Brooke Borstel

Growing up just five train stops away from Massachusetts’ state capital, I quickly learned the undeniable beauty in city life even if it is not always shown on the surface. However, if you look closely you can find raw beauty everywhere in a city.

My project consisted of two major cities, Boston and Paris. As I said previously, I grew up almost in the heart of Massachusetts, however, I had never previously been to the city of love before so as I photographed this project I had a lot of new beauty to discover. I wanted to focus on people and how they interact with their surroundings in the city and each other. Another focus of mine was the architecture of the cities. How a city is built says a lot about the cities history and what makes it iconic, like the John Hancock or Eiffel Tower.

I did two separate trips to Boston. The first one was during a seventy-degree day in January, which was an anomaly here in New England. I went to the Boston Common and the Public Garden because I knew it would be where people would be lounging, playing frisbee, riding bikes or reading books. I captured many images of people interacting in the city whether it was playing musical instruments or musical contraptions to give the city a pep in its step, skateboarding along sidewalks, conversations upon the trees or by the pond.

My next trip to Boston was a few weekends after the first, but this time it was a normal forty-degree day. This time I went to Faneuil Hall. The city was very crowded compared to it’s usual Saturday buzz. I managed to get many pictures of people inside Quincy Market, ordering food, talking with friends or enjoying their meals and the occasional street performer outside of the market. As I was about to get back on the train I spotted the active Haymarket so I decided to stay and capture pictures of people selling, buying or bidding.

My final trip was to La Ville Lumière (The City of Lights). Here I was immersed in a culture and city I have never experienced before. The city was buzzing with reckless cars on rotaries, street artists and performers, and the beautiful architecture of Paris which I was particularly fascinated with. As I toured the city with my class, I took as many pictures as I could soaking up the different European city life and culture.

I would like to continue this project on my own and shoot many other amazing cities I hope to someday visit, incorporating many other cultures and more facets of city life.