Tonight, I finish burning. I’ve stalled on this long enough.

Here we are, the end of June, almost July. We’ve made it to the midpoint of the year, and I’m halfway through my project 365. I want to use this opportunity to take a moment to think critically about where I want to go with the rest of the project. It seems like there’s a choice to be made to either finish out the year going along as I have, posting shots of convenience when they present themselves. Or, I could try to proactively seek out and apply new techniques and themes. I was reading David Hobby the other day and this turn of phrase stuck in my mind.

I can tell you from experience that there is nothing like a long-term project to expose your “camera expertise” as nothing more than a bag of tricks — and a shallow bag of tricks at that.

How shallow is my bag? Shallow. Would it be more interesting to make it deeper? Definintely. How do I do that? I have some specific thoughts on implementation but would rather share them on their successful execution. But I’m also open to suggestions from le galleria de legumes. I know that I want what comes next to further diverge from my standard POTD stream and the world’s cutest husky that lies therein. Also, I know that I want this effort to be more considered than it has been in the past.

Twelve miles tonight. Such is the curious state of my mind and body that that distance seems, and is, short. Tonight I ran with the new mixes, which are tagged, bagged* and ready to ship. It’s invigorating to switch to new playlists even if new isn’t entirely new in that I knew a lot of the songs. The highlight of the run came at 10 1/2 when I hit mid-turn up the hill by the Cliff House to a gorgeous expansive pastel sky and had Z’s mix click over to this song.

I hit my quota this week, despite starting a day late. Next week the goal bounces back to 43, then it’s all downhill from there. Almost home.

*ok they’re not technically bagged yet.

amelia looks great – step one is admitting you have a problem. there is no step two. – google voice is rolling out – elephant frogs – a year of ice cream – jerri nielsen fitzgerald – junko squad – I’m really liking hollywood bass player – Plug1 finds the superbrats – my sadly outdated keiko tag – no more herrell’s – beware the evil eye – this week in public comment – RAVE reviews for the new transformers… – fake steve jobs is back! – LSU hooks UT – a HEY post that has nothing to do with the pixies – eQuake add-on – little lost (sea)lion – without comment – that is not a bong – precious clippings – the definitive guide to asian poses – baby niece sleepover – the chipmunks remember – the economics of ghostbusting

One thing that was unique about MJ is just how much of his life is available to us. From AS earlier today, some mini-MJ.

I’m five miles short this week – I skipped the schedule today due to some physiological & cognitive issues stemming from yesterday’s long run and the subsequent bad influence of my friends. It’s both Father’s Day and the summer solstice but I neither saw my father nor most all of the sun as well. Fan-tastic.

The marathon itself is five short weeks from today. After yesterday’s twenty, I’ve got one more of that length in two weeks, then the downward taper starts. I don’t think I could have finished another six miles yesterday. Basically, I’m going to be swimming to the finish in a sea of lactic acid.

BTW, the photoblog has reached post #2000! What we lack in quality we make up for in quantity.

So here goes, in no particular order, ten of my most favorite posts of my best girl rockin the internets. maija swims lake cochituate – maija vs the lunar eclipse – maija vs peanut butter bagel – the maija nell fan club – maija wins the dog-a-palooza – snowing in Allston for Husky Dü – stuff my dog hides under – maija wrassles zed – a mediafriend-powered 529 – maija’s christmas present. And a bonus link for the best of all tags. Have any links you like better than these? Let us know in the comments below!

Also, an entirely gratuitous bonus birthday slideshow from my maija flickr set. Or if you’d rather, you can check it here in full screen. And a promise, after today, no more dog stuffs for a while.

The S is for sexy sexy.

almost puppy party time!! – Some Friday afternoon tearjerking courtesy of Pixar – assessing apple store lines downtown – interactive flash video at selfcontrol freak – talkin’ dogz – downside, mowing – wake and mental bake – I’m on firedoglake! – and FBCA… – Aquaporcine – homeless sims – sad about sammy – on berlusconi – when typeface geeks get hitched – crabby

This is interesting. BML (who helped me shoot this wedding back when) apparently has now up and gotten herself done married, and is starting a photography studio to boot. I’ll leave it to you to infer my feelings on the relative merits of those two ideas. Regardless, her new site is nice and shiny and worth checking out.

Hey Friends! I’m officially launching Bethany Carnes Photography!! Family portraits, senior photos, headshots, or just to capture today’s fleeting moments. Environmental portrait sessions are held in locations that are important to you; backyard, favorite park, in the city!

For the month of July I am offering $100 off reservation credits. So you pay $150 for a session and then apply that toward any a la carte artwork and products including gallery wraps, prints, framing, albums, coffee table books, invitations etc.

Check out my website at www.bethanycarnes.com for a sample of my work. Email or call to set up a portrait consultation!