Daily Photos

< January 2010 >

January 1, 2010
With the start of the new month and the new year, I wanted to do something totally new for today`s daily pictures. I got out my new remote flash trigger and light stand and started to experiment with some spinning quarters. Remember this is a totally new idea, and any similarity you see to February 9, 2005, is purely your imagination. These MUST be better than the pictures from 2005 since they were taken with much more expensive equipment. It was so expensive, in fact, that here`s my lunch money for next week.

January 2, 2010
It was another day of living room experiments with some new flash equipment. Don`t take this personally, but I was very happy to spend yesterday and today in my apartment not seeing or speaking to anybody. Ouch! The Hindenburg is coming in too fast!!! Okay, enough foolishness. The objective is to learn how to take well-illuminated indoor portraits. Not that THIS is one.

January 3, 2010
James Brown? James Brown`s mother? As soon as Christmas was over, the little drummer boy got laid off. Not a terribly interesting scene, but one that can only be spotted from this particular location. I had to venture outside today to avoid another set of living room photos. Not a living room photo -- a kitchen photo.

January 4, 2010
Hallelujah, amen! It has seen better days. Of course not, the person who uses the computer does the work. Rarely do I compare myself to potted plants, but neither of us do well in cold weather. As it slowly landed, I would have been frightened had it not been for the faint Christmas music that came from it.

January 5, 2010
Not a black and white photo, but almost. In the spring and summer I photograph individual flowers, and in the fall single leaves. Even in the winter, I continue to shoot the world just a few inches at a time. Soundless as dots on a disk of snow. EMILY DICKINSON I actually felt ashamed taking this picture, but options were limited on my one quick trip around the block. Old towels reduce the wind chill factor in my living room.

January 6, 2010
The law of winter: eat or die. Looking up or looking down? [Up] This tree, above a pond, holds recollections of summer. Not my tracks. Do you have the new Adam Alonzo Nature Photography calendar? Of course not, because (to borrow a line from `The Wizard of Oz`) there`s only one of him and he`s it.

January 7, 2010
8:15am. 2:30pm. Reminds me of my runny nose ever since SOMEBODY gave me their cold for Christmas. Look! I occasionally zoom out. Dull objects are interesting to look at when it snows.

January 8, 2010
Call a tow truck. Someone from Parking Services cleared a hole in the snow to determine if the car had a permit, then left a ticket. In a hurry in a flurry. If I knew you were coming I`d`ve baked a house. This check finally settles my car break-in (see October 30 and November 10, 2009). My insurance company believes in customer satisfaction -- just not right away.

January 9, 2010
Okay, this is the LAST thing I`ll buy for my camera flash: about 50 little gels of different colors. You ain`t been blue `til you`ve been Full Blue #3202. When other photographers see my new colored gels, they will be green with envy . . . . . . or red with rage. Unfortunately there`s no easy way to attach the gels to the flash, so I used the container with a couple rubber bands.

January 10, 2010
Sure it`s pretty I guess, but I`m ready for spring. Sleeping giant. If only I`d brought my new green gel, I could`ve really enhanced this shot. And you think it`s cold where YOU live. Oblivion.

January 11, 2010
We call it a drey. Squirrels call it home. In a recent national happiness survey, Ohio ranked 42nd out of the 50 states. That`s near the bottom, not the top. The photo IS the caption. Don`t tell Steve Madden that Annie took his glasses. `I wish I had Steve Madden glasses too.`

January 12, 2010
A two-man trap means SOMEBODY is open. Keep your eye on the ball. `Don`t even think about passing. Just find your shots.` Welcome to Hack City. SWISH!

January 13, 2010
It hurts me every time I hear someone use the word `text` as a verb. `Hey, I just texted you.` Ouch. Who parked this building here? Signs of spring? Late afternoon reflection . . . . . . meanwhile, across the street.

January 14, 2010
It`s 38 degrees: dorm window open. It`s 38 degrees: students wearing shorts. It`s 38 degrees: squirrel not wearing earmuffs. Last spring, while I was taking pictures of bugs on flowers, she went into orbit and captured the Hubble space telescope as it traveled at 17,500 miles per hour. A soon-to-be-21-year-old friend has suggested that people give her a copy of their favorite or most influential book for her birthday. This is gonna be a tough decision.

January 15, 2010
On the trail of the elusive three-legged goose. Along the frozen riverbank. A racoon out during the day, staggering and shaking, is not a healthy racoon. I stayed far away. `Woo hoo, water! This is gonna feel good!` `Well, it looked like water.`

January 16, 2010
Inbounds pass. Fast break. Blocked shot. Free throw. Talking trash.

January 17, 2010
I always carry earplugs, in case I`m photographing screaming cheerleaders, racing cars or boring lecturers. Today I interviewed a musician in Israel, using this awkward method to record it. The same window blind, seen from above and below. Colored paper, waved in front of the lens. When you see pictures like these, you know it was a day I spent twiddling my thumbs.

January 18, 2010
A cold guitarist performing in a doorway in the Oregon District. If I had STOPPED WALKING to take this picture, then I would`ve had to put some money in his guitar case. Photos taken at night mean I wasted time during the day. Thinking ahead to Mardi Gras. Historic district style. Come on, people, Christmas is over.

January 19, 2010
The early bird gets the worm, the late bird gets nothing. I got a new vacuum cleaner. I know, it`s exciting. Vacuum cleaner accessories become camera accessories. This is that picture photographed through the extension tube of my vacuum cleaner. This is through the crevice cleaner.

January 20, 2010
Where I hang out. My second picture in one week of someone sending a text message. There`s GOT to be a reason. Do you have a copy of my new book of portraits? Probably not, since there are as many of them as there are my calendars (see January 6 above). They`re not designed by Steve Madden, but I got new glasses. They look pretty much like the old ones. Looking through the camera`s viewfinder, while not wearing my glasses, looks something like this.

January 21, 2010
Phil discovers the harsh consequences of poor dental hygiene. Sometimes, when his wife talks about shopping, Marvin just closes his eyes. Adrienne is crestfallen when another woman arrives wearing the same wimple. When people smile at his new hairstyle, Doug mistakenly assumes they like it. Rodney has few friends.

January 22, 2010
If only I came across a girl sitting at a table reading a book so I could take her picture. Wow, what a coincidence! If only I found a guy reaching up to a bookshelf with a window shining behind him. I am really getting lucky today! Someday technology will save us all, but for now it just eliminates the need to turn pages when playing piano.

January 23, 2010
The crowd cheers: `GO! [Pause] GO! [Pause]` since the swimmer can only hear them when coming up for air. Oh, she has slipped the surly bonds of earth. For the second Saturday in a row, I went to a [free] college sporting event that I had no personal interest in just so I can avoid taking pictures in my living room again. A lesson in surface tension. Diving has its ups and downs.

January 24, 2010
Sunday night at the mall. I was somewhat disappointed when no security vehicles showed up. Whatever you do, don`t open the RED door. On my way to Spinoza`s, I seemed to be going the opposite direction that everyone else was going. Ever had that feeling of abandonment?

January 25, 2010
I normally sit toward the front, but this is ridiculous. Not every college guy has a tux, just the ones in choir. Pomp and circumstance. Collar ID. The archbishop seemed like a nice guy.

January 26, 2010
The old way to make pictures. And the Grinch grabbed the tree, and he started to shove. DR. SEUSS Get out the pump! Get out the pump! Mine goes up to eleven. NIGEL TUFNEL, Spinal Tap

January 27, 2010
This explains the recent photos of students sending text messages (see January 20 above). It`s an urban campus, but doesn`t feel like it. I`ve stopped using the elevator at work, and it`s an eight-story building. I went to the zoo for photos today, so I wouldn`t have to take pictures of anything boring like a vending machine. Lawrence Brownlee, an Ohio native, has risen from the stage of Cedar Point amusement park to some of the world`s greatest opera houses.

January 28, 2010
Take some pictures, then get inside where it`s warm. An entire city on a disc. Must be a Blu-Ray. My reflection is in there somewhere. The clear choice to give my friend turning 21 (see January 14 above). Happy birthday, Briana. And happy deathday, J. D. Salinger. `I don`t enjoy seeing him in that crazy cemetery. Surrounded by dead guys and tombstones and all.` THE CATCHER IN THE RYE

January 29, 2010
Remember Lawrence Brownlee from January 27? That guy can SING! The notes I scribbled in my program during Brownlee`s recital will soon appear in a newspaper review. After the recital, others went to a champagne reception. I came home for milk and cookies and started writing. Because I was more of a writer today than a photographer, you get a picture of my kitchen cookware. A battery for my camera cost $100, and I have two. I take so few pictures now that I go for days without a charge.

January 30, 2010
The joys of life: No. 40 boxes out. The sorrows of life: No. 40 gets boxed. The joys of life: No. 30 blocks a shot. The sorrows of life: No. 30 gets blocked. `Yes, ladies, basketball is a metaphor for life, but let`s have more joys and fewer sorrows, please!`

January 31, 2010
Two thin bands of snow on the ground correspond to the two horizontal bars in the fence. Nature`s warning: do not skate on the pond. Shingles are so boring. Window geometry. I am grateful for this well-timed reminder that spring will eventually come. I wondered if I`d make it through January.

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