Daily Photos

< October 2007 >

October 1, 2007
All the cool kids are in Photo Club. There was a slit in the sky this evening. Sky slit up close. Facing the opposite direction from the sky slit. Totally unconcerned about the sky slit.

October 2, 2007
One of those pictures which, 36 hours later, I wish I had shot differently. Nature abhors a vacuum. I abhor a cat. And why do I abhor a cat? They are too much like people: they kill for amusement. Here`s what the cute white cat was trying to kill.

October 3, 2007
For He shall give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. PSALM 91:11 Another failed attempt at immortality. Meanwhile, at the other end of the span of life . . . It`s a boy! This was my first baby shower, so I can`t say for sure if it`s normal to have blinking ducks floating in the punch.

October 4, 2007
A good picture doesn`t need a caption. Two bee or not two bee. She missed the Frisbee, so the passer-by had to catch it in self-defense. I don`t know any sixteen-year-olds in JoLieTT, ILLINOIS. I thought I had exchanged music for photography, but it has caught up with me again -- at least temporarily.

October 5, 2007
The pursuit of perfection is often perceived critically, and `perfectionist` is an undesirable label to have. The first four of today`s photos were all taken within an area of about six feet, but over a span of 26 minutes. The same jogger ran by at least six times, as I shot and reshot and reshot the same things over and over. I took 35 shots of this sleeping butterfly, struggling with the dim light, until I got one that is - dare I say it - perfect. Which of course made me late for work, so I just snapped this imperfect image as I parked my car.

October 6, 2007
When she grows up, she wants to be a bouncer. `I LOVE MY HAT!` La Promenade, la femme à l`ombrelle by Claude Monet. From the 50 yard line. Wow, now THAT was a tackle.

October 7, 2007
A tough row to row. Front row seat. With your arms and legs still shaking from the race, THEN you have to lift your boat out of the water and carry it away. They weren`t even racing at this point, but it`s a nice shot. With all those spectators, the suspension bridge starts to sway in an alarming way.

October 8, 2007
I`ve been waiting for this day since October 17, 2006. `Gas prices? Who cares about gas prices?` Ninety degrees in October -- you bet I`ll be shooting out the window. What a doll. It`s amazing how I can convince myself almost anything is an interesting picture when it`s really hot outside.

October 9, 2007
This idea looked a lot better in my head. It`s the same fire hydrant, but from opposite directions. A sunny day in Dayton. My classroom seen from my car. My car seen from my classroom.

October 10, 2007
Must be one of those new hybrids. When I get tired of the Oregon District, I sometimes wander through other neighborhoods in the morning. You probably don`t want to dive into the deep end either. I loved both Sense & Sensibility and Pride & Prejudice, but I think she reached her peak with Dumb & Dumber. And it still smells like a new car showroom (or maybe that`s me).

October 11, 2007
I`m going to try to get my Halloween cards out earlier this year. I like to take pictures of flowers. A crowd of evacuees, CAUTION tape, a fire truck and police car: these should have warned me off, but they only made me come closer. Job got you down? It could be worse. Did you read the paper today? You should have.

October 12, 2007
Today`s Web page is brought to you by the letter L. Out with the old . . . . . . and in with the new. Some kind of grass (hey, I`m not a grassologist). I asked if he was earning his college tuition playing on the street. He said, `Maybe just enough for laundry money.`

October 13, 2007
We should`ve never let him watch those `Lassie` reruns. Aw, shucks! The plough that broke the plains. It`s a shame how fashion modeling promotes an unrealistic body image. Sharpen your knife.

October 14, 2007
I`m just waiting on a part. Sunshine almost all the time makes me smile. A ticket waiting to happen. Who ya gonna call? Name that bird.

October 15, 2007
Whitebored. Rise above it. Happy Sweetest Day. Nature`s toothbrush. Daisy dweller.

October 16, 2007
Peaked too early. There`s a rainy theme in effect today. Leaf on leaf. Sounds like an ice cream flavor: blue berry raindrop. You shoulda seed this pod.

October 17, 2007
Mary outside Marycrest. People are still buying this image (see June 15, 2004). A Mexican delicacy. Finally! One of my photos on the cover of National Geographic. Halloween is just two weeks away.

October 18, 2007
Today is all about motion blur. The camera is focused, but some things are still blurry. That`s because some things are stationary and other things are moving. Motion blur is normally something to avoid. But sometimes it`s an interesting effect.

October 19, 2007
Following up on yesterday`s lesson, there`s another type of blur that is often useful in photography. In this case, nothing is moving and yet only certain parts of the image are clearly focused. This type of blur is accomplished by reducing depth of field, or the range of critical focus. Limiting depth of field means that more of the image will be blurry and only the most important part will be clear. It is much more common to deliberately use this type of blur than it is to use motion blur.

October 20, 2007
Autumn Queen. Dessert fork. Brother, can you sparrow dime? Fact: this butterfly will not live through winter, but it has left many offspring that will emerge from chrysalides in spring. Fact: this butterfly will winter in Mexico, then die migrating north in spring, but not before starting a new generation.

October 21, 2007
Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth, And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings. JOHN GILLESPIE MAGEE Most people see an airplane. I see colors, shapes and lines. Can you hear me, Major Tom? Arch-itecture. I have mixed feelings about this sort of thing, but I`m definitely glad this is OURS.

October 22, 2007
The people who sit at this table will decide if I get the grant I applied for (see August 2, 2007). It wasn`t raining when I parked. Wasting electricity to make a picture. Wasting gas to make a picture. The names of people who passed the first round of the grant competition.

October 23, 2007
A day when the sun never came out. Exploding galaxy. Not really. A moving fire truck. Really. Keep looking at this picture -- you may warm up to it. What seems to be the trouble, officer?

October 24, 2007
Leaky library. Mary under glass. Are you sure you two are old enough to get married? Dancing the Polka Nortena. After dancing: posing for pictures.

October 25, 2007
The sky couldn`t decide if it was in a good or bad mood. A short while later, it was in a bad mood. As winter approaches, the parks where I regularly take pictures are starting to lose their appeal. Yes, I`m still taking pictures of flowers, but am trying to do it in interesting ways. What the fly saw.

October 26, 2007
Sadly, there is no cure for this strange nervous disorder. Bassist in a bottle. I don`t think it accepts paper money. Paint the sky. The names of people who did not pass the final round of the grant competition (see October 22, 2007).

October 27, 2007
Time to call Orkin. Don`t fear the Reaper. Typical Oregon District neighbors. Man with whip, woman with flower in mouth -- guess what happened next. I live in a violent neighborhood.

October 28, 2007
This is the first time I`ve ever gotten my five pictures in a day before waking up in the morning. Now you see her, now you don`t. Music arouses the savage beast. Please, don`t be shy. I couldn`t have done this on purpose.

October 29, 2007
Aftermath of the leaky library (see October 24, 2007). Punkin Girl. They just don`t talk anymore. Don`t cry over spilled milk. Take a picture of it. Self-portrait in an ice cream scoop.

October 30, 2007
Much of what I do every day involves keeping these people and machines happy. Someone else`s car. Shadows are low, even at noon. Haven`t I seen that face on TV? They`re French-speaking Africans who sing the blues.

October 31, 2007
No doubt made in China. The sun was setting -- in the opposite direction. The Stoddard Avenue Pumpkin Glow. Pumpkin prison. Second only to ice sculptors, pumpkin carvers put a lot of effort into things that won`t last long enough to justify it.

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