"You don't take a photograph. You ask, quietly, to borrow it."

I feel very compelled to write something today. One reason makes me smile, the other reason makes me feel dirty.

OK, dirty first. While I was doing laundry today, they had Martha Stewart's show on. I can't staaaaaaand her. But she was talking all about how her friends tell her that you should blog when you feel inspired to share something. My blog entries have much to be desired in the inspiration department, I just like to vent. I guess that made me feel a little shallow....

Then I got an email from a coworker from Chicago complimenting me on something I've never been complimented on and something that is my favorite part about me. Anyone that has spent any quality time with me knows that my attention often gets drawn to strange things, or not strange things that most people aren't drawn to. I investigate everything. I take pictures of everything, and I think I'm pretty damn good at it. I've been mainly criticized for this. Not for being good at it; the feedback for that has been mostly great. But for being the one that embarrasses all her friends by pulling out a camera every 5 minutes. And for wanting to share them. I have hundreds and hundreds of photos of basically nothing from my days of train travel. Many people I would normally respect gave me comments such as "send us pics of something cool." What's cooler than something that 99.9999% of Americans will NEVER see, witness, or experience!??!?!?!!?!?!

It was all those quiet, peaceful, and completely untainted moments that make living in a place like Chicago, and moving to a place like NYC so much more enjoyable. I didn't fully appreciate Chicago until I left it for a life of 3 days a week in the middle of nowhere with no communication. When I got my fill, I came here. All those little odd things that most most New Yorkers just pass by every day are what makes living here so great. Since living here I've taken maybe 2 pictures of the skyline, and NO pictures of Times Square. And that's how it will stay. That's no fun. You can find that anywhere....TV, books, magazines. The true beauty of a place is in what isn't being shoved down your throat every day. It's in the odd things found at street fests and the strange performances in bus terminals and worn away signs on subway platforms and the hole in the wall (litterally) bar that will play your favorite sports team.

I'm going to keep taking pictures of everything. Photography is the one form of art that I am A. good at, and 2. haven't done professionally or part of an organized group/project. Yes, my work is out there, but that wasn't the intention. That's what keeps it so enjoyable. It hasn't become a chore, or a necessity. It's a release.

For those of you that I promised to send more touristy pictures, the photo of me spinning the NYU cube while drunk will probably be the last. I just started working on a collection of transit related photos, so that's what you can expect.

(Don't worry Jenny, I'll still take you to Times Square when you get here)