Where: My Apartment, NYC
When: Today
Best catcall ever on my rainy and cold walk to school this morning:
"Better get yourself an umbrella, honey. Sugar melts."
I laughed for three blocks straight. And then it gave me this idea for an indoor subject for today's shot! Good stuff.
Where: Hudson River Park, Chelsea, NYC
When: October 14, 2009
When I first posted this, I had a cranky, defensive little blurb in anticipation of disagreement with my choice of black and white for this subject. But then I couldn't think of a title, so I left it to work on my 365 shot of the day.
When I came back, Prayer, sung by Sweet Honey In The Rock (an a cappella group led by a member of the Freedom Singers during the Civil Rights movement) was playing, and as I reread what I had written, I realized how hilariously, and aggressively defensive it was. So this title (from the lyrics of that song) seemed appropriate.
"Lord must I do unto others
before they do unto me
Must I arm myself
to protect myself
from harm and injury
Oh no that is not the lesson
that I learned on my mother's knee
when she told me to do unto others
only what I'd have them do unto me"
As always, agree, disagree, and express yourselves at will, my friends.
It is both cold and raining. In fact, I can see little snow-like formations drifting down with the rain. Not. Happening.
Where: My Apartment, NYC
When: Today
And also, bad Kitten!!
Where: Highline Park, Chelsea, NYC
When: October 15, 2009
I love these! Don't they look like little galaxies, the way they all swirl around the center??
Where: Chelsea, NYC
When: September 28, 2009
Title from Massive Attack's "Inertia Creeps". And it's totally inaccurate, since this little guy could MOVE, I had to be quick to get the composition I wanted.
Where: Highline Park, Chelsea, NYC
When: Today
Title from Traci Chapman's "Say Hallelujah". Just 'cause I happen to be listening to it now, and that's my favorite verse.
"Say Hallelujah
Throw up your hands
The bucket is kicked
The body is gone
Have mercy
It's a wonderful life
Eternal rest for the weary
Mourners party tonight"
Where: Over Perry St., West Village, NYC
When: Today
This was the strangest moment - it was an incredibly windy day, and I looked up and between the buildings, these birds (I assume migrating red tails? I couldn't tell from the distance, and with the light) were facing the into the wind, and hanging nearly motionless.
Went to a talk tonight on shikantaza - literally "just sitting" - meditation, given by the Roshi of the zendo I've started sitting at. One of the most interesting parts was interpreting a poem by Shitou Xiqian [700-790], and the following line jumped out for me:
"Turn around the light to shine within, then just return.
The vast inconceivable source can't be faced or turned away from."
I liked the line for itself, but also because it was a turning point within the poem. And ok, because it reminds me of the Bene Gesserit litany against fear. Yeah I know. I'm a dork.
Where: West Side Highway, West Village, NYC
When: September 30, 2009
One of my flickr contacts commented on this, "not really feeling this one. what' is the subject?", this morning just after I posted this, and I've been thinking about my answer all day.
I think for me, the subject is the path, in a literal and metaphorical sense. The feel of the shot reminds me of the pulling back before a decision, that point when you know the way forward, but don't want to take the first step because there is so much to fear in committing to a decision, fear about not knowing where that decision is taking you, fear that here are other paths that will be closed forever as a result.
The point of view and angle of the shot, and the section of the path in focus brings my attention to the place where I would place my foot in the first step.
Where: Hudson River Park, West Village, NYC
When: September 30, 2009
Title from Martin Sexton's "Glory Bound", which is one of the most beautiful songs I know:
Freedom came my way that night
Just like a jet plane, in, and out of sight
Oh I was hauling ass at a million miles an hour
Wondering how hard I'd hit
When they came into the station
They said I was bad, beyond repair
But I got no qualms with my situation
Say, here I am
Where: My building, West Village, NYC
When: Today
Man, today was weird - I decided to walk around with my 85mm lens instead of the usual love of my life, the 50mm, or slightly less usual but still common 20. And I learned that my brain has completely forgotten how to see the world at 85mm, it was a disaster.
I lucked out with the colors on this one, but come on. This comp sucks! Weak sauce. Now I can't decide if this means that I need to force myself to walk around with the 85 for three weeks so I remember how to see things at 85 (this used to be my FAVORITE lens), or if I should just give it up and go back to my beloved.
In the mean time, is there a different crop that would salvage this? I don't have a choice on the chopped off top of the brass, which maybe isn't terrible since the subject is obviously the red caps... maybe continuing the cut-off on the left border? The problem is that I can't quite define why I don't like it. So if anyone has any suggestions, I'd be delighted to hear them!
Where: Hudson River Park, NYC
When: October 3, 2009
Yesterday I did yoga with my eyes closed. It was kind of an accident - the muscles on one side of my lower back were feeling twingy, and I was having trouble focusing on them throughout the pose, and was therefore making the situation worse. So I closed my eyes briefly, and was able to concentrate not just on my QLs, but also on the rest of my body, in a way that I had been completely unable to access before. I hadn't realized how distracting it is for me to have my eyes open, how quickly I drift into thought and stop paying attention to the pose.
I also rely heavily on my eyes to determine whether my alignment is correct, which is a little crazy since I don't exactly have the best perspective to determine that. So I left my eyes closed the whole time, even through the jump backs and throughs, and I was shocked by how accurate I was able to be about placement, how well my body knew the territory, and how much stronger the poses felt when I just let my body figure out what the right adjustment was.
Where: My apartment, NYC
When: Today
Yeah, I know. Total punt. I'm sorry. I'm exhausted, was at the zen center from around 9 till almost 3pm - it was great, the meditation was wonderful, I learned a lot, and got to sit in an interview with one of the teachers there. I'm excited about practicing there, I'm going to try to make it once a week, in addition to daily practice, which I now feel more dedicated to.
Three 30 minutes sittings today, with walking meditation (kinhin) in between - my shoulders are sore, but my head feels clearer. I really needed all that time to get my brain to settle, I feel like I had a lot of things to work out and come to terms with. For the first time I think ever, when the bell rang to end the second zazen sitting, I thought "No! Wait! I'm onto something and I'm not done yet!" but I was able to finish the thread in the next sitting, and then spent the majority of it just being present, which was lovely.
Where: Hudson River Park, NYC
When: October 3, 2009
Going to a zen center today for the first time since moving here. I'm a little nervous, it's been a while since I've sat for so long. But I'm excited too. I'm particularly looking forward to the dharma talk.
Where: Hudson River Park, NYC
When: Today
I'm never satisfied with this kind of shot, I always feel like it's basically effortless to take - the sky does all the work, and I'm never happy with the composition. I think I've got the basis for a pretty good panorama or two though, which I'm hoping to get around to eventually.
Where: Over the Hudson River
When: Today
I know, I know, this one's a little out there and there's no subject and it's totally abstract et cetera, but I like it anyway. The clouds were looking so lovely and straight out of an English Romantic watercolor landscape, and I couldn't resist.
While I haven't meditated today, I did have a wonderful, meditation-esque experience while practicing massage, which was a really big deal, because so far in the school experience, A&P lecture is far and away my favorite class. Which I was worried was not a good sign, since the point is to be in a hands on profession, so shouldn't the hands on classes be my favorite?
But today I had the chance to massage in a quieter, less hectic and fragmented space than the usual hands on classroom, and I found myself go into a completely kinesthetic place, where I felt the massage strokes were flowing through my center and the entire thing became like a dance. It was wonderful, and incredibly rejuvenating to my mind and spirit, and it's the first time I've felt that way. It gives me hope that I can actually be GOOD at this, and also that it could be something that I would find rewarding and would want to do day after day, which is a relief, as I was having a lot of doubt about these things before.
Where: Hudson River Park, West Village, NYC
When: September 30, 2009
I have so many of the grasses from this day. The light was perfect, and the wind made for an endless variety of movement filled shots. I love them, but I'm trying to space them out a bit, not everyone finds grasses as endlessly fascinating as I do. (Although I know you're with me on this, Adrian!)
Where: Irish Hunger Memorial, NYC
When: October 3, 2009
Man, it's just not a good week for titles. Can't seem to come up with an appropriate one for this shot either. If something occurs to me I'll update it.
I'm excited about this shot, it's what I was imagining when I took it - I knew exactly what I wanted to do in post-processing, and managed to get the exposure right to facilitate that. I'm always happy about this kind of thing, because not so long ago I never would have seen the potential for this kind of image as I was taking it, it would just come around by accident when I was fooling around with sliders in Lightroom.
mmmm. Sliders.
Alternative crop:
Based on a suggestion by Sergio Lopez (http://yelokehay.blogspot.com/). At least, I'm hoping I understood his comment correctly. I like this crop much better, actually.
Where: 23rd St. Station, Chelsea, NYC
When: Today
Hm. I don't know about this one. I had another one which might be better/more universally appealing, but it felt like a safer (and therefore boring) choice. With this one, I like the lines, the colors, the shadows, and the diagonal split between the blackness and the light. It's definitely not my favorite though. It's not "pretty", and that bothers me. I like pretty.
I meditated today, ever so briefly but it happened. During the walk with the dog I got tired, so I sat on some steps by the water and meditated for about 10 minutes, much to Piper's confusion. As usual, though, she rolled with it and just sat down next to me until I was done. It became clear to me during the meditation that I really need to find a sangha and a teacher, I need some structure and guidance. I think I'll check out the Village Zendo this weekend.
Where: West Village, NYC
When: October 6, 2009
I do not know what happened with the stems or how, but how weird is that effect?? They look like green, holographic laser stems, that don't actually attach to the flower heads. Bizarre.
And yes, the title is a Keeping Up Appearances reference.
Where: Irish Hunger Memorial, NYC
When: October 3, 2009
Should have pushed the aperture up more, I was worried about the low light and my ability to hold still. I like this quote. The memorial was surprisingly moving - we didn't know what it was when we walked up to it, and there is continuous, haunting irish music and singing, which I find beautiful anyway, but it made the quotes on details of the famine more present for me, somehow.
Where: Hudson River Park, Tribeca
When: October 3, 2009
What I Like: The colors, the leaves, the perspective
What I don't like: The dof is too shallow, I should have used a smaller aperture. I kind of want this in a horizontal orientation, but I took a couple shots of this subject this way and didn't end up liking them as much. Maybe I should revisit them, just to check. The line of pebbles was fairly narrow, which might be way horizontal wasn't working for me - I wanted the pebbles and leaves to fill it edge to edge.
I'm having trouble coming up with titles today, so I'm leaving them blank for now.
Where: Hudson River Park, Tribeca
When: October 3, 2009
What I Like: I like a lot about this one - I like the lines, the repetitions of the chairs and tables - it could almost be a set of mirrors, they are so similar - and how well the subject lends itself to black and white. It's why I took it, I thought it would convert well, so I'm pleased to be correct.
What I Don't Like: I wish I had moved to the left, to get more chairs and reflections, and less of the non-reflective/shallow section on the lower right. I cropped out more of the reflection on the lower left than I really wanted to, because I felt like the shallow bit detracted and wanted more of it out of the shot. I also think it would have been more effective to get the left-most table and chair set more in the shot, rather than half out of it, as that's where I chose to have the focus - I think it was the correct choice, but as it's technically the subject as well, I think there should be more of it.
Where: West Village, NYC
When: Today
No meditation today - I had a massive, horrible headache that kicked in right after class. I'm not a headache person, normally, but this was blinding, I was actually nauseous and dizzy just sitting up. It's subsided now (yay headache medication!), although still present enough to make me feel a little sick looking at a computer screen, but I'll see if I can fit in a short sitting before bed.
Update: I did end up sitting before bed, and I'm really glad I did. As soon as I sat I realized that my heart was pounding faster and harder than usual, I assume because of the headache medication I had to take, which included caffeine. But the time spent gently noticing what my body was doing, and reminding myself that feeling things I associate with anxiety doesn't mean I am actually anxious, allowed me to sleep better - I think if I had just tried to sleep right away, I would have started to create stories about why I felt nervous, and would have forgotten to just sit back and watch my breaths come and go.
Where: Chelsea, NYC
When: Today
Title from Regina Spektor, "On The Radio". I was so delighted when I saw this I laughed out loud, sent waves of loving thoughts to whoever thought to do something so whimsical in wet cement (seriously, how much better than the usual illegible signature silliness is this??), then dropped to my knees to get the right angle. This being NYC, no one around me even broke stride.
Meditation today was technically fail, as I didn't sit on a cushion, but I did spend most of my afternoon being as aware as possible of my breath, which became a sort of walking/working meditation while I walked the dog and cleaned the house. In shiatsu, we were learning about the Metal organs, Lung and Large Intestine, and shallow breathing is a sign of a weak or imbalanced metal element. Since it is essential to a healthy immune system, in the Eastern tradition, and since I feel like I'm coming down with a cold, I decided breathing deeply, rather than in my usual shallow, hurried fashion, couldn't hurt.
Oh, here are the rest of the lyrics around the title line - it's such a lovely song, she's got the most beautiful, bell-like voice:
This is how it works
You're young until you're not
You love until you don't
You try until you can't
You laugh until you cry
You cry until you laugh
And everyone must breathe
Until their dying breath
No, this is how it works
You peer inside yourself
You take the things you like
And try to love the things you took
And then you take that love you made
And stick it into some
Someone else's heart
Pumping someone else's blood
And walking arm in arm
You hope it don't get harmed
But even if it does
You'll just do it all again
Where: Hudson River Park, West Village, NYC
When: October 4, 2009, which was a gloriously beautiful fall day.
Where: Hudson River Park, West Village, NYC
When: September 30, 2009
Title from Thievery Corporation, "Risingson".
Where: Tribeca, NYC
When: Today
Meditated for half an hour today! Plus 20 prostrations, which weren't too terribly hard, compared to what they felt like last week. At this rate, I'll be at 108 by next week!
Where: Stables Market, Camden Town, London, UK
When: August 19, 2009
I keep skipping over this when I go to post something, so I decided I had to post it or toss it. So I'm posting it.
Where: Hudson River Park, Tribeca, NYC
When: Today
The title's kind an inside joke. I had a great aunt who would, when phone conversations started to go in a direction she didn't want them to, say "you're fading out!" and then hang up, so it became a family phrase. I think it's an excellent strategy - I don't see why it only has to apply to phone conversations. There are plenty of in person conversations I'd love to fade out of.
Meditation today was short and scattered. My thoughts had a vise-like grip on my "self", and getting into an observing position was basically impossible. I was surprised by how non-frustrating I found that. Instead of getting all bossy with myself, I just made myself sit for the allotted time, and let things be what they were.
Where: Chelsea, NYC
When: September 28, 2009
This little guy startled me - I was photographing the roots, which were wrapped around some railing, and suddenly there was something MOVING! Holy crap! I was so excited, it was the last thing I expected.
Where: Hudson River, NYC
When: September 30, 2009
I know, it's Saturday, and I normally don't post non-365 photos on the weekends. That's because I was always worried about running out of material, so I restricted it. Except that this 365 project means that I'm often getting as many as 10-15 shots per day that I want to post, so now I have a HUGE backlog. Which I'm psyched about, but it means I can't wait to post them. So as long as I have this kind of backlog, I'm going to be posting every day of the week. I know! I'm excited too.
Where: Christopher St. Station, West Village, NYC
When: Today
Title from Portishead's song, "Wandering Star".
One thing that I'm loving about the 365 project so far, is that even though I'm walking down the same streets multiple times in a day, when I have my camera I always end up seeing something new.
Haven't meditated yet - the new schedule/plan is to meditate in the afternoon, when I have more time. In theory. That hasn't been true today so far, but it's true most days. I want to get up to half an hour per day, and when I meditate in the morning it can't be more than 10-20 minutes.
Where: Hudson River Park, NYC
When: September 30, 2009
Piper hates the camera. The two of us actually get remarkably similar expressions on our faces when cameras get pointed our way. She's so pretty that I can't help trying anyway.
Where: Christopher St. Station, West Village, NYC
When: September 22, 2009
Title from Moby's song, "When It's Cold I'd Like To Die"
Where: West Village, NYC (Putting the where is starting to get silly. I apparently never leave the West Village.)
When: Today
I am meditation fail today. Did too much running around this morning to fit it in after the dog's walk, and I just got back from New Rochelle and am feeling so completely wrecked. What I think I'll do is meditate pre-nap, it always makes the napping better and more healing, somehow, when my brain is a little emptier.
Other than the tired, though, it's been an awesome day!
Where: Solterreno, Vall de Laguar, Spain
When: June 30, 2009
Well, technically almonds start as flowers, but who's keeping track. This one was almost a reject, but I looked at it in a different mood and now I love it so much I might print it.
Speaking of which, just got back from meeting with Ivar at Backstreet Gallery in New Rochelle, which was delightful because I love getting to spend time with Ivar, but even BEYOND that, we did a test print of one of my shots, and it looks amazing! I am so excited, and have to do some careful calculations and narrow down the selection so I don't end up accidentally spending thousands of dollars on this venture. But still, I am so psyched, I was worried about the file quality etc. etc., but I don't think it's going to be an issue at all.
Where: West Village, NYC
When: September 23, 2009
I took this through a fence. It looked so incongruous on that street, peaceful and tucked away between all the busy-ness of 8th Ave.
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