staying on theme

When I started these weekly blogs of my pictures last January, one thing I didn't really think about was when each post would start and end. I mean, obviously I'd just put one week's worth of pictures into each entry, and that would be that. But I didn't really factor the days of the week into the equation. At one point, I mentioned how weird it felt to be starting each post with a Saturday, since it's called the weekend for a reason. It would make much more sense to start with Monday and end with Saturday and Sunday, right?

Well, 2012 started on a Sunday, splitting up each weekend, but fitting the typical Sunday-Saturday calendar arrangement. What I'm learning that that means for these weekly wrap-ups is that most will probably begin with Sunday food pictures. Ever since the 52 Weeks of Food project and its overlap with work and last year's 365, Sunday has become the unofficial food photography day. In fact, on the Sunday of week two I completely ignored the given theme of "Your Sky" in favor of a food picture. However, week three's theme was actually flexible enough to work with a picture of our lunch. The prompt was "Happiness."

My original plan was to have pesto with the trofie pasta that Steve got in his stocking at Christmas, but it's not exactly peak basil season right now. In fact, the weather took a turn for the chilly that week. So what does one make at such times? Chili! Steve made Michael Symon's Pork Cheek & Black-Eyed Pea Chili with Toasted Cornbread for Super Bowl Sunday in 2010, but we hadn't taken a picture or even gotten around to making it again since. (That was about a week before I decided to institute the 52 Weeks of Food.) It was clearly time for a revisit. I also happened to find a couple bowls that we had purchased at a restaurant supply store last year, which I hadn't used for any food photos yet. Although I had a hard time finding a composition I liked for the picture, the chili made for a happy lunch indeed.

15/366 chili & cornbread

On Monday, after nine pictures of the day in a row taken at home, I decided that I needed to go out for coffee to find my Morning-themed picture. So I skipped my usual morning tea, put on my warm(er) coat, and set off down Valencia toward Four Barrel. I was hoping that it wouldn't be too crowded in the morning on MLK Day, but I was very wrong. The hipsters were out in full force, and the line stretched to the door. Remembering that The Summit hadn't looked very busy—probably because they were closing/moving very soon—I headed back there and ordered a mocha to drink while Instagramming. I used my "likes" page on my phone for this picture, only realizing later that I should have used the picture I had taken of my coffee before I drank it all. Oh well.

16/366 morning

Feeling ambitious again on Tuesday, I went on a field trip to find a "Water" picture. Crissy Field seemed like a good choice, and I realized that the Wave Organ wasn't too far away either. I had been meaning to check that out. The Wave Organ wasn't actually very exciting, though, since the waves weren't active enough to make much noise against the tubes. And visually, it was hard to capture the installation's shapes. I ended up getting a decent picture of the water and the Golden Gate Bridge from the East Beach at Crissy Field, but next time, I'll probably go to the Warming Hut/Fort Point end of Crissy Field. There's more to see and photograph in that area.

17/366 crissy field

Wednesday's theme was "Something You Bought." I don't buy things all that often, and there's wasn't anything I could think of that I really needed that day. Desserts would probably be used for upcoming themes, and I had just taken a picture of a coffee cup. Then I remembered that I had been thinking about taking a picture of our new cookbooks from Christmas, all stacked up. I only bought two of them for Steve, but that would be good enough for the theme. I spent the rest of the afternoon going through the bottom two for Valentine's Day dinner ideas. It's only about two weeks away now!

18/366 something i bought

"Sweet" was Thursday's word, and this would have been the time to go buy a dessert. I thought about going to Dynamo for a donut that afternoon, but I had to watch Elsa for a while. By the time I finished, it was raining and I didn't feel like going. Luckily, I had taken lots of pictures of Elsa, since I suspected I wouldn't make it to Dynamo that day. Elsa generally qualifies as sweet, and I chose the picture with the most personality to emphasize the option of an ironic interpretation (for the times when "trouble" might be the more appropriate description).

19/366 sweet

The rain continued on Friday, and I had "Someone You Love" to contend with for the prompt. By the time Steve got home, it was not only cold and wet outside, it was also getting dark. I would have taken a portrait of him in the alley otherwise. Instead, I told Steve to play with the Rubik's thingy that he got for Christmas. I had been thinking about incorporating it into a picture anyway. I didn't love the light in the pictures I took, but at that point, I didn't really care anymore. 

20/366 someone i love

Saturday worked out better. The theme was "Reflection," and we were finally doing our "soup-a-palooza" soup party with Dan, Carmen, Rob, and Traci. It made sense to take a picture of a reflection in a soup spoon. I took a few pictures upstairs that afternoon to make sure I would have options before dark, but I ended up using a shot that I took downstairs, before dinner. That way, I got the kitchen in the foreground (behind me) and the table blurred in the background. Perfect for our soup party.

21/366 reflection

And so ends another week of Project 366. For the first time this month, I went a whole week without ignoring one of the January Photo a Day themes—even if it did involve a somewhat loose interpretation to accommodate a Sunday food photo...