There was one day where I wanted to accomplish a very specific thing: get lost in Boston with my camera. I don’t mean incredibly devastatingly lost. I mean lost with a GPS lost.
I set out with a plan. Walk until I feel uncomfortable taking pictures, then figure out where I was to get somewhere safe. I recognize that this sounds insane. I’m well aware. But I hadn’t been in Boston that long, so I wanted to explore the city further than my t stop. From my own experience, it’s easier to figure out a city on foot than it is driving, and even though it’s a big city, it’s easy to get from one end to the other on foot. Besides, I’ve found Boston to be incredibly safe. These are all things I told myself before setting out.
I started with a familiar place, Fenway. The good old Green Monster. I snapped pictures of almost every gate. I wanted to be sure to capture it’s essence because there’s something about that stadium that really fuels people in the city. I’ve felt it myself when I go to Sox games, and it’s more than just singing Sweet Caroline before the bottom of the eighth. It literally oozes Boston pride. It’s one of those places you definitely want to photograph during a home game.
From there I moved on, walking away from that area to a lovely community garden, or what I thought was a garden. It was impossible to tell because what was left was mostly broken up into little plots in a park, so I moved on.
I went on like this for a while, exploring the area and taking pictures of the more interesting things. Originally, I thought I was going to take pictures of mostly architecture because Boston has really rich and interesting building. I didn’t. That day the arches and doorways didn’t draw me in. I was more intrigued by the light bouncing off of the environment.
Eventually I got semi lost, although I always managed to find my way back to something I recognized. I found my way to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, I found my way to the Prudential, and I eventually found my way back to the Esplanade which lead me all the way back home. There really wasn’t anywhere I didn’t know where I was.
The funny thing was, the more I walked, the less I took photos. I was taking everything in with my senses. I wanted to experience things outside of the viewfinder...and also I ran out of film. Semi-Pro Tip: Remember, when you go out, always take a few extra rolls of film. Also, if you’re going to do this, please don’t go without a gps and game plan for phone battery charge!
Happy Phototravels!