2010 Winter Solstice Eclipse

2010 Winter Solstice Eclipse

It's not the best shot we'll see of tonight's eclipse, it's not going to win any awards and it's not going to make it onto Gothamist (is NJ eligible anyway?). But it was worth 20 minutes of standing on the sidewalk in front of the house for 20 minutes, fingers going numb, eyes watering, wind cutting through my jeans. We had a perfectly clear night for the event, which is no guarantee (sorry, Midwesterners). This chance might not come again and I was awake anyway, so why not take advantage?

Christmas lights time-lapse, December 2010

Christmas lights time-lapse, originally uploaded by DC Products.

My first time-lapse! I've been dying to try this and decided that putting up the Christmas lights was as good a subject as any. Now I'm hooked.

It's 729 frames, at 2 seconds per exposure, taken every 10 seconds and put together at 18 frames per second. I doubled up (by 10) on a few frames (you'll notice them) for the heck of it.

But here's the lesson to learn: Be sure to check your photo applications thoroughly before buying software. I missed that Picasa -- the awesome free photo editing software -- has a "time lapse" setting in its movie maker and it allows for several speeds of frames per second. So I went and bought QuickTime Pro, which wasn't as flexible (or as easy to add music to). It was a not-cheap (but not outrageous) $30 (anything more and I wouldn't have bought it; if only it were $35). Oh well. Just gonna have to sell some things on eBay.

At least I'm happy with the end result.

"Daybreak on the reservation," Arizona/Utah, March 2010

Daybreak on the reservation

I'm not sure I've experienced a place any more peaceful and spectacular as Monument Valley at daybreak.

"Blue room," New York, December 2009

The blue room

It's not like I have any shortage of images to fit a blue theme, but as I searched through the images, this one stuck out -- just as it did when I first saw it in the West Village.

And no, I never did get to see Nicole Kidman's bare behind on Broadway, even though that was back when I loved going to plays and musicals with movie stars in them.

"In the Utah sky," Arches National Park, March 2010

Worth the walk

The beauty of Delicate Arch explains nothing, for each thing in its way, when true to its own character, is equally beautiful. ... If Delicate Arch has any significance it lies, I will venture, in the power of the odd and unexpected to startle the senses and surprise the mind out of their ruts of habit, to compel us into a reawakened awareness of the wonderful — that which is full of wonder.

-- Edward Abbey, "Cliffrose and Bayonets," Desert Solitaire

The walk to Delicate Arch takes you up into the higher elevations of Arches National Park and when you reach the formation, the adjacent canyon gives you the feeling of being high in the sky.

"Keeping cool," Hudson Valley, July 2006

The staff of the Hudson Valley Renegades ensures that their unofficial mascot stays cool on a hot day as they give the fans some brief relief.

"Peaks, valleys and the like," Colorado, May 2006

Peaks, valleys and the like

It's hard not to take a good photograph in the West. But sometimes it helps to mix up the views with a vertical landscape.

"Josh on guitar," Maine, July 2009

Josh on guitar

Good summer fun: Rafting the Penobscot by day, sitting around the campfire that night.

"Disappearing Endeavor," March 2008

Disappearing Endeavor

I've posted this photo before, but considering that I've let this blog slide a bit of late (a little over a month, sadly), I thought it was worth reposting the image now that it was selected for a New York Times gallery of reader-submitted photos. It's only 12 images of shuttle launches -- no contest or prize or anything -- but cool nonetheless. Not bad for my one and only launch and a less-than-ideal viewing point and low cloud cover. Not my best night shot, either, but considering the timing, I'm happy to include it.

"Empire o'lantern," New York, October 2009

Empire o'lantern

Every block seems to contain a symbol of New York, especially those that include a view of the Empire State Building.

"At the bottom of a glass," New York, November 2009

At the bottom of a glass

As much as I loved the theme "macro without bugs or flowers," I sometimes fall victim to the cliche myself. But even if the assignment had simply been "macro," I would've avoided the floral or insect options.

In any case, the distorted Blue Smoke coaster beneath the glass -- in this case beer, but it could easily be bourbon, among other choices -- is inviting. And tempting.

"Juniper light at Arches," Utah, March 2010

Juniper light

This became one of my favorite photos from out weeklong trip through northern Arizona and southeastern Utah. It was the end of a long day of hiking at Arches and we hoped to get one more loop in, out at the end of the park road near the big campground, hiking to Broken Arch and back to the car. But as we made our way along the path, we found ourselves alternating between dense sand and snow drifts up to our shins, even our knees. We grew tired quickly and decided to double back to the car, rather than finish the circuit.

But at least it got me this shot of the late-afternoon sunlight on the arches in the distance and the top of the tree in the foreground. If only I could drop everything now and go back out there ...

"Alone at Bass Harbor," Maine, May 2009

Alone at Bass Harbor

So many great places along the Maine coast, it's hard to decide which one -- or which locale -- to use. But Bass Harbor lighthouse is a gorgeous, remote, quiet spot I look forward to visiting whenever I'm on Mount Desert Island.

"Fisherman at sunset, Great Point," Nantucket, June 1991

Fisherman at sunset, Great Point

This was one of my longtime favorite images from my earliest days playing around with a camera. It's just one of those shots where you're looking at one thing -- the sunset over the water -- and it's an OK photo. But then you get that one element that makes it a better photo -- in this case, the fisherman silhouetted in the sunset.

"Sunning in Secaucus," August 2009

Sunning in Secaucus

Waiting for his train home, this guy took a moment to absorb the sunshine.

"Rusted in Jerome," Arizona, March 2010

Not much left but the wheel

The wheel on the truck hasn't gone 'round in quite a long time.

"Smoke and spotlights," Pittsburgh, August 2008

Spotlight in black and white

Friday night Pirates games at PNC Park in Pittsburgh in summer feature a postgame fireworks/concert combination. The act on this August night was Collective Soul, their few known songs -- "hits," if you must -- interspersed with pyrotechnics so that towards the end of the set, the spotlights reflected off the smoke for a true rock-n-roll effect.

"Clouds fill the Canyon," Grand Canyon, March 2010

Clouds fill the Canyon

Is it overcast when you're above the clouds? Or does this fall more into the undercast category? Or maybe we were just in a cloud sandwich at the Canyon, a thick mist filling the void below us, an unbroken cover above us, occasionally dusting us with flakes so that we felt we were living in a snowglobe. So to remember the visit, we bought a Grand Canyon snowglobe at the gift shop on our way out the next day.

"Tunnel commute," New Jersey, April 2009

Tunnel commute

One way or the other, sometimes both, I descend beneath the Hudson River and pass through the Lincoln Tunnel, New York to New Jersey, New Jersey to New York.

"The ghost of Ed Abbey," Arches National Park, March 2010

The ghost of Ed Abbey

After Casey and I passed through Turret Arch at the start of our day at Arches, I turned and saw this older gentleman had followed us up the path and I took a photo to use him for perspective on the size of the arch. Then I took this one, but after seeing it along with the previous one, I decided to try this in black and white and that's when this title hit me.

Having read Abbey's The Journey Home and Desert Solitaire before, during and after the visit, I felt more immersed in the words than I have for just about anything else I've ever read. And because of that, this photo not only takes me back to that morning two weeks ago today, but also to Abbey's country, to his time in the Utah desert.

2011 update: In the end, I felt that this was my favorite photo of 2010. It may not have been my best, but it wasn't far off.

"The Watchtower," Grand Canyon, March 2010

Beneath the tower

In a 22- or 23-hour span, we saw much of what the Grand Canyon had to offer -- a snowed-in, cloudy cover of white and a bright, clear winter day along the South Rim. On our way out of the park, headed east along Arizona 64 on the way up to Monument Valley, we stopped at the Watchtower at Desert View for one last look. The tower itself was under renovation (and still open), but we passed on climbing the round, spiral steps. How much better can the view get when it's already so spectacular?

"Golden Dome," Indiana, December 1994

Dome light at night

This shot is among the first batch from my film archives that I scanned in last month, and it was the first of dozens of shots I took of Notre Dame's Main Building at night in the four years I was there. The gold-gilded dome shines every night and once you get your bearings in relation to it, it serves as a compass point for where you are on campus.

"Middle of the night," New Jersey, January 2010

In which I am the pillow

It happens with regularity most nights: Lenny will come into the bedroom before I fall asleep and settle in on my legs. Inevitably, I'll have to shift, which wakes him up and he takes that opportunity to resettle himself on my neck and shoulder, leaning up against my head. With Casey away on this particular night, I took the opportunity for a self portrait.

"Askew view on the High Line," New York, December 2009

My favorite mistake

I didn't even know I'd pressed the shutter while walking to work along the High Line with my camera in my hand. Only when I uploaded the pics did I see this askew view. I like the result.

"One-on-one drills," New Jersey, August 2009

One-on-one drills

Brandon Moore (65) and D'Brickashaw Ferguson (60) engage in a turbulent one-on-one drill between linemen during Jets training camp in August.

"Fiery sky," New Jersey, November 2007

View from Clifton

So often, I find myself walking to the train station in the late afternoon or evening just as the sky is putting on a hell of a light show.

"The eyes have legs," New Jersey, May 2005

Family portrait

I just had to dig up this photo of the characters for the Lakewood BlueClaws' eyeball race to post for Lens Day. (I only got the e-mail a few hours ago; not sure why it didn't come on Wednesday.)

The eyes have it.

"To go into solitude," Colorado, May 2006

To go into solitude

To go into solitude, a man needs to retire as much from his chamber as from society.
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Nature"

"Sepia times, Nevada City," Montana, May 2006

Sepia-toned history

Nevada City, Montana is a collection of buildings, old equipment and other various gold-rush ephemera laid out on a slightly sloping field in the southwestern part of the state. My college roommate and I walked among its old buildings and rusting farm equipment on a drizzly spring day nearly four years ago.

"Cloud Room at the Warhol," Pittsburgh, September 2005

Among the clouds

The incredible lightness of Warhol. The Cloud Room at the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh features air-filled mylar pillows and fans to keep them afloat (though visitors tend to help a bit). Catching a distorted reflection of yourself in their silver surfaces is always a treat.

A quick search resulted in several videos of the "cloud" in motion:

"Shed in the snow," New Jersey, February 2010

Snow shed

Yeah, so we're having a little weather here today. I took these photos this afternoon, when my wife and I went out to shovel the 5-6 inches we had. I usually prefer to wait until the snow stops falling, but because that's projected to be tomorrow morning -- giving us pretty much 24 hours' worth of snowfall -- I figured our muscles and backs would be better off tomorrow if we tackled some of it today. In the five hours since then, we've had about another 4-5 inches. And there's more to come.

"On the surface of Cloud Gate," Chicago, August 2007

The Bean's eye

The artist calls it Cloud Gate, but the public calls it The Bean. No matter the nomenclature, it draws people to its reflective surface to look at themselves and the city in reverse. I've only seen it once, in summer, on a sticky, steamy day, but I'm sure it's as enjoyable on a windy winter day.

"To the horizon," Wyoming, May 2006

To the horizon

"If you've never stared off in the distance, then your life is a shame," Counting Crows, "Mrs. Potter's Lullaby"

"Winter near the mineral springs," Pennsylvania, December 2009

Near the mineral springs

"Pennsylvania" and "resorts" don't often go together in a word association game, but at Bedford Springs in the rolling countryside between Pittsburgh and Harrisburg, the natural mineral springs and quiet surroundings have been a draw for centuries, even in winter.

"Katrina damage," New Orleans, January 2007

Smushed

In order to depict something damaged, my mind kept going back to New Orleans. The images from that city after Hurricane Katrina aren't just of abandoned ruins crumbling because of neglect, they were thriving, inhabited neighborhoods filled with life and everyday activity one morning, then a desolate, deserted aftermath of a storm path and an ill-equipped government.

"How many licks?" Pennsylvania, July 2009

How many licks?

How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Pop? Depends on if you go slowly or risk cracking a tooth after two.

"Film Forum," New York, November 2008

Film Forum, W. Houston

New York City has no shortage of fabulous neon signs, so a walk around the city at night can take longer than you expected if you're carrying a camera.

"Bed time down under," San Diego Zoo April 2006

This guy will sleep anywhere

When you're a koala, bed time can come anywhere, anytime.

"Emerging from the storm," Ohio, July 2009

Emerging from the storm

I'm pretty sure this was in Ohio. We came across this dramatic storm cloud on I-80 as we headed west to Cleveland. It was so-so in color, but I found the black-and-white treatment gave it another layer.

"Elk Antler Arch, Jackson, Wyoming," May 2006

Elk Antler Arch, town square, Jackson, Wyoming

When my college roommate, Bryan, and I celebrated the year we turned 30 in 2006, we met in Denver for a road trip through the Rockies. He requested nights in Boulder and Jackson and I planned a loop trip through those towns and up into Idaho and Montana before we made our way back to Denver. We hit states we hadn't ever visited and got to national parks I'd long ached to see, namely Rocky Mountain and Yellowstone.

In Jackson, where we spent two nights to allow for a full day touring Yellowstone, we found a hotel near the center of town and walked through the town square on our way to a nice dinner one evening. Entering and exiting the square, we passed through these archways made of elk antlers.

Now that my photo a day project is complete, in order to keep this blog fresh (and perhaps as another resolution), I'm going to shoot for participation in each of this year's Photo Friday challenges, at the least. Hopefully, I'll be able to post one photo a month that is either taken specifically for the challenge or was taken within the past few months, rather than relying on my archives for each one. (And if I can scan in my film negatives with any regularity, perhaps one photo a month will be one from way back.)

So away we go.