The Big Dig at Night

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Summary: A Perspective Most of Us Never See
Review: A facinating look at a huge construction project at a time of day most of us are asleep. Of interest for those of us who live with it daily, as well as for those interested in photography and/or construction of difficult and large projects. The images, taken at night with available light and a variety of cameras, provide an unique view into the site and night photography.

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Summary: Big Dig-Big Points!
Review: A treat for the eye's!!
This book is educational as well as artistic.
One of the world's biggest projects, beautifully captured.

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Summary: i dug it
Review: both the subject matter and the photographs are incredible. a magnificent construction and a photographer that was able to capture the moment in an amazing light. a real piece of work.

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Summary: Time-Lapse, Surreal Contrasts of Old and New in Boston
Review: Fifteen billion dollars and many years of twisted roads, snarled traffic, angry drivers, and frustration. That's the crushing reality of Boston's Big Dig. Ironically, one of the main purposes of the project is to speed traffic to Logan Airport at a time when many will choose to avoid that airport due to its connection to the recent terrorist attacks.

Stephen SetteDucati has seen potential and beauty in the quiet of the evening, night, and early morning hum of the project. His photographs will make you think you have landed on another planet, because the scenes are full of objects rather than people. Time-lapse methods in many cases switch cars into lines of headlights that stream jet-like across the page.

To me, the high point of the volume are the many stunning images of the new Leonard P. Zakin, Bunker Hill Memorial bridge rising like the Phoenix above the northern edge of the city. This bridge is the widest cable-stayed bridge in the world and looks like something that should be on Star Trek. The bright whiteness of the lights transform it into a piece of sculpture, rising almost organically from the water and debris . . . almost like an exotic sea creature.

The most fascinating part of the book is the view of the old elevated eyesore that is being eliminated. Ah, how well I remember the pigeon-stained undersides! After some Celtics games, I would have to take the car through the car wash three times to clean it all off.

Overall, the book will fascinate you with its stillness. You will feel like you are present at all the various times, enjoying the quiet chill and turning within yourself.

The captions are interestingly tied to the date and time when the photographs were taken.

For most people, this book will only be appealing if they live in Boston, visit the city frequently, or enjoyed The Big Dig (Mr. McNichol's recent book on the project).

The Big Dig at Night has several drawbacks. First, it lacks the fascinating detail of the overall project's engineering challenges and unique solutions that made The Big Dig so special. Second, it shows you the night version of what you already saw many times if you were in Boston. So, only those scenes that capture the contrasts between old and new in the most powerful ways actually stimulate your imagination and interest. Third, the book's design is wrong for these images. Most are forces to sprawl awkwardly across a center fold that truncates them in inappropriate places. The book's pages needed to be much wider!

But . . . for those who want to see the beautiful beginnings of the end of the Boston Big Dig misery, this is a fine book. Think of it as mental relief for the traffic frustrated.

After you finish enjoying construction as urban sculpture, I suggest that you also consider the night for its other forms of beauty that emanate from nature. Look at the reflections of light on ponds, rivers, ice, and snow. Enjoy the outlines of trees shifting under the wind. Smell the aromas of the season. Hear the gentle night sounds whisper to you. Touch the dew on the grass.

Enjoy the meditative beauty of the world around you, whenever you can take a moment to just enjoy!

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Summary: History in the Making with an available light eye
Review: Great book!!! We have seen many pictures of the Big Dig during the day. In fact, most of us can see for ourselves most of the images in the Big Dig during the day books.

Go to the Big Dig scout out a great image... Wait 12 hours. See the difference. It's clear the images in The Big Dig At Night are the work of a craftsman. The skill to draw from the available light (no flash, just the light that’s around) during the night is not as simple as pushing a button. When my friends flip through the book, they tell me how "cool" the pictures are, but when I tell them how the artist draws on the existing light to produce these image, they return to the book in awe.

In all a great book of photography, and a great book on the Big Dig. The quality and variety of the of images is a testament to the artist's dedication and skill. The Big Dig At Night has done a wonderful job documenting this historic project during its busiest time of day, AT NIGHT.

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Summary: The Big Dig
Review: I bought this book, along with The Big Dig at Night, for my husband, a Boston native. He loved both the books, but would really have wanted, in addition, more detailed maps in the changes that have been made.

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Summary: Eerie and Beautiful
Review: I love picking this book up again and again to flip through the photos. It makes me want to go out and take more photos at night. The views of the Big Dig would be impossible for anyone but this photographer to get--really unique, interesting angles, with a real eye for color, shape and texture. The photos do justice to the monumental nature of the project. Highly recommended--makes a great "coffee table" book. The printing is glossy and sumptuous.

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Summary: A disappointment
Review: I was excited to recieve this book as a holiday gift, but after taking the time to go through it I find I am very disappointed by the generic quality of the photographs. I thought I'd be seeing something new, but it doesn't show me anything I couldn't see myself. Too bad the project is now basically finished and these tired images will be part of the permanent record of the true engineering miracle of the Big Dig. The project and the people who made it deserve better.

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Summary: Revelation of the Invisible
Review: It is electrifying to see these pictures. Stephen Setteducati brings details out of the shadows and colors out of the night.

The long exposures in these enormous spaces reveal colors, textures, details and contrasts not visible even on a personal tour of the Big Dig.

In the daytime the bright sky behind the old highway (suspended over the excavation for the new road) leaves the shadows too dark for the visitor to see. At night the human eye sees almost no color even where the dazzling work lights make the isolated active-work sections white-hot, which leave everything else pitch-black.

The pictures are a revelation in the book (and the full-sized prints are even more wonderful.)

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Summary: Phenomenal Photography
Review: SetteDucati's exquisite combination of angle, light and location saturate this book with incredible photographs that continue to amaze me. It offered this Bostonian an exclusive look inside the streets below my feet. I've enjoyed this book from a photographers standpoint- and given this book as a gift to friends involved with the construction of the Big Dig. This book delights and intrigues every time! :)