Sunday, January 11, 2009

Mysterious Night, An Art Opening and Two Suggestions/Shadow Shot Sunday


For other Shadowshot participants go to Heyharriet


Sitting on the windowsill taking rather bad pictures out of the window on a snowy evening when even the most ordinary things look magical. 
Who would be abroad in the park at night?
What are they doing?


Never mind that the man in the red coat is probably carrying take-away supper in his bag.

This shadow shot was taken from an 8th floor window on 11th Avenue aiming out over the Hudson the instant before my camera battery gave up.

Art openings almost always have really cool flowers (very welcome on a January night) and white wine in plastic cups. (Also welcome).
The quality of the photos in this post makes me think of a group blog Crappy Photo Blog
which R. recently discovered. Here are displayed in all their glory some perfectly 'crappy' pictures.
I'm sure we all have lots of these before we zap them into oblivion.
However, before I fall into the very murky waters of taste and aesthetics, I must admit some disastrous pictures have a certain charm.
For uber- cool non-crappy photos go to Jezblog.com.

33 comments:

  1. I love the park photos and your commentaries.
    The trouble with the Crappy Photo Blog is that some of the photos are actually pretty good and could be made better if edited into abstracts. That's what I love about digital photography, it's soooo fluid. Some of the photos are pretty funny, though.

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  2. Wonderful photos! Thanks for sharing.

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  3. That Crappy Photo blog is something fun, great way to display crappy photos..who thought of it?

    Wonderful shadow..I always wanted a shot like that, one day... :D

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  4. I think the pictures are really neat..Good job..Happy SSS..

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  5. Yes, disasterous pictures do have a special charm but those evening walk shots are mysterious and provocative.

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  6. Beautifully mysterious - love the shots. I can imagine the stillness - enveloped in the crisp night air. Kim

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  7. Thanks, I'll check those out. I just have to tell you how much I LOVE these first two shots. Enough to frame them. Do you ever think about that kind of thing? :-)

    It was wonderful to be in NYC and I can see your pix and mine are often in similar areas... I used to live off w.12th right at the Hudson, and before that in Abdington Square and Union Square right across from ABC on 19th before that. I do miss it so much, but left to be with my husband. I get back there often enough to at least see friends and get my fix.

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  8. I love those shadows in the park against snow .... the dominance of the human form draws your eye but the mystery of the night the park and the snow set a the scene that allows your mind to fill in the story as you imagine it....... these are fantastic Elizabeth you should be less modest about your photographic prowess... hehehe..... thanks for giving me a mention... cheers Jez XXXXX

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  9. Seriously -- ever consider making any of your photos available for SALE????!?!?

    I will just die if you do that professinally and I missed it inbeing fairly new to your blog. I think you are a writer, as I've looked into the book you mention on the sidebar...

    Would love to meet in NYC. WIll let you know when my plans for the next one firm up.

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  10. ooo, Elizabeth - those first two shots look like paintings - I really like them - all soft and mysterious - will definitely check out the links - need to find my peers in the world of bad photography - maybe my work is cool there.....

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  11. Such fun. The truth is everyone one stops to look at a disaster!
    Great view from your sill. I have to share mine with my cat.

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  12. I am amazed at how you take your camera everywhere. Thanks for taking us along and also for the fun links. P.S. Hate it when that battery conks out.

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  13. the photos are fab

    www.balmainbazaar.blogspot.com

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  14. Great shadow shots, I love them! I love an art opening too.

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  15. I quite like these photographs - especially the park scenes. They are mysterious indeed - a good prompt for a short story, perhaps.

    Those flowers are gorgeous!

    Kat

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  16. Ordinary things DO look magical on a snowy light . . . but you have the gift of making all sorts of things, both ordinary and special, quite magical!

    Thanks for the birthday wishes, dear E.

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  17. You made me giggle! Very astute observations. The snowy night photos are very Narnian.

    Do you know cakewrecks.blogspot.com?

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  18. your mysterious night shots are wonderful! like stills from an old movie

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  19. I really love your opening snowy shot!

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  20. Your "shadows in the park" are quite mysterious...reminds us of the movie "Rear Window"
    Ahhh art shows...reminds us of college - always would go up for the weekend to Chicago for art shows in the winter months - brrrrr!! That crappy photo blog is so funny - we found that a couple of weeks ago - I think we'd better go back for a visit!

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  21. Yes, you do have a variety of entertainment from your apartment window, Elizabeth! And yes, fresh flowers are such a welcomed sight in the middle of winter. So is wine at an art exhibition. Who was the artist? And isn't it true that sometimes "crappy" photos - a blurry city street, an out of focus face, a tree through a rain-splattered window - have a beauty of their own?

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  22. I likey the night shots, they look like and old movie playing out...cool!

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  23. I really love the park photos. They have that wonderful spirit of "New York intimacy" to them. The crappy photos don't seem that crappy to me, but...

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  24. Heyharriet! What an interesting name! Nearly as interesting as your shots!

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  25. An amusing little comment above that made me giggle :)

    Love those mysterious night park shots! Somebody mentioned framing them and offering them for sale. I think that's a great idea for many of your photos. Or sell the prints 'as is' & people can frame the pics themselves.

    I'll have to check out that 'crappy photo blog' as it sounds fun. Thanks for sharing the link :)

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  26. Are there really crappy photos? ;-)
    Yours certainly are not! I enjoyed the park scenes. Imagining how insanely hostile the world out there is in so many places of this globe, they are a poignant reminder of peace and quiet.

    The scene art the vernissage reminds me of one I attended with M., in Philadelphia. Everything was kept in white (yes, even the art), even the food. Dessert was a big bowl of white M&Ms (I asked were they got them - they had picked out all the red and blue ones from the Fourth of July edition, sold five months earlier *giggle*).

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  27. I should have mentioned that most people would judge my latest post images "crappy". *grin*

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  28. I love your less than great photos of the park at night with the shadows adding intrigue. And the less than greatness just makes them better-like a polaroid! By the way, my daughter (9 y/o) just finished your book and really liked it and I'm going to read it next! That Lulu site is great.

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  29. I really like the first park shot

    kat

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  30. ewe make me laff.

    That park photo is one of the, I would guess, 10 best photos I've seen in the last year. I don't even know which one I mean, but I guess only one of them could be. And wouldn't it be cool to aspire to crappy photos that actually are worth the study? I am going to crappy photo blog, and I refuse to compare mine to theirs.

    one day I'm going to be the first comment here. yay!


    okay, it's highly unlikely.

    maybe you could call me just before you hit post, and then I'll comment immediately.

    i don't know why that's important to me. 30 comments! whew!

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  31. Agree with the magic, disagree with the 'crappy' photos. They are splendid.

    Greetings from London.

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  32. The park photo's are arresting; moody, intriguing, 'book cover' sort of shots. You seem to have looked down through a window in time. I love them. Everyone has already said that, which shows how they strike a cord.

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I look forward to hearing from you!