2012 New Years Photo Resolution: A Photo A Day For A Year

2012 New Years Photo Resolution

I'll be taking a picture a day for the next 365 days of the year - a visual representation of my life, whether it be my mood, my thoughts or simply what's going on that day - I will be there, camera in hand, in an attempt to capture my life one frame at a time. And if my life doesn't interest you that much (believe me, sometimes it doesn't interest me either) most of my days are spent in the big city, so this is sort of a daily visual blog of NYC as well.

I'll still be testing lenses and cameras throughout the year and blogging about interesting photography news but keep checking back daily to see my photo of the day.

Since I just decided to do this today, my photo for January 1st, 2012 will be an oldie that I took...


January 1, 2012
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel Xsi DSLR Camera
Lens: Canon EF18-55mm Lens
Location: Central Park, NYC

This picture was originally taken in the summer of 2011, but definitely starts off the 2012 New Year Photo Resolution in a big way. This Obelisk, nicknamed Cleopatra’s Needle, is the oldest man-made object in Central Park.

Modern Day Ancient Egypt

A pair of obelisks was commissioned for Heliopolis on the banks of the Nile in 1500 BC by an Egyptian pharaoh who wished to celebrate his 30 years of reign. The monuments were then moved to Alexandria in 18AD. They remained there until one obelisk was moved to London in 1879. The New York one was erected in the Park two years later and was offered by the Egyptian Khedive to America in exchange for funds to modernize his country.

Transferring the 71-foot, 244- ton granite monument from Egypt to New York was an arduous and delicate process. It took 112 days from the time the Obelisk touched upon the banks of the Hudson River until it reached the Park. Laborers inched the monument on parallel beams, aided by roll boxes and a pile-driver engine. Thousands turned out on January 22, 1881 to marvel as the obelisk was turned upright.

A time capsule was buried beneath the Obelisk and included an 1870 U.S. census, the Bible, Webster’s Dictionary, the complete works of Shakespeare, a guide to Egypt and a facsimile of the Declaration of Independence. A small box was placed in the capsule by the man who orchestrated the purchase and transportation of the Obelisk. He will probably be the only person in history to ever know its contents.

This Egyptian monument erected on our home turf is greatly significant to me on a personal level and for the city of NYC...let us be aware of the symbolism that surrounds us on a daily basis...