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spiderman
Taken at Toys R Us, Times Square, New York City.

on bicycles

This is less a project about telling a story as it is about seeing bicycles with fresh eyes. As an avid cyclist, I own several bikes, perform most of my own bike maintenance and repairs, and stare at every bike I see on the street.

These photographs represent a closer examination of this beautiful, two-wheeled machine. We have progressed to a point in bicycle history when nothing short of carbon fiber catches one's eye, but I hope that this project shows that that does not need to be the case. There's no question, in looking at these photographs, of what they show: taken from unique angles, these photographs focus on bicycles in ways that we're not used to seeing them.

With this project, then, I have taken something I know very well -- the bicycle -- and have told myself that there is more to see, more to know. I liken it to discovering in acquaintances, or even old friends, new qualities and details about their lives and beings, until now unknown. In those moments, we each realize that there is no end to what we might learn about the complexity of humans and the relationships in which we find ourselves.

So perhaps this project is the telling of a story: the story of my getting to know the bicycle anew.

See the slide show here.

See the album here.

These images -- a handful taken with black & white film, most digital -- form a final project I submitted last week for a photography course.

project ABC slideshow

I've created a slideshow with all the letters that I've posted over the past 26 days! Click here to see it!

To see all the photos together, go here.

not catching enough of these...

Wow, it's been quite a ride! Twenty-six days of letters of the alphabet. Thanks to those of you who faithfully checked in every day to see my updates. Thanks to those of you who have suggested that these belong in a book. Your vote of confidence means a lot to me.

I have loved the conversations that these photographs have sparked, whether you told me that you loved the composition or subject of a photograph to whether you told me that you would never have seen the letter that I did. I'm sure I was looking a lot harder than you!

This project has taught me something new about the power of an idea and the determination it takes to see that idea through. It has taught me about the need for, and value of, sharing, especially when it concerns our own personal view of the world. No two people open their eyes and see the same sights; why is it that we do not talk about this more often?

Stay tuned for another project I recently completed with a focus on bicycles. I'm working on getting those photographs web-ready and in some sort of presentation format.





fallen gate

See full album here.

penultimacy (is that a real word?)

yy u r
yy u b
i c u r
yy 4 me

In some ways, I feel as if this project started only days ago. In reality, it's been 25. I'm not quite sure how time elapses so quickly, other than to hearken back to the notion that "time flies when you're having fun." I've certain been having fun.







See full album here.

x marks the spot!

See full album here.

double your pleasure, double your fun, w, w, gum

I was once in a spelling bee in which a contestant was almost disqualified for spelling two consecutive "M"s as "double-M". The judges let it slide that one time, but I think they feared for a case in which they would not be able to discern between "double-U" and "W". There are not many cases of two consecutive "U"s, though. Vacuum and duumvirate come to mind.










See full album here.

v

I originally photographed this thinking it would be an "A" but the brake rotor did not stand out enough against the spokes, so a "V" it became.


taking flight
This one's a big of a stretch (of the wings) but I figured I would post it anyway. It actually makes a pretty cool "H" now that I look at it closely.

See full album here.

u + you + ewe = 3 use!

I know I'm going a bit overboard with the homophones, but being a logophile, the past two letters have allowed my creativity to shine. As with yesterday, seven-plus hours in the library staring at a computer screen, squeezing words out of my brain in the way that I try to squeeze that last bit of toothpaste out of the tube... It's an energy-intensive process that leaves me gasping for air. Speaking of gasping for air, I can feel my allergies seeping into my system. Yuck.

PS. For those of you who have been following along, I have a favor to ask of you. If you have some time, I would greatly appreciate your going back and commenting with the letter that you like best from each day. I'm thinking of making one large "quilt" with one of my photographs representing each letter. Rather than simply select the letter I like best, I'd love for your input. A simple "I like 'x' photo best today" will suffice. Muchas gracias. Merci beaucoup. Thank you very much.
*** Actually, skip this step. I have a better idea: Go to the full album and comment/like the photos there. It'll be easier than going back through each individual post on this blog. ***

PPS. You're allowed not to like any of the letters on a given day, and if that's the way you feel, you should say that, too. It means I need to go out into the field and look hah-duh (harder) (think Rafiki in The Lion King as you read that).

PPPS. As you can tell, my mind is operating on super-associative mode right now!







See full album here.