Ianqui's Project 365: A (Mostly) New York City Photoblog

Let's get this thing started!

2008-01-02T11:38:00.000-05:00

As advertised, I've decided to start up a new photoblog. I moved it off of Blogspot and onto a real (albeit free) photoblogging platform called aminus3. So, I introduce to you:

Don't leave me stranded here
(http://ianqui.aminus3.com)

There's one photo there now, and I'll put up another tonight. It even has an RSS feed, so go ahead and add it to your reader! Tell your friends! Update your blogrolls!

For a while, I'll be featuring photos from California because those are the shiny new ones you haven't seen yet, but eventually we'll get back to New York. I have to admit that I felt a real sense of relief and freedom leaving my house without my camera this morning. I really think that being able to take photos when I want to instead of having to will really be better for everyone.

December (and whole year) Retrospective

2008-01-01T12:34:00.000-05:00

Well. It has ended. Like Scrivener, I started this project because I wanted to improve my photography. I had just gotten my dSLR in November of 2006, and was very excited about my new camera. Coincidentally, I left for a trip to Florida on Jan 1 last year, so I had already been taking pictures every day. When I got home on Jan 7, I discovered both a post about Project 365 on Photojojo, and that some of my favorite bloggers had already signed on to the project. It seemed perfect! I have been lucky, because I got to practice my photography in New York, New Jersey, Catalonia, London, Germany, Florida, Philadelphia, Baltimore, California, North Carolina, and New Orleans. I guess I did quite a lot of traveling this year!

I'm also proud of myself for actually staying true to the aims of the project. I posted a picture for every day, taken on that day. They weren't always great, but at least I never resorted to my cameraphone!

I am very glad that I did the project, but I'm also glad for it to be over. I definitely think that it's helped my photography to improve, but around September I started to resent having to take a picture just for the sake of having a picture. I appreciate the people who can find a beautiful angle on a pencil or a street light, but I do not excel at that kind of photography. And sometimes, that's what it came down to, when it was 6pm, dark outside, and I hadn't taken a picture yet. I'm also just as glad not to have to carry around my large camera every day. But I salute those of you who are still excited about continuing. I have learned a lot from all of the 365s that I followed (billie, liane, scrivener, bright star, jayfish, overread, beth, ampersand, julie, mike), and I'll stay subscribed to your feeds in hopes of new updates!

I think that this year my aim is to get a real photoblog, as in, take it off of Blogger and start using software that is more suited toward photoblogging. I won't necessarily take or post a picture every day, but it'll give me a chance to be more flexible—post new pictures, go back to the archives, skip a day if I want...Hopefully I can get that project together really soon so that I don't lose my small but loyal following! I'll announce the new space both here and on my regular blog (for those of you that check both of them).

In the meantime, there's always my Flickr account!

365/365: What real New Yorkers do on New Year's Eve

2007-12-31T23:59:00.000-05:00

Eat lots of yummy potluck food, chat, play Rock Band, and watch Dick Clark. Just like everyone else in the country!

364/365: A nomination for House Beautiful

2007-12-30T12:25:00.000-05:00

363/365: The Onlookers

2007-12-29T12:23:00.000-05:00

At my friends' wedding, the hotel guests facing the lawn not-so-surreptitiously attended the ceremony.

362/365: The drink I couldn't have

2007-12-28T17:10:00.000-05:00

361/365: Oasis up ahead

2007-12-27T02:14:00.000-05:00

Anza-Borrego Desert State Park

360/365: Don't even think of parking here

2007-12-26T02:05:00.000-05:00

On Wednesday, we drove around Salton Sea. This was possibly the weirdest drive I've ever done. To learn more about this strange and fascinating place, visit Kim Stringfellow's "Greetings from Salton Sea". We used her map as a guide and visited most of the places she documented, including North Shore, Bombay Beach (the site of this photo), Salvation Mountain, and of course the Sonny Bono National Wildlife Refuge.

359/365: Twilight over Joshua Tree

2007-12-25T23:05:00.000-05:00

Cliche, but I had to go out of my way to get this photo. Merry Christmas, everyone!

358/365: Hummingbird at Indian Canyons

2007-12-24T23:57:00.001-05:00

357/365: Freefall in Mission Bay

2007-12-23T23:55:00.000-05:00

356/365: Dinner at Newark Airport

2007-12-22T23:41:00.000-05:00

355/365: Happy anniversary to us

2007-12-21T22:08:00.000-05:00

354/365: A dozen minus one

2007-12-20T18:28:00.002-05:00

353/365: Tacky in New York

2007-12-19T18:28:00.000-05:00

352/365: Beacon

2007-12-18T23:06:00.001-05:00

351/365: Neverending light cycle

2007-12-17T15:10:00.000-05:00

350/365: A good day for cooking

2007-12-16T22:43:00.000-05:00

I was too sick today and it was too cold to go out, so I stayed home and did some work, watched The Wire and baked some oatmeal chocolate chip cookies (although in the end, the recipe came from the web.)

349/365: The trumpet and the piccolo

2007-12-15T18:56:00.000-05:00

348/365: Music!

2007-12-14T14:21:00.000-05:00

347/365: Buddha has bling

2007-12-13T22:26:00.001-05:00

346/365: A heaping serving

2007-12-12T22:15:00.000-05:00

345/365: The beloved tchotchke

2007-12-11T21:10:00.000-05:00

When I was a kid, I was fascinated by my grandmother's tiny Coke bottles. I used to take them out of the box carefully, peer at them, and then put them back on her tchotchke shelf. Even then I probably thought that anything tiny was cute. When she died a couple of years ago, all I really wanted were the Coke bottles. My mom ended up giving me other things that she found when she was cleaning out my grandmother's apartment, but the Coke bottles are my favorite.

344/365: Garnish

2007-12-10T21:20:00.001-05:00

343/365: Fake plastic daisies

2007-12-09T21:13:00.000-05:00

342/365: Daily affirmation

2007-12-08T22:55:00.000-05:00

341/365: 30 minutes to closing

2007-12-07T22:16:00.000-05:00

340/365: Not creepy...no, not at all

2007-12-06T20:44:00.001-05:00

339/365: Stating the obvious

2007-12-06T20:43:00.000-05:00

338/365: Fun with Christmas lights

2007-12-04T22:03:00.000-05:00

Since I don't have them in my house, I only get to play with them when they're outside (and I can get close enough to them).

337/365: What did you think of the skirt?

2007-12-03T21:28:00.000-05:00

This guy was watching over me as I tried on a skirt in American Apparel today.

336/365: Marilyn's probably cold

2007-12-02T18:13:00.000-05:00

First snow of the season!

335/365: Has anyone followed the suggestion?

2007-12-01T18:48:00.000-05:00

November retrospective

2007-11-30T22:44:00.000-05:00

OMG! Only one more month left! So exciting!

I started this project because I thought it would help me improve my photography, but what I've learned is that there can be too much of a good thing. It's not going to help me improve if I can barely be bothered to take a photo. However, I haven't yet cheated once. Every photo was taken on each successive day. I may not be able to maintain diets or strict work hours, but I will see this project through if it kills me. And it just may. (Fortunately, from 12/22 to 12/30 I'll be in California, so the last week should be enjoyable for real.)

334/365: ConEd command center

2007-11-30T22:26:00.000-05:00

This morning, there was a fire in a manhole on my block. I guess they're still not sure what caused it. They've been working around the clock to fix it.

333/365: Some beerveza with your fog?

2007-11-30T22:25:00.000-05:00

332/365: Bourbon St--classy as ever

2007-11-28T15:36:00.000-05:00

The French Quarter was not affected by the storm. Still, the area seems eerily depopulated. I'm not sure if that's because it's not tourism season right now, or because the tourists just never really ever came back. The daquiri and hurricane joints seemed pretty sad.

331/365: New and improved 17th Street Canal

2007-11-27T15:29:00.000-05:00

After Hurricane Katrina, the Army Corps of Engineers finally installed a floodgate system at the 17th St canal. Before, none of this machinery was there—you could see straight from here to Lake Ponchartrain. This picture was taken while on a tour sponsored by the Army Corps of Engineers of a few of the canals and the 9th Ward. While we were driven through the 9th Ward, we weren't really allowed to get off the bus to see any of it close up. I was able to take a few pictures from the bus, but the photos don't capture the creepiness of the area. We were told that before the storm, the blocks of streets in the 9th Ward were packed with houses—one right next to the other with little space in between. Now, after many houses were demolished and the debris was removed, it looks like a series of desolate empty lots. I would never presume to know what they should do with that area, but given how sparsely populated it is now, it seems like turning it into wetlands wouldn't be such a bad idea.

330/365: Well, I did it for the money

2007-11-26T15:27:00.000-05:00

329/365: Caramels de pinya

2007-11-25T18:48:00.000-05:00

Papabubble, a candy store from Barcelona, recently opened in New York. Their thing is that they make all of their own hard candy right in the store. Usually when you go in, they're doing their thing on the tables in front of everyone, but when we got there, the candymakers were on break.

The sign on the outside of the store says "PAPABUBBLE caramels artesans", which is Catalan for "handmade hard candies". As we were deciding which kind to buy (we got cherry), this guy walked in and asked one of the employees whether all of the candy was made out of caramel. I can see why it would be confusing.

328/365: Holiday rush

2007-11-24T21:05:00.000-05:00

327/365: The workroom, 2007

2007-11-23T23:32:00.001-05:00

326/365: Untitled

2007-11-22T23:26:00.000-05:00

I've never been unable to come up with a title, but all of the ideas that came to me for this picture of my niece were too cliche to actually use.

This photo was taken with a Sony A100 dSLR with an ancient Minolta 50mm f/1.4 lens.

325/365: Pickled beets for Thanksgiving

2007-11-21T23:25:00.000-05:00

324/365: Soft like fur

2007-11-20T21:52:00.000-05:00

323/365: The rain was hours ago

2007-11-19T20:58:00.000-05:00

322/365: Infinity

2007-11-18T16:56:00.000-05:00

Boy, that didn't take long. This was already picked up by Gothamist today.

321/365: Brunch in New York

2007-11-17T20:16:00.000-05:00

My table, as a scene for brunch, may look familiar.

320/365: Spotlight

2007-11-16T20:16:00.000-05:00

319/365: The last fruit share

2007-11-15T22:33:00.001-05:00

I like apples, but I'm kind of tired of getting 2 bags like this every week. But I'm also sure I'll be sad that today's the last farm share delivery.

318/365: They started in the center

2007-11-14T20:23:00.000-05:00

317/365: Air America Lives!

2007-11-13T20:22:00.000-05:00

316/365: Rawr

2007-11-12T21:30:00.000-05:00

315/365: Stagehands strike

2007-11-11T19:24:00.000-05:00

314/365: It's a little late for this

2007-11-10T23:34:00.000-05:00

313/365: Not for much longer

2007-11-09T22:48:00.000-05:00

I stare at this tree out of my classroom window when I'm teaching. I'll be sad when it's gone.

312/365: Vitamins should come from FOOD

2007-11-08T22:47:00.000-05:00

311/365: Yuppie is so passe

2007-11-07T21:20:00.001-05:00

310/365: My guilty pleasure

2007-11-06T21:11:00.000-05:00

309/365: You can take it with you

2007-11-05T20:49:00.000-05:00

308/365: Go Bobby!

2007-11-04T15:24:00.000-05:00

I'm slowly trying to do the things that all New Yorkers' should experience. So today I went to Brooklyn to cheer on some of the New York City Marathon runners.

Here are a few more on Flickr.

307/365: Panda head dude

2007-11-03T16:19:00.000-04:00

At the Step It Up rally in Washington Square Park.

306/365: I was tricked

2007-11-03T16:18:00.000-04:00

I saw the pigeon try to eat one of these peppers, and he seemed none too pleased.

305/365: Melilla

2007-11-01T20:52:00.000-04:00

When I first lived in Spain, carrying around 25 pesetas was practical, like if I needed to make a phone call. Now, it's a happy souvenir. (And yes, I love my giant keychain that I can clip to myself.)

October retrospective

2007-10-31T20:52:00.000-04:00

I have very little to say other than I cannot wait for this project to be over. I think that it really has helped me improve my photography, but now I've gone past the usefulness and have descended into sloppiness. Each day I think, "Ugh. I really have to get a picture now?" Once the clocks are turned back, it'll be even worse since there'll be no hope of catching daylight before I leave my office. But I will persevere, because who wants to be a quitter?

Oh yeah. There was a lot of orange this month. Not intentional, but appropriate for the Halloween month!

304/365: A spooktastic Halloween ride

2007-10-31T20:46:00.000-04:00

303/365: House wine

2007-10-30T23:12:00.000-04:00

302/265: The imitator

2007-10-29T23:01:00.000-04:00

301/365: A UFO in Hancock Harbor

2007-10-28T21:52:00.001-04:00

Hancock Harbor is a tiny, hidden marina in the backcountry of New Jersey on the Delaware Bay. Here's the backstory.

300/365: Fire dancers

2007-10-28T21:51:00.001-04:00

299/365: A bright spot

2007-10-26T21:36:00.000-04:00

Orange seems to be a common theme this week.

298/365: Trik or Treet

2007-10-25T20:54:00.001-04:00

297/365: A close friend of the Lizardman

2007-10-24T20:49:00.000-04:00

Who knew that pumpkins were into body modification?

296/365: Inside/Outside

2007-10-23T22:29:00.000-04:00

295/365: Orange is the color of safety

2007-10-22T21:58:00.000-04:00

294/365: Pimp my ride

2007-10-21T20:15:00.001-04:00

Today was the Tour de Bronx, a 25-mile ride through many neighborhoods in the Bronx. It was probably almost 80 degrees at the height of the day. Unbelievable.

293/365: Calling canine alcoholics

2007-10-20T14:41:00.002-04:00

292/365: Everything is subject to branding

2007-10-19T14:41:00.000-04:00

291/365: Surplus

2007-10-18T21:54:00.000-04:00

When you go to the CSA pickup 15 minutes before it's over, they let you take as much as you want. I might have gone overboard on the potatoes and carrots.

290/365: You tell 'im, yo

2007-10-17T22:52:00.000-04:00

289/365: All night I've been your slave

2007-10-16T22:05:00.000-04:00

288/365: Let's stop using plastic bags

2007-10-15T22:03:00.000-04:00

287/365: Sentry

2007-10-14T23:28:00.000-04:00

286/365: Ace of Cakes

2007-10-13T22:52:00.000-04:00

The lovely grad students who drove me back to my hotel tonight were very sweet about letting me stop and take a picture when we passed Charm City Cakes and I mentioned that I really like this show.

285/365: I have already crushed your head

2007-10-12T22:27:00.000-04:00

284/365: Crowd surge in Times Square

2007-10-11T21:49:00.000-04:00

Since I don't usually take the subway during the day, I don't know if this is normal or not, but it was kind of scary getting caught in this crowd.

283/365: Sealing the deal

2007-10-10T21:42:00.000-04:00

282/365: You break my neat-freak heart

2007-10-09T21:23:00.000-04:00

This is the back of my desk. Unfortunately, because I positioned my desk so that incoming people cannot see the screen, this is the first thing you see upon entering my office. It visually assaults me every day.

281/365: A Random Act of Kindness

2007-10-08T20:17:00.000-04:00

I was very pleasantly surprised when my friend randomly gave me this bag the other day. "I was in this store when I saw this, and I thought about you!" she said. It's not exactly the cheapest thing in the world, so I was really taken aback. I don't think anyone's ever done that for me before.

280/365: Ghosts at the Encampment

2007-10-07T23:12:00.000-04:00

Taken as part of Open House New York at The Encampment.

279/365: A present for you

2007-10-06T11:05:00.000-04:00

This weekend is Open House New York. This photo was taken at Tom Otterness's studio. Otterness's cartoon sculptures are a crowd-pleasing type of public art, though a careful look at many of his characters reveals sharp social criticism.

More images from Open House New York on Saturday. (Another particular favorite was this doormat from the Creative Time installation at Essex Market.)

278/365: Waiting is a lonely task

2007-10-05T23:52:00.001-04:00

277/365: Google must be so proud

2007-10-04T21:00:00.000-04:00

And maybe Ron Paul too.

276/365: Does anyone even use these anymore?

2007-10-03T21:42:00.000-04:00

275/365: Smile! You're on Candid Camera!

2007-10-02T21:40:00.000-04:00

274/365: Damn right, baby

2007-10-01T21:26:00.000-04:00

Super G fought the law and he won. This envelope contained a reimbursement check for the bail that he posted for a bogus crossing the double yellow line charge when we were leaving Yosemite in July. He wrote a nice Trial by Declaration letter to the county of Mariposa explaining that they couldn't possibly uphold this charge because there was no objective proof that he'd actually crossed the line. And today we were reimbursed the $148 for the ticket.

September Retrospective

2007-09-30T23:21:00.000-04:00

(It's a bit out of order, but it was easier to make it a 6x5 grid this way.) I thought September was going to be excruciating, and in some ways, it was. The start of the school year has been limiting me. But there were still some memorable events here: the NYC Century, 9/11, tango on the bridge, a day at the beach in late September, Barack Obama. I just hope my drive doesn't disappear totally as the cold and eventually the snow roll in.

273/365: A new trend in biking fashion?

2007-09-30T23:02:00.000-04:00

Twice in a month. What is it with the skull handlebar ornaments?

272/365: You wouldn't know they aren't aligned

2007-09-29T19:04:00.001-04:00

They keep talking about redesigning Washington Square Park so that the fountain aligns with the arch. In this photo, you can't even see that it's true. So maybe they should just change their perspective instead of needlessly spending all that money.

271/365: Under the cover of darkness

2007-09-29T00:06:00.000-04:00