Boston Street Theater

As spring starts to roll in and the weather starts to get warmer, Boston finds a way to transform itself into a more interesting and/or exciting place to be after a brutal winter such as this past one. I was able to experience Boston last week in a way I haven't been able to in a while. On a very ordinary Thursday morning, I decided to take myself and my camera into the city for no other reason except that I had nothing to do. It turned out to be a good decision.

Now, as I walked through Government Center towards Quincy Market, I started to hear some cheering. Naturally, I became curious and started to make my way to the source of the sound. The crowd was starting to get large so I started moving a little quicker and luckily got a spot in the front with a nice view. These two guys, who I later found out to be circus performers (ironically not part of the Big Apple Circus that happened to be in town at Government Center), were already into their act by the time I got there. Camera out and ready, this was the first shot I got of their street performance. Looks like a very simple pose for two people described as circus performers. However, this pose was achieved after landing a back flip on top of the other man's shoulders. Quite an impressive maneuver! As you might be able to tell from the faces of the people in the crowd, they were quite entertaining to watch. What you cannot see in this photo is the young boy that volunteered from the crowd. He is out of frame to the left holding juggling swords. After being instructed by the two men to pick up the swords and bring them back, they ("they" meaning the man on the ground and the one on his shoulders going for a ride) began to run away in "fear." This got a good rise out of everyone watching, including their volunteer.

This next photo was the immediate aftermath of the volunteer handing the juggling swords to the performer. This performer, whose name I believe was Tobin (maybe coincidental, maybe not, because of the fact that they are in Boston), showed excellent control in less than ideal conditions. Even though it was warm and clear out, it was still very windy. It proved not to be that much of a factor though. One thing I do like about this photo is the backdrop of the building. Quincy Market is in the downtown section of the city where there is some very nice architecture.

After this performance, I took a stroll inside to grab a snack. Chili cheese fries at The Brown Derby proved to be a phenomenal choice. After eating I walked around for about 15 more minutes before seeing another crowd starting to form in the same place as the previous show.

Luckily I found another spot near the front of the crowd for this new performer. This man apparently went by Prop Comic Lucky Bob. Just like the other performers, he was extremely good at getting the crowd involved in the show. He would use a lot of young volunteers, including this little girl whose name I believed was Mia. In this photo, Mia was bringing this plate back to the performer for his next stunt. A little earlier on, he instructed her to keep the plate safe until he was to use it as part of the show. It really was a cool moment. The performer really made her day by showing his gratitude for returning his plate to him. He really made the day worth it for this young spectator as he did for all of those watching.

This photo was taken towards the end of Lucky Bob's performance. He selected this boy in the orange for the task of throwing him the juggling pins while balancing on top of a rolling board. Now, it was still windy at this time which made balancing on the board and the throwing of the juggling pins more difficult. In this photo, one would say that the volunteer is handing the pin to the performer. What makes this funny is that he is actually doing the opposite. The performer is reaching for the pin and the volunteer is actually holding the pin far enough away from him to make it an extremely uncomfortable situation. I do not think that Lucky Bob had this in mind when he chose this young boy to be his assistant for this part of his show. Nevertheless, I would figure the smiles on everyone's faces (the boy and the performer included) definitely showed that he made a good choice.

Warm weather in Boston brings about some very unexpected, yet entertaining, events. I highly recommend that if you have a chance to see any type of street theater or street performance, don't just walk by. Stay and enjoy!

Herring Gulls at the Beach

This is basically a continuation of yesterday's post. While there was only one Great Black-backed Gull on the beach that day, there were many Herring Gulls to be found during the low tide hours.
Most of my shots of gulls and any bird for that matter are done with a telephoto lens so I can get a close enough shot without spooking the animal. During high tide, these rocks that the gull is perched on would be close to 100-120 feet (that is a guess) out into the water, completely submerged. During low tide, they are perfectly visible and provide a good perch to this Herring Gull who is more than content just sitting in the morning sun. One of my favorite shots because of the seaweed covered rocks and water in the background which, to me, seems to add some nice color and detail. This photo can be viewed on Alamy as well where it is available for multiple uses under a Rights Managed license. If interested, please visit its location on Alamy.

This Herring Gull was digging for clams right before this shot was taken. Many times when walking the shore during low tide, it is possible to be sprayed by the clams who have burrowed jsut underneath the surface of the sand. This guy had just finished eating one and was starting to call to others. Even though the wings were spread, he did not fly away. It almost seemed as if it was letting it be known that food was found. Just like the photo above, this one is also available at Alamy for multiple uses under a Rights Managed license. Click here to view this at Alamy.

I chose to display this photo just for the expression that the gull seems to be showing. Now, while birds do not frown or smile, is sure seems like this one is giving that clam some attitude. Right before this photo was taken, the gull dropped this clam from the sky in order to open it (with the attempt being successful) and is now looking at it with a face that is saying "you're screwed." While that is obviously not the case, I chose to display this to show that gulls are very opportunistic feeders. In this case, the clam shell was sitting there cracked open after the gull dropped it from the sky. It is certainly not going to pass up the meal. It would be the exact same thing if you or I were to throw a french fry or any other piece of food at the beach. The gulls are not going to ignore it. They are going to take that opportunity to eat. However, what I have observed is that if the gull is unable after multiple attempts to break open the clam shell, they will move onto another one or move to another area where feeding might be better.

This last photo shows the result of that nice meal that was pictured above. If you look very closely, you can see the gull swallowing the clam meat while its shell now sits on the rocks empty. I do find this photo the most comical of the series mainly because of the expression. It looks like it is actually telling me to "back off" or "my food, get away." In reality, the only thing that it is probably concerned with is finishing off its meal. While it is possible that it could be looking at me, I find it very unlikely that it thinks I am going to try to steal its meal.

Living near the coast does indeed have its advantages. It gives me access to a broad range of things to observe and photograph. While I do not claim to know the inner workings of a Herring Gull's mind (or any animal for that matter), I do hope you enjoyed this read and my photographs. Feel free to comment or send me an email.

Great Black-backed Gull

Living near the coast has its advantages. In my case, it gives me the opportunity to photograph a wide range of gull species. This particular photo shows a Great Black-backed Gull (Larus Marinus) calling to others near by. This was the only one of its kind on the beach that morning. Low tide is the best time to shoot, mainly because this is the easiest time for the gulls to find the clams and other food sources they scavenge for. Click here to view this photo on Alamy.

Introductions

Welcome! I am Max Mattera and I have made this space to show my work. I consider myself to be a serious amateur photographer. My photo collection consists of everyday things-things that I find interesting and things that I just enjoy shooting. I am also a contributor of stock photos at Alamy and many of the photos you see here can be found with them for Rights Managed and Royalty Free licensing. Feel free to visit both this blog and my page with Alamy as both will be updated frequently.