This Is an Update, in Case You Couldn’t Tell

It’s been a while since I’ve actually updated this blog–October, to be specific. I’ve been busy. Here’s what’s happening:

I’m still continuing the 365 days of photos. Today was day 108. As I can’t post it for privacy reasons, here was yesterday’s–looking down/the Arkansas Delta:

I went home for Christmas and have been charged with showing the rest of the world what Arkansas looks like since Most People don’t have any idea. I’m not sure I did the greatest job in taking appropriate photos to show this, but here are a few. Hover over the photos or click on them for captions.

Week Seven: Photos 43-49

Thursday marked the end of week seven of the 365 photo challenge. Last week’s themes: up on top, oops, eyes, door, home is where the heart is, backlighting, and recessionary economics.

Week Six: Photos 36-42

Thursday ended week six of the 365 day photo challenge. Last week’s themes: heart’s desire, photograph, make your own theme #3, reading material, handwriting, furry, and hangs on a wall.

Week Five: Photos 29-35

Today ends week five of the 365 photo challenge. This week’s themes: sleep or sleeping, on the road, entrance, skin, temperature, historical, and tools of the trade.

Week Four: Photos 22-28

This ends week four of the 365 photo challenge. This week’s themes: make your own theme 1 & 2; bells and whistles; communication; sign, sign, everywhere a sign; autumn; and graffiti or mural.

Week Three: Photos 15-21

So ends week three of the 365 photo challenge. This week’s themes: humor, living the green life, Sunday, architectural details (not featured for privacy reasons), past its prime, musically inclined, and hands.

Week Two: Photos 7-14

I’ve completed week two of the 365 photo challenge. This week’s themes: the wild side, the city at night, playground, foreign, who put that there, go fish, and things with wings.

A Day in the Park

Today, I went to Hope Out Loud in Hartford’s Bushnell Park. Rather than write a long diatribe about it, I feel like sharing photos instead.

Psst, Hey Kid: When People Say to Take a Photo Because It’ll Last Longer, They Don’t Actually Mean for You to Do It

Yesterday, I received an Army jacket in the mail that I had bought for 75c on ebay. Since receiving it, I’ve worn it somewhat religiously. Today, I noticed a teenaged  boy photographing me with his cell phone while I waited in line. First, he photographed my jacket. Then, he photographed the numerous buttons on my backpack. The side in particular that he photographed has a button reading “honor diversity” along with another featuring a rainbow and a heart. I’m sure he also photographed the numerous antiwar buttons on the front of my backpack before I noticed him. The thing is, he wasn’t even stealth about it. He didn’t pretend to not be photographing me, even with me staring right at him. He didn’t smirk while photographing me, like he thought I was funny, so I have no idea why he was photographing me, whether he thought I was funny or liked what he saw. Either way, I have a feeling I’m going to be an Internet sensation tonight.

Wearing an Army uniform plastered with peace signs while also wearing a backpack with antiwar slogans is a fascinating experiment. Just by wearing it, I find that it draws attention to me, which is incredibly awkward at first, but after this strange photography experience, I find myself thinking of how I am making people think about the soldiers or the war, if even briefly.  By wearing it, I am standing up quite tall for what I believe, even though I’m aware of the dangers of doing this. Strangers could yell at me or attack me. Mostly, though, people just stare.

Today, after the impromptu photo shoot, I found myself pondering whether people would photograph Jesus if he were alive today. Would he stand out so much against the crowd that people whipped out their cell phones to text photos to their friends to have a little giggle?

To this kid, I was some strange outsider to photograph and have a few kicks with his friends. I was the crazy hippie to stereotype and to make assumptions about my life, to photograph like a circus animal. To me, I was just going about my life waiting on my turn in line.

Week One: Photos 1-7

I’ve completed my first week of the 365 photo challenge.  Themes used this week: toys, street/road, 9 am, feathers or feathered, public  transportation, fire or flame, and laundry.