The Eye of Isengard

This is 200 Clarendon Street. The tallest building in Boston, at 790 feet. The original occupants were John Hancock Insurance, hence its colloquial name, ‘The Hancock’. It towers over its neighbors, its only real rival being the Prudential Center to its west. On a clear, cloudless day at street level, it forms a stark image against azure skies.

When this photograph was made, the rectangular* monolith was counterpointed by the white clouds behind it. The sun flashed off the vertical notch that runs down its Northern* short face. For a brief moment, it formed a vision of an all consuming eye. Like the mythical eye of Sauron, gazing down from the black tower in Isengard.

Approximate Image Making Details: 50mm prime lens, f10, Aperture Priority. Honestly, the actual camera doesn’t matter for an image such as this, the lens does … to control flare.

Post Processing: Very basic treatment in Adobe Lightroom. Some lowered highlights for definition in the clouds and controlling sun burst. Converted to black and white and brought down the blues. That resulted in a dark tower and skies. Some vignetting added.