Daily Photos

< August 2015 >

August 1, 2015
Four birthdays and one cake. The three-year-old got to blow out the candles. Everybody`s favorite party guest. In the bounce house. Kentucky lock.

August 2, 2015
Sunday in the park with Hailey. Today a restaurant hostess, tomorrow a pediatric nurse. Sitting on a rock by a stream, but who wants to see that? Other people need contact lenses to have blue eyes. Last seen on this Web page on October 26, 2014.

August 3, 2015
RoboCat. Details of the Oregon District. August showers bring August flowers. You will get through this and rise up again. Time for some home repair.

August 4, 2015
Children of the future will hear stories about butterflies and they will seem as real to them as dinosaurs or unicorns. There is solace in solitude. If we turn off our electronics and quietly contemplate the flowers, we can discover the purpose of our fleeting lives. There`s a reservoir of water in there. The bees can also tell us about the purpose of our lives.

August 5, 2015
The model`s in shade while the photographer`s in the sun. The statistics regarding death are impressive. So far, it`s one for one. C. S. LEWIS A real fixer-upper. Happiness is the morning mist, but grief is made of stone. Fifteen minutes and fifty photos of bees this morning.

August 6, 2015
Her bouquet is fake, but her smile is real. I hope I never have to photograph a wedding, but taking pictures of wedding rehearsals can be fun. An organ would be out of place in this wedding ceremony. The flower girl needs to work on her dispersal pattern. But she`s too busy dancing to `Old MacDonald.`

August 7, 2015
And I don`t understand why I sleep all day, and I start to complain that there`s no rain. BLIND MELON There used to be a canal in Dayton, right here. My bunny buddy at RiverScape (see June 25 and July 31, 2015). Typical evening, typical conversation, watched by a drone. I couldn`t take pictures during the show, but I can now! It was a brilliant performance and I`m glad I got to see it.

August 8, 2015
I was a bit creeped out when it turned to look at me. Watch out! There`s a praying mantis right next to you. Two hawks were in the area, and they had no fear of men. This one seemed to help itself to some other bird`s nest. As they flew, the hawks were followed by large insects, almost like pilot fish swimming around a shark. I got down into the grass for the tiny mushroom, but I stayed for the dewdrops.

August 9, 2015
This slow-moving, red-faced bird with the Donald Trump hairstyle may be a Muscovy duck from northern Mexico. I came to this park today because someone told me there was a bald eagle here, but I saw no hint of it. The sun was low, the gull was high. Ready for splashing. If I was yapping on the phone or watching someone else yapping on TV, I never would have gotten this photograph.

August 10, 2015
Social commentary. This is America: flags and surveillance video cameras. Ready for the moment when creativity strikes. Death among the roses. I went to Chicago this morning to visit The Bean.

August 11, 2015
Simplicity. The Heart of it All. The journey to nowhere. That`s a bit too high, dad. May it be a light for you in dark places, when all other lights go out. LADY GALADRIEL

August 12, 2015
In this huge garden full of flowers, there was one butterfly. Is anyone else concerned about this? On the flip side. Insects are easier to photograph when they`re groggy. The haze of sunrise. This picture was worth all of the mosquito bites I got.

August 13, 2015
$1500 OBO, as is. I watched this goldfinch shred a sunflower in just minutes, but then a jogger ran past and it was bye bye birdie. Killer instinct. Layover. Back to school fashions.

August 14, 2015
Today is the day! People actually pay lots of money to do this. No thanks! The Fonana Man was the best dressed participant today. He made monkey noises as he came down the ropes. `I wish you would step back from that ledge my friend.` Meanwhile, a block away, the descent is less perilous.

August 15, 2015
Spontaneous music and dancing at the Hispanic Festival. She would occasionally sing a word that I understood, like `corazon.` We don`t need a beach in Dayton. On the way up. On the way down.

August 16, 2015
There is always water in the air, but you usually can`t see it because it`s in the form of vapor. At night, the ground loses the warmth it collected during the day when the sun was shining. If the sky is clear and it isn`t very windy, then that warmth radiates into space. When the temperature drops to a certain point (the dewpoint), then the water vapor in the air turns into liquid. The vapor condenses into droplets which cling to the surfaces least capable of holding heat, and we call it dew.

August 17, 2015
Your daily bee. Do YOU like sunflowers this much? Web of deceit. Public library. This year`s corn crop is looking good.

August 18, 2015
Grateful I can see sparkling droplets from a distance and hear finches squeaking in the trees. Grateful for a quality camera and the skill to use it. Grateful for a beautiful garden maintained by Five Rivers MetroParks. Grateful for a job that gives me the freedom to take pictures early in the morning. Grateful for an ideal summer morning, a fleeting day I will fully enjoy since I cannot hold onto or relive it.

August 19, 2015
His name is Al Fresco. Art majors are laughing right now. Urban sunrise. Pass the croutons. Infield. Other people work hard. I wander around taking pictures.

August 20, 2015
Lyrics of Sunshine and Shadow. In Loving Memory -- very old. In Loving Memory -- from yesterday. Distinguished, as always. Dayton is named after a man who never set foot in the city.

August 21, 2015
Morning in the Oregon District. Rush hour. I`m seeing spots. Luxurious downtown accommodations. Bird`s eye view.

August 22, 2015
Today`s flying bee photo came fairly easy so I could move on to my other cliche pictures. I had hoped to find goldfinches in the prairie today, but there were dragonflies and butterflies instead. Cliche Picture No. 47. X-wing fighter. Share a Bug with Someone You Love.

August 23, 2015
Today was a hummingbird party and I learned a lot about their social and feeding behavior by just watching. The morning buzz. No, crickets don`t chirp by rubbing their hind legs together. If I get to the park early, I can get my shots in before the mercenary photographers show up with screaming kids. The hummingbird as gnat hunter: this morning I learned that that pointed beak can do more than just sip nectar.

August 24, 2015
Autumn comes when it chooses, regardless of what our calendars say. In case you missed it, fall began last week. On the way to the post office. Yes, I still mail things. If only life were simple black and white. Industrial morning. Let me get this straight.

August 25, 2015
As I mentioned yesterday, autumn is here already. Didn`t point the camera, didn`t even stop walking. Other people`s jobs. Another sure sign the weather is turning is that I take lots of dumb pictures indoors. I am hereby certified to take pictures of chickens, goats and pigs at the Montgomery County Fair next week.

August 26, 2015
The little people. Happy Dog with Heterochromia Day! I warned you not to trust Chip, but you didn`t listen. The stuff of life. Art in progress.

August 27, 2015
Lunchtime walk. Urban wildlife. I like to eat fish, but not that much. Photographic deja vu. Breaking boundaries.

August 28, 2015
honeyB Serving downtown since 1996, and I`ve never been inside (see July 29, 2015). On a warm Friday afternoon, I feel myself inexorably drawn to Fronana (see July 29, 2015). Ripples of sunset. Random kids doing a photo shoot in my neighborhood.

August 29, 2015
This could`ve turned out tragically. With their mouth guards, they sound like Elmer Fudd: `Hey, wook out for numba ewevven on de wite side!` This manuver earned a brief lecture from the referee. Ponytails vs. pigtails. And now for something completely different.

August 30, 2015
The 1969 Chevy Camaro Z/28 is simply the finest automobile that has ever been made. It was a busy Sunday in downtown Dayton. A moment later the people in the foreground got out of the way of my camera, thereby ruining the shot. Cars run better when they have lots of chrome. My two reflections are easy to see, but don`t miss my third head floating above the left reflection.

August 31, 2015
They don`t squeak much when they`re eating, but the jerky movement of the flowers gives them away. Oppression. Male pattern baldness also afflicts cardinals. Confinement. A nice picture to end the month with.

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