365 - The First Three Weeks

It has been three weeks and three days since I began my quest for a photo a day, for a year, and already, I have noticed how difficult it is to take a quality shot every day, especially when you often return from work after sunset. However, I have also started noticing all sorts of small details in my daily routine as I constantly search for interesting subjects and patterns of light for my daily photos. The way the light shines on the neighbors' hedges as I go for a run, the patterns of steel girders on a building in downtown Palo Alto, the way the sidewalk seems to subtly change shades depending on the color of reflected light from the buildings nearby--it's so easy now to get lost in a world of detail.

Here are my favorites from the first three weeks.

(Edit: the edges of a lot of these are cut off when viewed from the post. Click through to the album to see the full pictures.)

365 Photos

A little over a week ago, I decided to start my attempt at taking an interesting photograph a day, for a year. It's a little frightening to commit to this, considering that I have never failed to renege on a majority of my summer plans, but I hope that by doing this, and announcing to everyone that I'm doing this, I will, (1) have an excuse to take my camera to even more places than I am already--yes, I know it's hard to believe, but it's possible; (2) hopefully improve my photography, and practice thinking about the three D's of photography: destination, determination, deliberation; and (3) quickly run out of the easy things to photograph--the cats, the housies, the flowers, Big Sur--and will start having to think about using more unique subjects.

Every once a while, I'll post the highlights here.

And all the pictures can always be found at http://lekan.smugmug.com/Photography/365/

Circumhorizonal Arc?

It looks like a rainbow, but it's not. It looks to be a circumhorizontal arc showing its colors over Stanford and Palo Alto. Or it could be cloud iridescence. Any meteorological experts out there want to comment? In either case, this is beautiful, and a nice start to the day.

Slums

This online exhibit on slums in the world is a masterfully executed piece of art.

http://www.theplaceswelive.com/

Powerful Pictures

I'd like to fancy myself as one who holds his own opinions about things. That's why I get queasy come time for end-of-the-year top-N lists. On one end, I feel like I'm allowing myself to be quasi-brainwashed by other people, but on the other end, some of these toplists are so amazing.

Fortunately, there are the lists of the "top" photographs--beau

tiful and powerful and beyond ranking. Once you view them, whether or not something should be in the top ten seems so inane.

Here are some of my favorite collections and selections:

Boston.com: The Year 2008 in Photographs -- One of the most amazing collections of photographs I have ever seen.

TIME Pictures of the Year 2008 -- With an obvious emphasis on news events.

The Sydney Morning Herald Pictures of the Year -- Music to go with the pictures, too.

Pixcetera People's Choice Awards -- Generally much more lighthearted than the previous three, but there are some repeats.