Chasing Berenice Abbott's Light in Boston's South End

Planting inspirational seeds in advance of my students taking images on the topic of “Cities”, l showed them photographs of New York City, including “New York Stock Exchange, New York”, 1933, by Berenice Abbott.

Stepping Out - Or Was It In?

Today, l chased her light, taking pictures in Boston’s South End. These images are interspersed with photographs l shot in 1977, at age 18, living in the same South End, studying the city and its people.

Alley Tree

Back then I shot with a Nikomat, developed and printed the work myself, and then glued the images into a photo journal.

Contrails Can Suppress Daylight

Today, I used an iPhone from my pocket and posted here and on Instagram.

Shadowy Alley

It is so fun to still be exploring the world, chasing light and shadow, regardless of the capture device and method of presentation.

Echoes of Japan

They say the best way to learn is to teach.

Sunny Day

So glad that planting city seed images for my students reawakened an exploratory mindset for me.

Professor John Nordell teaches courses in the Arts, Media, and Design Program at American International College in Springfield, Mass. He blogs about the creative process at CreateLookEnjoy.com. Instagram: create.look.enjoy

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