Daily Photos

< April 2013 >

April 1, 2013
Practicing studio lighting with my most cooperative model. She never blinks. She never complains. She loves books. She is a little narcissistic, but that`s understandable. And I hate it when she suddenly pops up out of nowhere.

April 2, 2013
The plain white background is challenging to master. Can you blow a bubble? The best way for me to learn is to experiment by myself. It`s someone`s job to make monkeyface cookies. This reminds me a bit of one of my favorite studio shots (see October 3, 2010).

April 3, 2013
I had permission to be there, but when I walked out of the dressing room, I heard people ask, `Who was that guy?` Dress rehearsal is the best time to see a performance. During an actual show, you have to sit quietly in a seat. `Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.` This picture makes me proud of my new camera. The background lights were just coming on for a scene change. Any brighter and the mood would be broken.

April 4, 2013
One is insignificant . . . . . . two is a conspiracy. Okay, nice, but who`s going to dust it? One word -- sounds like -- flapping. WRAPPING! It seemed like a good thing to take a picture of at the time.

April 5, 2013
It looks so easy when the Harlem Globetrotters do it. After March Madness comes April Absurdity. It was just a friendly scrimmage between high school students and their teachers -- until the flagrant fouls began. This is not one of the teachers. Keep your eyes focused on the goal.

April 6, 2013
I drove to a park eagerly this morning to take pictures of spring flowers, but found only a few shivering daffodils. There was also an intolerably cute photo session going on in the park, so I took an early exit. I walked to the park in my own neighborhood and found a few shivering daffodils. I could`ve saved myself a drive. Robins hunt with their ears. This one is listening for lunch. In 1890, Paul Laurence Dunbar was a junior at Dayton`s Central High School, but was absent 25 days that year.

April 7, 2013
Motorcycle season has begun in the Oregon District. Hey, look at that great picture of a motorcycle over there! You should take every photo zoomed all the way in, or else be prepared to give me a good reason why you`re not. You had one eye in the mirror as you watched yourself gavotte . . . You`re so vain. CARLY SIMON I wonder if I can attach one of these to my Chevy.

April 8, 2013
By this time last year, I had already taken a lot of tulip photos. These are the first I`ve seen this season. April comes in like a lion. I was OBSERVED as I took this picture. Ain`t you people never seen a camera before? And now, the Birds of a Feather Community Theatre Company will re-enact the shower scene from `Psycho.` Where pom-poms come from.

April 9, 2013
My neighborhood is distinguished by pointless and obsolete architectural details. Some people are afraid of them. Not me. The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls and tenement halls. PAUL SIMON Trees offer us flowers and we walk past unheeding. The signs are clear.

April 10, 2013
I think my coworker is bored. Not enough to do? More pointless architectural details, and more taking pictures while being observed (this time from a car). There were thunderstorms at lunchtime. More trees that offer us flowers. Oh look, here`s some pollen that hasn`t gone up my nose.

April 11, 2013
It`s not too early to start thinking about graduation gifts. Counting down the days left in high school. Where did all that cake go? Oh, that`s where the cake went. I ALMOST forgot to buy some earplugs for this weekend. That would`ve been tragic.

April 12, 2013
I have photographed all kinds of performing arts and can confidently say that color guard is the greatest thing that can happen when music and movement come together. I am honored to be a photographer for the color guard world championships which happen in Dayton every April. I get to sit IN FRONT of people who paid high prices for VIP seats, and I take pictures of world-class performers. This weekend, I saw amazing stunts performed right in front of me that left me thinking, `That did not just happen.` More than 90 teams passed in front of my camera, and yet I was consistently impressed by their creativity and talent.

April 13, 2013
I knew very little about photography and nothing about color guard when I first started (see April 6 and 7, 2006). But I must be doing something right, since I am invited back year after year to shoot the world championships. I can safely say I broke in my new camera, since I took about 25,000 photos over the course of three days. During the past several years, I`ve watched the art of color guard evolve -- sometimes in directions that I didn`t like. But tonight I was glad to witness the world`s best team, Pride of Cincinnati, take a satisfying step forward.

April 14, 2013
As they say in basketball, that`s a great shot at the buzzer. Five hundred years old and still growing. This morning, my camera and I made over 2000 photos of energetic dancers, but you get tranquil flowers instead. It`s not too early to start thinking about wedding gifts. The paint job is an improvement (see April 4, 2010) and I like the background better in this shot than the last one.

April 15, 2013
After taking 25,645 photos of color guard last weekend, the data wrangling begins. Sing for your supper. Thank you, Holland. A vine ventures across the sidewalk. They crunched underneath my feet.

April 16, 2013
Barking a lot in the parking lot. Just trying to sleep. Just trying to stay warm. Look into the reflection for some photographic deja vu. A fake cat.

April 17, 2013
A real cat. Marching in step on the way to school. Why not? It sat for hours on my neighbor`s welcome mat. Places to go. Nature always wins.

April 18, 2013
Well, blow me down! Pizza crust? No, material for an interesting photo project. Christmas comes but once a year. Get that cat a toupee. Some things can never, ever be forgotten.

April 19, 2013
The percussion world championship follows color guard by one week, so it was another busy weekend for me. Color guard teams perform to recorded music, while these teams create their own with percussion instruments. Along with the music, there may be dance, spoken word, video, stunts, acting and yes even a bit of color guard. There were lots of shows about religion and death this year, but thankfully I saw only one show with vampires. She also fell backward into the arms of people below. After seeing it in about six shows, the stunt lost its impact.

April 20, 2013
For each show, an amazing amount of equipment and scenery gets set up within about three minutes. I get kind of creeped out by shows with spiders in them. Percussion shows get more outrageous every year. That did not just happen. But what it all boils down to is the drumming.

April 21, 2013
There was, I kid you not, a snake rustling through the grass nearby as I took this, but I ain`t skeered a no snake. Let`s see, I should change my camera to Beach Scene mode to take this picture. Due to a scheduling error, I had to teach a photography workshop on a Sunday morning. Sixty people signed up! Thank you, gardeners. Don`t burst my bubble.

April 22, 2013
Monet`s garden. Escher`s alley. Bubblicious. LOVE PINK Should have used a sippy cup.

April 23, 2013
If this is what`s making me sneeze, I think it`s worth it. Fifth Street facade. This picture accidentally turned out well. Someone`s coming back for it, I`m sure. The fragility of life.

April 24, 2013
High school musicals are sometimes the pits, but not `Beauty and the Beast,` now playing at Archbishop Alter. This show featured an outstanding lead character and a solid supporting cast. The costumes were as good as you`re likely to see in a high school production. Having spent my adulthood avoiding all things Disney, I thought `Beauty and the Beast` was an enjoyable show. The star of last year`s show is a dancing plate this year (see October 3, 2012).

April 25, 2013
Tonight it was `Anything Goes` at Beavercreek High School. Everything always seems hopeful in the first act. This musical also featured a very talented female lead. I wondered if these kids even understood the humor of this 1934 show. One punchline was `Noel Coward.` Who? Wait, what`s happening here?

April 26, 2013
If you go to an event and Michael and Sandy Bashaw are performing, then you know you`ve come to the right place. Wanna buy some art? What the auctioneer wore. Wow, look at all of those people ignoring my photograph (see January 16, 2013). I take this picture every year (see April 27, 2012, April 29, 2011, and April 30, 2010). Different people, though.

April 27, 2013
Tiny treasures by the laundry room. I had to flee this cat and its fleas. A bit of advice: don`t get in the way of a blooming tulip. The fragility of life -- airborne edition. It almost looks like I live in a suburb.

April 28, 2013
I hate to disillusion you, but I take these pictures for myself. After the rain. Two blocks away from the flowers and trees, we have this. Mr. Perfectionist took about a dozen shots of this scene. Mr. Frugal deleted all but one of them to save disc space. The Spider strikes.

April 29, 2013
Public art. It`s this woman`s job to use a remote control toy boat and a dog to drive geese away from a pond. SO JEALOUS! This isn`t a goose, so they left it alone. Trees reflected in the water, in case you didn`t know. Soon to become a sidewalk.

April 30, 2013
I still don`t know how this game works. Just try to defeat him. You will be foiled. Tennis usually doesn`t have cheerleaders. Taking after his older brother. Oh, so that`s what`s been crawling on my arm.

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