Daily Photos

< February 2019 >

February 1, 2019
The $100 bill is the most sophisticated currency ever. Ben Franklin`s shoulder is printed with raised 3D ink, so on a legitimate bill ridges can be felt with the fingertips. A security thread that says USA 100 is embedded in the bill, and it glows pink when exposed to ultraviolet light. The blue security ribbon is printed with small 100s that seem to move as the bill is viewed from different angles. A portrait of Ben Franklin is embedded as a watermark. The Liberty Bell, inkwell and other elements are printed in ink that seems to change color as the bill is moved.

February 2, 2019
I asked people in my photo workshop to do odd things. But we got some interesting pictures during the class. Afterwards, I had to face the inevitable and go outside. Why do people like winter? What is wrong with them? Tomorrow it will be warm and sunny.

February 3, 2019
I think cheerleading was invented by sneaky adults looking for a way for their kids to burn off excess energy. Cheerleading isn`t for everyone, but it fits her to a T. There were a couple of cheer moms sitting behind me. Alas, they had nothing good to say about anybody. Go Cats! Or is it a wolverine print? Could be a poodle. I take pictures of events like this in the wintertime. Unfortunately, today it was sunny and 60 degrees.

February 4, 2019
It was love at first sniff. It was sunny and warm on a February morning. Something`s wrong, but I don`t care. You know, for kids! THE HUDSUCKER PROXY One gull worked hard fishing while the other gulls waited to take away what it caught: a parable about capitalism. Sometimes our mistakes are better than what we intended.

February 5, 2019
The $1 bill is no less sophisticated than the $100 bill (see February 1 above). For instance, all true $1 bills are rectangular. If someone offers you a $1 bill and it`s round, it`s probably a fake. A bald eagle appears on the back of a legitimate $1 bill. If a bill shows a chicken instead, it is likely a counterfeit. When held up to the light, George Washington`s portrait reveals a diagonal makeup design across his face. The glowing eye will not blink or follow you as you move. If it does, then you have a bigger problem.

February 6, 2019
There`s another photographer who roams the same streets I do, and he leaves behind photos for all to see. Up a hazy river. I`ll gladly take fog and rain instead of snow and ice. Geese are, at best, unnecessary. Overzealous snowplow.

February 7, 2019
It was a dark and stormy night. `Rain droppies unleashed here.` Reduced visibility. I have to get up at WHAT time? Looking forward to color guard season soon.

February 8, 2019
My photos for the Kettering Children`s Choir. My photos for the Downtown Dayton Partnership. My photos for the University of Dayton. My photos for the Levitt Pavilion Dayton. My photos for Winter Guard International.

February 9, 2019
Gem City Roller Derby`s Lavender Haze opened its season with a bout against the Silver Bridge Bruisers. Yesterday was Roller Derby Photographer`s Day. It was 2/8, a pun on f/2.8, which is funny to anyone who has tried to take photos of moving skaters in a poorly-lit rink. Her name was Starry Nitrous. Also on the rink were Bustang Sally, Summer Assault, Cold Hearted Cupcake, Scarlett O`Tera, Daisy Dynamite and Peppermint Splatty. It`s a rough sport, but everybody had fun. Roller derby takes skill and subtlety.

February 10, 2019
Cold, snowing, everything is dead. Isn`t winter great? I like this location a lot better on June 22, 2016. Why cut down a perfectly good tree in one outdoor location, just to put it in another outdoor location, decorate it and let it die? Untouched by human hands -- or feet. 37 days until spring.

February 11, 2019
I want to vent my frustration about the winter weather. The offspring of Adolphe Sax. An Oriental rug -- smeared. Oh look, it`s still raining. I usually have my NORMAL knob turned all the way up.

February 12, 2019
You should support public radio because of the talented announcers. It does a body good. I had the good fortune to see a great show this evening. Dinner. I need one of those.

February 13, 2019
Animals from Tasmania can`t survive Ohio winters. It has rained a lot lately. I don`t know what the white slime is, but don`t drink it. Another found object. Sure it`s pretty, but I want to get inside right away.

February 14, 2019
Guess which direction the river flows. `I AM GOOSE! HEAR ME HONK!` What is it about red vehicles and red lights (see December 21, 2018)? Fixing things up. I was dismayed to see (and hear) this new sign, and felt bad for people nearby who have to endure the noise.

February 15, 2019
I needed a green screen and a stand to hang it from (see February 12 above), so I called a camera store. It was 6:45pm and the store closed at 7. I was going to ask if they had a green screen I could buy the next day. A recorded voice said, `Sorry, our store is closed,` even though it wasn`t. So I went to the B&H Photo Web site. Before 7pm, when the camera store actually closed, I had ordered the green screen and stand online. Expedited shipping was free, and it got here yesterday. The moral of the story: always answer your phone.

February 16, 2019
I got tired of taking test photos of myself . . . . . . so I recruited a volunteer. High school kids born in the 2000s dressed in 1980s styles. It was a long day of picture-taking, but I brought a book. PLD at KFHS.

February 17, 2019
Another busy day of picture-taking, no book necessary. My volunteer from yesterday. Oh, I could tell these kids about the 80s. It must be really quiet on their team bus. Very rarely does a glorious image like this present itself.

February 18, 2019
What better day for a trip to the park? As they fly through the summer sky, I might think: `It must be great to be a bird,` but I don`t think that today. With the ice before them they found no difficulty in believing that water froze in the colder countries of the world until it was possible to walk on it. `Anna and the King of Siam` by MARGARET LANDON These are the times that try men`s souls. The summer photographer and the sunshine hiker will, in this weather, stay inside where it`s warm; but he that takes pictures now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. One more photo, and then it`s back to the car.

February 19, 2019
Tonight I thought I`d be able to draw a nice picture. I was wrong. But at least I was able to stay inside where it`s warm. Colored pencil drawing is a good way to hurt your hand. It`s so much easier to create a picture with my camera.

February 20, 2019
Some people are content to have a narrow perspective. This single picture proves that global warming is a hoax. I took the road less traveled by, and that has made all the difference. ROBERT FROST What does it take to shoot pictures on a day like this? How ironic that I get splashed by a truck marked WATER DISTRIBUTION.

February 21, 2019
I`m fascinated by facets. Overzealous snowplow (see February 6 above). The cruel joke of winter: sunny but cold. When the weather is bad and schools are closed, little ones often have to follow their parents to work. They just need to install a photo of me here and then this building will finally be done.

February 22, 2019
I cover the waterfront. Urban geese are especially useless (see February 6 above). This is the guy who figures out the wind chill factor. I found nature in a puddle. All the porta-potties have been stolen. Police have nothing to go on.

February 23, 2019
Venturing down the stairs and out the door. This is one of those days when I don`t have to speak to anybody. One of the Oregon District`s finest houses is available (just watch out for the truck-eating tree out front). Grackles: we hates them forever! I`m missing the dragonflies, butterflies, and even flies. People walked by on the sidewalk, wondering what I was doing (but of course I didn`t talk to any of them).

February 24, 2019
SMILE! It`s color guard season! Why can`t color guard be all year? And springtime too? Compare to my first color guard pics on March 6, 2005. It was an unpleasant day sitting on cramped bleachers, but I enjoyed seeing the performances on the floor. Onyx: breaking the boundaries of color guard since 1988.

February 25, 2019
If you want to test a man`s character, give him power. ABRAHAM LINCOLN Let us never forget that government is ourselves and not an alien power over us. FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT Human greatness does not lie in wealth or power, but in character and goodness. ANNE FRANK Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely. LORD ACTON Knowledge is power. FRANCIS BACON

February 26, 2019
Dayton has a surf. Watch out for the undertow. Reflections at sunset. Leaving on a jet plane. Ah, solitude. COEXIST

February 27, 2019
Probably time for an oil change. Castles in the air. I`m filling up at a gas station that`s empty, while that one is packed. Those people know something I don`t know. Burrito for lunch, pizza for dinner, and life is good. What -- sick again?

February 28, 2019
For the past few months, I`ve been mentoring a student who will speak at Dayton`s TEDx Youth Conference. The event takes place at the venerable Masonic Center. At rehearsal, I was impressed by the talented speakers. There are some amazing performers on the program. Vega has come a long way since December 13, 2012.

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