Daily Photos

< November 2009 >

November 1, 2009
I had recently decided to stop taking portraits of total strangers, but I seem to be losing my resolve. Like a character in `The Hitchhiker`s Guide to the Galaxy,` I`ve learned to always carry a towel (in this case so she could sit on stone steps without damaging her dress). Fifteen years old. Yes, you heard me. The Doublemint Twins. If I could do this every day, I might consider becoming a professional photographer.

November 2, 2009
Not for long will you see bees here. Just a touch of sunlight. A whole lot of sunlight. As nature intended, there was a seedling stuck to me when I walked away. The end of picnic season.

November 3, 2009
After voting for the MetroParks levy, I went to a MetroPark. My dress shoes were a muddy mess when I was finished. There are things to be learned out here that can`t be discovered indoors. Homage to underwater-photographer-with-only-one-name Ryuijie. Without the thin band of shoreline near the top, this picture would have a totally different feel.

November 4, 2009
Today a coworker stopped by my office to introduce a newly-hired employee. She gestured to me and said, `This is Adam Alonzo. Every day, he takes five photos.` The new employee looked at me with an expression that seemed to say, `Why would you do something like that?` I`m not sure I have a good explanation for it either. Most days, it`s just something I do because I`ve done it for a long time.

November 5, 2009
A swirl and a smile. The bonds of marriage take a variety of forms. They can jump so high since they`re wearing Chucks. The next generation of dance. Pappy`s arthritis medication seems to be working well.

November 6, 2009
Historically, this building was cherished. Currently, it is unused. Probably, it will be torn down. Eventually, it will be cherished and people will wonder why it was torn down. If anyone observes me taking pictures, they probably assume I`m a threat to homeland security. How to avoid traffic on the commute home. On a shot like this, any camera attempts to brighten the scene. You need to take control and KEEP it dark. This picture comes close to breaking one of my rules: `Make sure it`s very clear what the picture is about.`

November 7, 2009
I buy wrinkle-free shirts so I don`t have to iron. This is not a tree. This is a wall. In a historic neighborhood, there`s a thin line between quaint and just plain old. Long, low shadows in the early afternoon. A tough shot, considering I didn`t want to create a shadow of myself.

November 8, 2009
From a window of downtown Dayton`s most expensive residence dangles a cheap TV antenna. This way up. When evacuating the building in a panic, remember to watch your step. Dog gone: no more Greyhound station downtown. Who wants half a costume?

November 9, 2009
Today it was hard to tell if it was fall . . . . . . or if it was spring. Student studiously studying. I was being observed as I took this, but the person (a photographer) had the sense to wait before speaking. For Anna.

November 10, 2009
After hanging around all spring and summer, there`s a briefly exhilarating tumble, followed by decay. At least some don`t have to take their terminal tumble alone. Remember the fallen. Leonardo da Vinci made sketches for a helicopter in 1493, long before it was possible to manufacture one. Insurance fraud made easy. On the left is what I was paid to get my car repaired after a break-in (see October 30). On the right is what it really cost. Both the body shop and the insurance company suggested I keep the difference, but I voided the check and asked for a smaller one.

November 11, 2009
Closet | Dark Lamp | Bright. Milk | Cold. Juice | Sweet. Water | Clear.

November 12, 2009
I shoulda learned to play the geetar, I shoulda learned to bang them drums. DIRE STRAITS Like a rolling stone. (See other trashy jokes on May 26, 2006, and November 14, 2006). ADAM ALONZO`S MEDIOCRE PHOTOGRAPHY. Gullible. La bailarina mexicana.

November 13, 2009
The people who work in the box office always try to talk me out of buying tickets in the front row. It never works. Weeks of practice for a performance of a few minutes. There are so few guys involved in dance that the girls have to fight over them. It`s frustrating that not only are the lights low in most dance performances, but also the costumes are mostly black. The Company.

November 14, 2009
Two thousand days ago, I started my daily photo routine. Two thousand days times five photos per day equals . . . a whole lot of pictures (I`m not good at math). At my first photo exhibit (called `200 Days`), someone said, `If he`s this good at 200 days, just imagine what his pictures will be like at 2000 days.` Well . . . any better? I`ve really struggled to keep up this daily routine lately, so maybe 2000 days would be a good place for me to stop. Oh well, I guess I can keep it up for a few more days.

November 15, 2009
Today`s portrait shoot was the longest that I`ve ever done: it took four hours and resulted in about 500 photographs. I told Mary this was her `frontier girl` outfit. She`s wearing the necklace from September 30, 2009. We discussed various adjectives to describe the color of her eyes. The word `hazel` doesn`t mean anything to me. Sitting around and smiling on a Sunday afternoon.

November 16, 2009
Every year as winter approaches, birds suddenly descend on trees like this and eat up all the berries. Playing the angles. Squirrel proof? No one wants to be alone at the end. Symbols, symbols blowing in the wind: the certainty of death, the promise of renewal.

November 17, 2009
Are you a pessimist or an optimist? Is the water delivery truck half empty or half full? A successful leap from tree to tree. If you ever feel disappointed in yourself, just do what I do: lower your expectations. This picture is better than nothing, so I`m quite satisfied with it. UD women`s soccer team wins first round of NCAA tournament on penalty kicks. I shot Mary`s pictures on Sunday using my new ring flash.

November 18, 2009
Sturdy. I wither, I fall, like the autumn-kissed leaf. PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR Dunbar Walk . . . is that like the Lindy Hop? I`ve experienced some mild confusion lately about what season it is. There`s been great progress at RiverScape since October 7, 2009.

November 19, 2009
I don`t really like premature Christmas decorations, but I can`t escape it since this is where I work. Paint this. I`m glad I`m not the only one who notices heart-shaped hearts. No problem, she can just take this bedsheet home at Thanksgiving and have mom wash it. I`m off to hear Los Lobos, supposedly America`s greatest rock band according to this article (but I wrote the article).

November 20, 2009
How can it be new? Fake flowers in an office window. Everyone`s worried about getting the flu. Nativity scenes from wall to wall. Bath time.

November 21, 2009
In an unusual operatic mashup, Andrew Lloyd-Webber`s `Phantom of the Opera` was heard on the same stage . . . . . . as Johann Strauss Jr.`s `Die Fledermaus` and . . . . . . Gilbert and Sullivan`s `The Mikado` . . . . . . and finally, `The Marriage of Figaro` by Mozart. The orchestra members had to do a lot of page-flipping as the performance jumped from one opera to another.

November 22, 2009
I expected to be the only moving thing on the prairie today, but I was wrong. Next year`s seedlings. Go sniff a bottle of Pine-Sol and you`ll know what it smelled like as I took this picture under the trees. Crystal clean. Did you see that movie `American Beauty`?

November 23, 2009
The sun never quite came out today. Reminds me of some people I know. Almost anything can be an interesting photographic subject. Hangers on. Don`t anyone tell him he`s not an eagle.

November 24, 2009
A test shot preparing for Friday night`s parade. As long as I was downtown at night with my camera and flash, I decided to do a little driveby shooting. Free after 6:00pm. Say please. It`s a beautiful night in the neighborhood.

November 25, 2009
Maybe I should`ve just quit at 2000 days after all. My apologies to those who come to this Web site regularly looking for GOOD pictures. This is one of those new super-size cartons of eggs. Nobody wants just TWELVE eggs. If I hadn`t had eggs in the refrigerator, I might have had to get creative with carrots. Now it`s 10:30 at night and I`ve fulfilled my quota. I took photos all afternoon at work, but those don`t count.

November 26, 2009
People who live in this house shouldn`t throw stones. I`m already camped out underneath the Christmas tree. More picture-taking under the Christmas tree. Someone else`s flash seems to create three toy trains. Photo opportunities are everywhere. New hidden camera helps parents determine if their kids are practicing.

November 27, 2009
This is my own version of Black Friday: navigating through a crowd of thousands to photograph the Holiday Festival. He`s too cool to be cold. Reindeer were too expensive to maintain, so Santa Claus had to outsource to a different species. Caught snooping under the Christmas tree. Elves are people too.

November 28, 2009
Like the Osmonds, you`ve watched this family grow up (see December 13, 2008, and December 3, 2006). To know what she`s thinking, you have to be able to read her eyebrows. Dogs understand what cameras are. Even the most familiar Christmas songs are appealing when played on a harp. Another look at my new ring flash (see November 17). Why pay hundreds when I can get a plastic one for $60?

November 29, 2009
Hurrah for the flag of the free. May it wave as our standard forever. JOHN PHILIP SOUSA One-room schoolhouse. Out, out, brief candle! Life`s but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more: it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. `Macbeth` Act V, Scene 5 by WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE. I wonder if Wilbur ever got tired of Orville hanging around all the time. ONE MORE DAY! (See June 22, 2008).

November 30, 2009
There are still three more weeks of autumn. Taken at five o`clock at a busy downtown intersection with hundreds of motorists nearby but facing the wrong way. How shall I woo thee to win thee, mine own, thou who art fair and as far as the moon? PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR Taken AFTER the moon picture, believe it or not. True, Christmas comes but once a year, but it lasts more than a month.

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