In lieu of my non-existent January 1st pic (see below), I’ve decided to  choose my favorite picture from 2008.

My favorite picture.

That I’ve taken.

Which is really hard.

My photographic interests include religious artworks, portraits, candids, party shots, landscapes, architecture, and travel shots.  Friends and family. But I guess when I think about one picture I took that represents the most of those categories, it’s this one:

Jeff as St. Francis

We were in Hawaii–I took a trip with my parents, brother, and sister. My friends Jeff and Cami had coincidentally booked a trip there at the same time. When Jeff & Cami got to Oahu, we met up, and they took me on an awesome adventure around the island. One of the stops was the Byodo-in Buddhist temple, a beautiful replica of a 900 year old temple in Uji, Japan. At the gift shop there you can get food to feed the koi, but Jeff quickly realized the birds flitting around the grounds were also interested. He put some in his hand, and got the birds to feed from his palm. Cami and I both took snapshots, and after this one, I exclaimed, “Jeff, you look like St. Francis!” A tour group coming up behind us laughed in recognition, and one lady said “It’s true! It’s true!”

I love the look of joy on Jeff’s face. This picture reminds me of not just the good times I had with Los Hermanns, but with my family, too, and all the beauty and happiness that filled our time in Hawaii. That sounds like hyperbole, but really, Hawaii is just that great. You feel like a grinning moron trying to explain how wonderful it is there.

If it was just a pretty picture, or a reminder of fun times, there’d be competition. But on a deeper level, this photograph also reminds me of how the symbols of our faith surround us. Even, of course, on the grounds of a Buddhist temple. For that reason, it’s my favorite of 2008.

The idea behind Project 365 is a simple one: 1 photo, every day, for an entire year. This is an idea probably nearly as old as art itself, but still a worthwhile challenge.

You might say that I failed before I even started. Because I didn’t fully become aware of the concept, and especially its Flickr incarnation, until January 2nd, I failed to take a photo on January 1st. The nice thing about screwing up right in the beginning is that there’s nowhere to go but up.

I’ll be documenting my try in this ever-growing Flickr set. I’ll also be making daily posts here, because it gives me something to write about–that’s another goal I have for the year–and very possibly be posting bulletins on Myspace for any of the following reasons (Checkmark those that apply):

• The audience overlap is tiny, or perhaps nonexistent
• Studies have shown that repetition is the key to getting peoples’ attention
• Large amounts of text looks ridiculous on Flickr
• Myspace bulletins are ephemeral
• Photographs are meant to be seen
• No one reads this anymore
• Contrary to my grunge roots, I have developed a need for approval from others
• I’ll never win Her love if She doesn’t see my work
• I like to annoy my friends with self-promoting spam
• Studies have shown that repetition is the key to getting peoples’ attentionÂ
• Other (fill in via comments form)

Anyway, this should be fun! And if you’re reading this and want to try the project yourself, take it from me, it’s never too late! Let me know and I will totally check out your photos!

On the eve of my return to school, I am, of course, confronted with my oldest problem: the inability to sleep.

This mere wakefulness shouldn’t come as a surprise. After two years away from college, going back was bound to cause all kinds of thoughts and questions and anxieties. Excitement, too. More proximately, I’ve spent most of this weekend asleep, incapacitated by a cold I couldn’t successfully ignore out of existence.

So here I am awake. I only bring this up because this insomnia worries me in and of itself. It fills me with dread, the idea that this time will be like all the other times, that I’m broken permanently in my ability to succeed. But this is a late night worry. A demon that attacks in the small hours.

The hero Gilgamesh was only ever defeated by one foe: sleep. The gods of Ur challenged him to remain awake for two weeks, and of course he failed. But his failure will be an inspiration to me: because if Gilgamesh could make a passable try at two weeks of wakefulness, surely I can deal with one sleepless night.