Smiley

This is one of my grandmother's dogs. I call her Yim Yim ("Smile smile").

Scaredy Cat

So Matt's Phantom Cat post below was so awesome I'm not even going to compete with it, however it reminded me I HAD to go dig this number up to post as a sibling/collaboration post to his. This was taken a few years ago of my friend's cat –and yes he is a little freaked out by everything all the time, so this is sort of a captured 'portrait' if you will!

I think his owner was making him dance and pose like a cat-puppet, which I'm sure just traumatized him further...

*Only curve adjustments were done to get richer black and brighter white.

AMBIENT FRIGHT : ghosts....of christmas past?

Here's my first submission! Quite simply, this was taken at our office holiday dinner* a couple of years ago. Technically its a differnt holiday but I think it can pass for both creepy and festive, yes?

*This was a fight to the death between my friend The Vegan vs. myself The Raw Steak Carnivore –coincidentally I thought it was interesting that her battle technique was to apparently try to bite my face off....or something.*

Fatty McFatCat : #1 : Orange Oozer

I usually pass by this guy during the daytime and he'll be oooooozing out of the window (to the point he almost looks like he'll fall out because he's hanging out so far). I say oozing out because 1) he is a floppy fat cat. 2) he braces himself on the sill with 2 little paws that pushes all the fat out to the sides like orange fur ooze. its GREAT.

That evening however, he was not oozing. That's the most normal and 'slender' I've ever seen him. Other than that I like how I inadvertently got a very orange toned photo which fits perfectly with the running orange ooze theme. I hope one day I shall catch him when he's fallen so I can smoosh him.

Red Race to freedom!

Took these tonight on an evening walk to see the July 4th fireworks out on the Hudson. Turns out our view of fireworks was a bust, but ended up passing this lonesome cart trying to make its break to freedom from its prison confines of the BJ's parking lot –I wonder if it counts if only your front part crosses the finish line...

"I made it! I made it!....DAMN THESE MAGNETIC AUTO BREAKS, I'M STUCK!"


"So close, yet so far away..."

Pasta River

My cousin was making vegetarian lasagna (which I INSIST in my mind means its NOT lasagna at all when you don't combine meat, cheese, and noodles in a baked gooey goodness) a couple weeks ago and had put out these strips of noodle to dry out some of the water. I thought it made this neat river pattern. Only had the dinky point n shoot though so couldn't capture all the dimension and colors properly, which I'm a little bummed about.

Anyway, I like that there's a little opening 'burping' in there all sneaky too. I didn't even notice it.

Sunset & Silhouette 5

After a little absence, I'm back with a pic I took yesterday. This was the view we had at a wedding (another one this season!) we went to. Its not exactly sunset but I think it blends in with our collaborative "Sunset & Silhouette" efforts. I also would like to connect it to M. Hudson's "The Way I See It" posted on 06/11/09. There was a point made about the de-saturation etc. I found it interesting because I took a ton of the same shot trying to catch the colors and saturation of the green grass and trees and the light oranges in the sky –only to fail because I'm still fiddling & playing with my new low light lens i got. BUT ultimately, the picture I liked the most was this one which basically has practically no color at all compared to all the others and my original goal to capture.

Also I found the double sun bursts and the 'upside down trees' super neat.

Trash Puppy

This is my 'trashy' continuation of Chinitas' "Marlboro Corpses" post (05/26/09). This was actually taken in 2002 in Bangkok! I was walking by an abandoned property (which always ends up turning into a dumping ground unfortunately) and saw this little one sitting in the middle of that pile. I managed to snap this before he/she scampered off to play with a sibling.

I like that its the same piece of land but has such a clear divide –notice that the front half is all black and gray trash while the back is all completely lush and green. Felt like a sort of commentary on where we are as humans progress more and leave what used to be the planet behind or something.

Also, this was taken on a 2 megapixel Olympus point and shoot. WHOAH now! 2????

Katie & Steve's Wedding

So this post is tied to a sunset photo I did previously (Sunset & Silhouette 2). Taken at same location and night, these are photos from Matt's sister's wedding. I'm not a wedding photog (or a professional one at that) but I really liked these. I thought they were really nice moments which I was lucky enough to be around for, and I thought the softness and the atmosphere of the evening was nicely captured. The 2nd one is a little grainy but I was sitting far away and trying to zoom in with no flash –so I'm still pretty happy with it. I still think it was a nice moment to capture.

Bride pinning boutonniere for her father


A nice quiet moment during the night

Sunset & Silhouette 4

Probably my final sunset shot for now! These 2 were both taken in Thailand. I'd gone out of town to the little beach town Hua Hin for a few days. The first shot is while we were there, 2nd shot is on the drive back. It was perfectly timed –we were driving back into the city on a bridge RIGHT as the sun was setting. Perfect time, perfect place luckily. Thought it was super cool since it shows the contrasts of the many sides of Thailand (like my previous posts showing jungle vs. steel).
Gear : my little Lumix point and shoot.

At Hua Hin...


...as we re-entered Bangkok.

Sunset & Silhouette 2

This is a sibling to Matt's post below. I took this pic this past weekend at Matt's sister's wedding. The colors and the atmosphere of the pic are not nearly as intense and inspiring as Matt's post. But I still like this, it was a beautiful wedding and we lucked out with a beautiful day that closed with this view (before the party real started that is!). Not a drop of rain at all despite forecasts saying it would be a dreary day. It was absolutely beautiful.

NYC light experiment

John's last post below this inspired me (and refreshed my memory since I'd forgotten) to dig up this shot I took years ago. It was when I'd just gotten a new camera and was eager to see how it did with night time shots etc. So I ended up experimenting at night out the apartment window of Kips Bay Towers.

...Rain rain go away.

Since we're trading in our lovely sunny weekend for a sloppy mess of a Monday I thought this photo I took in Thailand last time I was there was appropriate. I also thought it was an interesting contrast to my last Thai pic post showing my mini 'city jungle' oasis in front of my house vs. this glass & steel-metropolis-monsoon one.

Spring at last!

Yesterday was such a wonderful day out of the city. It really is so nice to see so many blooming trees and then to wake up this morning to some more sun. So here's a little shot to spread some spring cheer.

Siamese Gargoyles

This is the front of my house in Thailand where we have a few "guardians" keeping watch. On the very left is the traditional Spirit House –a place for the spirits who watch over and take care of everyone on the home's property to hang out. And next to that we have our resident gargoyles on alert. This may not be the best pic ever taken, but its definitely one of my own favorites when I miss Thailand.

Pre-Easter Walkabout

In anticipation of this Sunday, I thought this would be a good post. Our neighborhood park was having an early Easter egg hunt this last Saturday for all the kids and families in the area. We happened to pass by and see the entire park littered with these neon treasure –plus a gigantic swarm of little ones eagerly waiting to pounce and claim them all! I managed to quickly snap these just as the horn went off and a horde of crazed children charged at us full speed. The entire park was CLEAN in a matter of 15 seconds.
Gear : My 4 yr old Panasonic Lumix point & shoot. No flash, just natural light.