When I see this photo, I just think how lucky it is that this era of New York City and of photography coexisted. This is an amazing photo for so many reasons. The photographer shown in the photo is Margaret Bourke-White, a pioneering photojournalist with Life magazine, taking shots of and from the Chrysler Building. The image of her setting up on top of a skyscraper is stunning, but once you look past that the image of the city in the background is just so gorgeous.

I’m pretty pleased with the fact that I developed three rolls of film today, and all the negatives look pretty viable. For the last two rolls, it was a race against the clock to get them done before my class at 4:30, and I couldn’t be late because I had to make a presentation in class. I dashed into the lightproof room to load the two spools of film in total darkness, and luck was with me — I snapped open the film canisters, snipped the ends off the rolls, and spooled them up in record time. I just had time to process the film, hold it up to the light for a quick confirmation that there were pictures on there, and hang them in the dryer. At 4:20 I was out the door.

I’m not always sure that this going to school is such a smart idea — I mean, I can’t really explain to anyone what I hope to accomplish, from a practical point of view, but it really is amazing how much you can learn in a short period of time. When classes started in September, I wouldn’t have been able to tell you the first thing about what abstract expressionism is, or who Margaret Bourke-White or Cartier-Bresson were, and I can’t tell you how many times in my life I’ve tried to keep straight whether f22 is a bigger or smaller aperture than f8, or which one gives you a greater depth of field. Now I finally get it.

Pretty soon work at the museum will be winding up, and I’m sad about that. I’ve gotten quite attached to the place. This week was fun: I got to help decorate for Christmas and actually spend time in the galleries (instead of the somewhat less magical basement). I still have a couple of months before I go, so when classes end, I’ll be turning to polishing my resume and updating my website. Hopefully I’ll finally be able to go to knit night again — its been ages since I’ve been able to go. Time to start thinking about Christmas, gifts and travel plans, and all that. Lots to look forward to.