Morning snow in the city

reflecting back on 2009

via facebook.

Ok. I admit it. I'm a facebook nerd. And yes, I do change my status (not religiously... but often enough). I saw this collage maker on there today and had to take a walk down status update memory lane. It was a fun little collage maker - it let you actually choose the status updates, which were sorted by month.

I had to laugh at a few. For example, the second one about pushing the chair out from under someone. Last year, we were so absolutely miserable in our jobs that we would (jokingly) beg each other to assist in hurting each other so we could take the rest of the day off work. Of course, we wouldn't Actually do this... Mostly, it was a joke we laughed about, trying to find some sense of just how bad it is while still being able to laugh... at something, anything. We were desperate. And that day in January when I was nonchalantly asked to pull the chair out from under my dear friend, without thinking, I almost obliged!

O and one other thing... the last status update has a missing word... It should say games at the end of it. Not that that is any better, but I'm still young, living and enjoying this city of mine!! And the games take me back to the fun we had in college (which is just what we were reminiscing on a few nights ago when Seth, Ian, and I got together to play some of our old games and miss our friends and college lives greatly!)

A few things...

This post will be random. There is just no way around it. I have lots of random things going on in my mind right now :)

• I'm getting really excited about planning out some photo projects for the new year!! I have ideas for 3 separate projects - Hopefully all will hit the ground running in 2010! Got a surge of inspiration with ELK's post on Shutter Sisters this morning... (the photo above is the a practice for one of the projects!)
  

• There are 2 places that my photos are featured today!! Fun to see them shared in other places! Go check them out -- One is a windows series that I posted a while back on here and on flickr. Amy is sharing it on her blog, No 15 today. The other is the Awesome stranger photo I shot in the park yesterday for the 100 strangers project. It was shared here (about 4 down from the top).

• Last night, at 2:30 a.m., when I was unable to sleep (I'm majorly messing up my hours... Next week is going to be PAINFUL!), I was up ordering prints. I am hoping to start an online photo shop at Etsy... Sooo watch for it! I don't know how successful it will be, but getting the prints up will be enough to make me happy for now! I need to do a little more research on packing and shipping the prints...

• I should be cleaning the house right now... but I'm having a really hard time being motivated... and the motivation I have cleaning with detail - which would take me a few days realistically. Since our guests are coming tonight, I need to get myself in gear!!

• I'm just recently realizing how much I love the smell of lavender lately. Adding more lavender candles to my next shopping list!

• My older brother just recently got engaged!!! I cannot wait to see them in February to congratulate them and get to see the ring that I hear is just beautiful!! 2 brothers getting married in 2010 :) I love it!
  

Central Park in December

Filled with inspiration, I left the Met yesterday and the first shot I took was the American flag waving outside the building... In honor of Mr. Frank's exhibit (each "section" of the "4 sectioned" book was started out with a flag photo - all of which were much more brilliant than mine!)

The Boathouse

Central Park, NYC

Robert Frank at the Met

I've been waiting a few months to finally squeeze today's museum visit in. I thought I'd have the chance after work one day during the month of December, but unfortunately, that came no where close to happening! So today, on what feels like my first actual day of vacation (doing what I want to do while everyone else is working!), I headed up to the Met after meeting Seth to eat Japanese for lunch.

My destination in the Met, the Robert Frank exhibit. I utterly enjoyed every moment of looking at his photos (even though it was insanely packed... a situation I would not normally enjoy.) I was in quite the zone. The exhibit was mainly to show the photos he took for the 1950s photography assignment where he set out across the country to capture the essence of America through the artistic documentation of his photography, of his eye. He took somewhere between 350-400 rolls of film and something like 27,000 photos.

His work captured so many elements of the country. The segregation, the rich, the poor, the politics, entertainment, religion, etc. The part that intrigued and inspired me over and over were the expressions on the faces he captured. It was beautiful and real, the kind of thing I'd love to capture with my own camera.

I was inspired by the apparent lack of fear in his photo taking. I get so worried of others seeing me that it tends to keep me from capturing moments I see. Frank also included a photo where a couple is laying in the park and just as he takes it they are turning and essentially glaring at him... The caption related how it was the moment that all photographers fell when they get caught taking someone's photo.

If only I'd gotten there earlier, then I could try to visit one more time -- the exhibit closes on the 3rd. I do plan to go to the Strand and buy his book, The Americans, that the featured exhibit photographs are compiled in.

After taking in that exhibit, I didn't spend too much more time in the museum. I headed toward the Modern Art, only to find it blocked off. From there I decided to head out to the park as the sun was setting before taking the train back to Brooklyn.

An Engagement Session

My brother Ben and his beautiful fiance Desi asked me to take their engagement photos while we were in Texas for Thanksgiving. They were amazing fun to photograph, letting me snap and snap and snap and snap beyond my heart's content. We explored the fields of trees and grass across the street from my father's house. There we found the most beautiful tree where our photographing began.