On The Rocks

Where: West Village, NYC
When: September 6, 2009

City Morning

Where: West Village, NYC
When: September 3, 2009

Basket Bouquet

Where: West Village, NYC
When: September 4, 2009

Devotions

Where: Avignon, France (I wish I could remember the name of the church we were in, but I can't)
When: May 20, 2009

Sorry for the older pictures, I have some from the last week or two to post, but these kept getting shifted to the back, and I like them.

First day of school today, Swedish I. It went very well, I like the instructors a lot, and met lots of very nice people so that's exciting. I'm exhausted, so I'm going to lie down and try to nap for a bit, then do my homework. I have HOMEWORK!! It feels so weird.

London Calling

Where: Westminster, London, UK
When: July 26, 2009

I like the patterns in this one, and the moody feel. It was a particularly gloomy day.

Pier Parts

Where: Hudson River Park (I think is what it's called, I could be wrong), West Village, NYC
When: September 2, 2009

This isn't quite what I wanted - I had this image in my head of nothing but silver water accented with black pier posts, but the sun had moved too far by the time I got there, and I was so blinded in this attempt (I had to completely guess at the camera settings, because I couldn't see my meter) that I haven't tried again. And maybe the path of light is more interesting, compositionally, than nothing but shining water. We'll find out eventually - blinding light is too tempting for me to resist for long.

I like the way some of the light points are like little starbursts. That's from cranking the aperture as small as it will go, which I did in the hopes of getting precisely that effect. Love it when a plan comes (mostly) together.

First Foray

Where: West Village, NYC
When: September 4, 2009

What I Like: The light and the shapes, which I think the desaturated/black and white processing emphasizes, and I now understand why so much city/street photography is processed this way. I'm surprised by how interesting lines in the sidewalk can be, and didn't notice until just now. I like looking for overall light patterns rather than individual subjects, I'm looking forward to learning more about what will translate well and what won't.

What I'd Do Differently Next Time: OH man, so many things. What is hilarious about this is that I was SO shy about photographing anything with people in it anywhere, that I picked a street that was essentially empty, took the shot as quickly as possible (rather than waiting for the two people half way down to do something - anything), and then ran away.

First of all, I'd try standing further to my left, so that the shot included more of the fire escapes, windows and street lights which I think are neat looking, and so that the sidewalk becomes less of a dead straight line. Then I'd wait a bit for a different pose from the people, so that something interesting would be happening half way down the photo to draw the eye in. I'd also probably try getting lower, see if it makes for a more interesting angle.

So, lots of things to work on, but as it was my very first attempt at photographing a street (after carrying my camera around for days without taking a single shot) I thought it was only fair to post it. Maybe someday I'll take a picture where there's a person in it who's expression you can actually see. I know. I can hear the collective gasps from here. Look, someone's got to be pushing the photographic envelope.

Varations on a Theme: Flames

Variations on a Theme: Trinity

Same deal as the previous one.

Varations on a Theme: Flames

Where: Queen Mary's Gardens, Regents Park, London UK
When: April 18, 2009
What I like: EVERYTHING. I found this in the archives and can't BELIEVE I skipped over it at the time. The colors, the soft, the shapes! I remember how glorious these oranges were, but somehow it didn't register in the first edit of this batch.
What I Don't Like: I'm terrified that I had to crop it enough that it won't print well large. Crossing my fingers...

Variations on a Theme: Trinity

Where: Queen Mary's Gardens, Regents Park, London UK
When: April 18, 2009
What I like: The colors, the composition, the shapes of the leaves, and the movement
What I Don't Like: A little too much movement - the flowers in focus aren't as sharp as I'd like.

The second installation of the theme will go up tomorrow. Early morning walk along the water with Piper today, everything was soft and a little hazy, and I got some shots I'm excited about. Not quite the Heath, but I'll take it.

Twist

Where: Queen Mary's Gardens, Regents Park, London UK
When: April 18, 2009
What I Like: I love how abstract this is, it is precisely what I wanted to get as I was taking the shot. It was difficult to get the camera to focus on the edge of the leaf, for some reason. I love the colors and the composition as well.
What I Don't Like: I don't know, I'm feeling awfully smitten. I can't come up with anything at the moment.

Crossroads

Where: My apartment, NYC
When: August 28, 2009
What I Like: The subject, the light, the moment in time, the fact that I took it standing in my living room. I love our apartment!!
What I Don't Like: I didn't have time to get creative with the composition, those sailboats move awfully fast, so I only had that one chance. It was the only shot I took that day, actually. So anyway, I feel like it's a little boring.

Squint

Where: Hampstead Heath, London, UK
When: August 19, 2009
What I Like: The subject, the light and the way it seems to sparkle. And the composition.
What I Don't Like: NOTHING!! Ha.

This was taken on my last walk on the Heath. Next week or so is going to be older/revisited material, rather than brand new exciting NYC material, sadly. With the mono and all the move stuff I haven't had the chance or the energy to wander around with my camera, although I have been taking mental notes of shots I want to try to capture. The view from my apartment is a constant inspiration, although really difficult to capture, it turns out.

I'm also going through all the pictures I've posted (or not) to try to figure out which ones I want to print to hang in our new apartment. We've got tons of light and wall space, perfect gallery conditions, but I'm suddenly filled with doubt and indecision about which ones to try. I've never printed any of my photos, and I'm now worried - so many of the subjects are close-ups, won't such a thing be weird printed really big? Or even marginally big? Sigh. I'll just do a couple to start, and see how it goes.

Look Both Ways

Where: Somewhere around Regent's Park, London, UK
When: March 7, 2009
What I Like: The colors and the contrasting textures
What I Don't Like: I wish the composition weren't quite so half and half

Turn and Face the Strange

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

My last day living in London, and I'm off to take the dog to the Heath - another beautiful morning.

As a heads up - I may not be able to post for a week or so, as it may take me a bit to get an internet connection, the computer set up, etc. But I'll be back, hopefully with some new NYC based material! Hm, did I pack the camera cord.... better check that.

PS. Title from David Bowie's "Changes", obviously.

The Nazgûl are totally coming for us

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

It's All Good

Where: Solterreno, Vall de Laguar, Spain
When: July 2, 2009

Light In the Dark

Where: Solterreno, Vall de Laguar, Spain
When: July 2, 2009

No time for critiques today. It's my last full day in London, and it is gorgeous. Back from walking the dog on the Heath, now we're off for breakfast and farewell city wandering.

Tilt

Where: Solterreno, Vall de Laguar, Spain
When: June 30, 2009
What I like: the colors, the curving stems below the flower head, and the grass in the background looks painted.
What I don't like: I'm not sure, but it feels fairly bland to me, which is why I've hesitated to post it in the past. I both like and dislike the washed out colors. I think it would have popped more if I had a less shallow depth of field, so the back part of the flower head could also be in focus.