Daily Photos

< July 2008 >

July 1, 2008
`I see everything twice!` Yossarian shouted. JOSEPH HELLER Butterflies are drawn to some types of flowers and ignore others. They tell them apart by tasting them with their feet. Summer project. I dunno what it is about Dayton. I just feel SAFE there. Home sweet home.

July 2, 2008
Light is a wave. Yes, I`ve photographed this pendulum before (see August 9, 2004), but never from underneath. Better hurry up and die. What cat? Twenty-four wheeler.

July 3, 2008
`We got both kinds of music here: country AND western.` THE BLUES BROTHERS Prepared for anything. How many of us enjoy our work THAT much? One of the most amazing photos I`ve ever taken, exactly as the camera captured it. Not a mistake, I saw it coming. For some reason, Dayton does this a day early.

July 4, 2008
The First Lady couldn`t come to town, so they sent a sub. `Watch out for the guy with the camera.` Cityfolk Festival 2008. Another interpretation of May 18, 2005. Think John Philip Sousa.

July 5, 2008
Learning to dance the hula. Music at your fingertips. Dancing to the dumka. Everybody loves pizza. Polka-dot skirt, green plastic bottle.

July 6, 2008
The coast is clear. So I`m supposed to put this in the bank, right? Remember these lines from May 30, 2008? I live in a high-crime neighborhood. A B, C?

July 7, 2008
Be vewwy qwiet. The University of Dayton library, where I am wont to be (but where I don`t always want to be). A chromatic scale. Musicians out there will get it. Did you see the movie `The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc`? The hungry, hungry Caterpillar.

July 8, 2008
What cat? The birds must have already bathed. A knee-high sunflower. As long as it doesn`t rain, we`re in good shape. Now the trouble begins.

July 9, 2008
Iron bars can`t hold them. Now hope is lost (see May 1, 2008). What I noticed as I was photographing something else. Garden snake. You`ve seen this monument before from a different location (see July 20, 2006).

July 10, 2008
Starting today -- fewer cat pictures. Trying to bring gender equality to the photo I took on May 20, 2008. `Swan song` refers to death thanks to Franz Schubert, who composed his Swan Song shortly before he kicked. Another closeup of a flower? No, the interior of an orange construction pylon. People are assaulted with visual distractions. As a photographer, my job is to intensify the experience of color for them. PETE TURNER

July 11, 2008
Stating the obvious. Okay, starting tomorrow . . . fewer cat pictures. The sun rose into a clear blue sky. WHIF Wash me.

July 12, 2008
Somebody went to the hairdresser this morning. I told her to `look horizontal` in this one. On Tuesday, I became aware of this person`s existence. On Saturday I took this picture. Ain`t the Internet great? If you could smile like this, wouldn`t you do it all the time? I think `Wow!` is sufficient here.

July 13, 2008
It takes a licking and keeps on ticking. Time keeps on slipping into the future. Behind the times. Feeling wound up? If a cow could hide, it might avoid becoming cowhide.

July 14, 2008
Did I ever explain what the little camera gizmo was that I received on June 4, 2007? It`s a circular polarizing filter to reduce reflections. Here`s the gizmo I used to shoot yesterday`s pictures of my wristwatch. It`s a 10x macro lens. Woohoo! Summer camp! A lot more fun than June 14, 2006. No air conditioning in the library. We`re going home early.

July 15, 2008
I don`t think any of my modelz, er -- models, have gold teeth. Don`t even try it. Hold the line. Extraordinary measures are taken to cool the library`s computer network, while the human beings sweat. Another thing a polarizing filter does is reduce haze, so the sky looks blue and clouds are crisp.

July 16, 2008
Wasn`t planning on it. A camera provides access to the most unusual places. Last one in`s a rotten egg! Homage to Howard Schatz. Very few men participate in synchronized swimming.

July 17, 2008
While you were getting ready for work, I was taking pictures. It was over 100 degrees in the library today. Again we went home early. The anti-fur activists are at it again (see May 10, 2005). I remember watching WQQDY punch an opposing player who had just intercepted an Ohio State pass. Another sports hero, like Pete Rose, that Ohioans can be proud of. I think the Lindy Hop will come back someday.

July 18, 2008
I wonder what these would look like scrambled. Killing time before the art exhibition opens. Once the exhibition opens, people flock to my photograph (see April 6, 2008), if three people can be called a flock. Today I lost my motivation for taking five pictures a day, but found it again near the baseboard of my apartment. Tiny holes in the window blinds project discs of sunset, including silhouettes of tree branches blowing in the wind.

July 19, 2008
Three friends of mine talked to me about taking pictures of their weddings this summer. I said, `No,` `No` and `No.` Next to photographing combat, I can think of nothing more stressful than taking pictures at a wedding. A person has only one wedding in life (hopefully) so there is just one chance to get good pictures. That`s not to say I`d leave my camera at home when going to a wedding. Of course I`ll bring it with me. While the professional photographers earn their money, I eat cake and occasionally snap a picture they missed.

July 20, 2008
Gold, green and the blues. `Mirror, mirror in my hand, who`s the fairest in the land?` In the old days, they used the neck of a broken bottle. I bought a bottle of water even though I wasn`t thirsty. I suppose I could hear a lot better in FRONT of the stage.

July 21, 2008
Sand trap. Not a morning glory, but it was glorious this morning. Smaller than what you might think. While taking this picture, I heard an incessant chirping . . . It stopped chirping while I took the picture.

July 22, 2008
Water hazard. Among the black-eyed susans. Several sparrows shared the bird feeder peacefully, but when a goldfinch arrived nobody else was welcome. I need a t-shirt that says `IGNORE THE CAMERA!` Why climb the Kettering Lab? Because it`s there.

July 23, 2008
Balance. This house is a terminal case. I seem to be forgetting my `fewer bird photos` promise. What the bumblebee saw. My corner of the sky.

July 24, 2008
Due to nice weather, I haven`t driven my car in two days. Beginning my 30-minute walk to work. I caulk the line. High above the city streets. Yes, it feels that way sometimes.

July 25, 2008
Morning breeze. I`d turn back if I were you. `An I got a pony an a lelaphant an a monkey an a lalagator . . . ` `Where`s that guy selling sno-cones?` `Mommy`s head isn`t as comfy as daddy`s.`

July 26, 2008
Hawks in the neighborhood, and the robins are nervous. I planned last night to get this shot today. Hero shot. I didn`t think they made the Pinto anymore. Protecting the stable from horse rustlers.

July 27, 2008
1957 Mercedes-Benz 300SL. Celtic culture was very difficult to find at the Celtic Festival. It was mostly just a shopping mall under tents. Under the boardwalk, down by the sea, on a blanket with my baby, is where I`ll be. THE DRIFTERS Play that Irish fiddle. Though not an official performer, this guy entertained the crowd with his swooping parasail.

July 28, 2008
They instinctively avoid people who don`t like cats. Looks like something Fred Flinstone would wear. Better stop quickly on the running layups. Does this count as a cat photo? Diving for seeds.

July 29, 2008
Locked her in the attic and she STILL eloped. Time to leaf for work. Stairway in Alumni Hall. SLOW is a relative term. Fun in the sun.

July 30, 2008
It`s a bee on a flower. Stop me if you`ve seen this before. Some bridesmaid evidently left this as an offering at the foot of the statue seen on June 1, 2004. Chik-a chik-a chik-a chik-a chik-a chik-a chik-a chik-a, FFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFT! `Ta-ta for now!` It`s important to recognize the sounds that birds make, otherwise one can be nearby and you don`t know it.

July 31, 2008
Unlike July 22, this time he didn`t see me. Cars seemed like a good idea at the time, but their negative effect on the world cannot be overestimated. Mom and Pop tattoo shop. Despite my attempts to conceal it (see yesterday`s pictures) I do in fact live in the city. The moment at which the light from the windows balances with the glow of the hanging lamps will be magical -- but I wasn`t dedicated enough to stick around for it.

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