Focus

Where: Bronx Zoo, Bronx, NY
When: December 23, 2006

A re-process of an old picture.

To the Death! Kind of! This could actually take a while.

Where: London Zoo, London, UK
When: December 27, 2008

Ok so it's not my best picture ever, but they are sloths, and they are BATTLING! Eventually one of them gave up and reversed direction. The victor opted against pursuit. He did bite the other one on the butt as it was leaving though.

Comments are working!

Thanks Laura and Katy for letting me know that the comments weren't working - they're all fixed now (for real this time), so have at it.

Constructive criticism is, by the way, more than welcome. One of the points of the blog for me is to improve my photography, so if something I post isn't working and you feel like letting me know, great!

Thanks for coming by!

Stone Cold Grace

Where: Victoria & Albert Museum, London, UK
When: March 3, 2009

That's Some Skilled Napping

Where: Bronx Zoo, Bronx, NY
When: December 23, 2006

Seas of Spring

Where: St. James Park, London, UK
When: March 18, 2009

Hm... I just noticed that I'm apparently all about alliteration these days. Ack - and there, again! (Bonus points for whoever gets that reference). I must have a wire getting consistently crossed, because I can't seem to stop. Although, technically, alliteration requires a consonant sound, so I might be off the hook for the first sentence.

Moody Monochrome

Where: Sorrento, Bay of Naples, Italy
When: March 19, 2009

Vesuvius Views

Where: Mount Vesuvius, Bay of Naples, Italy
When: March 21, 2009

Wind Whipped

Where: Queen Mary's Gardens, Regents Park, London, UK
When: March 7, 2009

Phase Shift

Where: Queen Mary's Gardens, Regents Park, London, UK
When: March 7, 2009

St. Paul's

Where: St. Paul's Cathedral, London, UK
When: March 14, 2009

Banking It

Where: Bank Tube Station, London, UK
When: March 14, 2009

The Glory Starts Out a Little Shy

Where: Anglesey Abbey, Cambridge, UK
When: February 20, 2009

Spring Comes Gloriously in England

Where: St. James Park, London, UK
When: March 18, 2009

Solo Act

Where: St. James Park, London, UK
When: March 18, 2009

Stile

Where: Somewhere between Great Missenden and Amersham, UK
When: November 1, 2008

Gettin' Down

Where: Solterreno, Vall de Laguar, Spain
When: January 30, 2009

Roads Go Ever Ever On

Where: Path of 10,000 steps, Vall de Laguar, Spain
When: January 28, 2009

Title from the walking song in The Hobbit, J. R. R. Tolkien. There are several zig-zaggy lines on the hill in the lower left corner - that's another section of the same trail.

Sun Salutation

Where: Solterreno, Vall de Laguar, Spain
When: January 25, 2009

Too low to find my way, too high to wonder why

Where: Solterreno, Vall de Laguar, Spain
When: January 30, 2009

Title from a song by Thievery Corporation, called "Lebanese Blonde". I've been dying to take a picture that fits that line, but I haven't yet and I just can't wait any longer and decided this was close enough. So this title may come up again in the future...

Oh, Wait. That's Not Diana.

Where: Anglesey Abbey, Cambridge, UK
When: February 20, 2009

I'm kind of delighted that I'm still immature enough that the first thought I had on seeing this statue was "hee. I can see your penis." This was almost the title of the post, in fact. Actually, the FIRST thought I had was that it was a statue of Diana, until I realized that the bow was actually a lyre and there was a penis involved so it was probably Apollo. THEN I giggled to myself about seeing penises.

I sometimes really enjoy photographing statutes, but other times it edges into a meta territory that I'm not comfortable with and I have to stop. This edges that for me.

Farmhouse

Where: Vall de Laguar, Spain
When: January 28, 2009

Sail Away

Where: Anglesey Abbey, Cambridge, UK
When: February 20, 2009

On the Front Lines

Where: Vall de Laguar, Spain
When: January 28, 2009

What I wouldn't give to live in that house...

Watercolor

Where: Queen Mary's Gardens, Regents Park, London, UK
When: March 7, 2009

Solterreno Sunrise

Where: Solterreno, Vall de Laguar, Spain
When: January 29, 2009

Sheep

Where: Somewhere between Great Missenden and Amersham, UK
When: November 1, 2008

Stacked

Where: Regent's Park Road, Chalk Farm, London, UK
When: March 1, 2009

Pooling

Where: Kew Gardens, London, UK
When: February 18, 2009

Shafted

Where: Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich, London, UK
When: February 21, 2009

Camden Town

Where: Camden Town, London, UK
When: February 12, 2009

Mmmmm... Sun.

Where: Primrose Hill Park, London, UK
When: February 4, 2009

It's Like Christmas

Where: Kew Gardens, London, UK
When: February 18, 2009

Going Soft

Where: Solterreno, Vall de Laguar, Spain
When: January 30, 2009

So I've been wandering around without my glasses recently. This isn't as death defying as you might think - my eyesight really isn't that bad. It just makes things a little fuzzy; I have to be closer to a sign before I can read it, and I have trouble recognizing people. This resulted in anxiety in high school and college, because there was this huge chance that I'd smile and wave at someone I didn't even know. Which would obviously be horrible. To ensure that this never happened, I spent many of those years walking with my head down and not smiling or waving at anybody, just in case.

The other reason I like being able to see perfectly at all times is that I'm one of those people who needs to know. Everything. Right away. Or sooner. I will plan out whole conversations in my head, and then not even bother to have the conversation in real life because I've already figured out how it's going to go. I have spent enormous reserves of energy anticipating every possible bump and hiccup in a journey, plan, or project. If I can't see every step between here and whatever the goal is, chances are I won't start. "Perfectionist-Control-Freak" doesn't even begin to cover it. Therefore, this concept of wandering about having to wait the extra 5-10 feet of distance before I know precisely who I'm approaching and whether I can smile and/or wave at them, or whether the next train is the one I want, fills me with dread. So when I realize I've forgotten my glasses after I head out the door, I hunker down and try to resign myself to the loss of information.

On my retreat, Bodhin would often say, during meditations, "Soften, and let go". This reminds me of the crazy things yoga teachers say, like "grow from the waist up, while also stretching down through the feet", or "breathe into the area of discomfort", or "let's do shoulder stands now". Total insanity! Who are these people? Except, now that I've spent a month or so practicing yoga every day(-ish), all these phrases are starting to make some bizarre sort of sense. Shoulder stands are fun and floaty feeling - I actually think of them as my reward for pushing through the first half of the practice where I'm stiff and groaning and don't wanna and would really rather be in bed. Breathing into the discomfort actually does help (mainly because it reminds you to keep breathing), and yesterday I felt that the origin and insertion sections of my quadriceps were reaching in opposite directions away from the center of my thigh, and it was glorious.

So today I walked out of my house without my glasses, deliberately. And I softened, and let go, and felt like I was spilling out of myself, my edges a little bit fuzzy and my insides all warm. And slight vision-impairment meant that everything had a softer outline, that people and buildings and trees were blending just a little bit into each other. The mystery of whether or not the next train was the one I was going to take remained a mystery for five more thrilling steps. And knowing the identity of the person I was smiling and waving at had no relevance at all.

Seed Pods in Blue

Where: Home (Backyard), London, UK
When: February 5, 2009

Seed Pods in Green

Where: Home (Backyard), London, UK
When: February 5, 2009

Wiggly

Where: St. James Park, London, UK
When: February 17, 2009

Subject Acquired

Where: Primrose Hill Park, London, UK
When: February 4, 2009

This is what Piper looks like when she's seen a dog she wants to chase.

Rainy Days Are For Sleeping

Where: Home, London, UK
When: February 10, 2009

I was looking back to see if you were looking back at me to see me looking back at you

Where: Kew Gardens, London, UK
When: February 18, 2009

Title is a line from one of my favorite Massive Attack songs, "Safe From Harm". It was the first thing I thought of when I saw this bush.