Daily Photos

< February 2011 >

February 1, 2011
The car is exactly where I left it (see January 31, 2011). The hard part will be walking to it without falling down. Halfway there. Once I managed to open the door and get inside, I knew nothing could stop me. I can`t thank you enough, whoever you are. Is it wrong to hate something so beautiful?

February 2, 2011
She clung to the tree for a few moments before venturing any further across the dangerous ground. I hate this one, and that one, and especially THAT one! Aftermath. My good deed for the day. Hardly anybody in the Oregon District clears their sidewalks, but the mailman won`t need boot chains to get to MY porch (see January 24, 2011). Best not to touch it.

February 3, 2011
`True West,` written by Sam Shepard and directed by Tony Dallas, is now on stage at the University of Dayton. Brothers don`t always get along. Writers in stories tend to burn their unsuccessful works. Real writers just stick them in a bottom drawer and forget. Better stop mistreating your brother. He might -- oh, I don`t know -- strangle you with a telephone cord or something. As one brother strangles the other, their mother stands nearby and says, `You boys stop fighting in the house. Go outside!` I`m not sure if it was SUPPOSED to be funny.

February 4, 2011
A guy with no shirt for two days in a row. Isn`t it winter? Sometimes I even impress myself. Movement to music: so simple, so difficult. I don`t recall taking this one. I happily discovered it later. So much choreography is somber. This piece was a cheerful alternative.

February 5, 2011
Just what we need: a little HEAT. Cheerleading: it`s more fun than a kick in the head. Since joining the squad, she has overcome her shyness. Since joining the squad, she has overcome her vertigo. Doesn`t it SAY right on the glitter container not to get it near your eyes?

February 6, 2011
I can`t thank you enough, whoever you are. It didn`t get up to 38 degrees, as promised, but it was warm enough for a little bit of melting. I guess ice can get pretty heavy. Looks like he`ll be eating a frozen dinner tonight. Life is full of mystery.

February 7, 2011
We held them pretty close until the opening tip-off, and then the game started to slip away. With none of his teammates open for a pass, he is forced to reluctantly shoot the ball. `Got a new whistle for Christmas. You wanna see it?` From somewhere near the bench comes the familiar cry, `BOX OUT!!` I`m pretty sure the kid in the background was a college scout.

February 8, 2011
High wire act. At f/4 the sun is a blob. At f/22 the sun is a starburst. Man, leaves are SO last season! Like in some Jack London story, I was alone on the frozen tundra. (Well, there also was a lady walking her dog.)

February 9, 2011
The French horn is as authentically French as French fries. Composer Libby Larsen gives feedback to a University of Dayton music student about his quintet for brass. A suspended three-dimensional paper sculpture by Yasue Sakaoka is currently on display at UD`s ArtStreet. Yasue Sakaoka herself gave a workshop on paper art. Nice work!

February 10, 2011
They move so fast, it`s hard to capture a photo of a hummingbird that isn`t blurry. Don`t drink them! They`re carefully tuned musical instruments. Libby Larsen was on hand during rehearsal to offer advice on how to perform her composition for symphonic winds. Sculptures by twin brothers Kyle and Kelly Phelps are currently on display at UD`s Rike Center Gallery. The Phelps brothers create realistic figures that often portray blue-collar disillusionment .

February 11, 2011
Some days, a random shot through the windshield is about all I can manage. St. Clair Street near Fourth. This is the `author` of a van often seen around downtown (see February 8, 2008). Today I received my photo pass for future color guard competitions! I`ve finally flipped my lid.

February 12, 2011
You see, I TOLD you they were musical instruments (see February 10 above). A certain trumpet player arrived for the 3:00pm concert at 2:59:50pm. In this duet, Libby Larsen`s music was ingeniously integrated with Claude Debussy`s Clair de Lune. Photographing a concert is fine, but afterward I often regret that I didn`t shoot SOMETHING else that day. This singer was last seen on November 11, 2010.

February 13, 2011
A jogger ran by and announced, `IT`S SPRING!` By the light of the silvery moon. This parking lot had beautiful slime on January 24, 2011. They were flying north. Maybe the jogger was right. Turn right at this building and you will come to my house. But you`ll be going the wrong way down a one-way street.

February 14, 2011
Don`t park in this tree. Some days the wind blows so hard from the west that the river appears to change direction and flow to the east. Be careful where you sit. You don`t want hotpants. How was school today? CLOSED Please call again.

February 15, 2011
This isn`t seventh grade basketball. Rejection letter. You didn`t know Dayton has a pro basketball team? Judging from the empty bleachers, nobody does. We`re behind you all the way, man. The 30 or so kids who performed in the halftime show, along with their families, doubled the size of the audience.

February 16, 2011
This is Random Acts of Kindness Week. Starting Monday, it`s Brutal Acts of Treachery Week. All that`s left of someone else`s car window. Can you guess where I am? Good guess. The perfect cover photo for a book on marriage. Kidding!

February 17, 2011
Some streets in downtown Dayton have been converted from one-way to two-way. Thus, I was nearly run over. After being nearly run down by a car in the previous photo, here I was almost knocked over by a low-altitude goose. Black feathers, white beak and red eyes: you`re not from around here, are you? The American Coot is common in the far northwest of Canada, and Dayton, Ohio, is on the extreme southeastern edge of its winter territory. Nessie. I could barely stand up because of the wind. I hope these guys are strapped in.

February 18, 2011
Witch hazel in bloom in February. Oh, and bees too. HATE emerald ash borer! I tell people in my photography workshops not to take pictures facing the sun. Hopefully they don`t listen to me. Winter coat. Nearly every species on earth experiences significant change during winter. We try to pretend that we don`t.

February 19, 2011
I Got Rhythm. Teach Me Tonight. Summer Wind. And the Band Played On. The Leader of the Band.

February 20, 2011
The color inside the Dayton Convention Center is terrible, so it`s better to just eliminate it (see February 14, 2010, February 14, 2009, February 16, 2008, February 18, 2007, February 18, 2006, and February 20, 2005). Fourteen courts are going at the same time, so I go to one in the corner where I can safely put my back to the wall. Her team got whupped, but they didn`t give up. `I am woman, HEAR ME ROAR!` I took this one and thought, `Okay, I can go home now.`

February 21, 2011
My sunroof must be broken. The sun isn`t coming through. Rain, rain, go away. From the photographer`s bookshelf. Photographs of photography books: a new low for me. Fifty-three days until April 15.

February 22, 2011
The library`s TV being put to good use. Have you seen Tigger? Oops, that one didn`t turn out. Wait, maybe it did. Another in my lifelong series of accordionist photos (see September 18, 2008). `How does he get shots like that?` you ask with envy.

February 23, 2011
Forgotten beliefs. Not random - someone arranged this. And someone put this here too. Hang on, spring will be here soon. Self-portrait, a little low.

February 24, 2011
Today`s pictures are exactly what they appear to be. Everything comes to an end, either suddenly or slowly. People often ask me, `How long are you going to take your daily photos?` On any given day, I don`t know if I will. Even if I didn`t manage to take five photos today, the piece of paper hints that I plan to shoot a lot on Saturday. Calm and confident in my ability, I made several camera adjustments to improve the shot during the final seconds.

February 25, 2011
A workplace hazard whenever it rains. Compared to yesterday`s pictures, this looks GREAT! Taking a photograph of a photograph being taken. I`m beginning to doubt the word of the groundhog. A finch building a nest. Maybe the groundhog was right.

February 26, 2011
Great, now I`m going to have nightmares. Through the looking glass. If her team scores high enough, she`ll put that makeup on TWICE today. If not, she washes it off and they go home. And I thought I`d seen everything. Nice toss.

February 27, 2011
`The reason why I started in photography in the first place (was) the whole experience of going out and taking a picture, without any real consideration besides just having the experience . . . ` `It`s as if you`re always starting over again, a continuous obsession with just going out there and doing it . . . ` `I don`t think that feeling ever goes away. There`s always that desire to take a picture . . . ` `Something always leads you to where you need to go, and then you`ve got to perform. If you trust your abilities and allow yourself to be guided, you`ll always find a picture . . . ` `You might not take the picture you think you`re going to take, but you`ll find something.` MARK SELIGER in `Listen` March 2010.

February 28, 2011
Double dose of destruction. You may not throw garbage into the Great Miami River, but your plastic bottles are just piling up someplace else. Castaway. Anyone can be a percussionist. It`s very cymbal. How do you get a trumpeter to play softly? Take away his horn.

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