imagine a different world of grilled cheese.

After some delays, lack of updates, and multiple blog designs, the A Photo A Day project is back on track. What do you think of the new digs?

Photos are now being updated very quickly for everyone to see, with most photos receiving their own blog entry, courtesy of Flickr.com. Photos are being viewed in their natural ratio, instead of being stretched or squished to fit into a certain design scheme. Photos are displayed in all their glory to be enjoyed by anyone and everyone. Hopefully you have returned to the blog to see all of this in action.

On the topic of a recent photo entitled Contemplation, most everyone did guess correctly what was different about me: my new specks (aka glasses). People did mention my hair, which is getting long, at least in my book, so I actually combed it and therefore it has somewhat of a different look. Besides mentioning the glasses or hair most people said I looked angry, which I most definitely was. However, I was going for a different look, something that wasn’t 100% happy, maybe something a tad dark. Instead of smiling, or trying to, I merely stared directly in the camera and arrived at that expression.

Since the photo didn’t really turn out “dark” or “somber” on its own, according to my own rules, I could not touch it up if I wanted to use it for A Photo A Day. I could however, touch it up for my own enjoyment and that is what I have done. Please keep in mind, these were very quick studies and could probably be enhanced.

You can view the two photos below, one being really dark and one not so dark. The dark one has my name and web site address included in the photo, while I left it out of the light one. Please let me know what you think…

On January 1, 2008, I wrote the post entitled, “America has NYC and the Ball…” to prove that we have one of the weakest new year’s celebrations in the world. I provided tons of photo evidence to prove my point, but I never thought of video evidence.

Well, it looks like someone else completed that task for me, and the tape only enforces my point. I can’t speak for Las Vegas as the video has been pulled, but the US and the world focuses on NYC, so Vegas is a moot point in my mind. Head over to TravelBurner.com to see what all of America is missing out each time the calendar turns to January 1.

Explanation: Sometimes the sky itself is the best show in town. On January 26, people from Perth, Australia gathered on a local beach to watch a sky light up with delights near and far. Nearby, fireworks exploded as part of Australia Day celebrations. On the far right, lightning from a thunderstorm flashed in the distance. Near the image center, though, seen through clouds, was the most unusual sight of all: Comet McNaught. The photogenic comet was so bright that it even remained visible though the din of Earthly flashes. Comet McNaught continues to move out from the Sun and dim, but should remain visible in southern skies with binoculars through the end of this month. The above image is actually a three photograph panorama digitally processed to reduce red reflections from the exploding firework.

CNN

NewsDay

(Testing) BBC

(Testing) WAPT / AP

MonstersAndCritics / Peter Foley, EPA

Associated Press, Kathy Willens

Reuters

USA Today / AP, Jason DeCrow

NewsDay / Tina Fineberg, Associated Press

NewsDay / Peter Morgan, Associated Press

NewsDay / Seth Wenig, Associated Press

NewsDay / Chris Hondros, Getty Images

(Seattle) NewsDay / Jim Bryant, Associated Press

(Las Vegas) NewsDay / Darrin Bush, Associated Press

(Niagra Falls) NewsDay / Frank Gunn, Associated Press

… And The World Has…

Australia

Rob Griffith, Associated Press

Rob Griffith, Associated Press

Rob Griffith, Associated Press

BBC User Submission – Patrick Muir

NewsDay / Rob Griffith, Associated Press

NewsDay / Rob Griffith, Associated Press

New York Times / Lisa Maree Williams, Getty Images

Tim Wimborne, Reuters

Tim Wimborne, Reuters

Tim Wimborne, Reuters

Tim Wimborne, Reuters

Brazil

Canada

NewsDay / Sean Kilpatrck, Associated Press

China

BBC

David Gray / Reuters

Aly Song, Reuters

Dominican Republic

NewsDay / Ramon Espinosa, Associated Press

England

NewsDay / Leon Neal, AFP/Getty Images

France

MonstersAndCritics / Lucas Dolega, EPA

Germany

NewsDay / Miguel Villagran, Associated Press

Alexandra Beier, Reuters

The Age / AFP

Sunday Morning Herald / AFP

Greece

NewsDay / Petros Giannakouris, Associated Press

MonstersAndCritics / Orestis Panagiotou, EPA

Hong Kong

Bobby Yip, Reuters

Victor Frail, Reuters

Victor Fraile, Reuters

Victor Fraile, Reuters

India

Sanjib Mukherjee, Reuters

Indonesia

NewsDay / Tatan Syuflana, Associated Press

NewsDay / Ahmad Zamroni, AFP/Getty Images

Supri, Reuters

Dadang Tri, Reuters

MonstersAndCritics / Bagus Indahono, EPA

Japan

Issei Kato, Reuters

Korea

Jo Yong-hak, Reuters

Han Jae-ho, Reuters

Manila

Romeo Ranoco, Reuters

Palestine

MonstersAndCritics / Alaa Badarneh

MonstersAndCritics / Alaa Badarneh

The Philippines

Zainal Abd Halim, Reuters

NewsDay / Pat Roque, Associated Press

Russia

AP

NewsDay / Mikhail Metzel, Associated Press

NewsDay / Dmitry Kostyukov, AFP/Getty Images

ChinaView / Xinhua

MonstersAndCritics / EPA

Singapore

Tim Chong, Reuters

Switzerland

MonstersAndCritics / Steffen Schmidt, EPA
Taiwan

NewsDay / Chiang Ying-ying, Associated Press

Pichi Chuang, Reuters

Nicky Loh, Reuters

Pichi Chuang, Reuters

Thailand

ChinaView / Xinhua

Uganda

BBC User Submission – Emily Wissanji

If you have a photo to add to the collection, please email me at sanford@imagine24.net.

Thanks for visiting and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

New Year’s Eve 2008.

Fireworks Attempt #1.

Fireworks Attempt #2.

Third try is a charm, right? Wrong. Tonight was the end of Solon Home Day’s and so of course, there were fireworks. I was looking to tonight as the end of my horrible firework streak, hoping that I would see some great fireworks allowing me to take great photo. Well, one of those things occurred. The fireworks started early and ended quickly.

My mother felt bad for the people who came at 9:45 expecting them to start then, but then only saw the tail end. I told her, its no big deal, those people missed nothing. Honestly, they were not bad, they just were very quick and to the point. They started off with a bang, and then slowly, or should I say quickly, whimpered off. Last year’s fireworks were pretty damn good, while these were pretty damn forgettable.

Luckily, even with the quickness of the fireworks, I was able to snap enough photos that I would have one for today’s A Photo A Day. Here it is…another fireworks shot, from another disappointing fireworks show.

Last night was the not-so great fireworks, while tonight was the not-so fireworks. I traveled downtown Cleveland with the folks to listen to the Cleveland Orchestra and watch some amazing fireworks. I was really excited because after last nights firework (notice no ’s’) show, I was dying to see a real show.

We got down there, listened to the orchestra for a few moments. Then, we started to scout our sitting spot, and my camera location. Originally we had a great spot for the fireworks, but then we were notified that because of construction on the Terminal Tower, the fireworks were going to be shot off from the old BP Building. We moved a few feet to the left, and I set-up my tripod. The orchestra was finishing up and the clouds came, along with the wind. Oh, the wind…it definitely came. The host from WCPN, the local NPR station, said give us 5-10 minutes to let the wind calm down and then we will start.

The 5-10 minutes came, but then everyone left. Due to the high winds at Public Square, it was unsafe to even try to set off fireworks so everyone was sent packing, only seeing part of the show. Hopefully, and I mean hopefully, the fireworks show will be rescheduled, so that I can at least see one real fireworks show this 4th of July season!

Today’s photo comes to us during the time when we first arrived downtown at Public Square and were enjoying the weather, the crowd and the music. Luckily, I took pictures before the fireworks or I might have missed my first day…

Normally, on July 4th, I head down to the local fireworks at the park, set-up my tripod, and snap away each time a firework is sent off. Well, that was until tonight. Tonight, I headed over to my sister’s in-laws for ice cream and fireworks. They live near a country club, and therefore can walk out of their driveway and look up and see fireworks. I was upset about breaking tradition, but I thought it would be nice to be with family.

It was in fact nice to be with family, eating ice cream and watching the Indians game. However, the fun ended once the fireworks began. Every second or two, a new firework was shot into the air, one-by-one. I don’t think they could have been shot off any slower than they were. Surprisingly, I was able to snap a couple good photos, enough to find one for today’s A Photo A Day.  It was taken at the finale, which to some, might have felt just like the beginning if we were watching said fireworks anywhere else.

Oh well, tomorrow night the folks and I are heading downtown Cleveland to listen to the Cleveland Orchestra and watch the fireworks right outside Public Square. I am excited to have other items in my firework pictures, besides simply fireworks!

Happy 4th of July, until tomorrow…

[photo courtesy cleveland.com]

Indians 5, Orioles 4

CLEVELAND (AP) — Perhaps the only player in the ballpark that could have caught Grady Sizemore’s home-run ball was the guy who hit it.

Sizemore sped around the bases with an inside-the-park home run, Jake Westbrook got his first win in five starts and the Cleveland Indians beat the Baltimore Orioles 5-4 Friday night for their sixth straight victory.

“I’d rather trot than run,” Sizemore said after his second career inside-the-park homer.

…

“It feels great to get a win,” Westbrook said. “Grady was fun to watch. He was running sideways. He was flying.”

[read more @ espn.com]

Last night at the Indians game I was able to see history made. Up until the 5th inning, the game was somewhat boring and moving at a rapid pace. Then came in a new Oriole’s pitcher and we had fireworks, 5 innings before the scheduled ones would take place. Finally, the Indians got to the Oriole’s starting pitcher, Steve Trachsel, something we couldn’t do all night. A new pitcher entered, and we took advantage. We got hit, a single, and then history. I, and my good friend Scott and brother, Josh, were able to see the 5th inside the park homerun in Jacobs Field history, hit by our good friend Grady Seizmore.

[photo courtesy cleveland.com]

This hit, sparked the crowd, the Indians and after a crazy top 6, we went on to increase our win streak to 6 games and take a 1.5 lead in the Central Division.

Something is wrong with this picture. The Cleveland Indians have won 6 straight games, are playing well in April, and are in first place. The Cleveland Cavs are in the playoffs, have won their first 2 playoff games, and have a chance of going deep into the playoffs. This is not right. Cleveland sports teams are cursed, this is definitely not cursed. Are we finally turning the corner? I think we will see the answer of that question when the Cleveland Browns draft in the first round today. I am thinking that no matter if it is the right choice now, it will be the wrong choice in 2 or 3 years, or maybe simply 6 months from now…

After the game, as it was Superhero Weekend, the fans were treated to Superhero Fireworks. The fireworks were the same great fireworks as usual, the only difference was that they played superhero theme songs instead of the usual firework music. I had brought my camera, as it goes everywhere with me, so I was more than ready to shoot the fireworks as they exploded out of centerfield. Today’s A Photo A Day was the first fireworks picture I took. My camera, amazingly, has a scene function that allows you to set a scene, like fireworks, so that the user doesn’t have to fiddle with all of the intricate settings. Instead, the camera makes sure to have all of the correct settings in place for when you are ready to snap that picture. I set the scene, looked through the lens, lined up the fireworks, took the picture and then simply tried not to move. The result of those actions is the photo below, one of the best fireworks pictures I have taken; and to think, it was done without a tripod.

Until tomorrow…or is it today…anyways, enjoy the photo!