Roth 365

100 Strangers - Stranger 1

2009-11-29T19:07:00.003-05:00

I've decided to undertake a new photography project. One of my weaknesses is candid street photography - especially with regards to portraits. In hopes of improving in this area, I've decided to take portraits of 100 strangers.

I'm pragmatic enough on this one to not try to do it in 100 days, especailly given that most days I don't leave the house, yet alone see a stranger. Instead, I've set no time limit on this - I will take and post the shots as the opportunities arise.

I'm kickng this off today with my 1000th shot on Flickr that I took last weekend in Times Square:

When I took this shot, I was not sure if this man was looking at me and was upset that I was taking his photo, and after studying the shot, I'm still not sure. I suspect that people being annoyed with me will be a too common theme in this project, but oh well.

Many Days

2009-11-10T22:33:00.003-05:00

I am a big fan of Fred City (or Frederick, MD as it is called by everyone who is not me). Having done more than a few informal photowalks there, I was excited to be part of the official World Wide Photo Walk. Turns out it was not something to be all the excited about, but still I got a few decent pictures out of it. This was one of the two that I submitted.

Night Falls on Toronto

2009-10-18T19:54:00.002-04:00

It was worth the lugging and the odd looks to take my tripod to the top of the CN Tower in Toronto, Ontario to take some long exposure shots as the sun went down. The tripod did not help with tourists and the reflections and smudges on the glass. Those took some creative MacGuyverism and patience to overcome.

Can't Help Falling

2009-10-13T20:01:00.002-04:00

From the outside, the super tall hotels that ring the Canadian side of Niagara Falls are something of an eyesore. From the inside, however, they provide a wonderful view of the falls. Especially when your wife gets you a 15 floor upgrade because your original room "smelled like smoke".

Hail to the Lion

2009-10-05T22:39:00.004-04:00

(click through to view it large)

The Nittany Lion Shrine has got to be one of the most photographed mountain lion statues in all of Central Pennsylvania. Didn't stop me from taking a few shots when I visited the Holy Land last summer. A great shrine of a great mascot for a great school. We are!

Edge of Blue

2009-09-29T22:27:00.003-04:00

You've seen mention here of PhotoChallenge.org - a site that runs various photo challenges to help inspire us all to take more pictures. This year they are doing a challenge to shoot a specified theme every day of the year. Now I don't know who is crazy enough to take a good picture everyday for an entire year, but I managed to at least take one this day in which the theme was "Half".

Close Encounter

2009-09-28T22:15:00.003-04:00

The annual fireman's carnival is a very big event in our very small town. For the kids it is a chance to ride some rides that are scary for the wrong reasons. For me it is chance eat a delicious pit beef sandwich and take some long exposure shots. Sure, I get strange looks for carrying around my tripod, but I also get strange looks when I don't so it is not a big deal.

Northern Crosses

2009-09-27T18:41:00.001-04:00

Think about how many times
I have fallen
Spirits are using me
larger voices callin'.
What heaven brought you and me
Cannot be forgotten.

Straight To Your Heart

2009-09-26T16:13:00.004-04:00

Nothing like a little trespassing to get you where you need to be to take the shot. This is the tunnel at Harper's Ferry. For law abiding citizens there is a fence that ruins the shot - you can see it on the right. Shelley has a similar shot (and by similar, I mean better).

Hold Out Your Hand

2009-09-24T21:50:00.003-04:00

This was one of those spur of the moment shots. While sitting at my desk, for some reason I can no longer recall, I held my hand up and liked how the light from the window was hitting it. My camera was handy (intended) so I picked it up and took this shot. Just a bit of post processing, and there you go.

You Don't Stop

2009-09-23T22:21:00.003-04:00

One more from Mebane in May. If you've never heard of Mebane, you might think it is just some one stoplight town. I can tell you with some certainty that is at least that, and possibly more.

My Photography Bucket List

2009-09-01T08:59:00.008-04:00

After reading my brother's photography bucket list, I decided to do one of own. So here is a list of shots I hope to take before I die.

Two old guys playing chess or checkers in a park
Person walking five or more dogs at once
A bear in the wild
A German bar-maid carrying five or more liters of beer
A picture in 25 different countries (8 complete so far)
Lightning
A $2 portrait
A water drop
An excellent panning shot
The Northern Lights
The view from a hot air balloon

A wild bald eagle in flight

Here are some shots that would be on the list except that I've already taken them:
A wailing musician
A rainbow

Five Ways Out

2009-07-01T22:58:00.001-04:00

Another stop on the Mebane Photowalk was a laundromat. In a bit of a crazy random happenstance, inside was a slightly awkward new couple enjoying what looked to be frozen yogurt.

Crossing Back

2009-06-30T22:34:00.003-04:00

On the eve of the Pig Pickin', the Mrs. and I decided to do a bit of a photowalk in downtown Mebane. For a little NC town that you've probably never heard of, it is actually quite nice. We ventured to the other side of the tracks (or were we venturing from the other side of the tracks?) and on the way I took this shot.

Jason

2009-06-18T21:44:00.004-04:00

Portraits are the type of photography at which I feel most weak. I don't like taking them, and when I do, I am usually not happy with the results. If you look through this blog or my photostream, you'll notice there are more pictures of Lego people than there are of actual people.

Because of this, I need to take more portraits. Also because of this, when I do get one that I think is decent, I'm happy to share. And so I bring you Jason. He is one of the regular cast of characters that I see yearly at my brother's pig pickin'

Blink!

2009-06-01T22:51:00.002-04:00

It has been a while since "the boy" has shown up here, so I figured it was about time. This shot was taken at his sister's U6 soccer game. The nice thing about U6 soccer is that there are plenty of opportunities to photograph other things without much risk of missing anything good on the pitch.

When You Thought It Was Safe

2009-05-28T17:43:00.004-04:00

Ah, chrome. Before it was a web browser, it was a fun shiny part of many a car. Now you need to go to a museum to see it. At least I did. The Smithsonian American History Museum. This picture was taken before Ben Stiller showed up and everything came to life, btw.

To the Sun

2009-05-27T22:32:00.002-04:00

The Washington Monument is one of the most recognized landmarks in Washington DC. It is also one of the most photographed. (You can see some of my shots of it here). Because of this, it can be hard to take an interesting and unique shot, especially in the middle of the afternoon when the bright sunlight is not your friend.

Motionless One

2009-05-20T22:49:00.003-04:00

Inside the Smithsonian Museum of American History is an odd statue of George Washington done up like an ancient Greek dude, or perhaps a less ancient frat boy going to a toga party. This statue was done by some Italian artist, and when it arrived in DC, lets just say it was not what was expected. The leaders of the day must have looked on this mostly naked man art not unlike the mom from A Christmas Story looked at the ladies leg lamp. Anyway, this is his hand, and I think he is posed like this because he was in fact, #1. Either that, or he is indicated on what denomination of money he is featured.

Listen!

Flamingo

2009-05-18T19:37:00.002-04:00

On the day my lovely wife turned [redacted], this flamingo, along with [redacted] of his friends were waiting on the front yard. A sign of the times is that she did not discover this flamboyant flamingo flock by looking out the window. No, she discovered these via Facebook, where the erstwhile flamingo planters had recorded the deed. (I should mention it was dark outside when she arose, because the way my wife celebrates her birthday is to get up before dawn and run a half-marathon).

Final Exit

2009-05-14T21:30:00.004-04:00

On the other side of this door is New York City - East Broadway at the Manhattan Bridge - right in the chaotic heart of a Chinatown morning. People are hurrying in all directions as vendors unload truckfuls of mysterious produce and other unknown wonders while cars and trains pass by noisily on the bridge. This side of the door holds quiet and calm, but that all changes as you pass through, and there is no going back.

Listen!

Jazz Club

2009-05-11T18:27:00.003-04:00

I must have walked pass the door to this jazz club in Greenwich Village three times before I finally decided to take a chance and go in. As much as I like jazz and new experiences, it felt a bit weird to go into a place like this by myself. I am so glad that I did. B.D. Lenz Group played the exact kind of funky cool tunes that I needed to get out of my own head for a while and lose myself to the night.

Listen!

Greenwich Fountain

2009-05-09T20:19:00.003-04:00

Another shot from my last NY trip - this time from Greenwich Village, which I wandered through in search of some dinner. Unlike most of the time I'm New York, I was able to leave the office before dark which of course gives the city an entirely different look.

Listen!

Dark Alley

2009-05-07T22:24:00.005-04:00

At my peak, I was a fairly average bowler. My peak however, was somewhere between 15 and 20 years ago. Since then, I had been bowling exactly twice. That is, until this fateful night in New York City during which I learned two things:
1) The rules of bowling etiquette are either not the same in New York or they are just ignored
2) Bowling is not the kind of activity that once you learn how to do it, you always remember, even after not doing it for a long time (can't think of a good analogy).

Listen!

Thanks to Phill Price for letting me know about AudioBoo.

Relax

2009-04-27T22:54:00.001-04:00

Sooner or later everyone goes to the zoo. It is easy to feel bad for the animals, given how they are confined and gawked at all day, but at least this guy did not seem to mind.