"Ridin' on a wet night," New Jersey, January 2009

'Neath the refinery's glow

New Jersey Turnpike ridin' on a wet night 'neath the refinery's glow, out where the great black rivers flow

-- Bruce Springsteen, "State Trooper"

The road on a wet night, Secaucus, New Jersey.

Day 16 of 365

Steam in the cold air

The Linden refineries as seen from the New Jersey Turnpike. Was riding with Dave as we headed into the city to meet our wives for our second annual Christmas gift of gorge: a fancy dinner out in New York. Yeah, dinner for four at a place like Craftsteak (this year's choice) comes out to much more than we would spend on a boxed and wrapped gift, but the hours together and the experience of the food make it worth every penny.

Day 7 of 365

Truckin'

My plan was to get some shots in Penn Station as I switched from the train to the subway on my way to work, but with some minutes to kill while switching trains in Secaucus, I pulled out the camera and turned it on the on/off ramp for the New Jersey Turnpike and the platform while I waited for the 5:25 to pull into the station.

I actually had a hard time choosing which of the nine photos to use as The One For Today, but I settled on this one because I couldn't tell it was a keeper on the LCD display after I took it. It wasn't until I got it on the computer and cropped out some dead space (and the vertical dividing line of a lamp post) on the left that I saw its potential. So I tagged it with the honor of Day 7.

"These subtle stars," New Jersey, December 2008

Subtle stars

They're actually planets, of course. You're not going to see too many stars over the New Jersey Turnpike in Secaucus. The bright one at the top, near the center, is Venus. And as far as I can tell, at about 5 o'clock from that point is Jupiter, with Mercury at about 4 o'clock from Jupiter.

I'm not too concerned about how well it fits the "subtle" theme, but that phrase just stuck in my head as I was posting this photo. So that's what I called it, and that's my entry.

[*Later chosen as a favorite.*]