you will be issued a “Special Pass”—a sticker to be worn identifying you as having special clearance to use the tripod and/or other large/professional camera gear and the station’s security detail will be notified of your presence and clearance. You’ll find the staff is friendly and very helpful. But one word of advice: It’s Grand Central Terminal, don’t call it a “station”.

You can see more of Sean’s photos from Grand Central Terminal here.

Sean Leahy is a vagabond musician and photographer who employs both as reason and means for traveling the world.
All photos: ©Sean Leahy.

Photo Walk – Boston (Financial District) Edition 2009

Miserere — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 03:59:56 +0000

by Miserere

NEW: I’ve created a discussion thread for all Boston Photo Walks within the EtL Flickr Group. If you participated in this, or any other Boston Photo Walk, please consider adding some photos to the group and discussing your experiences.

Make sure you check out Peter Zack’s Photo Walk report from Prince Edward Island, Canada. Peter should be starting a separate discussion on the EtL Flickr group soon.

Since this was a photo walk, not a chat walk, I’ve decided to skip the prose and simply post some of the pictures I took. Nonetheless, I do want to thank Michele Peterson for organising the Boston – Financial District photo walk, and Gary Hoyt for leading it when Michele was unable to due to a last-minute emergency. Thanks also to all the nice, chatty and friendly photographers I met; it was a pleasure walking, talking and taking photos with (and of!) you. I hope to see many of you soon!

Somehow, my friend and I managed to get there early, well before the 9:00 meeting time. Seemed like a good time to take the first pic of the day.

Photographers praying to Our Lady of Perpetual Construction that we may be spared of rain. (We were.)

Gary takes the group photo. Hopefully I’ll get that photo at some point.

And after the group photo, The Walk was officially started. Click on the photos for larger versions.

Thanks to Greg for the idea on the following photo. Maybe he’ll post a link to his version and we can compare our different approaches.

Yes, she’s silver!

The end of the Photo Walk! Outside Boston’s Beer Works, a few weary photographers compare notes before going in for some well-deserved food and drink.

Not that the intrepid photographers were out of danger!

Which is why some didn’t take their cameras off, even to eat.

But not everyone had the same priorities.

And that’s it from me! But if you still want to see more photos I took, they are all here.