Daily Photos

< June 2007 >

June 1, 2007
I took this picture at the quack of dawn. `Its wings aren`t warm enough to fly yet,` I thought, boldly getting closer. Well, it flew away. Sky and water, leaf and life. Don`t get too close to the edge, you might . . . . . . fall in! Breaking the most basic rule of the nature photographer, I rescued it (since honeybees are scarce).

June 2, 2007
Where have you Ben? Smoking section. Another shot of lockers, for a class assignment. Why do only the edges bloom? It must be June.

June 3, 2007
Large trees . . . Normal-sized me . . . When I`m done with my class assignment, I will be larger than the trees. Though the thrill of a merry-go-round has kind of worn off for me, I still think it`s fun to go through a car wash. And yes, I always take my camera into the car wash.

June 4, 2007
When the cat`s away, the birds have their way (see May 16, 2007). I`ve been a more diligent photographer lately, getting up early to take pictures in the morning. Morning after the garage sale. Today`s gelato flavors. I had apple and berry. I ordered this new gizmo for my camera. It came in this box.

June 5, 2007
Again I wonder, what kinda bird? This one`s easy: a red-winged blackbird. The name hardly applies to the female, which is neither black nor red. Prairie sunrise. Wait! It`s only a camera. Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. ROBERT FROST

June 6, 2007
Buying time. She was limping and had a bandage on her foot. Maybe he`s not a good dancer. `Holding Out,` a sculpture by J. Seward Johnson. Here`s my great new idea: morning baseball. Our society treats music as a disposable commodity, so it`s encouraging to see someone is starting to play piano.

June 7, 2007
In mable halls. They had to have these made after Cleveland started stealing manhole covers. PLAY JAZZ = WEAR BLING Pure luck. First day with a new Lensbaby 3G. This will take some getting used to . . .

June 8, 2007
It`s actually not his birthday. The Lensbaby has a 30-day money-back guarantee, and at about this time I started considering it . . . . . . but like anything new, it probably takes a while to figure out the best technique. Ready . . . aim . . . . . . FIRE!

June 9, 2007
Me, myself in eye. The joy of childhood. You can’t take a photograph of the past or the future, but cameras do pretty well with the present. And on a sunny day, the present can be sliced very thin. Day three of using my new Lensbaby, and I no longer want to return it and get my money back. As long as the important stuff is in focus, I don`t care about the rest.

June 10, 2007
The White Rider. Outstanding in her field. I shouted `WHOA!` and the horse stopped in midair so I could take this picture. The amazing eight-legged horse. Back in the saddle again.

June 11, 2007
Neighbors don`t always get along. We have conquered for ourselves a place in the sun. KAISER WILHELM II `Tell me a story Grandpa.` Extemporaneous canary. Posthumous canary.

June 12, 2007
Loveline. The Rings of Power. Remeber the sketch from June 3? Here`s how it came out of the printer. Take a walk outside -- it`ll do you good. Sometimes called the Mosquito Hawk, dragonflies eat mosquitoes and other insects.

June 13, 2007
If only you could have SMELLED it too. Where`s my rubber ducky? Life on the edge. How a Lensbaby looks. How a Lensbaby sees.

June 14, 2007
We`ve got a problem with squirrels in the attic. There are 25 MetroParks in this area, and I hope to take pictures in each of them. I set my camera bag on the ground to take this shot. Later as I was carrying it, a large spider crawled out. A midsummer night`s dream. There would`ve been a better picture here if I hadn`t been scared of the tattooed guy with the red `71 Mustang.

June 15, 2007
The male house finch turns red because of pigments in what it eats. A female will choose the reddest male as a mate, since he is obviously good at gathering food. This appeared in front of my house. Can jackhammers be far behind? It`s a good day, since all five of my photos were taken by 8:21am. A Methodist minister met three Baptist deacons and invited them to visit his church. On Sunday, they arrived late and had nowhere to sit. The minister whispered to an usher, `Get three chairs for the Baptists.` The man said, `Pardon?` The minister repeated: `Three chairs for the Baptists!` The usher shrugged, stood up and said to the congregation, `All right everybody, THREE CHEERS FOR THE BAPTISTS!` Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. PROVERBS 31:10

June 16, 2007
ROW! American bandstand. The shy dragonfly. Everyone knows bicycles reduce pollution. White flour tortillas come from white flowers.

June 17, 2007
All of today`s pictures were taken from this spot (standing, it turns out, in somebody`s discarded chewing gum). Keeping an eye on things. She drives a Volkswagen. Ant farmer. `I just flew in from the coast, and boy are my arms tired!`

June 18, 2007
Self-expression. Kick off your shoes! It rained last night. You caption this one -- I`m tired. Their appearance and their work was, as it were, a wheel in the middle of a wheel. EZEKIEL 1:16 All of Earth`s creatures - except one - just do their work without worrying about achieving a fulfilling career.

June 19, 2007
Morning in the richest nation on Earth. Before it becomes a butterfly or moth, a caterpillar may increase its body mass by 30,000 times. It rained again today: free car wash! Since Krispy Kreme introduced its new acorn-flavored donut, the obesity rate among squirrels has tripled. In a meditative state.

June 20, 2007
Purple coneflower at sunrise. Looks like another sunny day ahead. Black-eyed susan at sunrise. A lady tiptoed past saying `I don`t want to disturb your art.` Art? I just like bugs. Maybe Maureen is a math tutor.

June 21, 2007
An ancient village by the Great Miami River is built around these posts aligned to indicate the solstice (TODAY!). A butterfly `in the wild,` but the Butterfly House opens in two days. Sometimes I get paid money to take pictures. But other times people give me something REALLY valuable. It reminds me of a Dale Chilhuly glass sculpture. Things are going well in my Photoshop class.

June 22, 2007
Bugs need to drink too. Thanks to a high school classmate`s science fair project about surface tension, I understand what`s going on here. The swamps are pink with June. EMILY DICKINSON I wanted to pull the blade of grass out of the picture, but discovered it was the foundation of the web itself. For me, this is a `landscape` photo. At the Grand Canyon, I`d probably take pictures of little rocks on the ground.

June 23, 2007
The Butterfly House at Cox Arboretum is open! [Tiger Swallowtail] I really, really like my camera. [Monarch Butterfly Caterpillar] Butterflies feed on the nectar of flowers, drinking it through a long tube called a proboscis. [Red Admiral] Butterflies have different patterns on the bottom of their wings compared to the top. [Great Spangled Fritillary] Caterpillars are true insects, so they have six legs. Those `protolegs` at the back will disappear. [Cecropia Moth]

June 24, 2007
I was scheduled to take pictures of some smiling person today, but she never showed up. Plan B was to photograph a wakeboarding competition, although I had no idea what wakeboarding was. Although I`m new to the sport, I`m pretty sure this person is in trouble. `SLOW DOWN!!!!!` `Get out of my shot!` `No, you get out of my shot.`

June 25, 2007
My morning walk through the neighborhood. She`s cute, but she doesn`t say much. Just follow the wires. It kept flying away and coming back to the same flower. Growth is everywhere.

June 26, 2007
Afternoon in the art building. Out of the clear blue sky. Keeping things green. When it`s my turn to retire, I wonder what they`ll give me. June 17, 1972: Frank Wills, night watchman at the Watergate complex, notices a doorknob. August 8, 1974: Richard Nixon resigns the presidency.

June 27, 2007
Self-portrait. Toy wars are simple to control. It`s getting so you can`t pick up a publication without finding one of my photos on the cover. Did you hear me on the radio tonight? This was unintentional, but I liked it more than the clear shot.

June 28, 2007
Don`t tread on me. First thing in the morning. Second thing in the morning. Low hoops, high hopes. The sky was cloudy all day (and there weren`t any deer or antelope playing).

June 29, 2007
With so many toadstools, there isn`t mushroom for growth. It was my lunchtime too. June is the month for weddings. The same person who will turn you into a `classical trained pianist` also gives `base guitar` lessons. Ogre to please.

June 30, 2007
I told someone yesterday, `No butterfly pictures are planned this weekend.` The butterflies had other plans. Breakdancing comes to Dayton 20 years late. Cowboy rope tricks come to Dayton 120 years late. At juggling school, he was big man on campus. Before and after.

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