The New Year Looks Suspiciously Like The Last

Welcome to 2009. It seems just like 2008 except for the uneasy feeling I have that things are about to get a lot worse. I hope that is not the case but I can't help but wonder.

My last official act of 2008 was to take a trip to New York City to see the Christmas window displays. That was a lot of fun but I seem to be too tired to write much about it at the moment. I took some photos as usual and it seemed as though there were precious few that amounted to anything. Most of the time that I was taking photos; I was in a big hurry or fighting with the crowd for position. I also took a couple of photos with my Jsoly 4x4 but I won’t process those for a while.

On New Years Day I did nothing at all and spent the day in my bathrobe. It was peacefull and quiet, perfect for reading and taking a nap. Thus began the new year though there was nothing new about it except for a date on a calendar.

Christmas is coming and the year is ending. It’s that time of year when we ponder the mistakes and accomplishments of the last twelve months.

I have done quite a bit of traveling in the last year but I don’t know if that counts as an accomplishment or a mistake. Maybe it’s a mistake to spend hard cash on travel when the economy is headed down the tubes but who knows; maybe I helped to keep a few places in business for a while longer.

In some ways I am disappointed by the photographs I took this year. I’m not sure I produced anything worthy of the effort or expense, at least not in the eyes of the general public. Is photography a doomed art or am I just doomed to making average images that no one cares about. With all the images out there and new ones being added every minute of the day it is hard to get noticed. There is some part of me that wants to be noticed or remembered or both. The other part is happy to do as it pleases without concern for what anyone else thinks.

So once again I am of two minds which are constantly at odds with each other and no one wins.

Photo Shoot Madness

I just wanted to see if I could embed a video into the old blog so here goes...

They Call It Black Friday

They call it Black Friday but I call it Black & White Friday. On the Friday after Thanksgiving, I go to downtown Chicago and take photos of anything and everything that suits me. This is the third year in a row that I have set off on my own to observe the crowded streets and feel the energy that you can only get in a place like Chicago or New York. I don't actually shop for anything myself except for my traditional peanut butter cookie snack or maybe a hot dog or bratwurst. It's not about shopping for me.

This year I spent part of my time taking street photos of people passing by (en passant). So I got a lot of blurry shots of people on the street but it was fun.