Boston's Emerald Necklace: Back Bay Fens

The Muddy River, one of New England's most polluted waterways, exacerbated by a multi-month drought, threads thru the district.

My dear friend S finds the title, "Emerald Necklace," beautiful. Homeowners and relators discovered that the proposed plan increased land values. The Muddy River, believed to be the most polluted waterway in New England, courses thru the Necklace as do numerous animals following the greenway the Necklace created. Cars and trucks with their passengers zip crazily along the swerving roadways. Joggers jog, bicyclers bike, walkers stroll, soccer players practice, and perhaps prostitutes attract customers.

I bring my students to the Emerald Necklace to learn about this piece of urban earth and to help increase their photographic skills. Try this: one frame, multiple moments; one position, multiple images; and one thing, multiple photos. Ah, the light is not quite right, too diffuse, blank, blah. What now? Come back tomorrow or tonight or wait until spring? No, try backlight, watch for intensification of colors, hope for a break in the sky. Work with the materials presented to you. Follow the suggestion of a Chinese philosopher of art who declared millennia ago, paint only what presents itself to you to be painted—be humble and resourceful with the world and your art.

Emerald Necklace Conservancy

Muddy River Restoration Project

photos by skip schiel & teeksa photography

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