Matthew

@imatthewi.bsky.social

743 Followers 644 Following

Photographer & environmental lawyer Known to be enthusiastic about music & photography Fond of Brutalist architecture #Jazz #HipHop #Architecture #ProgressivePolitics #Photography #EndangeredSpecies #Urbanism #BostonCeltics #Boston Opinions my own, etc.

Color photo of the Christian Science Center Plaza in Boston’s Back Bay on a hot July day showing a ring of skyscrapers around the reflecting pool, church, and Colonnade Building. Gleaming sunlight reflects of one of the glass towers. An elderly couple walks along the garden next to the reflecting pool providing a sense of scale.
Color photo of big, fat lightning bolt striking the lightning rod atop the Prudential Tower skyscraper in Boston’s Back Bay. The wide white lightning bolt zig zags down the center of the frame, illuminating the night sky revealing the Prudential Tower and whips of clouds in a sky purple with the lightning illumination.
Color photo of a gin and tonic in tall tumbler of clear glass sitting on a wood railing with Ice cubes and lime slice visible in the glass. The sun--about to drop below the horizon over the Bay--is visible in the distance and the orange and pink sunset hues illuminate the gin and tonic glass. Several moored sailboats are visible in the Bay. Shot in Fair Harbor, Fire Island New York.
Black and white photo of the John Hancock Tower in Boston with the old, Art Deco Hancock Building and two other buildings reflected in the Hancock Tower’s glass. A group of people are seen leaving work in the Hancock Tower. Back Bay, Boston.
Color photo looking out of an open door with square, stained glass panels on each side of the door in various shades of blue, aqua, green, lime green, and orange. The Bay in Fair Harbor, Fire Island, NY, is visible out of the open door along with an elevated wooden walkway and railing. A few tree branches lush with green leaves are also visible from the open door at the top of the photo.
Color photo of a wooden footbridge in Omaha’s Elmwood Park with overgrown tree branches and lush leaves encompassing and engulfing the walkway. Shot from near one end of the footbridge looking toward the other end in the distance with a vanishing point.
Color photo of giant Allium blooms in Boston’s Public Garden with cloudy skies and a statute of George Washington on horseback and the Boston skyline in the background.
Color photo of Milt Jackson’s album Sunflower (CTI, 1973) featuring Pete Turner’s iconic cover photo of silhouetted ostrich necks and heads against a bright yellow background and setting sun.
Color drawing of Quisp, the mascot of Quaker’s Quisp cereal circa late 1960s-1970s.
Color photo of Mariana Vieira, aka Ladybug Mecca, aka Mec, performing at the Digable Planets Reunion show in Boston (Cambridge, MA) at the Middle East in 2005. Mec is wearing a black T-shirt with Rosa Park’s mug shot and singing into a mic, long curly brunette hair spilling out of a Kangol cap.
color photo of 1995 Lp Boulez Conducts Zappa: The Perfect Stranger (and other chamber works performed by the Ensemble Intercontemporain and the Barking Pumpkin Digital Gratification Consort) feature a painting by Donald Roller Wilson of a dog wearing sunglasses seated in a high chair with a bowl of ice cream in front of a table with a partially eaten plate of food, a bottle of ketchup, a glass of beer and a beer bottle.
Short video of fireworks over Boston’s Esplanade on the 4th of July, Independence Day, 2026, 250th Anniversary of U.S. Independence.
Short, 1 min. video of fireworks over Boston’s Esplanade on the 4th of July, Independence Day, 2026, 250th Anniversary of U.S. Independence.
Short video of fireworks over Boston’s Esplanade on the 4th of July, Independence Day, 2026, 250th Anniversary of U.S. Independence.
Color macro (close up) photo of a purple Duncan Imperial Yo-Yo. The axel and wound string can be seen through the clear purple plastic of the yo-yo, along with the classic Duncan Imperial logo on the front of the yo-yo.
(close up) Color macro photo of fresh blueberries resting atop a waffle glistening with butter and maple syrup. Two blueberries and part of the waffle in the foreground are in sharp focus, while several blueberries and other parts of the waffle in the background are blurred with bokeh.
(close up) Macro photograph of a cluster of colorful marbles. Three of the marble are in sharp, or mostly sharp, focus, with many marbles in the background blurred with colorful bokeh. The marbles include: 1) a black, orange and yellow calico; 2) a clear glass marble exposing a honeycomb-like spiral of fine yellow, black, pink, and purple strands inside, with swirling spirals of black, red, purple, and pink on the outside; 3) a marble with multi-colored spirals; and 4) a spring green and blue-patterned marble. The colorful marbles in the background include several “cats’ eye” and solid color calico pieces.
(close up) Macro photo of a bumble bee collecting pollen from a fuchsia and yellow flower, fine detail of the bee visible including pollen dust on the bee’s legs and body. The bee and part of the flower are in sharp focus while the background is blurred with yellow and green bokeh. Shot in Boston’s Public Garden.
Short video clip of Boston-based Poet & saxophonist Tim Hall performing spoken word and a sax solo w/ keyboard, drums and guitar at City Winery, Boston as part of Flowers: A Tribute to J Dilla.
Color fisheye photo taken from an upper level landing inside the Oculus Transportation Hub at the World Trade Center in New York City showing a curved railing overlooking the towering, curved spires and arched columns of the Oculus with glass windows in between the arches showing blue sky and cloud fragments. The photo also shows folks scattered on the floor below looking like tiny ants.
imagined future honorarium for jazz artist Jaimie Branch following her untimely passing published in All About Jazz by Chris May, heralding Branch for standing up to the first Trump Administration and noting that her birthday was now celebrated as a national holiday for her resistance : "Following the 2024 re-election of Donald Trump as President of the United States, and his subsequent ratification as President-for-Life, the US Constitution was suspended. Jaimie Branch, who had passed in 2022, was one of many musicians, film makers, writers and visual artists whose work, no longer protected by the First Amendment, was declared Un-American and its broadcasting and public performance banned. After the uprising which in 2031 took down the short-lived presidency of Donald Trump Jr., the seat of the US government returned from Mar-a-Lago to Washington, the Constitution was reinstated, the federal ban on abortion was lifted, the arts flourished and the economy slowly recovered. Branch and her fellow resisters were unbanned. June 17, the date in 1983 when Branch was born, was declared a federal holiday. Jaimie Branch Day is still celebrated each year across the US."
imagined future honorarium for jazz artist Jaimie Branch following her untimely passing published in All About Jazz by Chris May, heralding Branch for standing up to the first Trump Administration and noting that her birthday was now celebrated as a national holiday for her resistance : "Following the 2024 re-election of Donald Trump as President of the United States, and his subsequent ratification as President-for-Life, the US Constitution was suspended. Jaimie Branch, who had passed in 2022, was one of many musicians, film makers, writers and visual artists whose work, no longer protected by the First Amendment, was declared Un-American and its broadcasting and public performance banned. After the uprising which in 2031 took down the short-lived presidency of Donald Trump Jr., the seat of the US government returned from Mar-a-Lago to Washington, the Constitution was reinstated, the federal ban on abortion was lifted, the arts flourished and the economy slowly recovered. Branch and her fellow resisters were unbanned. June 17, the date in 1983 when Branch was born, was declared a federal holiday. Jaimie Branch Day is still celebrated each year across the US."
Short video clip of the Big ‘Ol Dirty Bucket funk and soul band performing in Titus Sparrow Park on a gorgeous summer evening. South End, Boston. Part of the Sparrow Park weekly summer concert series. Video clip shows much of the park, panning across and zooming in with historic Union Church in the background. Some brick, bowfront townhouses along West Newton street are also seen.
Short video clip of the Big ‘Ol Dirty Bucket funk and soul band performing in Titus Sparrow Park on a gorgeous summer evening. South End, Boston. Part of the Sparrow Park weekly summer concert series. Video clip shows much of the park, panning across and zooming in with historic Union Church in the background. Some brick, bowfront townhouses along West Newton street are also seen.
SMART THINGS I HAVE DONE WHILE YOU WERE WATCHING SPORTSBALL By River Clegg, orig. published May 24, 2017 • Composed a funny Facebook post about how I just don’t understand sportsball. “Sportsball” is the clever term I use to denote whatever sport currently occupies the national psyche. See, it’s clever because it sounds self-deprecating at first—as though I’m someone who doesn’t fit in among the sports-loving masses. But it actually conveys my contempt for sports, which I consider not only frivolous but interchangeably so. Hence “sportsball,” an ingenious portmanteau that I can use to dismiss any sport as a pointless distraction. • Purchased cardamom. • Perused the Wikipedia page on science to make sure that everything was in order. • Sighed heavily while thinking about politics. • Wondered what could possibly make people happy about coming together as communities to behold breathtaking feats of athletic skill.
Video clip of Massive Attack performing "Teardrop" with Elizabeth Fraser during the Mezzanine XXI Anniversary Tour. Wang Theater, Boston, September 2019. The video show a dark stage with Elizabeth Fraser in the center singing, surrounded by Massive Attack band members mostly shrouded in darkness. Bright while light rays circle around the stage and Elizabeth Fraser.
Black and white photo of Boston Red Sox's catcher Carlton "Pudge" Fisk's waiving his soon-to-be, walk-off home run ball fair as it headed toward the foul pole in 1975 World Series game 6.
Color photo of Dr. J (Julius Erving) iconic dunk at the 1976 ABA (American Basketball Association) All-Star Game Slam Dunk contest. The photo shows Dr. J flying through the air from the free throw line toward the basket about to dunk a red-white-and-blue ABA basketball.
Color photo of a humpback whale fluke with water pouring off as the whale dives. The photo shows open ocean off the Massachusetts coast (in the Stellwagen Bank Marine Sanctuary) with seagulls in the air and a tugboat in the distance.
Color photo of St. Vincent thanking the Boston audience at the end of her show with the Boston Symphony Orchestra (Boston Pops) at Symphony Hall on June 4, 1026. Photo shows most of the stage and orchestra with conductor Jules Buckley standing by.
Color photo of St. Vincent and conductor Jules Buckley returning to the stage at Boston Symphony Hall for an encore after her June 4, 2026 concert with the Boston Symphony Orchestra (Boston Pops). Photo shows most of the concert stage and orchestra at with the historic Symphony Hall stage and ornate backdrop with pink lighting illuminating the gold leaf detail.
Color photo of St. Vincent and conductor Jules Buckley returning to the stage for an encore at Boston Symphony Hall after her June 4, 2026 concert with the Boston Symphony Orchestra (Boston Pops Orch). Photo shows more than half the stage and orchestra with the historic andornate stage backdrop.
33 second video of Massive Attack performing "Inertia Creeps" as part of the Mezzanine (album) 21st Anniversary (U.S.) Tour at the Wang Theater in Boston, September, 2019. The video clip shows a dark stage with massive (no pun intended) back screen flashing names of pharmaceutical drugs and chemicals, including fentanyl, hydromorph, and opinol in large, lit letters with flashing lights and other effects.
Screen shot of two paras of New York Times linked gift article showing LA maps before and after redistricting with this text: “Gov. Jeff Landry of Louisiana on Friday signed a new congressional map that would eliminate one of the state’s two majority-Black districts, m​aking his state the second in the South to draw and approve carving out such a district since the Supreme Court weakened the Voting Rights Act​ last month. The new map is Louisiana’s response to the court’s ruling, which rejected its previous congressional map as an illegal racial gerrymander. After delaying the state’s U.S. House primaries and negotiating for weeks, the Republican-controlled Legislature settled on redrawing the district at the center of the ruling in a way that reduces the number of Black voters who live in it and hands Republicans a structural advantage ahead of the November midterms.
Black and white photo of a tall ship at sea off the Massachusetts coast with three masts and about 15 sails flying. The ship is the Charles W. Morgan, a former whaling ship now restored. In addition to a full profile of the tall ship at sea, the photo shows a silver sky with a low line of clouds in the distance above the ocean horizon.
Black and white, high contrast night photo of the Custom House Tower in Boston--a tall, Greek Revival architectural tower now a hotel. The photo shows the illuminated top floors of the tower (including a clock under the crown) looming in the background with illuminated street signs in the foreground for the intersection of Custom House Street and India Street in Boston's Financial District near Faneuil Hall and the downtown waterfront.
Color photo of the Vessel (a giant, copper-colored, open architectural sculpture with multiple levels of walkways and stairways for observation) at Hudson Yards off the High Line in New York City, with a turquoise glass high rise (15 Hudson Yards) looming in the background looking like three fingers pointing up and seemingly creating a hole of blue sky in the clouds.
Color photo of a beach on Fire Island, New York, an hour or so after sunrise. The sun, just out of frame, casts sunbeams down into the shot, illuminating the beach in a golden glow. Bright sunlight reflections shimmer on the ocean water and wet sand on the beach with receding waves. Shorebirds congregate on the beach and flutter above the ocean surface in the background.
Color photo of a beach on Fire Island, New York, just after sunrise with a large, glowing sun above the horizon. The sky is shades of golden yellow, orange, and pink and the turquoise ocean water is glistening with shades of pink and orange from the sunrise.
Color photo of the Southwest Corridor Park path in Boston the morning after a heavy snowfall showing large mounds of snow around a partially cleared path with snow piled on tree branches. A very bright morning sun glares low in a cloudless, bright blue sky casting shadows of tree branches.
Screen shot of portion of email from Amazon rejecting my review of Infinite Jeffs by Jeff Jeff Jeff. The review: "JEFF! Jeff, Jeff Jeff Jeff Jeff Jeff Jeff Jeff. Jeff Jeff Jeff Jeff Jeff Jeff Jeff Jeff Jeff Jeff. Jeff Jeff Jeff, Jeff Jeff Jeff. Jeff Jeff Jeff Jeff Jeff. Jeff Jeff. Jeff, Jeff Jeff Jeff Jeff. Jeff Jeff Jeff Jeff, Jeff Jeff Jeff. Jeff Jeff Jeff Jeff. Jeff Jeff
Photo of the title page to the hard cover first edition of David Foster Wallace's "Infinite Jest," signed by David Foster Wallace at a ~1998 book reading/signing at the Boston Public Library after the release of DFW's "A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again."
Screen shot of portion of email notifying me that my advance purchase of tix for game 2, round two of the NBA East semifinals at Boston Garden for the Celtics v. (presumably the Knicks) . . . was refunded.
High contrast black and white photo showing the Brooke Courthouse in Boston with long shadow lines and patterns created by a late afternoon sun.
Black and white, high contrast photo showing a dock and wooden plank walkway, and bicycles in Saltaire, Fire Island, New York. A bright, late afternoon sun in low in the sky with sun rays and lens flare visible, creating very long shadow lines and patterns from the parked bikes and dock railings.
Screen shot of Philadelphia 76ers head coach Nick Nurse walking off as Boston Celtics win game four of NBA East playoff round one in Philly 128 to 96.
A quadriptych of color instant film (Fujifilm Instax Square film) photo double exposure shots with silhouettes of three historic old churches and church steeples in Boston's South End (including Union Church, "historically Black, multicultural, and LGBTQ+ empowering," and New Hope Baptist Church, converted to condos in 2014) with a second exposure overlay of flowering trees, flowers, or ferns within the church silhouettes).
Color instant film (Fujifilm Instax Square film) photo double exposure with silhouette of a historic old church steeple in Boston's South End (Union Church, "historically Black, multicultural, and LGBTQ+ empowering") with a second exposure overlay of flowering trees showing the pink flowers, branches, and blue sky within the church silhouette)
Screen shot of Boston Celtics v. Philly 76ers showing Boston with a 35 point lead with 2:22 left in game 1, round 1 of the NBA eastern Division playoffs.
Black and white photo taken outside in winter, looking down from the top edge of a steep, snow-covered, curving set of stairs with ridge-like patterns in the snow (from drifting and prior footprints quickly covered with fresh snow). Looking down at the Grotto in Elmwood Park, Omaha, with a creek and lit lamppost.
Black and white photo taken outside in winter, looking down from the top edge of a steep, snow-covered set of stairs leading to a landing and another set of snow-covered stairs and a footbridge below. Elmwood Park, Omaha.
Color photo showing TastyKake Butterscotch Krimpets on sale in a Star Market grocery store in Boston (Prudential / Back Bay).
… #VijayIyer and #MarcCary performing at the #RandyWeston Centennial celebration, performance, and discussion at Harvard.
Rodney Kendrick and Rhonda Ross Kendrick performing at the Randy Weston Centennial performance and discussion at Harvard. Rhonda here delivered moving and poetic reflections on Randy Weston centered around “Prayer. Protest (and mass protest). And Peace. ☮️