Erudite Expressions | Eugene's Photoblog

Stata Center

2012-01-23T22:52:34Z

Seen here is the Stata Center on the campus of Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge. The Stata Center is a 720,000-square-foot academic complex designed by renowned architect Frank Gehry. It's one of my favorite buildings in the world. Boston Globe architecture columnist Robert Campbell wrote a glowing appraisal of the building soon after the State Center opened. He wrote The Stata is always going to look unfinished. It also looks as if it's about to collapse. Columns tilt at scary angles. Walls teeter, swerve, and collide in random curves and angles. Materials change wherever you look: brick, mirror-surface steel, brushed aluminum, brightly colored paint, corrugated metal. Everything looks improvised, as if thrown up at the last moment. That's the point. The Stata's appearance is a metaphor for the freedom, daring, and creativity of the research that's supposed to occur inside it. To be fair, however, the building has received criticism for not being well-insulated from sound (and rain).

dome chandelier

2012-01-20T23:00:33Z

I captured this photo inside the Great Dome on the campus of Massachusetts Institute of Technology. I liked the detail in the chandelier when looking from below.

submerged

2012-01-16T17:51:32Z

So far this year, the winter has been mild. I've rummaged through my archives and found this photo I captured in Brooklyn after the epic blizzard of December 2010. I made a turn, thinking I could get across this square. But these submerged benches were a reminder that there was no cleared path ahead. So I turned around and found another way. ### Notes: 1) You should see my entire gallery from New York City here. 2) I've been posting a lot more frequently on my reading blog, which I think you will enjoy.

sunset watcher

2012-01-15T15:10:58Z

A man watches the sun set in Boston, MA. I captured this photo in October 2011.

orchids on blue

2012-01-12T22:14:19Z

My mom wanted me to take a few photos of her orchids. This image is the best one from a small set I photographed. I'm not much of a botanist, so I couldn't tell you the kind of orchid this is... Can you?

Portland garden

2012-01-07T00:40:06Z

A scene from the Lan Su Chinese Garden in Portland, Oregon. My favorite part is how the architecture blends with the natural here. Notice, for instance, the curving roof and the leaves at top center. This was a purposeful framing on my part, but I thought I'd point it out here. ### Follow Erudite Expressions on Facebook.

globe

2012-01-05T23:40:18Z

Happy New Year! I spent some time this weekend looking through the photos I posted and captured in 2011, and I've posted a list of the best photographs I captured on my Facebook fan page. If I had to pick a favorite photo of 2011, it has to be this one during my trip to Florida to witness a space shuttle launch. As for this photo: I captured it in the National Archives building in Washington D.C. on my last visit there. The topographic details were amazing.

New Year's Eve

2011-12-31T22:08:24Z

For the first time in four years, I am celebrating the coming new year at home in Atlanta. This is the photo I took of our dinner table tonight. Happy New Year, wherever you are!

ribbons in winter

2011-12-28T01:16:03Z

I hope you're having a wonderful holiday season. I captured this shot about a year ago in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. It was such a festive area, with most of the houses having some kind of decoration adorning their doors and/or their lawns.

Manhattan through Brooklyn

2011-12-21T19:38:42Z

A view of the Manhattan Bridge from Brooklyn. I know it's hard to see, and I wish I did a better job of framing, but if you look closely, you can see the Empire State Building at the center of the frame, between the two metal beams of the bridge. See my entire gallery from New York here. On another note: Happy Holidays!