119/365 - Running to Stand Still

Unfortunately you can't walk into a store and buy hypodermic needles. So I had to make do with what I had. And I got off my purist soapbox long enough to substitute glycerin for liquid heroin. Acceptable in this instance, I think.

118/365 - I Walk the Line

It is easy, sometimes, to get stuck photographing the same sorts of things. It's spring. There's lots of flowers. They are pretty. Sometimes you can get a different perspective on them, a fresh look at the familiar. But at the same time, it is easy to keep shooting the same thing, different flower. Then the photos get stale. And the inspiration dries up.

But the thing about this project is I can't say: Screw this, in a few days maybe I will feel creative. No, I have to shoot something.

For the first time yesterday, I actually found that inspiration in music. Maybe it's just me, but there are certain songs, certain lyrics that when I hear them, create snapshot in my head. Or at the very least make me think there's an image in there somewhere. One sense helps feed another sense, stimulating an emotional reaction. And if it's done well, it taps into universal archetypes.

I think music videos, good ones, tap into that. Chris Isaak's "Wicked Game" comes to mind.

This particular image did not come out as I hoped. But at least there was some inspiration involved - sometimes I simply lack the skill to recreate what is in my head. The important thing is to keep on trying.

118/365 - Closing Time

I am in Panera's parking lot at 10:23 at night, using their wi-fi connection because the internet's been down at the house all day. But I had to get my picture posted - I figure this dedication makes up for the few nights I've gotten home from work late and haven't posted until the morning.

117/365 - Catch light

I had an interesting (to me at least) philosophical discussion with myself today. It all started with my quest for glycerin to make better soap bubble planets. I finally found a bottle of the elusive stuff. Once I got home, I was looking at photos that utilized glycerin. And it suddenly hit me - a good deal, if not most, of the really amazing drop pictures I've seen may have been staged. People actually take glycerin and put it on flowers and leaves, etc., in lieu of water drops. It holds up much better, see. And being a little thicker, is easier to photograph. And if there's been no rain lately but you want to take drop shots, presto.

This bothered me. Immensely. Because I go out every single time it is wet out in search of water drops. And most of what I shoot I trash because I think it is crap. And here I could just fake it. But it would not hold the same satisfaction for me.

And although I had bought the glycerin to mix into my soap solution to make the bubbles more colorful, I had thought about trying some drop shots with it. But after having realized how often it's probably done, I wanted nothing to do with it. And in protest I went out and got the shot. The real shot.

116/365 - Smoke art

I've wanted to give smoke photography another try, especially now that I have a flash. So, I used stick incense and locked myself in the bathroom to minimize drafts as much as I could. The results were pretty cool - and I has happy because I actually figured out the lighting - I think. I'd like to try it again with some color gels on the flash and multiple exposures.

This was my favorite of the shots I took - I love the subtle curves, especially up at the top. Like a bell jar.

115/365 - Fade away

I was trying something new with my camera today. It was supposed to be a picture of a flower, but the technique is cumbersome, tricky and unfamiliar. So I will revisit the flower. But I liked the effect on the clock tower, looking through the skylight.

I used my 35-105 and shot at 1/4 sec. When the shutter released, I zoomed the lens in while turning the camera at the same time. It will take some practice.

114/365 - Route 202

What to do on my way home from work tonight? I wanted to get a long exposure, so I set my aperature to f22, my iso to 200 and set the camera on bulb. I put the camera on the dashboard above the steering wheel and used the remote to take long exposures. This was my favorite, driving up Route 202 in Torrington toward New Hartford. It was a 77 second exposure.

113/365 - Hello Meteor

I photographed this glass door before with my lensbaby, but I wanted to try it with my macro lens.

112/365 - Don't Burst My Bubble

Got smart today and took my picture before I went to work. I've been trying to get a decent bubble picture for a while. I grudgingly admit that using a flash is necessary. Now I just have to work on blowing better bubbles.

111/365 - Place holder

Okay, I fired my camera exactly once yesterday. To check my exposure settings. It wasn't composed or planned. I simply held the camera up and shot whatever was straight ahead. Which happened to be the tops of some trees across the street from the paper at night. I planned on taking something else after I finished up with work. But it never happened.

So, consider this filler - it is simply keeping the project going.

110/365 - Any guesses?

Okay, I'm a little late posting but the picture is from last night - on my honor.

109/365 - Dinner

Didn't want to take a picture today. Light was sucky, camera setting was off, and the bumble bee wouldn't stay still. But if you big up the picture, he looks pretty cute - you've got to give the critters a face, right?

108/365 - My Pick

I went out today with my lensbaby and used both the macro focusing lenses stacked on it, which for me is always a roll of the dice.

With the macro lenses, I get a 14x magnification, but it is not easy to focus. The lensbaby itself takes a little bit of getting used to - it is nothing more than a lens on a bellows. You focus by pulling it in or pushing it out. And to change the aperature, you manually replace the focusing rings. Each ring has a different size hole, from f2 to f8. You can shoot wide open, too.

I've gotten pretty good with the basic lensbaby, but adding on the macro lenses is a whole different experience. You can get so close, but your point of focus is minute. Mostly, I just kind of close my eyes and hope for the best. The effects can be quite stunning. Or, I should say, the effect that some people can achieve with it can be quite stunning - I can't clain that kind of control. Yet.

But, I actually liked a few things I shot. And when that happens, it is difficult to self-edit. Part of me thinks, "What to other people want to see? Which will other people like?" But then the other part of me say, "It doesn't matter. What do you want to see?"

And this was my favorite.

107/365 - Coming 'Round the Bend

Let's see, I'm in the car on my way home from work and I haven't taken my picture for today. It must be Saturday night. These shots are going to get really old, really fast. At least there was a construction zone tonight to add a little interest.

106/365 - Clarice

I noticed this moth near the top of the screen in one of our dining room windows. I hate moths, but I couldn't help wanting to photograph it. And all I could think of was Silence of the Lambs.

105/365 - Cherry Blossom

I think I used up all my words in my last post.

104/365 - Executing art

I grew up in Yonkers, went to college and grad school in the Bronx, and never stepped foot in the Guggeneheim until yesterday. (Yes, I'm a day late posting this.)

There was an exhibit on modern photography and video. Some of it was completely beyond my comprehension. Some of it was interesting. With the exception of two pieces, one of which I was familiar with, I can't say I liked any of it.

One of the works consisted of about a dozen front pages of the Herald Tribune from November of 1977. The masthead and the photos were the only things on the pages - no copy. And it was interesting to look at the images as they had been layed out, just floating on the page, untethered by explanations or even cutlines.

But as I looked at the pages, I struggled with the meaning of "art." I liked it well enough. It was interesting to look at. But, I kept thinking, what had this person done, really, other than reinterpret other people's photographs or page design. (I don't know how accurately "page design" can be applied to newspapers from 1977.)

On the flip side, I argued with myself, isn't that what art is? Not necessarily the "doing" but the "imagining." Sure, anyone can do it, but only this particular woman thought to and did. Maybe it's not even in the imaging as much as it is in the doing. Because really, success on any level is achieved by the people who do, who act on their ideas.

And any exhibit that makes one thing about the meaning of art is time well spent, even if you hate all of it.

103/365 - Lucky Bottle Cap

I took Thomas and Julia down to Fordham today. We met my father for lunch at Pete's, then walked down Arthur Ave. Thomas found a Heineken bottle cap, and of course Julia wanted one, too. We picked this one up on the corner of Arthur Ave. and 187th St.

Thomas and Julia are now sound asleep with their bottle caps safely on grandfather's book shelf.

102/365 - Night Glow

Down in New York tonight at my parents'. Spring is slightly ahead of northwest Connecticut's. The azeleas and lilacs are just on the cusp of blooming, and I saw a pink dogwood blossoming.

101/365 - Driving Home, Again

I left work at 11:15 tonight and hadn't even picked up my camera all day. But I had it in the car, so I did some 1/4 sec. exposures on Route 8 on the way home.

100/365 - Maybe a balrog lurks in the tower

Although it was not my intention or inspiration when taking this shot, it makes me think of the Mines of Moria and Gandalf's battle with the balrog on the Bridge of Kazad-Dum. Except it doesn't give me vertigo like the scene in Fellowship of the Ring.

99/365 - Youth

Went to Collinsville to LaSalle's for dinner and the Friday night open mic. There was a great mix of people in the crowd. Lots of families, lots of kids. People brought in bottles of wine - one table had bright green and pink plastic wine glasses.

98/365 - "Digging coal, from the bottom of your grave"

I've been listening to Patty Loveless - Mountain Soul. There's a song on it called "You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive." It makes me think of the miners killed in West Virginia. And the price they paid so I could turn my lights on.

97/365 - Giraffe on the Street

I have hit brick wall at the moment. My camera is nothing but a source of irritation at best, extreme frustration at worst. I honestly didn't want to shoot anything today. I forced myself to try and wandered around Collinsville a little this morning. Nothing worked, the light was terrible.

Usually I can find something, my eye notices some little detail that inspires me. Not today. As I was getting ready to leave, I noticed a baby/children's gift shop and it had a giant stuffed giraffe sitting out front. After a moment's hesitation and a left turn from the right lane, I pulled over and took a picture, figuring at least if it wasn't something brilliant, it was at least out of the ordinary.

I came home and didn't pick up the camera again all day. Maybe I will make up with it tomorrow.

97/365 - Tired

I am too tired to write anything. Not that I ever write volumes.

95/365 - I Almost Threw in the Towel

I just didn't feel like taking any pictures today. I've been working a lot and the house is a mess. The last thing on my mind was creativity. And I thought, what difference does it make? Really, who will care if I stop this project? It's not like I'd stop taking pictures.

But I'd care. Because it's about the discipline. And knowing that forcing yourself to take a picture, even when there's no inspiration there, will make you a better photographer.

94/365 - Harvey the Cat

We went down to my parents' for Easter dinner. This is their cat, Harvey. I love his nose.

93/365 - Not My Type

On my way into work today I got the idea off trying to use my flash off-camera to light up one of the old typewriters at work from the inside. It didn't work they way I had hoped because the typewriters don't have much room inside for the flash. So, I couldn't quite get the angle I wanted.

So instead of having an illuminated typewriter, I just focused on the keys.

92/365 - Jammin' in Collinsville

There's a great place to eat in Collinsville called LaSalle's Market. It looks like a general store inside, and is filled with mix-matched chairs and tables. There are always people in there at all times of the day. And they host an open mic every Friday evening.

It's kind of like going to an outdoor music series in the summer, with people eating, hanging out and listening to music.

91/365 - A Not-So-Willing Subject

Thomas, Julia and I went to the library after school today because the head librarian is retiring and it was Betsy Day to say goodbye to her. We wanted to wish her well, but I was also taking pictures for the town's online news site.

I was trying to set my exposure and light settings, and asked Thomas to smile for the camera. You can see how he felt about it.

90/365 - A Day Late ...

... for posting the blog, but I promise I shot the picture yesterday. So I think it still counts.

I am fascinated by film. I always have been, And now that it's almost a relic of the past, it holds an even stronger appeal. And to find old images, 15 years old, lying around and forgotten, no longer needed - well, that just begs for a photograph. Or a short story.