Click on the photo or headline to bring up a larger image. Each week I try to take a photo that gives the sense of that week in the place where I happen to be. These were taken in 2007. Sometimes a photo and its caption serve as a quick news story for readers of the publications where I work as a freelance photojournalist. All photos are Copyright to Penny Cherubino, 2007 and all rights are reserved.
This Robin was singing away in front of 333 Commonwealth Avenue. Ornithologists say that more and more robins are staying in the Northeast though the winter. Some say this change is due to global warming. Others point to the "suburbanization" of the region. Planting of ornamental trees and shrubs provides food for these birds who prefer to eat fruits and berries.
This was published in the Back Bay Sun
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Workers from Boston Public Works' Street Lighting Department replace the red light fixture atop the fire alarm box at Commonwealth Avenue and Fairfield Street. In 1852 Boston became the first city to have a system of fire alarm boxes that citizens could use to notify officials of the location of a fire. This is one of approximately 1200 alarm boxes throughout the city.
Published in the Back Bay Sun
I always carry a pocket camera and pulled it out when I looked up to see workers building the scaffolding at the first Apple Flagship Store being built in Boston.
I love the lines and the sense of danger for the men walking the planks high above the busy sidewalk.
A version of this was published in the Back Bay Sun.
When a morning walk took me and Maggie Mae under an old tree, heavily coated with snow, I happened to look up and saw the pattern of bare branches visible on the underside.
What photographer could resist taking a grab shot of this man out in a snow storm in shorts and sneakers without socks?
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Walking my Westie, Maggie Mae, in the early morning we were passed by this woman.
I loved the shot of color her pink cap gave to the gray snowy setting. She was unaware of us and moving quickly so this was a real grab shot.
This was published in the Back Bay Sun.
This was published in the Back Bay Sun.
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One more detail of the dig out after a snowstorm in Boston. These men from of the Boston Fire Department clear access to a fire alarm and fire hydrant.
This was published in the Back Bay Sun
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The pink of the awning and the glitter of the icicles added to the glamor of this Newbury Street shop window
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Well, almost! A case of "I give up" parking on Marlborough Street.
"When Solomon said there was a time and a place for everything he had not encountered the problem of parking his automobile." Bob Edwards
This was published in the Back Bay Sun
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This is one of a series of photos I have created of a bench on the Commonwealth Avenue Mall in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood. I hope to continue the series in 2008 to show the life of a bench as the seasons change.
The leaves were late coming down this year and I loved the sprinkling of the leaves the trees deposited on top of the freshly fallen snow.
This was published in the Back Bay Sun
Runners taking part in the Jolly Jaunt - a 5K fun run to benefit Special Olympics Massachusetts wore holiday colors and warm Santa caps! The race began on the Boston Common and made a looped up and down Commonwealth Avenue with a u-turn at Charlesgate.
Published in the Back Bay Sun.
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Runners taking part in the Jolly Jaunt - a 5K fun run to benefit Special Olympics Massachusetts wore holiday colors and warm Santa caps! The race began on the Boston Common and made a looped up and down Commonwealth Avenue with a u-turn at Charlesgate.Img_
Published in the Back Bay Sun.
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This was taken to accompany an editorial in the Back Bay Sun calling for year round street sweeping.
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Published in the Back Bay Sun
Here was Mr. Morison on November 18, 2007. The next photo is one of him with the same color intensity, two weeks earlier in 2006 The paper ran the two side-by-side to show the difference
Published in the Back Bay Sun.
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I went to my stock collection and found a photo taken in 2006 to demonstrate the delay in changing of the leaves in 2007. The color intensity was about the same both years.
Published in the Back Bay Sun
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Often holiday decoration stick around a bit longer than they should. If they happen to be there to be scary, it can work for the homeowner.
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Mall Cross Street Paving Underway Just Before The November 15th deadline
Crews began finishing the grading project on the Commonwealth Avenue Mall one day before the November 15th deadline for the delivery of asphalt in the city. It is hoped that the regrading and repaving of the streets crossing the Mall from Hereford to Exeter will eliminate the large puddles of rain, slush, and snow that gather at these intersections each winter.
Published in the Back Bay Sun.
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This shot was one of the ones I took to document a news story on a paving project.
The sophisticated woman with the lovely posture and determined stride was the perfect counterpoint the roughneck steam roller with it's rider.
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The final farmers' market at Copley Square will be on Tuesday, November 20th. This week, Atlas Farm's display of organic squash was a blaze of color in the afternoon sun. If you have a cool space, squash will store well for the weeks ahead and will make a bountiful centerpiece for your holiday table.
Published in the Back Bay Sun
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I was collecting Thanksgiving images to offer to my editors and images of fall colors for my fine arts photography when noticed this leaf accentuating the word "freedom" on the statue of former slave and writer Phylis Whitley's at the Boston Women's Memorial.
The carved word, the leaf, the icy water and the marble all combined to create a haunting image.
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Last weekend yellow ribbons appeared strung between and around the trees on the Hereford to Massachusetts Avenue block of the Commonwealth Avenue Mall. Early Monday morning they were removed by Nicole Tietjen a student at Boston Architectural College. The ribbons were part of her project to study the Mall. On this block, she had found that more people left the paths. She placed the ribbons to form barriers and then observed how pedestrians interacted with them.
Published in the Back Bay Sun
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A Taj doorman enjoys a quick look at a spot of fall color in the Public Garden.
Every neighborhood has its really important people who can be overlooked as we go through our days. I love taking shots of the men and women who make a neighborhood work.
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Copley Square winds were in rare form for Tuesday's farmers' market. Vendors couldn't use their tents because of the hight winds and customers had hats removed or their hair restyled by high winds.
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The statues that make up the Boston Women's Memorial are among my favorite models.
Here is Lucy Stone with the first slash of Autumn color as her backdrop.
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On this warm October weekend, a young girl dances among the fountains in the new "North End Park".
Shot for the Regional Register
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Over the weekend a Boston Public Works crew set the marks for the new paving levels to correct a long-standing flooding problem at the intersections of the Commonwealth Avenue Mall between Hereford and Exeter Streets.
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This was a year when much of the foliage in Boston was turning brown rather than bright colors. This shot was an attempt to show that to the readers.
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Homeowners who take pride in their property add lovely details to Boston's Back Bay neighborhood.
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Tap... tap... tap... as a worker cleans a joint in order to re-point the masonry on this building at 259 Beacon Street.
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For as long as most folks can remember, Back Bay residents had to trudge through puddles of rainwater, slush, ice or mud to cross some intersections on the Commonwealth Avenue Mall. This summer, they saw the first signs of hope when crews from Boston Public Works marked the cross streets with instructions for grade changes. This week, contractors began work on correcting the slope of the street pavement for better drainage at Hereford, Gloucester, Fairfield and Exeter Streets.
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This classic car with it's cover looked like a piece of sculpture. The texture was wonderful in the dappled shade.
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The Commercial Vehicles Enforcement unit of the Boston Police Department has been busy in the Back Bay for the past few weeks. They have been stopping commercial vehicles on Commonwealth Avenue for violating the posted signs saying "Trucks and Buses Excluded." They have also stopped and carefully inspected some vehicles like this dump truck on Massachusetts Avenue.
This summer's restoration work on the Lief Eriksson Statue was completed in time to celebrate the 120th anniversary of it's unveiling on October 29, 1887. The statue's original fountain and basin are now planted with tropical flowers and annuals. It is located on the Commonwealth Avenue Mall at Charlesgate East.
David Gilson of The Herb Lyceum eases a ten-inch pot of Fall mums into a shopping bag for a Copley Square Farmers' Market customer. He also offers free delivery to those who live in the neighborhood around the market.
The Commercial Vehicles Enforcement unit of the Boston Police Department has been busy in the Back Bay for the past few weeks. They have been stopping commercial vehicles on Commonwealth Avenue for violating the posted signs saying "Trucks and Buses Excluded." They have also stopped and carefully inspected some vehicles like this dump truck on Massachusetts Avenue.
This particular block on Fairfield Street always does a lovely job of adding tasteful plantings along a street without gardens.
Photography enables me to enjoy the details of my daily strolls through the city. If you want to notice more, carry a camera and find a reason to use it.
The courtyard at the Boston Public Library in Copley Square is one of my favorite spots in the city. I came across a group of tourists, with their translator/guide who had just discovered it and were busy taking photos of one another so that they could remember being in this special place.
The side walk next to the Apple store construction site on Boylston Street has been turned into an impromptu parking lot for motorcycles. The Mandarin hotel and condominiums are also under construction directly across Boylston.
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Brighton residents, Jen Bettano and Jeff Beringer, enjoy a sunny Sunday morning on the Commonwealth Avenue Mall.
Early Saturday morning firefighters responded to a small fire on the second floor at 411 Marlborough Street. They knocked it down quickly and were gone within half an hour. When there are flames in a building, the Boston Fire Department responds quickly and in force. Ladders were extended, and a firefighter was stationed on the roof of the building.
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A whole new group of neighbors must begin to learn the trash rules for the Back Bay. Trash may only be put out on the days designated for your street or alley. You may not leave it at the end of an alley if you don't live in that building. And, certain items like refrigerators, air conditioners, televisions, and computers require a call to the Sanitation department at 617-635-7574 to schedule a pick up. Full information may be found at http://www.cityofboston.gov/publicworks/Sanitation.asp.
This weeks rain came too late for many of the street and garden trees in the neighborhood. This is one of many trees on Commonwealth Avenue showing more brown shriveled leaves than autumn colors.
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