More Philly: Logan Square, Ben Franklin Pkwy, Continental Mid-Town

Another nice day out in Philly, another day of taking pictures. I'm certainly not complaining, that's for sure. Our friend Beth is in town, and she wanted to see a few sights, so we walked downtown to Logan Square (one of my favorite places in Center City), to Love Park and then it was time for lunch.

I should have known better than to suggest a chain restaurant to her - T.G.I. Friday's - I was sternly rebuked. So, I saved the day with a suggestion that we venture to The Continental Mid-Town, a wonderful Steven Star Restaurant. Incidentally, it is where Vandra and I had our first date, so the place is as comfortable as an old shoe to me. Needless to say, Beth loved the sites, and she's crazy about The Continental.

We dined on the second floor sitting in swinging chairs, which are pretty cool. I snapped this candid of Beth, and I love the picture. It's one of my better candids I've taken this year, so with her blessing, here it is.

To date, I have not taken many pictures at 1600 ISO with my 5D, but I'm very impressed with the resolution. I could easily make a nice 16x20 print out of this image. During my film days, I would have been very hard pressed to make a print that large out of a negative from 1600 film, except maybe Fuji 1600.

Canon EOS 5D, Canon L 24-70mm lens, ISO 1600, lens at 50mm, exposure unrecorded

I leaned over the railing and took this shot of the tables down below on the first floor - I love the colors and shapes of this shot. It's a typical Steven Star Restaurant - his eateries are very avant-garde, and they always have some sort of theme.

Canon EOS 5D, Canon L 24-70mm lens, ISO 1600, lens at 24mm, exposure unrecorded

This is a picture of the main light in The Continental. I love the design, and it really gives the restaurant a look and feel that, to me, says first class.

Canon EOS 5D, Canon L 24-70mm lens, ISO 1600, lens at 24mm, exposure unrecorded

This is the foot of the Philadelphia Holocaust Memorial, located at 17th and Benjamin Franklin Parkway. It's a highly symbolic piece, but it also appears very abstract in sunlight. I had a bit of a difficult time getting the lighting the way I wanted it in order to show adequate detail. Hampering my effort was the time we were shooting - about 1 p.m.

The sculpture, designed by Nathan Rapoport, was erected in 1964.

Canon EOS 5D, Canon L 24-70mm lens, ISO 100, lens at 70mm, shot in aperture priority, f5.6, but I don't remember the shutter speed.

This is a view of Comcast Center as seen from the completely unfinished side. You can see the other three sides, which are just about all finished on the outside. I've grown obsessed with the center as of late, because we see it out of our windows and on our roof deck every day. I totally had the wrong impression of the building from afar, however; it's pretty far from complete, but I'm guessing the builders want to get the outside finished so it won't be so unpleasant to work in during Philly's sometimes brutal winters.

Canon EOS 5D, Canon L 24-70mm lens, ISO 800, lens at 24mm, exposure unrecorded.

Logan Square is one of my favorite places to hang out and take pictures in the city. It's well manicured, the flowers are beautiful, and I love the fountains. On this day I wanted to get a close up shot of the fountains in the very middle, so I zoomed in and waited for people to get out of the way. This is one of the better ones. I want to take along my tripod one day and try a drag shutter, but with these particular waterfalls, I prefer freezing the jets of water - I just think I'd prefer it. But, I'll have to try shooting it both ways to see what I like best.

Canon EOS 5D, Canon L 24-70mm lens, ISO 100, lens at 60mm, 1/2000th second shutter speed, aperture unrecorded.

The main fountains are surrounded by frogs and turtles, and I think they really complement the main fountains in a very aesthetic way. I waded in about four paces to get this shot, and was promptly told by Fairmount Park security to get out of the pool. Who cares? I was able to fire off two quick shots - this is the better one.

Once more, I have to say how much I love my 24-70 L lens - I can crank up the shutter speed or the aperture, and the lens's speed always allows me to take whatever I want without messing with the ISO setting. It's a truly incredible lens that I've already discovered, not to my surprise, to be worth every penny.

Canon EOS 5D, Canon L 24-70mm lens, ISO 100, lens at 70mm, 1/2000th second shutter speed, aperture unrecorded.

I decided that I wanted to snap a quick shot of Ben Franklin Parkway, so I took this in the middle of the crosswalk during an (obviously) red light. I thought the Philadelphia Museum of Art looked pretty curious with all of the scaffolding in front of it. The museum is undergoing a decade-long, $500 million expansion, so it's not bound to look normal anytime soon.

I love taking pictures of the museum - there's so much to see and photograph. I haven't been to the museum for close ups in a while, so maybe this week I will get back.

Canon EOS 5D, Canon L 24-70mm lens, ISO 100, exposure unrecorded.