Boston’s City Skyline at Night

I’ve spent quite a bit of time in Boston over the past 15 years or so. I’ve never actually lived there–and I’m not sure I’d hold up through the long, snowy winters–but I like the place a lot.

I took this panorama of Boston’s city skyline at night from the end of Long Wharf looking back at the city. At one point during the colonial era, Long Wharf was the busiest pier in America. It was also much longer at the time–in the centuries since, landfill has created reclaimed land, but originally the shoreline was up near Faneuil Hall.

When I took this shot, behind me was the bay and beyond that the airport. It was summer, meaning a late and drawn-out twilight–Boston is quite far north, after all. The low clouds also helped even out the lighting and reflect the city lights with some great colors. The pink color isn’t something I applied separately–it was just how the camera reacted to the city lighting, and since I liked the effect I decided against “correcting” it to a more traditional white balance. I suspect the clouds are what made the difference in preventing the usual warm cast of city lights.

The clock tower in the middle of the frame is the Custom House Tower. The white dome-like structure part way to the left is part of the New England Aquarium. The building at right is known as Custom House Block.

This shot was taken with a Nikon D100 with a Nikkor 35mm f/2.0D at ISO 100 at f/8 for 10 seconds. It was sitting on a Manfrotto 055XPROB tripod with a Manfrotto 329RCA Pan/Tilt Head.

And I still remember the excellent seafood meal I had afterwards just down the wharf–one of the great things about Boston!