Daily Photos

< December 2009 >

December 1, 2009
Clang, clang clang! went the trolley. Rising from the downtown arts district. It`s Christmastime in the city. Here`s where the painters ran out of gold. Lessons in body image.

December 2, 2009
Today was almost the day. I had zero pictures after 11:00pm, and no plans to take any. It was kind of cold, but the weather wasn`t really bad. I am healthy and had time to take pictures. But I didn`t. So I decided to be a good environmentalist and do some recycling. I took NEW pictures of OLD ones on a monitor. I know that people like Tim S., Anna B., Ron R. and Nita W. expect to see five new photos here every day. There was no hardship today that I could give them as an excuse for why I quit, so I struggled through Day 2018.

December 3, 2009
After yesterday`s crisis, any photo I take today is satisfying. I shouldn`t be struggling with photography. It`s much easier than painting. Pay no attention to that man photographing the curtain. Somebody needs to draw a mousetrap on the wall. I am trapped in the transition of the seasons.

December 4, 2009
Before going to a high school Shakespeare performance, it`s best to read the play so you know what they`re saying. There`s always a letter scene (see December 6, 2007). This weekend`s outlaw (on the left) was last weekend`s harpist (see November 28, 2009). Some of the scenery obstructed my view and made it hard to take pictures. After the show, the actors stop acting.

December 5, 2009
No Shakespeare today, but a very touching `Amahl and the Night Visitors.` This one king of Orient is. `Amahl and the Night Visitors` was the first opera written for television. We`ll be right back after these messages. This is their quest: to follow that star, no matter how hopeless, no matter how far. Wait -- wrong show. Never fall asleep and leave your gold, frankincense and myrrh laying around.

December 6, 2009
Modeling serves no useful purpose in society, but I guess it`s nice to know that some people are good at it. One of her favorites. Her other favorite. A borrowed hat and a borrowed dress, but the smile belongs to her. I prefer shooting pictures outdoors, but in December that`s not an option.

December 7, 2009
And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem. To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. LUKE 2 And when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto Him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh. MATTHEW 2

December 8, 2009
Altos we have heard on high. My camera has a quiet mode that`s good for concerts. Come to a concert a half hour early and you too can get shots like this (see April 17, 2007). Quartette. Keeping the beat with Bach.

December 9, 2009
People in the business call this the `bow tie.` The river current runs west (toward the camera), but the wind was blowing so hard the water was chopping east. Also trying to move west against a 60 mile per hour wind. Can you see she`s smiling? Can you see he`s smiling?.

December 10, 2009
Christmas presents for students also serve as finals week survival kits, since they`re filled with candy and junk food. All is calm, all is bright. In case you were wondering what to get me. On a cold, windy day I stay indoors and shoot out the windows. Now to hide the receipt so people at the office party tomorrow will think that I baked them.

December 11, 2009
Festive fizz. Don`t cut it until I`ve taken a picture! Everyone got a small box, with a number on the bottom indicating the prize they won. My box had no number. A coworker asked me to photograph her dessert plate. Better cut the thing. People are getting restless.

December 12, 2009
A little holiday cheer. They also cheer who only stand and wait. Hip hop dancing serves no useful purpose in society, but I guess it`s nice to know that some people are good at it. A free event, indoors, with no photographic restrictions: I`M THERE! The low point of the event came when the parents sitting near me made fun of a performer because of her weight.

December 13, 2009
Season`s leavings. Bring a torch, Jeanette Isabella. Ten pipers piping, nine drummers drumming, but how many strummers strumming? As with the harpist, the blurry wreath in the background is there deliberately. Here it looks like fairy dust. After the concert, the singers relax and kick off their shoes.

December 14, 2009
I left it there on the bench, wondering if I was being watched. ALLERGY WARNING: This photograph contains nuts. The bulb of Christmas past. During the summer, he happily snags bugs out of the air, but in winter he won`t refuse a handout. Any pumpkin that survives October and November deserves to be dressed up a little in December.

December 15, 2009
In a library, we really like to keep our stuff organized. Captions are sometimes unnecessary. Early experiments by the invisible man were only partially successful. I am pleased to work within a community where people are free to celebrate Christmas. I had a ticket to tonight`s show, but I stayed home. Bah, humbug!

December 16, 2009
Shooting an indoor stairwell is about as bad as it gets. Can I borrow a stamp? Whiteboard follies. Taken from inside the car with the heater going strong. Alas, where have the summers gone?

December 17, 2009
At the center of my neighborhood. For Christmas, I grew you a cat. I don`t draw these whiteboard pictures, you realize. Glove is in the air. Glove on the rocks.

December 18, 2009
Undercover cop. Peace on earth: students have gone home for Christmas. With all the students gone, I have the library all to myself. Wait -- what was that noise? It`s that time of year when well-intentioned people give me presents that will leave me fat and toothless. Something for you maybe?

December 19, 2009
These are out of order. First you give your heart, then you give a diamond. Trash day. Very funny. Who hung the Christmas tree upside down? Winter storm warning. Walk ten paces, turn around and draw!

December 20, 2009
This is a reshoot of something I did on June 15, 2004. Why did this one take me three times longer? The only Ohio state buckeyes that I like. Are they grapes or are they tomatoes? LIBERTY Grape juice.

December 21, 2009
In a room filled with dignitaries, reporters, and me, it was announced that the University of Dayton has bought the NCR World Headquarters building -- and Old River Park. How do you turn this heater on? Christmas just isn`t Christmas without gaudy decorations. I certainly don`t want you to feel obligated, but it costs money to bring you these pictures every day you know. Last year around Christmas I bought myself a new lens. This year it was this little gizmo for my flash. The hard part is keeping these presents a secret from myself.

December 22, 2009
In the silent chapel. !samtsirhC yrreM I`m giving my camels a new bridle for Christmas. It`s a miracle of nature! Like my first studio photo (taken on April 4, 2006) this dull looking shot is just the beginning of revolutionary things -- thanks to that new little gizmo I showed you yesterday.

December 23, 2009
Would you sit on this man`s lap? Tonight was another close call when I hadn`t taken any photos by about 11:00pm. There`s a lot of cultural confusion about what Christmas is. I drove around a nearby neighborhood that I`d never been to before. The condition of the homes was depressing. Back in the Oregon District, which may look just as squalid to outsiders.

December 24, 2009
O the rising of the sun and the running of the deer, the playing of the merry organ, sweet singing of the choir. O tannenbaum, up close. Tiny tots, with their eyes all aglow. Angels we have hung on high. Last year he got dinosaurs (see December 24, 2008), and this year it was jungle animals. He`s equally happy.

December 25, 2009
Kids want only the latest high-tech toys for Christmas. `Dude, wudja get?` Eventually I`ll have pictures of all the items in this house (see December 25: 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008). All I want for Christmas is more playing time. The angel wore earmuffs.

December 26, 2009
It was a cold but harmless day. It was a windy but harmless day. It was a sunny but harmless day. I didn`t look to see what kind of freedom was being covered up. Everything that rises must converge.

December 27, 2009
Some plants just don`t seem to care about winter. The lily pond has lost its fair-weather frogs and fish. Maybe it`s the state bird of Ohio since it spends the winter here. How much is that stuffed doggie in the window? Sunny, but cold.

December 28, 2009
I got this nice little reading light for Christmas, but had trouble figuring out how to use it. I decided to see if it could be used with my camera. With the nice clamp, I can attach it directly to the camera. I don`t even have to use my hands. Today`s photos are both an apathetic and a pathetic attempt to fulfill my five-a-day quota. The last one was taken at ten seconds until midnight.

December 29, 2009
A cheerleader from Virginia, just passing through Ohio. Her bubbly enthusiasm left me exhausted. I told her she looks like a superhero with those boots. I can say with certainty that she is the best blue-haired model I`ve ever photographed. She`s spelling LOL. She can also do WOW, MOM, COW and perhaps other words if allowed to use her feet too.

December 30, 2009
It`s a very rare thing, nowadays, that I take a picture I actually like. Despite forecasts to the contrary, this is the only snow we`ve seen. Looks like SOME people have to work this week. A dress like this can be worn only during the winter, which is probably a good thing. Yeah, no kidding.

December 31, 2009
They`re carrying bits of cat food in their beaks. `YOU GUYS!!! That`s my lunch!` Some days I just don`t know which way to turn. Thirty-seven degrees and rainy. It might as well be spring. And this was my final recollection of the year 2009. For Christmas, somebody gave me their cold, and since then I`ve been hoping to regift it to someone else.

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