The River Charles
by Francis Gardino


My webpage for the great River Charles in Boston and Cambridge which winds and pans around with miles and miles of trees and bushes of Seasonal Color, Shapes and Lines.

This page is a product of dozens of years of wandering up and down the Charles River, both on the Boston side, and on the Cambridge side.  Since I've lived in the Brighton section of Boston (which used to be called "Little Cambridge"), for the last 22+ years, I frequently travel along or over the river to get any and everywhere.  During these trips I've seen the light and seasons of the Charles in many variations from "dark and deserted" to "brilliant and overwhelmed" with people.  

It's not uncommon for there to be miles of Charles automobile traffic along the entire stretch of Storrow Drive on the Boston side.  All it takes is a little rain or snow, or a Boston Pops concert on the Esplanade or a game at Fenway Park or the Boston Garden (by any other name).  There is usually not as much traffic on Memorial Drive on the Cambridge side, but it will get a bit slow around rush hour going west near Harvard Square or east near the Longfellow Bridge.  In the summertime and during the "Head of the Charles" boat races , they close off traffic on Mem Drive from Prospect Street to the Mount Auburn hospital to allow students, faculty etc. and locals to use the road for roller skating, bicycling and other healthy type activities.  They also close off Storrow Drive from Leverett Circle to the Fenway exit on the 4th of July.

Along this stretch, the most beautiful locations are the Esplanade with the Hatch Shell and the Community Boating Inc. club (of which I am a lifetime member), the stretch in Cambridge with over a hundred old Sycamore trees, and Soldiers Field Road across from Harvard Stadium.  In general, I've managed to stay clear of the worst traffic and enjoy the best experiences of the many river-related occasions.

The photos below represent some of my best views of these locations minus the millions of people.  They are also the reasons that many of the millions of people visit the Charles along with the boats, symphony orchestras, cannons and fireworks.  Please scroll to the right to see the entire length of the panoramic photos  -  FG
 

Charles in Spring
some are panorama photos - scroll to right ->







"Shell Seat"


Charles in Summer
some are panorama photos - scroll to right ->



"King Lear" photo inspired by RAN the Japanese film version by Akira Kurosawa




"Ophelia's Madness"




"Polonius under a Curtain of Brush"




There's a lot of "Natural Living Tree and Brush Theatre" near the Publick Theatre in Herter Park.




"Midsummer Day's Dream"




Sometimes they are just about the bushes,




and trees,




and "GREENNESS",




and plain old bales of hay on the banks,




green, green water...




or the "Perfect Day" on the banks of the Charles where there is no better place to be on a Sunday afternoon.




or in the river in your boat of choice.




I call this one "Triplet on the Turn" but it's the same guy at slightly different times as I shot the individual pieces of stitched panorama.  So I guess you could say that I captured time moving in this photo.








Sometimes it's just about hanging out with the Sycamores...




"The Kiss"






and waiting for the glow...




or the geese...










and Memorial Drive Apples!




and being amazed by time's toll on man's intervention...


                       

or man's toll on man's intervention...




or exploring the chaos...




temporarily recovered...




in a constant victorious battle with man...




and the serenity...




and symmetry.






"Harmonius Gounds"










"You Got Me"




"Arthur's Un-aristocratic Dream Fulfilled"




"Mass Ave. and Longfellow Bridge Panorama"




"I'm Goin Down"




"Spats on Mem Drive"




"Background for a 3D Rendering"




"Cannot Drive by this One" without panorama-ing



nor this one ever...



"Night Time of the Pops 2009"




"Boston Pops Fireworks 2008"




"Pole Drawing"




"Orange Hatch Shell and Bike"




"Arthur Fiedler Footbridge"




"Longfellow Bridge from the Cambridge Side"




"Longfellow Bridge from the Boston Side"




"Zakim and the B&M Railroad Bridges"



Charles in Fall
some are panorama photos - scroll to right ->



"Willows in Watertown"




"Fall Leaves Near Herter"



 
"Falls in Fall in Watertown"




"Polonius Exposed"




"Actors Off Stage"




"Birch Tree Heaven"




"One Last Row"




"Twigs Near the Elliot Bridge"




"Sycamores at the Cusk of Fall and Winter"  -> scroll  ->


Charles in Winter
some are panorama photos - scroll to right ->







Brown Trees on the Bend




Cambridge Boathouse






"Snow Berries by the Boathouse"












"Cambridge Elliot"




"Between the Boathouses"  -> scroll ->




"On the Causeway"




"Former Lotus 123 CharlesView"



This page is dedicated to my dearly departed Uncle Charlie who would hang his fishing pole over any pool of water.


also see ...
"Down by the Riverside"
2010 Digital Photograph Exhibit at Marblehead Art Association


www.frangardino.com