"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.

"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.

Day 349 of 365

Streaks in the night

On my way into the city for the company Christmas party, I paused on the overpass while waiting for the train to get some tail lights on the road below, with a house decorated for the holidays in the background, of course.

Day 312 of 365

Giants game

Giants Stadium during the Chargers game. As I drove by, the game on the radio, it was in the final two minutes of the first half. I got to work in time to watch the fourth quarter and the Chargers' amazing game-winning drive -- or the Giants' amazing flop on defense. Depends on your allegiances.

Day 294 of 365

Hint of orange

A branch fights against the force of the falls -- as minor as they are -- on the North Branch of the Raritan River on the Natirar estate in Somerset County, New Jersey.

Day 272 of 365

To LaGuardia

I don't know if that's where she asked to go, but she has a suitcase.

Day 233 of 365

The opposite of HA

Was too drunk to care if I got a good shot, so I just moved on. But I took it to note that it would've been funny if the lights that were out were the only ones lit -- then it would say HA!

Day 225 of 365

Lower-level view

This week, I had my first chance to take a double-decker from Clifton to Hoboken. The first day, I sat on the upper level. Second day, lower, which got me this perspective in Secaucus.

Day 214 of 365

Fire Lane

A quick, blind snap pulling away from a light.

Day 213 of 365

Clouds at night

I looked up and saw the light of the city reflecting off those clouds and knew they'd come out in a photo.

Day 177 of 365

Hey, Julie

Fountains of Wayne play Maxwell's in Hoboken, with two audience members helping out on "Hey, Julie."

Day 171 of 365

Waiting out the deluge

Waiting out the heaviest rain in the car.

Day 110 of 365

On every corner

It was a particularly windy day of rain, so the trash cans -- and some gutters on the street -- on nearly every corner were crammed with discarded cheap umbrellas.

Day 53 of 365

As if it's sliding

As I waited inside the lobby of my building for my car to pick me up at 3:30 a.m., I watched the revelers pass by on the sidewalk, heading home after a night out in the bars of the Meatpacking District. Ninth Avenue was busy, mostly with taxis making their way toward the Village. As one after another passed by in the city night, I realized that I could be outside, setting the camera to a slower shutter speed and panning with the cars as they zipped by, capturing the motion. My ride home was running late, and I fired off five shots before it arrived and I was on my way home.

Day 26 of 365

Rush hour at Hoboken

Each night on my way to work, I pass through the Hoboken train station going against the grain of commuters spewing from the PATH tunnels and rushing to catch their above-ground trains to points west in New Jersey. (The Hobokenites stroll out into the streets through a different exit, so I don't have the pleasure of dodging them.) Tonight, I took just a few moments to pause for a couple of pictures, but if I allow myself some more time, I know I can improve upon where I stand and the composition of these two shots. And therein lies another benefit to this photo-a-day project: For those images I have in my head to take, or those I see in my daily travels, I can experiment with different angles and views and discover new ways of looking at the subjects until I get it just right.

"Running to first," New Jersey, August 2006

Leivi Ventura

When shooting minor league baseball games at night, I tend to get most of my shots during the first few innings, when the late light of a summer day still allows for fast shutter speeds. But on this one night a few years ago, I decided to slow down the shutter speed as night fell and experiment with some blurred-motion action shots. This one of Hagerstown Suns third baseman Leivi Ventura was one of the best, along with one of Lakewood BlueClaws third baseman Welinson Baez.

"Athlete in action," New Jersey, February 2006

Copeland in motion

College football ended last week and baseball doesn't pick up again for another month. My outdoor runs are sporadic at best right now because of temperatures that dip into the 20s, so any athletic thoughts I have right now involve college basketball.

Only 32 days until pitchers and catchers report...

Day 11 of 365

Industrial Clifton, from the train

Shot this from the moving train between Clifton and Passaic. Was just playing around (and taking a picture of this poster) and got lucky with it. That's what happens with digital -- you can experiment and simply delete the throwaways, rather than wasting a frame of film and not knowing the result until you've paid for developing.

"Springsteen," New York January 2006

Strumming

I had just bought my new digital SLR after the New Year and was itching to use it. The cold, gray winter days didn't provide much inspiration, but I did stop at a park overlooking the Hudson River during my lunch break on one sunny day. I took pictures of the George Washington Bridge, the New York skyline, Yonkers, and even leaves on the ground and cracks in the sidewalk -- anything to try out the camera.

But then I saw that the New York Guitar Festival was going to open with a tribute to Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska, a bare-bones solo acoustic album he put out in 1982 but recorded on a four-track recorder in his bedroom in 1981 (thus the "25th anniversary" arc for the festival's staging of the songs). They brought together a collection of artists to interpret each track as they wished, so we decided to go, for free, to hear a great album played live. And I figured I'd get to really try out my new camera.

I also had a slight suspicion that Springsteen himself might drop in.

At one point, I left my wife standing off to the side where it was less crowded and there was a wall to lean on or sit against and moved into the crowd to get a clearer shot of the artist on stage, Laura Cantrell, who was signing "Used Cars." As I lowered my camera after taking this picture, my cell phone rings. I see it's Casey, who is no more than 50 feet away. I'm already heading back to her, so I don't answer it.

"He's here!" she says to me. I turn around to see that I'd just passed him. I retreat and approach him, brushing him on the arm to get his attention. (It may have been a bit of a "grab," but I don't think it was that extreme.) He stops and turns, we shake hands and I simply say I love what he does and thank him for doing it. He responds, though I have no idea what he says. It may have been along the lines of, "Thank you. I appreciate it," as his wife, Patti, smiles and says hello.

I then leave them alone and take a few pictures of their silhouettes in the darkness of the Winter Garden at the World Financial Center in Lower Manhattan. Though he was recognized, maybe only one or two other people approach him. Had I not reached him while he was still walking in, I doubt I would have, either, choosing instead to let them enjoy watching other artists interpret his work from nearly a generation ago.

As the album nears its end -- the artists came out to perform them in the order they appear on the album -- Bruce and Patti make their way to the side of the stage, where he goes over some lyrics with the festival's founder. Then he gets on stage to sing Woody Guthrie's "Oklahoma Hills" with the full roster of musicians.

It put the perfect cap on a magical musical night.

"Speed on the bases," August 2006

Welinson Baez, originally uploaded by DC Products.

I could've easily doubled up on yesterday's image for some thing fast, but since this is the eighth day in a row I've posted fresh photos (I'd intended to get through one week submitting to a different challenge each day), I wanted to wrap it up with another new shot.

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November 2007 update: OK, so I'll double up on this one for motion.