Daily Photos

< March 2013 >

March 1, 2013
Better than four sets of Dizzy, better than Count Basie`s Band . . . Better than Rollins and Coltrane, better than bein` on the stand . . . Better than Ella Fitzgerald or Miles` latest news . . . Better than Bill Evans` ballads, better than Joe Williams` blues . . . Better than hearing Lady Day, or checking in at Monterey, better than anything except being in love. BILL LOUGHBOROUGH

March 2, 2013
Perhaps the most famous person I`ve ever photographed, Ramsey Lewis. If you don`t know who he is, I guess you`re not part of The In Crowd. Most people paid to go to this concert. I GOT paid to go. Most people had to sit in their seats. I took pictures from backstage, the orchestra pit and an overhead catwalk. I was so close to the musicians, I could hear the snare drum vibrate when Ramsey played a solo on the piano. If you think jazz is serious music, you`re doing it wrong.

March 3, 2013
All of today`s color guard photos were taken at 1/800th of a second, which is a very small sliver of time. Since these pictures are taken so quickly, there`s little advance planning and quite a bit of luck involved. But after photographing color guard for many years, and investing in good equipment, I can make my own luck. This performer happened to sit by me early in the morning. Later she proved that spinning just one rifle is for sissies. Despite what the apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians [see February 16, 2013], short hair can be pretty cute.

March 4, 2013
I`m sorry, am I boring you? Take a load off. Tres chic! Second hand fashions. My eye is on the sparrow.

March 5, 2013
Under the computer desk. I really do use an hourglass nearly every day. Living room companion. So many books, so little time. Why I`m once again taking pictures indoors.

March 6, 2013
Spring will soon be here. See, winter is melting already. A chalkboard that can read my mind. Frozen forerunners. There`s a Dodge truck under there somewhere.

March 7, 2013
He sang the happiest song I`ve ever heard from a cardinal. Hanging around the park. Not a wind chime, thank goodness. We Survived the Blizzard of 2013 (see yesterday`s photo above). The imperfections visible in this photo are endearing.

March 8, 2013
Don`t get dressed up on my account. I love sunshine when photographing things. I hate it when photographing people. Now from his pocket quick he flashes, the crayon on the wall he slashes. PAUL SIMON It`s all about the colors and lines. I roam around town with a heavy camera, freezing cold, getting suspicious looks, just so I can get shots like this.

March 9, 2013
What goes on behind the curtain? Stagehands play around with rubber swords. The emcee rehearses some remarks. Costumes are prepared. And the [plastic] dagger is sharpened.

March 10, 2013
The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. SONG OF SOLOMON 2:12 The local panhandler now offers drive-through service (see August 8 and January 24, 2012). Nonconformity. We have a giving tree right in the middle of the park. `Hey mistah, you take pitchers? Take a pitchera us! PHOTO SHOOT! But I only got one shoe, so don sho dat.`

March 11, 2013
Birthday cupcakes for somebody else. And you think YOUR life is dull. I shutter to think who might peek through the shutter. Oh sure, if it`s love how come you never call? (see September 25, 2010). A steady red light means no messages.

March 12, 2013
Time to go out and milk the cow. A skilled designer arranged these on my front porch -- or a handyman just tossed them there. Just try to fence out nature. Don`t even think about it. It`s snowing again. The groundhog lied.

March 13, 2013
Preparing for St. Patrick`s Day, which lasts all weekend. I`m hoping that cold weather will keep most people away. A bad picture, I agree, but they get worse. About all that can be expected on a day like this. Oh knot another boring photo! Park bench with stone.

March 14, 2013
I`m not afraid of heights, I`m just afraid of falling from one. In Dayton, Ohio, this is called a VIP Lounge. Come when the year`s first blossom blows, come when the summer gleams and glows, come with the winter`s drifting snows, and you are welcome, welcome. PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR Cardboard art found along the sidewalk. The flowers I expected. The bee was a pleasant surprise.

March 15, 2013
Someone needs a refresher on parking technique. Just call me Bubbles. GINGER GRANT (in `Gilligan`s Island`). Beavercreek won`t allow bus stops at the Mall at Fairfield Commons, so people must walk across a highway bridge to reach the nearest bus stop at Wright State University. The United States could end its dependence on foreign oil if we could just learn to harness the energy of sopranos. Bright lights, small city.

March 16, 2013
Nobody knows the password to log into the computer that I`m supposed to use to present a photography workshop. The challenges of being an educator (see June 22, 2012). Real live flowers, but not outside just yet. Text: Welcome to the Oregon District, St. Patrick`s Day partiers. Subtext: Don`t break our windows. Making sure his voice is nice and scratchy for the show. Maspeth NY, 11:18PM, Parsippany NJ, 3:37AM, Columbus OH, 3:13PM, and soon to be delivered to me.

March 17, 2013
He practices all year for this one day. I was wearing blue jeans and a gray shirt. I readily admit that these noisy, kilt-wearing people with green hair are more `normal` than I am. A short-term souvenir. A long-term souvenir.

March 18, 2013
Today this curb sacrificed itself to save my life. A black sports car hit it at high speed . . . The curb stopped the car, but concrete debris was thrown a long distance . . . It even hit about eight feet up the wall behind which I was working. As they say on the TV news, it sounded like a bomb went off. Once again, thank you to the curb! Today I was visited by a technician from one of the world`s largest telecommunications companies. This is her card. I`m always learning.

March 19, 2013
Bright, sunny, and bitterly cold. And windy too. Missed the first delivery attempt of my new camera. Grrrr. Can`t they just leave it on the porch? KIDDING!! My wealth management plan requires only a plastic bag. I haven`t got a whole lot to say to anybody.

March 20, 2013
`I got da horse right here, the name is Paul Revere.` `It`s the oldest established permanent floating crap game in New York!` `When you see a guy reach for stars in the sky, you can bet that he`s doin` it for some doll.` `Take back you mink from whence it came, and tell them to shorten the sleeves for some other dame.` `Sit down, sit down, sit down, sit down, sit down you`re rocking the boat!`

March 21, 2013
WHAT?!?!? Oh, you shouldn`t have! See, my current camera has only two little marks. My new camera has three little marks. Obviously superior. Early attempt with the new camera. It gets better. Here`s a better picture. The manual tells you how to insert the battery on page 3, and how to charge it on page 28.

March 22, 2013
Nice job. Nobody will ever find them there. Congratulations to both of us for making it through winter. You have to be a speedy reader because there`s so so much to read. DR. SEUSS Sorry about not making it through winter. Taking this photo was the highlight of my day.

March 23, 2013
The path to destruction. I took my new camera outside for the first time today. A car with nostrils. Well, I SUPPOSE the new camera will be satisfactory. I walked past this leaf, but the voice told me to turn around. I miss the voice. I don`t hear it as often as I once did.

March 24, 2013
Will the daffodils recover, or have we lost them this year? A new advertising slogan: `SNOW - It Sticks to Stuff.` Not much else to take pictures of today. I saw this from a distance and thought, `Don`t collapse until I get over there.` Here`s looking at you.

March 25, 2013
At 8:20am the tree next to my house was horizontal. The snow makes me feel like raising my arms in despair. SNOW - It Sticks to Stuff. See, it`s catching on. Don`t put your tongue on that. (See November 7, 2012.) By 11:50am, the tree was struggling to regain verticality.

March 26, 2013
Thanks for decorating the alleyway behind my house. Spring thaw. PLEASE USE OTHER DOOR. What`s left of winter. What`s left of spring.

March 27, 2013
That innocent look won`t save you from being eaten. Look it`s a coldfinch. Yes, I said coldfinch. There`s an untold story here. Winter`s last stand. I used to work with a man who could wear an orange suit to the office and get away with it. For me, it`s basic black.

March 28, 2013
It`s been ages since I`ve stood in this studio -- not since I was a Famous Radio Personality -- but I returned tonight to celebrate the memory of one of my former colleagues. The irony of being a Famous Radio Personality is that we speak to thousands of people, and yet we are all alone. The only person I saw every Saturday night was Hank. Hank said, `I take quiet pride in getting the job done, and doing it right.` You and me both. On the way to the memorial, I discovered two of my photos on this banner (with my name displayed properly nearby). There were some tears and a lot of laughter, but the event was a positive experience. Despite the circumstances I`m glad to have seen people I knew from the radio station.

March 29, 2013
Unfamiliar fighter jet vanishes into clouds. North Korean? Doorway to . . . ? My first butterfly photo of the season. They`ll get better. Signs of change in the Oregon District. A new restaurant for me not to go to.

March 30, 2013
Overzealous snowplows? My high school colors. When`s the last time a pine cone grew into a new tree? Nowadays, they all come from landscaper`s trucks. Looks like an egg yolk. I`m still testing my new camera in the living room. I shot seven pictures of this ceiling lamp in one second. Nice.

March 31, 2013
When I have to learn something new about photography, she usually helps me. There will come a time of rain, and the brook will flow again; Where the violet fell, `twill grow, when the sun has chased the snow. `An Easter Ode,` PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR That`s Amore! On the Avenue, Fifth Avenue, the photographers will snap us, and you`ll find that you`re in the rotogravure. `Easter Parade,` IRVING BERLIN And with that, March goes out like a lamb.

×