First day of summer/unemployment

Today was such a lazy day. I think I deserve it though! This is just a simple photo from the spring. I was trying out my new lens for the day. Its a Cannon 50mm. Its great for getting photos inside when we go to concerts and such. I get get down to a f1.8. It takes some getting adjusted to though because the depth of field is so narrow. But then I also end up with great pictures like this!

Happy Summer teachers!

School's out for summer!

School's out forever! That's right folks - I walked out of my school of the last time today. I'm excited for the future and what it holds for myself and my students.

I never thought of why we have summer vacation but someone did and wrote and article about it. If your interested here it is: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1816501,00.html

On a hot day...

Today was such a hot and humid day. We stayed inside in front of the air conditioner all day! So today I leave you with a photo from almost 5 months ago during one of our big snow storms! One of the perks of being a school teacher is snow days so I don't have to try to get to work in a foot of snow. They were WONDERFUL days! I had now excuse not to take photos as well (except for the cold). I took this photo as I was walking along Central Park West to enter the park at 72nd Street. This was the most snow I'd ever seen (not hard to do since it was only my second real winter). I managed to brave the cold for almost 45 minutes to take some photos of others enjoying the plethora of snow.

Last year, I went sledding for the first time ever! A few teachers and I went to Riverside Park where the Parks Department supplied sleds and hot chocolate on the snow day. It was a great day. I had so much fun, and didn't mind the cold - a first for me! I am normally the first one to complain about the cold and snow but not that day. Definitely one of my favorite days in NYC thus far!

Dealing with the loss

Today was focused on our World Cup match against Ghana. The morning was filled with mindless tasks around the house because I couldn't sit still. We spent all afternoon on the edge of our seats only to be devastated by the loss. So how do I deal? I organize.

I went straight to Staples to get a file box and files. I just brought home TONS of material from school I've collected over the past couple of years. It has become scattered in piles over the apartment, but it is no more. I labeled and color coded and collected all in one place now.

I enjoy composing pictures with long lines in them. It feeds into my compulsive need to be organized. My first photography project was a collection of these type of photos. I think that was one of the first times I realized my compulsion. If I have work to do, I have to clean first or I can't focus. But now that I've started the organizing process, I feel better after our World Cup loss and am looking forward to the summer!

Bittersweet

Today was such a bittersweet day. It was my last day with my students. I don't know if the school has seen a teacher so sad to lose their students when they are leaving at their own will. I'm going to miss my kids so much. Our school has an AMAZING student body but the administration does them such a disservice by treating teachers the way they do and creating conditions where they leave.

Another thing that has become bittersweet to me is visiting Florida. This picture was taken at the beautiful Florida Aquarium this spring. I remember when it opened and the many trips I took with my family there. The greatest thing about this trip to the aquarium was going with my coworker and her family. Her daughter was the same age as me when I first visited the aquarium. It was WONDERFUL. I LOVE going back to Florida but it makes me miss it SO much more. Being at the beach with the warm sun in comfortable and familiar surroundings reminds me of how alien I feel most of the time here in New York. There are very few places where I feel comfortable and am familiar with. I feel that way with MUCH of Florida.

There's no moving back to Florida right now though, only new opportunities here in New York. Looking up and out now.

Thinking of Arkansas

Tomorrow is my last day seeing my students. On days like this, where my life is seemingly being turned upside down, I like to remember times past. This is the creek that runs through my grandmother's property in Northwest Arkansas. As kids my grandfather would take my cousins and I riding the horses up the hill across the creek. The view was BEAUTIFUL from there. We would take the horses to parks to ride as well. It was the highlight of the year every summer.

Now my parents have moved in with my grandmother to help take care of her and be near the family. The family dynamics have changed a lot but this beautiful creek still runs through the property. My cousin will fish in it still. We can take 4 wheelers across the creek now - no more horses since my grandfather died. A whole new generation of Reeds is growing up around Northwest Arkansas. They don't get to use the creek and horses like we used to, but hopefully that will change and they will take pride in what our grandparents (they're great grandparents) built and contributed to Northwest Arkansas. I know I do.

Success & Passion

This is one of the first photos I remember taking that I REALLY liked and captured what I wanted to. It's about 3 years old. I was at Vizcaya before an event on my own with my camera and went to town. I wandered for over an hour snapping away photos and remember being excited when I got home and looked at my pictures on the computer. It was a great feeling. I started looking into taking photography classes shortly after this excursion.

This photo was also part of my digital photography project. It was simply entitled Water. I compiled all the photographs I had taken of water. I had captured water in many different forms - moving, still, ice, gas, liquid. I found a way to combine two of my favorite things in the world - photography and water. It was a great feeling. I remember hanging my photos up on the wall with the rest of my classmates (most of whom were art majors) and feeling accomplished, not scared of what they were going to say during the critique - a very different feeling for me that semester. My first photography class became such a community that I looked forward to showing them my new prints week to week for critiques but this class wasn't that way and I was nervous. I still remember the amazement my professor expressed in my work. He hadn't seen any of it because I changed my project at the very last minute and was furiously printing after hours. His best comment to me was about how he could see my passion for the work in this project unlike the one I was forcing myself to do earlier in the semester.

As I am coming to this minor crossroad in my life (I resigned from teaching today), I am evaluating my passions so I can choose my next path. Which way will I go? Maybe I'll look to the photographs...

Sharks

With summer comes more people going to the beach which of course means the usual talk about shark attacks. I find this conversation amusing each and every year, as sharks are my favorite animals and I have much respect for these creatures.

Sharks have changed little in form and function for the past several millions of years. They are perfectly evolved for their underwater hunting lifestyle. Sleek, powerful, intelligent creatures that fulfill many different roles in marine ecosystems - some are scavengers, top carnivores, or even omnivores. Most shark species are less than a foot long. More people are killed by soda vending machines than sharks each year.

Chances are if you made it to the beach ok, you'll return to your car at the end of the day in one piece. Just be smart people and don't swim at down and dusk (this is when most sharks feed) or where people are fishing (blood attracts sharks). Enjoy the beach. Be excited when you see wildlife like fish, sharks, dolphins, birds, etc - they are beautiful aspects of nature!

First Day Of Summer

Happy first day of summer! The longest day of the year is today! The beach and summer go hand in hand so here is the obligatory beach shot for the first day of summer. Enjoy!

29+1

This past year I've been to several 30th birthday parties but they're never called 30th birthday parties. The creative names include the 1st anniversary of my 29th birthday or my 29+1 birthday. Why do we hate turning 30? Maybe I don't get it because I'm not there yet but I don't see what the big deal is. 30 is not old! You still have at least 40 years or more to live thanks to modern medicine. No need to panic! The big birthday = a big party though! Enjoy. Eat. Drink. Be Merry! There is so much ahead of you still!

A couple of busy days!

Last night we went over to Brooklyn and grabbed some dinner with a friend and then finally made it over to the "new" space for The Knitting Factory. This photo is not from there but is a photo of the lead singer for The Break Mission. (I felt I needed to post an appropriately themed photo.) The Knitting Factory space is pretty cool. The front is a nice sized room with a bar and behind the bar is glass so you can see what's going on with the show. The room and stage for the shows is a good size. The sound is great. I would go see a show there again, even though it is in Williamsburg.
Thursday night was Bronx Science's prom and I was selected by the students to chaperone and happily did so. It was a great night and a beautiful prom. I headed to the Waldorf-Astoria hotel shortly after work. The faculty had a suite to get ready in - bigger than my apartment! We had a great dinner. I really enjoyed seeing all my students dressed up and having a wonderful time. The whole night made me remember my prom and all the mixed feelings I was having as I was headed off for college. Totally worth the lack of sleep before work Friday morning!

One thing I did notice was the plethora of DSLR cameras! Lots of Cannons around and getting abused. I hope their photos turned out as great as mine. This is from the table setting for dinner. I'm not legally allowed to post the photos of my students, so I sent them all to them this morning. I'm sure they'll be making appearances on facebook and such.

Cloudy day

The sky in this photo looks much like the sky over NYC looked most of today. Rain was in the forecast but never happened. I think this is worse than actually raining. At least when it rains the humidity goes away! There was a breeze though which helped a bit. The weather the rest of the week and the weekend is supposed to be nice though - hopefully I'll get out to do the Gizmodo shooting challenge this week! It's candid photography. Going to be a challenge for me because in case you haven't noticed - I don't take pictures of people.

Old & New

One of my favorite things about New York City is the dichotomy between the old and the new that occurs so close to one another. In the foreground is part of the New York Central Railroad. The oldest part of the railroad was the first railroad in New York state (way back in 1826). This was probably part of the Hudson line that opened in 1845 (it connected to the High Line - another amazing NYC park). This site was declared a historic site in 2003. Behind this relic of the past are the Trump Place buildings on Riverside Drive. These metal and glass buildings monopolize the views of the Hudson along the Upper West Side. Elevated between the two is the West Side Highway carrying thousands of people home from their day at work.

New York is full of so many places that exemplify this dichotomy, most of us don't even pay attention to it when we see it because it is such a normal thing here, but tomorrow as you are walking home or to work, take some time to appreciate this - it's a rare thing!

Gizmodo Shooting Challenge

Today's photo comes to you because of the Gizmodo shooting challenge (http://www.facebook.com/ShootingChallenge?ref=ts) . Technically this photo cannot be submitted because it wasn't taken in the past week. This past week's challenge was lens flare. This has got a great one.

Like most of my older photos it was just taken with my old point and shoot camera. This was early morning (around 7 am if I remember correctly) within an hour of landing in Auckland, NZ (yes, we're going there again today). I knew it was going to be an amazing trip if this was one of the first things I saw on the trip.

Hopefully tomorrow I'll have a new picture to post - I'm planning on taking my camera with me to Riverside Park to take pictures before/after pilates.

On a mundane day...

Today is a typical Sunday - laundry, cleaning, cooking. It's days like today where I like to remember the wonderful trips I've taken. This photo comes to us all the way from the south island of New Zealand. It's been almost three years since I've been there and I still dream about moving there all the time. I think it's almost impossible to take a bad picture in that country; it's just so picturesque.

USA! USA!

I spent a wonderful afternoon cheering on the USA in the World Cup, as many other people did. I chose to go to a wonderful bar/restaurant on the Upper West Side - Firehouse Tavern. This photo is from one of many wonderful nights there. Great food, great drinks, great friends, great fun!

Celebration

In honor of Friday, I'm posting a celebratory picture. HAPPY FRIDAY!

This picture is almost five years old now, but still one of my favorites, mainly because of the subject matter - Fireworks. I LOVE watching fireworks and trying to capture them with pictures. It is quite a challenge in timing.

This particular firework is part of the Illuminations show at Walt Disney World's EPCOT. Growing up in Florida, it was a regular occurrence to go to one of the Disney parks, but getting to stay for the fireworks was always a rare treat. We always wanted to beat the crowds out and would normally leave. However, during the summer of 2005 I worked at Walt Disney World's Yacht & Beach Club Resort and saw most of the Illuminations show every night I worked. I completely memorized the show within a month. As an employee, I received free entry for myself and had a few extra tickets by the end of the summer. On one of my days off I traveled to the park with a few friends and took this picture from within the park.

I still enjoy watching fireworks and trying to capture them in photographs, but this still remains one of my favorites. Disney Parks offer world class fireworks shows and beautiful viewing opportunities from many vantage points. I have yet to see a show that even begins to rival the ones they do on a nightly basis.

Inaugural Post

This picture comes from one of my favorite days I've spent in New York in the two years I've lived here. Last spring, on one of the first nice days Ben and I decided to be "touristy" and walk the brooklyn bridge. For fun we brought along the camera and did a shooting challenge (it didn't start that way, but quickly turned into stealing the camera away from each other so we could basically take the EXACT same photos).

After our walk we went to the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory under the bridge and then walked over to the park and relaxed. This is where this picture came from. We were sitting on the stairs people watching and passing the camera back and forth and chatting about our upcoming summer plans.

The day turned into a wonderful afternoon together and we managed to get some great pictures of the bridge and the skyline. This has also turned into one of our favorite things to do on a nice day in the city. If you haven't done it already - DO IT! There's a reason so many tourists do it on their trips to the city and people take the bridge to and from work everyday.