365 Photos: Week 35 an Uninspired Week

January 15-21, 2013

Week 35 of the 365 Photo Project saw me back at home.  As I’ve said, January has seen me slogging though this project.  The commitment to taking a photo a day for a year is keeping me going more than the creativity is. Still, I’m making progress to the goal.

The first shot of the week as taken in New York.  It was my one free day that I had.  I wandered around the east side meeting with friends, so I didn’t get much of a chance to shoot much.  I did get this shot of a cup holder.

Heading home,  I did what I always do, get a shot in an airport.  Here is Seattle once again.

There is a nice bit of juxtaposition here.  I was headed home to Alaska, and this plane with an eskimo is looking so Hawaiian. I would have rather been that eskimo than heading home.

I did take one other shot that day. I had been given a box of orange Tic-Tacs, which I love.  I had tried to eat the entire box in one day.  I didn’t manage it.

My first day back saw me at a board meeting for my work. I snapped this one from the board room at Wells Fargo bank.

iPhone again.  Glad I have it because it has saved mu butt on this Photo a Day project.

Friday saw me at home late and without my camera most of the day.  I snapped this one from my bedroom.

I like the way to street lamp light looks on the snow.  This was a long exposure.

Saturday I was a little helpless for a shot.  I really should go on a hike or a drive or something on the weekends.  This was fun in our guest bathroom.

We like rubber ducks.

Sunday it snowed, so I played around with getting some snow shots.

You can see the little snow flakes in the shot.  Still working on snow shots.

The last was of Evan cooking out in the dark and snow.

I’m looking forward to the coming daylight and warmth to get me back outside taking photos.

365 Photos: Week 34 Back in NYC

January 8-14, 2013

Week 34 of the 365 Photo Project saw me back in New York City. I traveled there for a week’s stay as part of my work. I was attending the Association of Performing Arts Presenter’s Conference or APAP for short. It’s always so much fun to be there and so much work. I had hoped to take lots of pictures, but my back to back scheduling made it difficult.

The first photo of the week was taken as we were headed to the subway to go downtown to the Spotted Pig for dinner. We walked through Times Square and caught this unusual meeting.

I love the Star Wars image, especially with Chewie hanging with Darth Vader. You can see almost anything in Times Square.

The next image was of a Broadway Musical we were seeing. I was without my camera for most of the day, so I shot this with the iPhone.

We saw Once and it was magnificent. The music. The acting. All of it was stunning. It deserved the Tony it won last year. Since I knew I would be traveling to two theatres that day, I opted to go without my trusty Canon. So I’m not thrilled with this image, but it does tell the story of my day. In addition to the matinee of Once, we also saw Glengary Glen Ross that night with Al Pacino. Quite the day at the theatre.

Thursday saw me with a little free time. Evan dropped in on the NYC trip and we walked through the New York Public Library.

Wow! What a building. This is a shot of one of the rows of stacks in the library. I could have taken pictures in there for hours. If you ever get the chance, it is the best free wander around experience you can have in New York. And that night we saw Book of Mormon.

The conference started in full on Friday. Again, I was without my camera most of the day, but did have my iPhone. This shot was taken at the Bowery Ballroom during the Cake concert.

This was one of the best images of the day. I was trying to get safety images, but this one sums of my day and my trip nicely.

Saturday gave us a break for lunch and took us to the Burger Joint at the Parker Meridian.

This place is in one of the swankiest hotels in NYC, and it is this hole in the wall. And oh so good. Ordering has a soup Nazi feel to it. Great burgers!

Sunday had me in lots of meetings, so the best I could do was a iPhone shot at the Blue Note.

This is in the bar and again shot with the iPhone. We heard Ramsey Lewis play with John Pizzarelli and it was amazing. They did a Nat King Cole set. One of the best things I saw on this trip to New York City.

Monday has two shots. One was me trying to get a city shot.

It was to remind me I was there. The next was a celebrity shot.

This is my Marketing Director Jason with Kristen Johnston. She couldn’t have been lovelier when we asked her for the picture. She was part of the Celebrity Autobiography show. We saw Mario Cantone, Tony Danza, Rachel Dratch, and Janeane Garofalo perform. Hysterical. The hook is these celebrities read the autobiographies of people. Great stuff. See it if you can. Thanks Kristen for letting us get shots with you.

And that wraps up Week 34.

What Kind of Photographer Are You?

I haven’t posted any articles or links in quite sometime.  I’ve been reading lots of great articles still, but haven’t had much time to pass them along.  Here is an article I read this morning that I thought was great.

When I was in New York in January, I got my shoes shined on a street corner.  My first time.  Why can’t I shine my own shoes.  I have the tools he had.  But he has the experience to make my shoes shine!

As I’ve been working my way through the 365 Photo Project, I’ve become more aware of my photography skill. I can see improvements in how I take the shots. I think I’ve really improved my craft of photography, and I certainly understand exposure and the camera better.

However, like the shoe shine man I saw in New York City recently, I may have the tools, but now I have to use them to make art.  A shoe shine guy can make great looking shoes with his tools.

I do seek to improve how I am as an artist.  For sure, I like the idea of approaching this with a sense of balance.

What kind of Photographer are you?

New York City Photography: A Lesson in Patience

This was shot by Evan as we walked around the village on our summer trip to New York City

From the moment I stepped out of Penn Station, I was a little overwhelmed.

Everywhere I looked was a possible shot. There was the motion, the activity, the colors, the people. It was summer in New York City, and I didn’t know where to begin shooting photos.

Since I began the 365 Photo Project, when I come into new places and situations, I want to shoot pictures of everything. I’m finding that’s not the best way to attack taking pictures. An interesting byproduct that I hadn’t expected was the need for patience when taking pictures.

Of course patience is the true friend of the artist. When I was involved in theatre as an actor and director, you needed patience to rehearse a scene. As a writer, the patience came in the editing process–the true art of writing. So be asked for patience to take pictures seems strange.

I’ve learned there are many types of photography–snapshots, landscapes, portraits, street, etc. some of the moments are ephemeral–people move, light changes, a smile disappears. Others might be more static–a mountain, a tree, a building. Regardless the need for patience remains to get the right exposure, setting, cropping, framing, or expression.

Shooting in New York made me think about and deal with all of it.

I got a few moments in the Apple Store to buy a new iPad plug because I left mine in the hotel in DC. The glass steps leading down into the store were so fun to capture. It took a great deal of patience to try to get the exposure right shooting into the bright sky.

Our hotel room was on the 17th floor. I had fun shooting out of the window at various rooftops. It’s pretty amazing what you can see. I was also trying to capture the terrace across the street at various times of the day. It was the only plant life in the whole building and made for an interesting shot.

     

I did try my hand at street shooting. The people in New York are fascinating. I love the shot of the psychic checking her iPhone. Does she really need to do that? Doesn’t she know who is calling or emailing already?

The kids in the park watching the juggler were a treat too. Kids are so free to do whatever.

       

The subway was also fun to take pictures in. I’d never really done it before. But I cranked my ISO up and brought the speed down and got some fun shots.

For some reason I was compelled to shoot motion. I guess it was the movement in the city. Truly it never stops moving. No matter the hour or the location, there was always motion.

As I write this, I’m on vacation in Santa Barbara. I saw a photographer at the street fair who had shot nothing but doors. They were really cool. It made me think of the door image I took in New York. I love the red with the green writing framed by the black. It really pops.

I wish I had a good tripod. That is likely to be a purchase very soon. I was able to the get NYC skyline from the Brooklyn Bridge by placing the camera on the decking of the bridge. I like it, but I was limited to what I could shoot.

On top of all this there were the people, the street fairs, the farmer’s market, the dogs and so much more that I captured. By the time I got done with the trip, I felt more relaxed about taking pictures. But I still have a ways to go. New York was a good place to learn the wonderful skill of patience.

How do you cultivate patience when photographing?

Click on any of the pictures below to see a full gallery of my New York Trip.

This was shot by Evan as we walked around the village on our summer trip to New York City

Photography tips for Times Square

I love that there are specific tips in this article for shooting in Times Square. This is a fun article with some great shots.

If you’ve ever been to Times Square in New York, you know what kind of sensory overload the place can cause. I’ll never forget my first time there. I wanted to look everywhere. Usually I go to NYC in January for a conference, but this summer, I got to go there purely for pleasure. The above picture was from my trip earlier this summer. Another blog entry has a complete gallery of my trip.

Have you ever shot pictures in Times Square. Can you add any good tips?

365 Photos: Week 8 Washington DC and New York

I said that I thought I peaked during Week 5 with images and shots. That was a great, beautiful week in Anchorage and in Alaska.

However, Week 8 was pretty amazing.

I was in Washington DC for a conference in the first part of the week. For the latter half, I took the train to New York City to spend a long weekend with Evan. Check out my earlier post of all my Washington DC photos.

The first shot was of Lincoln at his Memorial. I wanted to get tons of great shots on the evening tour of the monuments we took. However, at the first stop–the Capitol–it started to pour. We still took the tour, but I was severely challenged in what I could photograph. Hard to keep still in the pouring rain and get long exposure photos.

The girl laughing was part of an attempt at street photography. Her brother was poking her and she was trying to make him stop.

The sunrise shot (picture at the top of this blog) overlooking the words, “I Have a Dream,” was a shot I sought out intentionally. Read more about that in an earlier blog post.

I took tons of pictures while in New York City, but the skyline shot at night was my favorite for that day. I’d never taken a shot like it before. I love it.

More pictures from that trip will be coming.

I was trying to get more gutsy with street photography when I took the shot of the kid blowing smoke in the park. I just went up to him and asked if I could take his picture. He was very approachable, and I enjoyed how the smoke played in the air.

The last shot in New York was from our hotel room. Being on the 17th floor afforded us many strange and unusual views. I enjoyed this one of the guy sun tanning on the roof of a building. Sun bathing urban style.

The last show was of my living room. I was happy to get home and be there for a few days. This is more of a diary shot.

Click on any of the images below to see the full gallery of the week.

On to Week 9

To Shoot or Not to Shoot Photos on the Street

When I was in New York and Washington DC last week, I was excited to make street photography a part of my 365 Photo Project.

I also found street photography to be a little intimidating. When I was out for an early morning shoot in DC, I intentionally chose not to take some shots of homeless people sleeping on benches in a park. The images I saw would have been stirring, I believe. I was afraid of making them mad.

This is a great article about the ethics of shooting on the street, and has some great discussion of street photography techniques. I wish I had seen it before my trip. I might have taken a few shots that I chose not to.

It’s fun to read about the snobbish side of photography. I like that you should be up close and not use long lenses for “real” street photography. For now, I’ll be zooming in until I get more comfortable.

As I walked through the streets, I did consider the approach the author describes of “stealth” picture taking. I knew that would be hard and didn’t try. I now wish I had. Sounds like it would be a good technique to know. Sounds like anything, it takes a great deal of practice.

This is a great read and it contains beautiful pictures.

And here is one street photo from my trip.

A Street Photo shot of a Psychic as she tries to cool off on a hot New York summer day. Shot by Jason Hodges