Daily Photos

< July 2012 >

July 1, 2012
Serenade for strings. At 3 1/2 years old, my camera is obsolete, but I`m still happy with the pictures I`m able to take with it. Strange, but harmless. My favorite clogger. Even the water bottle was sweating.

July 2, 2012
There`s an ap for that. You`ll be my honeysuckle, I`ll be your honey bee. BLAKE SHELTON In the garden. I`m working on my Wildlife Photographer merit badge. You`ve seen this building before on June 3 and 26, 2011.

July 3, 2012
Taken at ankle level. Prepared for more storms. Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio? Our nation turns its lonely eyes to you. SIMON AND GARFUNKEL Meanwhile, I complain about how cold it is where I work. Ready for the Fourth of July.

July 4, 2012
Naturalized citizens are often more patriotic than natives. Be sure to notice the little dog in there. Score THREE dogs on this photo. They`re both hot dogs. I think there were humans in this parade too.

July 5, 2012
Happy Fifth of July. Groovy, man. I was reluctant to tell him his breath smelled like worms. Someone in my neighborhood has time and yarn to spare. What one hundred degrees looks like.

July 6, 2012
Happy Sixth of July. To avoid the afternoon heat, I got up twenty minutes early, but this picture represents only 1/8000th of a second. I was reluctant to tell him his breath smelled like walnuts. Political discourse in America. My coworker was on the phone when the ceiling, and that large lamp, came crashing down on her head. She politely ended the conversation and then went to find a first aid kit.

July 7, 2012
Here`s what you`re supposed to see . . . Here`s what was really going on. She kept smiling despite terrible heat and humidity. After a while, she changed into her gray outfit. Thanks to Lindsey for filling in as a model on short notice!

July 8, 2012
We`ve got to get this town into gear. That`s a waning gibbous moon (but you knew that). Early morning at Garden Station. They are not all accounted for, the lost seeing stones. We do not know who else may be watching. GANDALF Symphony No. 5 in B-Flat, Op. 100, by Sergei Prokofiev.

July 9, 2012
Mine? Are you kidding? I don`t fix anything. Hurry, give me the garage door opener! He approaches the plate, ponderous, swinging smoothly in slow motion knowing his choice is simple: swing or not. PAUL JANECZKO Not a very promising spot for a sunset photo . . . . . . unless you look at it from a new perspective.

July 10, 2012
Zero percent chance of rain. Walking to the post office before going to work. Traditional American values, much like postage stamps, are becoming obsolete. If they can get inside the wrapper, they`ll eat like kings. Obviously the last picture of the day, to fulfill my quota.

July 11, 2012
Morning commute. It was so hot today, you could fry an egg outside. My good deed - and creative photo project - for the day. This made someone very happy. Nature rises up in anarchy. This vine is ATTACHED TO NOTHING. It reached out like an octopus tentacle trying to find something to grab onto.

July 12, 2012
PLD`s poetry is used to try and get me to donate money. I got a lot of quizzical looks from people on the sidewalk while shooting this one. Perhaps you too are staring at your computer right now with a quizzical look. So many cars. Where to put them all? Only in polite society can this be considered a barrier. Home at last.

July 13, 2012
Since it landed in 2004, the NASA rover Opportunity has explored the surface of the planet Mars. Told you it would be on a gallery wall (see June 21, 2012). I can`t say I like the way that wall looks now. A picture is worth zero words. HELLO My Name Is

July 14, 2012
Stop and think about what this bee is doing, and you`ll have a clue about the purpose of your own existence. There is much to learn from the tiny things of the world. When the subway train went by, Marilyn`s dress flew up. When the alien came out, John Hurt`s stomach blew up. `The better to see you with, my dear.` It whispered, `Water. Give us water.`

July 15, 2012
Did you photograph the Blues Festival? Yes. What did you shoot? Some guy`s hands. Always carry a spare. He got rhythm. Barbie is starting to show her age (see August 19, 2011). A short while later, it began to rain very hard. I was safe at home by that time. What happened to all these people?

July 16, 2012
Today is Monday. You aren`t here. I won`t come on in. Walking around in the hot sun I was fine. It was only when I stopped and took this picture that I started to sweat. I`d rather be a hammer. Will it rain? [It didn`t] Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, I got a rebate on part of my health insurance premiums. We`re all gonna be rich!

July 17, 2012
Straight from the Magic Kingdom. You know it`s going to be a bad day photographically when I start taking pictures of the living room light fixtures. I have an article due soon. Here`s what I`ve written so far. I have no such writer`s block on my project about Paul Laurence Dunbar. But will anyone read it? Gone are the days when I used to write with these.

July 18, 2012
A moment after shooting this [fake] butterfly, a squirrel tumbled out of a nearby tree, shook itself and then assumed an attitude like, `I totally MEANT to do that.` It finally rained today, so this is a genuine puddle provided by nature, not somebody`s sprinkler. There are always people telling you where you can`t go. Pretty Mouth and Green My Eyes. Everything was fine - until it started to rattle.

July 19, 2012
Artrash. A painter lives in my building. The 1888 German Evangelistic Reformed Church around the corner from me is now an indoor rock-climbing center. Down but not out. On the edge of oblivion. Tree art.

July 20, 2012
The collar is lost, but hopefully the dog is safe at home. A bit of paint makes a dull sidewalk look much better. A charter school playground - worse than a public school. Remember the rumble scene from `West Side Story`? The exterior of this vacant building was nicely painted so a buyer would snap it up. That was about 20 years ago.

July 21, 2012
At the intersection of this morning`s sunrise and last night`s dew. Dewdrop on a flower, flower in a dewdrop. Don`t forget your sunblock. Watch out! Then a man dressed like a goat crawled out.

July 22, 2012
My little camera took one picture every sixty seconds, then I stitched them together into a movie of today`s sunrise. Meanwhile, I used my big camera to shoot the rest of the garden for the 100 minutes it took to create the movie. One of them landed on my leg. No big deal. It flew away. Man has yet to learn to fly, at least not like these do. I don`t think I`ve ever worked so hard for one photo before.

July 23, 2012
Scientists predict that the Arctic may be completely free of ice in another 50 years. Today I made another time-lapse photography movie. Five still images aren`t as interesting as the full movie. I was at work while this sequence was being shot and came home to puddles in unexpected places. Here`s where it stops, so I think I`ll try it again with a longer interval between shots so all of the ice has time to melt.

July 24, 2012
You say you`re HOW old? When it rains, it really rains. I am not! Did that brick just move? A French horn walks up to a cello and says . . .

July 25, 2012
I`ve been thinking about getting a new hairstyle. I mean, the mullet worked for me for a while. And the mohawk was really easy to take care of. But if I want to be a trendsetter, I need a new look. Something tasteful and understated, of course.

July 26, 2012
Subtle Symbolism No. 1. Just Another Picture A. Subtle Symbolism No. 2. Just Another Picture B. Subtle Symbolism No. 3.

July 27, 2012
A sweet camera. When it rains, it really rains. I made another time-lapse sequence of melting ice that went all the way to the bitter end (see July 23 above). The Shawn Stanley Trio -- plus one. Mmmm, cicada for breakfast!

July 28, 2012
Anybody can put on a green shirt and pretend to be Irish, but this girl`s red hair confirms her authenticity. In this case, his accent confirmed his authenticity. It isn`t a cultural experience unless you spend money. Handcrafted mahogany but, sadly, it`s still an accordion. Other people with cameras got city buildings and parked cars in the background of their photos of this musician, because they DIDN`T CROUCH DOWN like I did.

July 29, 2012
What`s he doing now? Taking time-lapse photos of a blooming rose - inside the coat closet. This closet is the only place that doesn`t have a window, and is therefore not affected by changing daylight. This sequence went on for more than three full days, but the rose bloomed for only the first five hours or so. Although the camera operated automatically, I had to push buttons on it every five hours - which meant I lost sleep. I learned a few things about how NOT to create a time-lapse sequence of a blooming flower.

July 30, 2012
The cardinal is the state bird of Ohio - and Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia. Sunburned. You can see my reflection, as well as that of a vagrant approaching from behind - but he thought better of it. The Oregon District`s most popular restaurant closes suddenly. How does THAT happen? What`s still blooming in July?

July 31, 2012
I`m cleaning the windows. Can you give me a hand? Things are looking up in downtown Dayton. Smoker`s paradise. It`s unlikely to grow into a new pine tree on Sixth Street. My photographic philosophy: pay equal attention to the background as you do to the subject of your picture.

×