Travel Photography – Boston Day 1

Back Bay Boston, Mass – Travel Photography by Alex Sablan (click image to see full size)

I arrived in Boston at the Back Bay Amtrak station. The Back Bay is great neighborhood to stay at in Boston because it’s a nice area with interesting highlights around every corner. I was a block from the Berkley Community Garden, Boston Center for the Arts, and the Community Music Center of Boston. There are also many stylish Victorian brownstones that show off the quaint atmosphere that is the Back Bay.

This trip was a series of firsts for me. It was my first trip entirely taken by train, in this case Amtrak. It was my first trip to the back to NYC since 9/11 and my first visit to the memorial. I got my first shot of Senator Bob Dole. And now it was my first stay at a hostel.

40 Berkley Hostel (click image to see full size)

I probably chose the best hostel to experience a hostel for the first time, the 40Berkeley.  This hostel was once the former YWCA Residence for Women.  It was clean and the long term residents that live there from the YWCA were a joy to talk with.  The facility is branding itself as a hip and affordable.  With its free wi-fi and its brand new co-working area, 40Berkeley lives up to it’s hipness as advertised.

My first day in Boston was much like my last day in NYC. Overcast and torrential downpours off and on. While waiting on the hostel to get my room ready, I strolled around the Back Bay in the drizzling rain. I met a nice policeman and he gave me a brief history of the area and helped an elderly lady park her car while we talked.

Pursuit for Deluge Relief

Downtown Crossing, Boston, MA – Travel Photography by Alex Sablan (click image to see full size)

It was pouring. I was on vacation. I was staying in a hostel. I had to get out and see the city. The challenge was to find somewhere I could be outside, dry, and have interesting things to see. Normally, I would just explore, but today I just stopped in one of the thousand and one Dunkin Donuts (Canton, just southwest of Boston, is where the corporate offices of Dunkin are) and found a local.

The nice young lady said I should check out Downtown Crossing. Downtown Crossing is a section of Washington Street between Bromfield and Temple streets and also is part of Summer and Winter streets are closed to most traffic; visitors may walk in the street without worry about oncoming traffic. It was perfect for me to capture pictures in the soft light between the buildings. There was also many sidewalks covered by the overhangs so I stayed pretty dry.

Back to the Ho(s)tel

Old South Meeting House Boston, MA (click image to see full size)

The rain was unrelenting so I decided to go grab a shot of the Old South Meeting House since it was near the subway stop at Downtown Crossing. The Old South Meeting House was the site where meetings began that led to the Boston Tea Party. I decided I would go have dinner, edit some photos, and take a nap before going out for some night shots.

I was craving some Greek. So, I hopped on yelp and found that Giorgiana’s had Greek food and was only 2 blocks from the hostel. Giorgiana’s is a Grocery Store/Deli on Tremont Street. The people were friendly and the Pastitio was delicious. I picked up food from there both days while I was in Boston. I highly recommend it if you are staying in Back Bay or South End.

Boston Theater District Paramount Center (click image to see full size)

With all the fog and rain, my evening of night shooting was limited to well it areas. Luckily, Boston has its own little broadway area. This shot was taken on the corner of West and Washington. Most of the theaters are on Boylston and Tremont. I took many shots, this was my favorite. I shot it at ISO 1600, f/16, and 1/8 second shutter. After walking around in the rain for about an hour, I gave up the ghost and decided to rest up for a full day of walking tomorrow. I made sure to pray for better weather and laid my head down to welcome in the next day. Day two in Boston should prove to be exciting.

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