One of my favorite photography books of all times is “A Ramble in Olmsted Parks” by the great Lee Friedlander. You can see a nice slide show representative of that wonderful work here. There is something about those great parks, including in central Massachusetts, our own Elm Park, that inspires in one a desire to ramble. Of course, technically this is not an Olmsted Park, as its founding in 1854 predates Olmsted’s work. However, his firm was involved in its redesign a bit later, so we’re going to take poetic license and say it is (sort of) one of his great parks. (If you click on these images, you’ll get a better view. This first one is a panorama so you really should give it a try.)

No matter, the works of the great park building artists of that period all pointed toward an integration of the urban and the rural, hence the idea that these are good places to hang around. Making what you see visually pleasing was part of the deal. Nice lines, water and trees.


These designers also had a sense of humor, which I appreciate.

Happy Valentine’s Day to my Valentines!
Technical Note: These images were all taken with the Nikon V1. The V1 was introduced as Nikon’s first mirrorless offering last fall, and greeted with a ridiculous level of controversy. This isn’t a gear site, so I won’t bore you with the details but suffice it to say, it is easy to criticize a camera that you have never used. (I guess that goes for anything doesn’t it.) I, and many others, are finding the V1 to be a able, small, quiet camera with very competent lenses, capable of rendering colors beautifully and printing easily up to 13 by 19. Oh and it has blindingly fast autofocus and takes nearly broadcast quality video. It won’t replace my DSLRs, but it is the first small camera I have ever bonded with, and I’ve tried them all. (Just ask my Valentine!)