Images of 2011

Over the last couple days of 2011, I completed a small series on my other blog about images, scenes and stories from my 2011. There is a ton (and I do mean a ton) of photos. Feel free to check out some of  how 2011 looked to me!

And I don't like to post without pictures. (Or at least I try not to.) So here. Christmas lights are one of my absolute favorite parts of Christmas! I love the festiveness of it all. :) (Can it be like Christmas all year round, please?)

Practice makes perfect

When I originally got into SLR photography, I kinda just aimed the camera at anything, adjusted the ISO and metering and hoped for the best.

I've learned a little a lot since then, thank in part to wonderful friends who've graciously let me borrow their cameras before I had my own, and in part to another wonderful photographer friend who taught me...well...almost all the basics that I know and have built on.

Since then I've becoming a bit more well versed in aspects in photography, specifically sports photography as well as developing a photographer's eye.

Now I've taken another step. Moving into real portraiture and natural light photography. With a legit lens equipped to help me! Yep, the 50mm.

While I wait for mine, some friends visited my family and I the other day and my photographer friend graciously let me borrow hers and learn a little bit.

I have a lot to learn. (Or so my blurry/out of focus shots tell me.)

Christmastime in New York

I have a very complicated relationship with New York. There's parts I love and parts I absolutely despise. Christmastime in the City is one of the parts I love. The tourists that swamp the city are a part that absolutely makes me crazy. Seeing all the decorations almost makes it worth it elbowing tourists out of the way for a picture though. :)

Bokeh experimentation

f/5.6 | ISO 1600 | 1/13 exposure

Christmas lights

I love Christmas. I love everything about it. Lights is one of my favorite aspects of the season. Just the thrill and excitement of decorating. Recently I put some lights up in my apartment. Here's a glimpse of them.

R. H. Macy's -- an institution

One little bird

Gyros and pashmina scarves

This weekend there was a street fair down 6th avenue, literally down the street from my apartment, so how could I resist this opportunity? :)

And sorry, no actual pictures of food or gyro. Honestly, I love street food but some of that stuff didn't look that appetizing. (In person, much less on camera.)

34th Street

Children's photography

I don't have the opportunity to photograph children that often, but I love getting the chance to! This little girl's one of my favorite models. She's incredibly photogenic as well as super sweet. :)

Rain dances on a window while the city's lights swirl behind it.

6th Ave

Wildflower

"As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field..."

Dark nights, city lights

"There is something in the New York air that makes sleep useless."

Sidewalk chalk

It looks like she's posing for me. She's really not.

Oh, Canada

I've taken to sifting through some of my pictures from a trip to Canada earlier this year. Here's a couple I ran across that really evoked some nostalgia. :)

"Sometimes, from beyond the skyscrapers, the city of a tugboat finds you in your insomnia, and you remember that this desert of iron and cement is an island."

~ Albert Camus

Dessert

Sometimes when I get stressed, I bake. Here's one of the creations I made not too long a go. It's a cookie bowl with ice cream inside.

No party like a King's party

My school has an affinity for dance parties, which I rather like.

The other day for Spirit Week there was a '50s themed Sock Hop that morphed into a "dance party." (I put that in quotes because the music wasn't loud enough and there was far too much space/not enough people for it to really become a dance party.)

Anyhow, about the picture: I purposely lowered the settings in and let in way more light to add to the blurriness. It's cool, in a weird artsy way.

Perspective

This is a crystal baseball paperweight that I received as a gift from work this past summer. While I was home a week a go and playing with my camera, I took a picture of the bottom half of it. Because you can see through the reflection of the weight, you can see the reflection of the book shelf.

The first photo is the original. The second photo is the same photo, but upside down. It's amazing what a little perspective looks like.

10 years later | 9/11 in New York

I know I only posted a "sneak peek" of NYC 9/11 coverage, but I really don't want to upload photos twice, so if you'd like to see more of my first hand photos of the 10th anniversary of 9/11 in New York, check this out!

Bright lights will inspire you.

I'm a self proclaimed sucker for city lights. I love them. Absolutely love them. There's something special about seeing a city's skyline light up with lights while the rest of the world spins around you.

10 years later [a sneak peek]

Living in New York for the 10th Anniversary of 9/11 has been especially poignant. Just to see how the city remembers and how the city bonds is amazing. Here's just a few shots of scenes around New York City from an eyewitness. More to come later.

9/11 Tribute to the victims in Bryant Park

Freedom Tower at Ground Zero

The Athlete Edition

Here's a few shots I've collected in the last several months. It's a plethora of baseball and hockey players. I may have posted some of these photos (which are all my original photos) in other online venues, but here's some of the ones I particularly liked. The photos aren't necessarily action photos, but they are some of my favorites. The action athlete edition will be coming shortly.

It's been great getting practice with sports photography with an SLR. It's definitely a learning experience, but I've greatly enjoyed learning the functions of an SLR and what works (and what doesn't) while shooting sports photography and it can only get better, right? I'd hope so. :)

*All photos are my original photos. If you'd like one, please tell me instead of just saving it to your computer. One, you won't be stealing my art; two, if you take it online, it'll be considerably downsized, and frankly, much worse quality.*

Ian Desmond (6 } Washington Nationals) gives Ryan Zimmerman (11 | Washington Nationals) his glove and hat while Zimmerman's waits in the field after making the third out

Ryan Zimmerman (11 | Washington Nationals) heads toward the home dugout after the third out of an inning

Danny Espinosa (18 | Washington Nationals) runs towards the dugout after the last out of an inning 

Ian Desmond (6 | Washington Nationals) speaks to pitcher Jordan Zimmermann (27 | Washington Nationals) as they approach the dugout after the end of an inning

Jayson Werth (28 | Washington Nationals) swings and misses at a pitch versus the Florida Marlins

John Lannan (31 | Washington Nationals) walks the outfield at Nationals Park during the first annual Nationals Fan Photo Day

Jonathan Toews (19 | Chicago Blackhawks) with Steven Stamkos (91 | Tampa Bay Lightning) during the NHL Players Media Tour in New York City at the NHL Store.

Jonathan Toews, Captain of the Chicago Blackhawks while Steven Stamkos answers a question

Steven Stamkos of the Tampa Bay Lightning answers questions during the Q&A session while on the NHL Players Media Tour at the NHL Store in New York City