It is a little bit of a sad day, but not really. I am saying farewell to blogspot.. I have loved it, but there are just some things that I am not able to do, and most importantly, the pictures look like hell on blogspot. So, the time has come to move over a bit.. I have moved to squarespace. Beautiful portfolios, slick interfaces, all that jazz, but yes.. now i have to pay for it.. you get what you pay for though, and that's why this site was free.
The new site should feel familiar, all the same, just better. Let me know what you think? oh by the way, www.elliothaney.com is still the website, so that shouldn't be any different. to go directly to the blog, it's here: http://elliothaney.squarespace.com/blog/
now remember, it's still under construction, but it's mostly there... i hope you enjoy it. thank you
10/18/2009
10/15/2009
Boston Renaissance: Week One
So the other day at school, I took my camera with me and was really annoying to my team all day, but hopefully they're not too upset, at least I hope they'll like the pictures.
My team is honestly a well-oiled-machine of efficiency, empowerment, and beauty. Every day, I am impressed by how well we get along, and how well we work together... I really do love it.
So I am a communications coordinator for City Year and one of my roles is to document my service using pictures and by writing articles. Obviously, the picture-taking comes just a bit easier to me, so here is round #1 of the Boston Renaissance. Enjoy :)
My team is honestly a well-oiled-machine of efficiency, empowerment, and beauty. Every day, I am impressed by how well we get along, and how well we work together... I really do love it.
So I am a communications coordinator for City Year and one of my roles is to document my service using pictures and by writing articles. Obviously, the picture-taking comes just a bit easier to me, so here is round #1 of the Boston Renaissance. Enjoy :)
As Always, all of these pictures can be viewed in much better quality on my flickr page
The views of elliothaney are not those of City Year Inc. or of the Boston Renaissance Charter School
10/09/2009
Pretty Cool News and Pretty Lame Pants
Quick post tonight, it's late, I'm tired, getting over some sickness of the week but it's okay. I wanted to let you know about something that I find to be fairly exciting. Christian from City Year tracked me down today and asked me for permission to use this picture on a future flyer to be sent out as a 'Welcome to Boston' type of thing to future corps members (I believe). This may be small to some people, but I am incredibly excited. If you may read this Christian, much thanks :) I love this picture so much, I also entered it into the metro photo contest which you could leave a comment for it here. (Like always, please click on the picture to view it in Flickr)
I said this would be quick, but there is one other quick sidenote. We finally got our pants for CY. Three pairs of professional dress pants and one pair of "heavy duty" service pants. Now, imagine when you finish a roll of paper towels, and you have that cardboard cylinder thing left over? now, take a bunch of those, flatten them all out, and assemble them into something that loosely resembles a pair of pants, but in no way matches the size you requested. Okay, you have that image? That is exaclty what is lying on my floor right now, immediately placed back in the bag to be (hopefully) replaced. Now, I know begger can't be choosers, and the pants are graciously given to us in goodwill but comeon... i requested a pair of 38"W x 32"L and i got roughly a 36"W x 38"L.... I can't even button the cardboard pants! that may be more my fault than anyone elses though haha...
That's it for now, I'll be sure to keep you all updated on my pants :)
10/05/2009
Service!!
City Year again, and by the way the views presented on elliothaney.com do not reflect the views of City Year as an organization, as they are the views of elliothaney himself. Phew!! okay, so... Friday, October 2nd was opening day for me, the end of 6 weeks of training and seminars and discussions, and meetings, and everything else that you might be able to think of. It was really really good though. Possibly the most I've ever learned in one short amount of time. I've met so many people, I've learned so many things, and I've become just a little bit more aware of who I am and what kind of things I want to achieve. I've also had a lot of fun along the way. I have become a communications coordinator for my team, and I think I have found an organization that at times might feel a little hippy-ish and weird, but I'm really comfortable here. I really do reccomend checking out www.cityyear.org if you're at all curious about it. I couldn't be happier here.
So Friday was the big day, it was CY Boston's coming out party at Fanueil Hall's Great Hall in downtown Boston. It was an amazinggg room. Full of history, and awesome United State's history happenings like; where the line "no taxation with representation" was spoken by Samuel Adams, and where George Washington toasted the nation on its first birthday. Big names then, kind of big names now, the mayor of Boston was there to swear us in, along with all of us, and many alumni. The picture is just a fun panorama I took from my seat to give you a vague idea of the room. (click to make bigger!)
After the ceremony, we traveled of to East Boston near the harbor to do our traditional opening day of service. You would be incredibly surprised with what 150 people all working for 5 hours (that's 900 man hours) can do. We quite literally transformed the outside (and some parts inside) of this middle school academy in East Boston. I Built and stained benches, painted a basketball and soccer court, and painted murals... and that was just me. We made it onto news, click here to watch it. See if you can spot me!! Now some pictures of the day, because that's the best way to see it! ...There may be a lot. (only one artsy one today haha)
View of the Skatepark
Manish on the Ladder
Sari and Her Bench
Latisia Painting
Julia Cheesin'
Dua Singing (?)
Caitlyn Loving City Year
Lisa Feeling Proud (karla peppin')
Chance being Chance
Me and my Sweetieeee!!!!
So Friday was the big day, it was CY Boston's coming out party at Fanueil Hall's Great Hall in downtown Boston. It was an amazinggg room. Full of history, and awesome United State's history happenings like; where the line "no taxation with representation" was spoken by Samuel Adams, and where George Washington toasted the nation on its first birthday. Big names then, kind of big names now, the mayor of Boston was there to swear us in, along with all of us, and many alumni. The picture is just a fun panorama I took from my seat to give you a vague idea of the room. (click to make bigger!)After the ceremony, we traveled of to East Boston near the harbor to do our traditional opening day of service. You would be incredibly surprised with what 150 people all working for 5 hours (that's 900 man hours) can do. We quite literally transformed the outside (and some parts inside) of this middle school academy in East Boston. I Built and stained benches, painted a basketball and soccer court, and painted murals... and that was just me. We made it onto news, click here to watch it. See if you can spot me!! Now some pictures of the day, because that's the best way to see it! ...There may be a lot. (only one artsy one today haha)
View of the Skatepark
Manish on the Ladder
Sari and Her Bench
Latisia Painting
Julia Cheesin'
Dua Singing (?)
Caitlyn Loving City Year
Lisa Feeling Proud (karla peppin')
Chance being Chance
Me and my Sweetieeee!!!!
If Anyone would like the full-res version of the picture, leave your e-mail adress in a comment and I will send it! Thanks
9/27/2009
Day Trips and Pretty Nights
As I mentioned in a previous post, Karla and I drove up to Salem... two weeks ago now (?) and hung out, and for the first time for both of us, we enjoyed the "New England" coastline. I figured that if I was going to be on a rocky new england coastline, I may as well take some time and soak it all in.
So, we went to Salem, to the Salem Witch Museum, which was an embarrassing waste of fifteen dollars. The high note of the museum was the peanut butter & jelly lollipop that Karla bought for me in the gift store that tasted like a nightmare. Yes, that was the high point. The "museum" consisted of nothing more than a large room that had a bunch of statues/mannequins that lit up when the soundtrack was talking about them. Awful. but, like many things that are incredibly bad, we had a lot of fun with it.
After Salem, we got in Tom's prius, (which if you have never driven a prius, i highly recommend it) and drove north about another twenty miles to a town called rockport. This place was absolutely beautiful. We parked and walked through a street where art galleries and ice cream shops seemed like the only service the place offered. A little bit up on the street, we hit a lookout point, and I knew this was the place. I climbed down onto the rocks below the visitor's area, and I set up my tripod... I'm not really sure if this was allowed, but there weren't any problems.
Karla and I sat in this location for about an hour and a half, because I had timed the sunset very wrong and we were there at about 6 o'clock. So there we sat, Karla, my camera, and I, just enjoying the breeze and the sounds of the waves. As the sun started setting, I started to understand why the english chose this area to settle... it was amazing.
(Please click to view HQ in Flickr, this one deserves it!)
I wanted to include both pictures so that you can see what a little bit of planning, and a little bit of work on a picture can mean in the end. The top picture doesn't even have a visible cloud, and the sun washes everyyything out. I believe that it is near impossible to get a good, or even a moderate sunset picture without bracketing the shots and combining them in the digital darkroom later. People did the same thing with film, it was just a lot more difficult.
Thank you so much for keeping up and for reading :)
~elliot
So, we went to Salem, to the Salem Witch Museum, which was an embarrassing waste of fifteen dollars. The high note of the museum was the peanut butter & jelly lollipop that Karla bought for me in the gift store that tasted like a nightmare. Yes, that was the high point. The "museum" consisted of nothing more than a large room that had a bunch of statues/mannequins that lit up when the soundtrack was talking about them. Awful. but, like many things that are incredibly bad, we had a lot of fun with it.
After Salem, we got in Tom's prius, (which if you have never driven a prius, i highly recommend it) and drove north about another twenty miles to a town called rockport. This place was absolutely beautiful. We parked and walked through a street where art galleries and ice cream shops seemed like the only service the place offered. A little bit up on the street, we hit a lookout point, and I knew this was the place. I climbed down onto the rocks below the visitor's area, and I set up my tripod... I'm not really sure if this was allowed, but there weren't any problems.
Karla and I sat in this location for about an hour and a half, because I had timed the sunset very wrong and we were there at about 6 o'clock. So there we sat, Karla, my camera, and I, just enjoying the breeze and the sounds of the waves. As the sun started setting, I started to understand why the english chose this area to settle... it was amazing.
(Please click to view HQ in Flickr, this one deserves it!)Thank you so much for keeping up and for reading :)
~elliot
9/20/2009
Where I've Come
so you may notice some similarities today. This is a direct comparison post. about a year ago, give or take a couple weeks, I went to New York with my aunt's film camera to get some pictures of the city with Karla. I got some pictures that I really love. The first picture is responsible for the most money I've made at any one time with photography yet. It won second place at the blair county arts festival which earned me a cool $250!! Then, it also won a spot in the Juniata College student art exhibit. I really love this picture, and it's probably one of my favorites that I've ever taken. Since being in Boston, I've been looking back, and I have decided to try and see where I've come as a photographer. I want to redo some of my favorite shots, and this is my first attempt at it.
This is the one from New York. Not a whole entire lot of though went into it. It was nighttime, so on program mode, my shutter speed was automatically set to a slower speed so I basically tracked the bike while the shutter was open and here is the result. I think it's a great picture; it shows a clear sense of movement, it follows the rule of third, and i just really like it. I always thought that it looked a little flat though, and that it doesn't really show any environment at all. Hence me trying to redo it!
This is my current try, and i have to say I like it soooo much better.
(please click to view HQ in Flickr)
This one actually has the option of being color or B&W since it is a digital picture instead of film like the other one, but, when making a direct comparison I should take the color out. So this one took a little bit more planning to get the right shot. It's on the.... charles bridge (?) right beside the red line on the way to cambridge. So this one definately takes a lot of cues from the one from New York; it's a blurred biker, and it still shows the rule of thirds. But, this one shows the environment, it shows depth, it shows a direction that isn't just left to right, and you can almost sense the speed that the biker must be feeling. Pleaseeee click on the picture and look at it in Flickr... it looks sooo ugly on this blogging site.. you won't be dissapointed ;) Please, let me know what you think and let me make sure that I actually am improving with time and that I'm not regressing. Negative and positive please!
This is the one from New York. Not a whole entire lot of though went into it. It was nighttime, so on program mode, my shutter speed was automatically set to a slower speed so I basically tracked the bike while the shutter was open and here is the result. I think it's a great picture; it shows a clear sense of movement, it follows the rule of third, and i just really like it. I always thought that it looked a little flat though, and that it doesn't really show any environment at all. Hence me trying to redo it!
This is my current try, and i have to say I like it soooo much better.(please click to view HQ in Flickr)9/16/2009
The Dinky Lighthouse and Some Portraits
So this past weekend, Tom was in Colarado and allowed me to use his car, so Karla and I took a drive up to Salem, Mass... I have a ton of pictures from Salem and then from Rockport, which is a little north of Salem, but I'll pepper those in here and there.
So one of my main goals in northern Mass was to get some lighthouse and sunset pictures. I did get some really cool sunsets, but the lighthouses were strangely absent from Salem, on the map, there was one lighthouse there, so we walked there... not too long of a walk, but a walk nonetheless. So we get there, and what do we see?
We did take advantage of the environment though, and I worked on some portraiture with the absolutely beautiful Karla Rodriguez, what do you think?
(Click to view HQ in Flickr)
As always, thank you for reading, and enjoy your day :)
~Elliot~
So one of my main goals in northern Mass was to get some lighthouse and sunset pictures. I did get some really cool sunsets, but the lighthouses were strangely absent from Salem, on the map, there was one lighthouse there, so we walked there... not too long of a walk, but a walk nonetheless. So we get there, and what do we see?
This.
(click to view HQ in Flickr)
This was the dinkiest lighthouse I have ever seen. It was such a huge letdown, but it was only one downside to the day. I love this picture because it makes me laugh because it brings back the memory of seeing this lame lighthouse.(click to view HQ in Flickr)
We did take advantage of the environment though, and I worked on some portraiture with the absolutely beautiful Karla Rodriguez, what do you think?
(Click to view HQ in Flickr)
~Elliot~
9/14/2009
New Ad??
(click to view HQ in Flickr)So to catch up on City Year a little bit, we have been going through literacy training and conflict resolution, and I came to a realization. We are quite literally attempting to learn four years of undergrad elementary education into 6 weeks of training. We knows, this might be more efficient, because this way, we simply only have time for the most important things, and the rest will be learned on the job as we go. I though I was coming up here to tutor, but as it stands now, I will be a mentor, a lunch and breakfast buddy, literacy trainer, math coach, possibly a science teacher, (yes... I said teacher, as in quite literally leading a class in lessons in science, by myself, as Mr. Haney) also, helping to run after-school programs, and writing lesson plans. It's going to be a lot on our plates as corps members, but it feels good. I'm excited to start, and I know everyone I'm working with is too.
I have a lot of pictures to get up in the next couple days and a lot of stories to go with them, so keep checking back, or you can follow me on twitter @elliothaney and, of course on facebook.com/elliothaney
Thanks again everyone... the kind words are appreciated so much, but remember, responding to criticism is the only way to get better.
~elliot~
9/10/2009
Day 1 Observations
I am tired. I am really tired. this new schedule of being back in grade school is wearing on me, and it's the first week of actually being in the school! I guess it's more of an adjustment that i still need to... adjust to. My day is about 7:30 to 5:00-6:00 so that's fun, but the kids are great and I'm very happy.
Just a quick observation. Today was day 1 with kids in the school and i noticed something. This is the first time in my life that I have been a minority. St. Rose through Bishop Guilfoyle exposed me to maybe....2 african americans throughout my 12 years? Then in college at Juniata, the vast vast majority was still white. Now today, for the first time, even since being in Boston, I was one of the possibly 5% of whites in the room. Now, admittidly, there was a time in my life when this would have made me a little bit uncomfortable; not because I have any negative racial feelings whatsoever, but simply because that experience is much the opposite of my upbringing, and my school years. If City Year does nothing else for me this year (which would be an absolutely ridiculous claim) it has placed me in positions that remove me from my comfort zone, and when we are removed from our comfort, we experience new aspects of life, and we grow as humans. I could not be happier that I am here, and that I am taking part in an organization like this. I actually feel like I am making a palpable positive difference in my world. I guess that "quick observation" wasn't all that quick.
(click to view HQ on flickr)
Just a quick observation. Today was day 1 with kids in the school and i noticed something. This is the first time in my life that I have been a minority. St. Rose through Bishop Guilfoyle exposed me to maybe....2 african americans throughout my 12 years? Then in college at Juniata, the vast vast majority was still white. Now today, for the first time, even since being in Boston, I was one of the possibly 5% of whites in the room. Now, admittidly, there was a time in my life when this would have made me a little bit uncomfortable; not because I have any negative racial feelings whatsoever, but simply because that experience is much the opposite of my upbringing, and my school years. If City Year does nothing else for me this year (which would be an absolutely ridiculous claim) it has placed me in positions that remove me from my comfort zone, and when we are removed from our comfort, we experience new aspects of life, and we grow as humans. I could not be happier that I am here, and that I am taking part in an organization like this. I actually feel like I am making a palpable positive difference in my world. I guess that "quick observation" wasn't all that quick.
(click to view HQ on flickr)
Picture Info:
Church is Trinity Church in Copley square in the Back Bay area of Boston. The tower in the back is currently the tallest building in Boston. As a note, this is where my City Year friends and I will be performing public physical training throughout the next couple weeks and then the rest of the year, it should be interesting, especially when we start our call and responses and our pledges... maybe I can get a video of it sometime. It really is a sight to see!
Thanks for reading, and remember, comments are always appreciated :)
~elliot~
Church is Trinity Church in Copley square in the Back Bay area of Boston. The tower in the back is currently the tallest building in Boston. As a note, this is where my City Year friends and I will be performing public physical training throughout the next couple weeks and then the rest of the year, it should be interesting, especially when we start our call and responses and our pledges... maybe I can get a video of it sometime. It really is a sight to see!
Thanks for reading, and remember, comments are always appreciated :)
~elliot~
9/06/2009
The Woods and My Collaboration With Danny Viera
i'm back from the woods! i had a great time, did some intense team-building exercises, i got much much closer to my team (viva la renaissance!!) and i got to do some high-ropes training, which i haven't done since bishop guilfoyle time... man i miss it sometimes. It was nice to get out of the city for a few days and to hear the sounds of insects at night again. sometimes it feels really good to sleep on an awful mattress with a sleeping bag, it kinda re-awakens you a little bit.
yesterday (saturday) i worked the "boston back to school jamboree" handing out free things to kids that were starting school this week. i got to experience parents who complained and argued with me because they only get one free thing; a bookbag, or a bag of supplies. it's really nice when you get yelled at for only being able to give them one free thing. sorry, i guess it's my fault. but as a perk, at the end of the day, there were ironically many things left over, and karla and i were able to take a bunch of books. we ended up almost doubling our library in 30 short minutes... too bad we had to carry about 100 pounds of books through the city and on the subway, it's all worth it.
i just finished reading 'the alchemist' and i must say, it was fantastic and i highly recommend it. now i'm starting 'down and out in paris and london' by george orwell, i'm excited for it :)
now for the photography. one of my favorite people from juniata was danny viera who was a roommate of mine junior year on exchange from seville spain. we had a great time that semester and i consider him a great friend that i hope i will see again sometime. he sent me an e-mail the other day with a picture he took (in paris i believe) and asked me to collaborate on it and edit it and make it pretty for him. here is what he sent me.
it's a great picture, i love the composition, the people to the side, the blur of the train to the left, but it dark, and it lacks a little of the detail that i really like in my images. here's what i came up with after a little bit of work.
i think danny liked it, and i hope you do too. pleaseeee check out danny's blog, it really is fantastic. incredibly interesting. click here for the universal traveler
yesterday (saturday) i worked the "boston back to school jamboree" handing out free things to kids that were starting school this week. i got to experience parents who complained and argued with me because they only get one free thing; a bookbag, or a bag of supplies. it's really nice when you get yelled at for only being able to give them one free thing. sorry, i guess it's my fault. but as a perk, at the end of the day, there were ironically many things left over, and karla and i were able to take a bunch of books. we ended up almost doubling our library in 30 short minutes... too bad we had to carry about 100 pounds of books through the city and on the subway, it's all worth it.
i just finished reading 'the alchemist' and i must say, it was fantastic and i highly recommend it. now i'm starting 'down and out in paris and london' by george orwell, i'm excited for it :)
now for the photography. one of my favorite people from juniata was danny viera who was a roommate of mine junior year on exchange from seville spain. we had a great time that semester and i consider him a great friend that i hope i will see again sometime. he sent me an e-mail the other day with a picture he took (in paris i believe) and asked me to collaborate on it and edit it and make it pretty for him. here is what he sent me.
it's a great picture, i love the composition, the people to the side, the blur of the train to the left, but it dark, and it lacks a little of the detail that i really like in my images. here's what i came up with after a little bit of work.i think danny liked it, and i hope you do too. pleaseeee check out danny's blog, it really is fantastic. incredibly interesting. click here for the universal traveler (click to view HQ in flickr!!)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
