Daily Photos

< March 2011 >

March 1, 2011
I used to have two keys for all the doors I needed to open at work. Now I have four keys to open the same doors. What the world will look like after all the polar ice melts. The coot couple are still in town (see February 17, 2011). They`re not ducks and thus they don`t have webbed feet, so swimming seemed to be very difficult for them. Please wait in the lobby. I couldn`t imagine going to someone else`s neighborhood for entertainment, and yet everybody comes to mine.

March 2, 2011
Wavy sunlight. Straight sunlight. In 1892, Paul Laurence Dunbar operated an elevator in a bank on the corner of Third and Main. This is a bank on that corner, but intuition tells me it`s not the same one. Oh nice, way to reveal troop movements. There was a television and a jazz band in the same room. Guess which one I paid attention to.

March 3, 2011
He`s not gonna . . . . . . yes he is. As heavy tree branches fell from the sky, a crew on the ground worked without helmets or any safety equipment. Some days, we just don`t get along very well. Time to clean the lens.

March 4, 2011
Aww, that`s very sweet of you to say. This was AFTER almost getting killed on the highway. Ya think? One by itself: a galosh. On the left: `Vogue Undone` by Charmaine Griffith, $400. On the right: Charmaine Griffith, NFS.

March 5, 2011
I`ve been in some nasty locations to take photos before, but none quite as bad as this indoor bicycle racing track. It was inside an old dilapidated building with a leaky roof, so water was pouring down and creating muddy puddles. It was cold and damp, so spectators huddled under blankets and set things on fire in order to keep warm. After a race, the cyclists returned to the beginning of the track. To get there, they had to go through the spectators` area, so no place was safe from getting run over. Despite the grim conditions, the place was full of people.

March 6, 2011
COLOR GUARD!! It`s the only good thing about winter. COLOR GUARD!! During seven hours of shooting today, I took 2,858 pictures. COLOR GUARD!! Some teams have one standout performer. COLOR GUARD!! He is the only male on his team. COLOR GUARD!! There`s almost always a zombie show.

March 7, 2011
Keeping the beat. Thanks to Dayton`s massive levee, I am safe and dry. That looks unsafe, but I went even closer to the water. No cycling. I`m not sure what odd sport I stumbled upon this evening. There was a referee, but he didn`t seem to do anything.

March 8, 2011
Yet another so-called holiday that I ignore. It COULD be ugly and colorless, but it`s not. That`s nice. Artist Leigh Waltz uses aluminum to make a statement about the future of petroleum usage. Lines and colors, lines and colors, it`s all about lines and colors. Ambiguity and certainty.

March 9, 2011
I like taking pictures of horses. Today the space shuttle Discovery landed for the last time. Did I mention I like taking pictures of horses? I had a large stack of quarters, but there wasn`t one for Ohio. I clearly remember this guy from the bicentennial in 1976. I felt like Silas Marner counting his gold sovereigns.

March 10, 2011
Now I close my eyes and I wonder why I don`t despise . . . Now all I can do is love what was once so alive and new . . . But it`s gone from your eyes I`d better realize . . . Got no human grace your eyes without a face . . . Such a human waste your eyes without a face. BILLY IDOL

March 11, 2011
A totally spontaneous moment in the Library science fiction section (see August 20, 2010). Not warm, but sunny and that`s a step in the right direction. Did I mention it was sunny? They keep a key to the mausoleum handy just in case the person inside starts feeling better. Still not feeling better.

March 12, 2011
Participants in my photography workshop this morning line up to complete one of their assignments. Sunshine on the water looks so lovely. JOHN DENVER The shape of things to come. Big Mijo, one of the originators of krump dance in South Central Los Angeles, shows his stuff. You can`t say with certainty that this isn`t me.

March 13, 2011
Home run swing, one base hit. I kinda love my new big lens. I had a very wonderful waitress, so I gave her a nice tip. Ice cream felt cool after eating pizza with black beans. While I ate pizza and ice cream, Greg Abate worked hard.

March 14, 2011
Last year`s tree. Last year`s tree decorations. With things made by us, decay is permanent. With things made by nature, decay is followed by renewal. Well, I was busy with pizza, ice cream and jazz.

March 15, 2011
My favorite conductor: copper. Waiter, there`s a fly, and many other objects, in my soup. Visiting artist Nancy Macko shows some of her work. After I shot this one, I thought, `Okay, I can go now.` Try not to bend this.

March 16, 2011
What a grate photo. The swollen river has receded (see March 7 above), leaving behind mounds of debris and a rancid smell. This flag is a perfect visual metaphor for the condition of Montgomery County, Ohio. Printmaker Nancy Macko explains how it`s done. Okay, now it`s time to make your own.

March 17, 2011
Unsafe at any speed. Caped crusader. `Seek,` choreography by Charles Sheppheard. Youthful energy. Reaching out in the dark.

March 18, 2011
Same show as yesterday, so I know what to expect. She was in line in front of me at Kroger, and kept kicking me in the head. Take to the air! Standing around. The prestige and pressure of being on the stage alone.

March 19, 2011
Welcome back. Invasion of the green slime. There was a cicada in that tree somewhere. Her dress is made out of coffee filters and black tape. First prize in the Runway Challenge went to this 1950s style outfit made from old prom dresses.

March 20, 2011
I was surprised to see a display case full of my pictures. Ninja training. Has there ever been a shy peacock? It`s not that I really WANT to eat all of these cookies, I just feel like it`s my DUTY to support the leaders of tomorrow. I came just to take a few pictures, but ended up staying for one of the most enjoyable vocal recitals I`ve ever heard.

March 21, 2011
Hope this doesn`t make you sneeze. Like blooming flowers or returning birds, potholes are a sign of spring. The promised kiss of springtime that makes the lonely winter seem long. This yard also had the first tulips of the year, but to take a picture of them I would have had to trespass. The people from the telephone company aren`t amused.

March 22, 2011
On the edge of oblivion. FIRST! Turn off the TV. Go outside. Look around. Be grateful. A high climber. This was my third attempt. Taxes were so much easier when I was unemployed.

March 23, 2011
Ready or not, here it comes. Thou shalt not steal, especially on three balls and no strikes. Safe at home! Unfortunately, the other team did this eight more times. Rain delay. The world may be falling apart, but I take comfort in the precision of a ball diamond.

March 24, 2011
Understandably proud of his guitar, made by hand with advanced materials like carbon fiber and aircraft foam. Equally proud of his cello bow, which is made of good old fashioned wood and horsehair. They were good, but I didn`t actually GO to their concert. Last Thursday, on St. Patrick`s Day, it was hard to be proud of UD students. This Thursday, as some of the best and brightest receive recognition, it`s easy to be proud. Today`s faculty remember those who came before.

March 25, 2011
The arrival of spring is just a rumor. In no hurry. Still thinking about it. This isn`t a raindrop, since it didn`t rain today. It snowed. If I had moved an inch to the right or the left, this seedling would have lost that subtle glowing light around its edges. The new Kilroy (see January 29, 2011).

March 26, 2011
Artists from DVAC`s Cline Show talk about their art: Andrew Clavin and `Color Study #54.` Danielle Hafle and `The Spiral.` Patrick Woehl and `Dayton: Waiting for a Better Tomorrow.` Olivia Bowman and `Pomegranate.` Charmaine Griffith and `Family Insides.`

March 27, 2011
I hate paying money to take my daily photos, but every once in a while it`s worth coughing up a few dollars. The Convention Center lighting is terrible, so I held my camera in one hand and a portable flash in the other. Today`s special: only $77,000. Fill `er up! Out of my league. The car, I mean.

March 28, 2011
Riverbank robin. Danger: don`t get too close to the edge. City/country. Urban nomad. Dayton: Birthplace of Aviation.

March 29, 2011
There will come a day when I WON`T take any photos. Today was almost that day. It was 11:30 and I had no pictures and no motivation. But then I improvised something at the kitchen sink. Someone will probably compliment me on these pictures, though they symbolize my weaknesses not my strengths.

March 30, 2011
Not another photo of the kitchen tap, this is the real world. Have YOU taken photos for 2,500 days in a row like me? Well, if not, kindly withhold your criticism of this picture. I recently dropped my subscription to an art photography magazine, because it started to publish pictures like this. Trying to think of something -- anything -- to take a photo of besides myself. Do you know your Minimum Focusing Distance?

March 31, 2011
You don`t see many singin` cowgirls anymore. When all of the actors are college students, it`s hard to tell which ones are supposed to be old. Homiletics lesson. `Smoke on the Mountain` is playing at the University of Dayton`s Boll Theatre now through April 9. The Amen Corner.

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