Back to Cornell for this entry in Top 200 Photos.

photo #189 is:

This photo is from of the earliest batch of photos I uploaded to flickr.  I had just discovered Photoshop and was using what I learned from a book to create paintings from my photos.  After spending a good semester doing stuff like this, I realized I preferred straight photos much better than these bits of art.  It doesn’t mean I’ll never do it again, but I prefer for my photos to be photos.

Here’s the latest Top 200 Photos entry.

photo #190 is:

This is from my 365 project where I had to take one self-portrait a day. In my quest to think of creative subject matter, I went with modern versions of scenes from the Bible. Here I am Adam, eating the fruit that Eve gave me. Nowhere in the Bible does it say it was an apple, so I went with grapes to be creative.

Bork, Bork, Bork! It’s time for another Top 200 Photos.

photo #191 is:

For the most part I was too young to catch the muppets on their first run. But Kermit was a reporter on Sesame Street when I was a kid and that resulted in my recognizing him when muppet movies were shown on TV. Eventually between reruns on TV and the web, I saw large portions of The Muppet Show and their various movies. The Swedish Chef was not my favorite character, but he was in my top 10. This photo was taken at the Smithsonian when they were having a pretty big exhibit of Jim Henson stuff. I usually consider it pretty dumb to take photos of stuff in museums (especially paintings), but I made an exception in this case.

A new city in this Top 200 Photos entry.

photo #192 is:

Danielle’s best friend was going to college in Chicago.  We’d never been to Chicago before, so we figured we could visit and see a new place and took off for a mini-vacation.  When we first got to Chicago, she had class or was otherwise occupied, so we went for a walk around the city.  We ended up at The Bean in Millenium Park.  (Official name: Cloud Gate) That’s why our luggage is in the shot.  Since the entire surface of The Bean is reflective, it makes for really awesome photos.  This is not one of those awesome ones.  I’m sure one of those will appear later in the list.

The Top 200 Photos moves on.

photo #193 is

It was Halloween 2009 and I was in town to see the Greenwich Village Halloween Parade for the first time. We were waiting for everyone to arrive and I was getting all my photo equipment ready to go. Someone knocked at the door and Danielle’s cousin, Diane, went to answer the door. Since she was dressed as a maid for Halloween, I figured I couldn’t pass the opportunity up and took the shot. There’ll be more from the parade later, I’m sure.

The Top 200 Photos continues.

photo #194 is

The flower and garter tosses are when weddings really get wild and fun. The person throwing usually fakes the first throw. There are usually shenanigans going on in the receiving crowd. But, as a photographer, my favorite part is when the guy puts the garter on the woman who caught the bouquet. There’s a tension, ENCOURAGED by a good DJ, between pushing the boundaries of modesty and making the girl nervous. The rest of the guests usually help things out by cheering the man on. Sure, as I write this, I realize it’s pretty sexist, but at least it’s voluntary in that the women who get in line to catch the bouquet know exactly what’ll happen if they catch it.

No #196 because it was occupied by a photo I already featured. I didn’t capture all the top 200 photos on the first day, so there is some movement in the photo rankings. Starting with this one, I decided to capture 20 at a time to minimize the issues.

photo #195:

And I continue to through my Top 200 most viewed photos on flickr.

Photo #197 is:

Brighton Beach in Brooklyn is one of my homes-away-from-home. I’ve been going there to visit the family that became my in-laws for about 10 years. It was so exciting to find out that they lived so close to the famous Coney Island. I’m certain there will be more photos of Coney Island as this project goes on. It’s one of the easiest places for me to shoot because it’s only a 10 to 15 minute walk if I’m in a hurry vs a 45+ minute ride to Manhattan. Although I’ve never ridden the Wonder Wheel, I’ve always had a fascination with it because every time the fair came to Florida, I’d ride the Ferris Wheel. I am not sure if I’m forgetting some memory, but I don’t think I’ve ever done the cliche riding of the wheel with a date, but maybe I can somewhat buck that by riding the Wonder Wheel with the wife. Along with the Cyclone roller coaster, the Wonder Wheel is one of the oldest and most iconic structures at Coney Island.

In my Top 200 most viewed photos,

Photo #198 is:

When people find out that I’m from Florida ask me how I’m dealing with winters in Maryland, I just smile and tell them that I went to university in Ithaca, so no Maryland winter can compare with what I’ve seen. Cornell tends to be in perpetual winter from December until March. I think the lack of sun is part of what contributes to the low spirits of so many students. I didn’t mind the snow in January and February so much - after all, that’s winter. But when it snowed in March or April, it just made me feel as though this would be the year where winter never ended.

Continuing through my Top 200 Photos on flickr,

photo #199 is:

I love dramatic sunsets and it was complete luck that I was able to capture this one. I had been carrying around my Fujifilm Finepix S7000 all over campus everywhere I went, but I usually didn’t take it with me in my car. I just so happened to have it in my car when we went out to eat at Chilis in Ithaca, NY. By chance, we looked out the window and saw the sunset. I ran out to my car to capture it. Afterall, sunsets can go from amazing to ho-hum in an instant. The luck involved helps this photo to be one of my favorite sunset photos.