Presidental Library Photo

Photographer’s Note

The John Fitzgerald Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum is another modern building in Boston, this time I.M.Pei is the architect.

I looked up at ceiling in this "room" to snap this shot. I tried to capture the essense of Pei's vision as he stated in the dedication ceremony in 1979:

"In the silence of that high, light-drenched space, the visitors will be alone with their thoughts. And in the reflective mood that the architecture seeks to engender, they may find themselves thinking of John F. Kennedy in a different way."

There is much to read about his design, but I also found it interesting to learn that Pei’s initial design for the Library included a truncated glass pyramid symbolizing President Kennedy’s abrubtly cut-off life, a design that re-emerged 25 years later in I.M. Pei’s design for the expansion of the Louvre Museum in Paris.

shevchenko, Cloud__Warrior, crhieatt, worldcitizen, dareco, leo61, avene, macondo has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

shevchenko (9812) 2008-07-20 21:07

Hi Kathy,
Amazing pov and tidy shoot to the modern architectures loacted at above photographer, distinct image to show the line works, well done.
Ally

romanaa (2551) 2008-07-20 23:43

Hello Kathy,

great well planed composition with the graphical effect of the lines and nice depth. The straight lines contrast well with the curves of the windows in the right part, solitary colours give the flag good emphasis.
Good job.
Best regards
Romana

Cloud__Warrior (291) 2008-07-21 0:18

Hi Kathy

Interesting composition, like the lines lead us through the image.

jmdias (18961) 2008-07-21 8:38

kathy

wonderful pov, the lines are amazing with the flag in a perfect place. beautiful work with a nice light and colors, perfect

hugs

jorge

crhieatt (5143) 2008-07-21 10:01

Kathy,
Continuing your intensely graphic architecture theme!!
Not many books!

It's quite difficult to put this vision together in way that makes architectural sense - but that's not important to the sucess of the photo, which gives us something apparently vast, yet scaleless, functional, yet apparently purposeless - who could guess?

Regards
Colin

worldcitizen (2229) 2008-07-21 15:06

Hello Kathy,
I really like the POV here! All of the lines are great, and the flag really jumps out against the black and beige colors. All of the windows must let in a tremendous amount of light, and also provide dramatic views when it's rainy or stormy.

dareco (17062) 2008-07-22 10:37

Perfect detail and sharpness!! This is really an awesome place!!! I would love to see this in person someday. TFS

leo61 (43100) 2008-07-22 10:42

Hi Kathy!
This is a fantastic shot of this unique architecture.The overall sharpness is amazing and I like the perspective.Great POV!!!
Regards,Leo

avene (10920) 2008-07-23 19:09

hello Kathy,
this is really great! the strong lines create a captivating perspective, while the flag and the construction in the lower right corner prevent the scene from becoming boring. the quality is superb, and I think you have found the best way to convey the vision that you quote in your note. excellent work, my compliments.

with best regards,
Kristine

jwmunro (6567) 2008-08-17 6:53

Hello Kathy -

Well done! I like the repeating geometric patterns of this image. The back light was handled superbly with no OE's evident. Well seen and presented.

Thank you for sharing.

John

macondo (13021) 2008-08-23 6:05

Hi Kathy.
Another fantastic architecture shot, well composed and superbly sharp. The flag stands out beautifully. I found the note very interesting too.
Regards,
Andrew

ViktorVaughn (1517) 2009-08-25 21:36

Hey Kathy,

Just looking up photos of Boston for my first visit this weekend, and came across your photo here. I like the lines and shapes you have captured. Great eye to see this up in the roof of the building. The exposure is really good for this type of shot.

Regards,
David