Images of Fenway
Text and photos by Ben Wizansky

In 2000 and 2001, I attended the New England School of Photography, right in the shadow of Fenway Park. I was drawn to the parts of the park that most people walk right by. To me, these nooks and alcoves have character; the brick has presence. The interior of the park does not look like anywhere else.

When I first began photographing at Fenway, my only thought was that I wanted to make pictures that responded to the way I feel whenever I am inside the park. I wanted to capture what it feels like to experience a sense of place—the composition of the bricks, the curves of wall, the quiet corners. The way the light journeys in rays from out on the field through the tunnels and under the grandstand. The smell, the dirt, the stains. If there is hallowed ground in my world, it is at Fenway Park.

I can remember evening trips when my father and I would take the train down to Fenway, buying whatever seats were available (provided they weren't obstructed by columns). And I remember, too, a summer camp field trip, the time I am separated from the group and am standing alone below the bleachers. I listen to the crowd hush and then grow loud, gradually but also suddenly, and I wonder what it is that I am missing. I want to rush back to my seat.

I go to Fenway, in part, to experience again those childhood memories that remain so vivid for me. Making these pictures reminds me of those times. The bricks, the walls, the smells—that's where the secrets of Fenway reside.

My work is warm-tone black and white. All prints are made 5 x 7 1/4", or a bit larger, and are archivally processed gelatin silver prints.

—EFQ

BEN WIZANSKY moved out of Boston just as the Red Sox were beginning their ride that ended in a World Series sweep. He watched it all unfold from his new home in Portland, Oregon. He ultimately hopes to see his Fenway photographs (and others he has taken elsewhere since) in a book.

© 2005 Ben Wizansky

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