September 08

This isn't sunset proper, but it is an interesting view of the sun silhouetting the dome of The Church of Christ, Scientist, in Back Bay this evening.

This church is the Mother Church for the Church of Christ, Scientist -- the first and foremost church of the denomination -- and is part of a large complex. A plaza with reflecting pool and various church buildings are a popular place to gather in the summer, with children playing in a fountain on the property. It's an ornate building, with the large dome and the smaller spire from the original structure, and it has one of the largest pipe organs in Boston.

Whatever your thoughts on the tenets of the Christian Scientists, the complex is impressive and beautiful from many angles, and certainly photogenic enough from almost any angle.

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September 07

I'm very fortunate to have a circle of friends who, if a little peculiar at times, are really nice and thoughtful people.

My friend Marion decided this morning that I needed a surprise party, so she got together with the rest of this bunch to throw something together -- no mean feat on a Federal holiday, a day I was working, and in a public place. Her method was rather elegant; she invited me to dinner at the Prudential Center Food Court, a place we've gone several times.

Once there, while I was distracted ordering, she texted the rest of the miscreants, who were waiting on the outdoor terrace, to let them know my arrival was imminent. They lit up the candles and we were drawn to the right table by the flames billowing forth. The candles burned brightly, and as we were slightly delayed, they did a number on the cake itself (see above).

Still, it was a lovely party, and really a most marvelous surprise. Gay people often say that they're lucky, in that their friends are their family, and they get to choose that family. I'd point to today's surprise party as proof that the sentiment rings true.

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September 06

Today's my birthday! I turned ... one year older today.

It was a very low-key day, really. I went into town with Boyfriend today to get some cross trainers (my excuse for not going to the gym regularly is thus invalid), then went to my neighbor D'Anna's house for a Labor Day party. D'Anna surprised me with a birthday cake -- what a sweetheart she is!

It was actually a very low-key birthday, which is just what I needed. I considered inviting friends out for dinner, but decided at the last minute that what I really wanted was a day with no pressing obligations. Today was precisely that.

Maybe, for my next big milestone birthday, I'll have a party. Until then, today was just perfect.

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September 05

The City of Boston is making a concerted effort to encourage bicyclists -- or rather, to try and convince Boston drivers to share the streets with them.

Part of me wants to cheer when I see bicycle lanes appear on area streets. The other part of me feels rather dubious about the chances of the typical Boston driver actually heeding this advice is somewhat less than even.

I've pretty much blown any chance of actually commuting to work on bicycle this summer, but I hope to spend more time on a bicycle next summer, once I've purchased one. Perhaps then I'll get more use out of the new bicycle lanes.

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September 04

It's an interesting day that starts off at the Registry of Motor Vehicles and ends up with a steak dinner, cake, and two birthday cards.

My driver's license expires on my birthday this year, which happens to be Sunday. I should have been thinking about this all summer, but in my usual way, I delayed taking action until the last possible moment. Fortunately, for an RMV experience, it went well.

At work, my doorman and I have coincidentally close birthdays; Ennio's birthday is tomorrow and mine is Sunday. This combination of dates sticks in people's minds, so we were given dinner by one resident -- a delicious dinner, I might add -- and birthday cake from a second. (I had already put my camera away by the time the Boston Cream Pie from a third resident arrived.) There is a no-tipping policy at our workplace, but our residents treat us to dinner and desserts from time to time. It's really very thoughtful of them.

Today is the perfect day, really, and is going out on a high note.

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September 03

While I haven't ridden a motorcycle in -- what? 20 years? -- I enjoy them. I'll never have a Harley or any other large touring bike, but I could see myself on a small cruiser -- say 250cc or so -- tooling around Boston.

Thus, I will never own, or get the chance to ride, a Ducati, and it's even less likely that I will ever get the chance to take one out somewhere where I could ride it as it was meant to be ouldridden. Still, it's pretty, and I enjoyed looking it over when I caught it parked on the street.

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September 02

I often comment on how I need to look around more, to see the remarkable things around me, to be more aware of my surroundings. I guess I need to add "look down" to that list. Not even being an amateur ornithologist, I couldn't tell you what kind of bird lost this feather. It was about eight inches long, so it's either a large bird or one monster pigeon.

I remember finding large feathers like this when I lived in the leafy green suburbs. I also remember my mother telling me not to touch it, because I would get mites and catch some bird disease. I just never expected to find one in downtown Boston.

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September 01

I know my friend Anna through the auspices of National Novel Writing Month. This will be our fourth year as municipal liaisons for the Boston region, and even though it happens in November, we usually start planning a couple of months in advance.

Which is, essentially, now.

This early on, it's not a complicated process. We sat down with a calendar and worked out our options for holding write-ins, then discussed venues. It was really more of a brainstorming session than any real kind of planning -- but perfectly appropriate for the late hour.

I'm sure NaNoWriMo will be a recurring topic over the rest of the year, so expect more information.

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August 31

I did a quick glance through my photos of the day this year and was surprised that I've only used one jewelry photo thus far.

I'm friends with a jeweler, Keith, and I photograph his pieces for him in exchange for the occasional piece of jewelry as a gift. I have to say, it's rather nice to be able to commission a piece of jewelry for your mother from time to time.

These earrings, with the sea glass and Swarovski crystal beads, are fairly subdued compared to some of Keith's creations. He designed these for a businesswoman friend of his. Keith works hard to create pieces reflective of the wearer's personality as well as their desires.

I don't do product photography very often, nor is it something I usually pursue. It's nice to know I can do it, though, and show off the beauty of these unique creations.

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August 30

Today was kind of an aimless day for me. I didn't get out of the house until nearly 4 pm, then piddled away the rest of the day shopping. Around sunset, as I noticed the pretty orange sunlight on the clouds, I realized I needed a photo of the day.

It was for the best, really. Shopping is hardly photogenic.

I've taken all kinds of photos of Boston at night, and if I was going to try to pull the same trick out of my hat, I really needed to find a different perspective. I ended up at Charlestown Navy Yard, thinking perhaps the USS Constitution in the foreground would make for an interesting shot. I'm still sure it would, provided I can find parking.

This shot is really the third or fourth option I would have chosen, but the only one where I could remain near my car so it wouldn't be towed. I still like it, but I'm going to go back in the future to get the shot of the ship in front of the skyline.

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August 29

Here, in one photograph, is the entire extent of my day.

Note Pretty Boy, who has been trying -- and for the most part succeeding -- to monopolize my attention today. That's our sofa he's lying on, and where I spent a substantial part of the day watching television and DVDs. Which brings me to the DVD selection on display, which is a veritable shortlist of the movies any gay man with a sense of humor should own.

This sounds sadder than it is, really. It was a rainy day outside, and to be honest, it was kind of nice to spend it lying on the couch, cuddling with a kitty cat, and watching movies.

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August 28

I thought I should call this one "Urban Escher."

I got this shot while it was still a little sunny out, before the clouds came in and it began to drizzle. I park near this building two or three times a week, but had never noticed this courtyard with its maze of fire escapes before. Shows what happens when I actually bother to look around.

Unfortunately this framing doesn't show the maze of stairs to best effect. The trees block a lot of the view; the fire escapes ride for four or five stories on either side. It's almost too urban a scene to fit in Boston's chi-chi Back Bay.

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August 27

I worked long and hard on the flier for my photo workshop at Dudley Branch Library next month. Fortunately, I finished most of it last night and put the finishing touches on it this morning before work. That was good, because work today was a little like riding a psychotic horse toward a burning stable. It goes to the library tomorrow.

Hopefully this workshop will bring in a few more people than the teen workshop I did in June. It couldn't bring in less people, but I'd like to establish that I'm worth the money they're paying me to teach these things. I'll use the same flier, with different information for place/time, when I go back to the West Roxbury Branch Library to give the class there. By the time I give that workshop, I'll be an old pro at this.

Next goal: Same workshop, but at the Boston Public Library's Main Building at Copley.

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August 26

I just realized that this is my second flag photo in six days. Considering the reason this scene caught my attention, I'd just as soon have missed it.

This was another "driving to work" shot. I was proceeding down South Huntington Ave. in Jamaica Plain, listening to NPR eulogize Senator Kennedy, when I noticed the flag at the VA Medical Center was at half staff. It struck me as being pretty -- a hell of a thing to think, on the face of it. Still, I stopped to take the photo.

Flags on U.S. Government buildings will remain at half staff until sunset on August 30, per Presidential proclamation.

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August 25

Seeing a crumpled-up parking ticket tossed to the sidewalk in frustration isn't that unusual. Seeing a blank parking ticket, however, is unheard of.

It's a bad habit of mine to pick up discarded parking tickets and read them. It's morbid curiousity, I guess -- I like to see what other parking miscreants have done -- and between this and my own collection of the things, I'm almost able to recite beginning to end the various citations, what they mean, and how much the fine is for each.

What I'm really waiting for, though, is the chance to see someone get tickets for littering after throwing their parking ticket to the sidewalk in disgust. That would be worth paying to see.

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August 24

It was a beautiful, sunny day in Boston ... except for 15 minutes this afternoon when the skies opened up.

I work in the lobby of a high-rise in Boston, so hearing the rain from my desk is an unusual occurrence. When I went over to the windows to look out, it was a torrential downpour. Honestly, it was the kind of rain that goes through umbrellas. I had dark thoughts about the long walk to my car to move it when my meter expired, figuring I was going to get soaked through on the way.

Fortunately, the rain left and it was again a beautiful, sunny day in Boston.

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August 23

I've been meaning to take my Yashica 635 twin-lens reflex camera out and run a test roll through it all summer. Unfortunately, life and other circumstances have prevented me from doing it.

Ever since I've returned home from my vacation, I've had a serious lack of photographic motivation. With any normal person, this wouldn't be a big deal. However, as anybody who knows me will admit, I'm anything but normal. Besides, I have this project, taking a photo every day, and I take it kind of seriously.

I thought I'd take the Yashica out yesterday and run a test roll through it, and hoped that in scouting around for test subjects, I might be inspired to get some other photos as well. No such luck. The same thing happened today, with the exception that I didn't have anything else to photograph.

So there it sits, on my desk, staring at me with its matching lenses -- a steel-and-chrome vintage symbol of my current lack of motivation.

Hopefully, this too shall pass.

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August 22

I've been working on a project the past couple of weeks to scan in old family photographs. It's been a fascinating process. This photograph, of my mother as a girl, has been dubbed the "méchante" picture by my boyfriend, because of my mother's penchant for looking just a little evil when she grins. Once I'm done scanning and retouching where necessary, I'm going to make prints of the better ones.

I found the frame at Bed Bath and Beyond on sale and decided it was perfect to display the "méchante" photo. The color is complimentary to black-and-white and vintage photos, while the raised paisley pattern is just pretty.

Having bought the frame and made the print, I'm not really sure what I'm going to do with it. It just doesn't fit my decor. Hell of a thing to realize at this late date, ain't it?

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August 21

This honeysuckle is the largest that I've ever seen. It's as big as my hand.

I kind of half pay attention to plantings as I walk around. This spring I was big on flowers because I'd had a really, truly, dismally-crappy winter, but overall, flowers don't catch my attention that readily.

As I went to my car today, though, the smell of honeysuckle wafted by as I turned the corner onto St. Botolph St. It's not an "urban" smell, so it merited notice. I actually looked past these flowers three or four times looking for the honeysuckle before realizing that this was honeysuckle -- just on a Brobdingnagian scale.

It's certainly not the kind of thing you expect to find in New England. It was quite a delightful surprise.

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August 20

Today's photo of the day will be posted late because of technical difficulties.

The weather today was positively schizophrenic, perhaps even worthy of Florida, minus the impressive lightning displays. It started off sunny and hot -- no change -- before clouds rolled in and the heavens opened up and we had a gully washer, followed by clear skies and muggy, if not quite so hot, weather.

My photography was limited to the times when the rain wasn't coming down in buckets, so this shot of the United States Flag atop the Landmark Center is the best of a tepid bunch. It caught my eye because the steady wind (bringing the rain in, no doubt) had the flag waving so perfectly -- almost like a postcard.

Every other shot I captured today either has stormclouds darkening the skies, and none of them is particularly good. Thus, today's patriotic entry.

232/365