Daily Photos

< August 2023 >

August 1, 2023
This wasn`t my name tag, so I was a bit ill at ease to have another Adam in the room. I`m usually the only one. This building can be cleaned with a Brillo pad. I walked home a different way and saw different stuff. Everybody agrees, except some politicians in Columbus. I would never make a picture knowing it will disappear. I still have all of the 35,000 photos on this Web page.

August 2, 2023
Water is gushing out of the sidewalk and the City of Dayton dispatched a crew to stand there and look at it. This can`t be random. Is it an art installation? I slowly sneak closer, get my shot, and then walk away. Watching patterns while waiting for the shuttle bus. I hope these flowers don`t realize they`re being used to meet my five-a-day quota of photos.

August 3, 2023
The gnat on the left is lucky the bird was busy singing. I took 26 photos of the chipmunk. Digital photos are free (once you spend $5,000 on a camera and lens). This bee wasn`t going anywhere, so I moved around and took versions with yellow, green and pink backgrounds. The $5,000 camera and lens came in handy here, since I was about a half mile away from this goldfinch. Look up and be awed by the stars, or look down and be amazed at the flowers.

August 4, 2023
I took pictures of another youth theatre production. There was a reserved seat at the back of the auditorium -- but it wasn`t for me. Jellyfish can be dangerous. Seagulls can be annoying. I had ANOTHER meeting this morning to discuss the long-term future of my photos (see September 24, 2020).

August 5, 2023
My understanding of physics needs to be revised. This is not a painting of a person. This is a person covered with paint. Try getting this shot with your cell phone. The audience got an impromptu ballet lesson. So. Many. Dancers.

August 6, 2023
The moment the hummingbird saw me and decided it would be better to be someplace else. This is just about as close as I want to get. That`s my camera flash sparkling in the rabbit`s eye. A small congregation on Sunday morning. There was a quick `meow` and then an awkward glance.

August 7, 2023
`Tis that time of year when I photograph instruments. No strings and no connections, no ties to my affections. IRVING BERLIN Even the duct tape was falling apart. If your name is Martin, you should play the saxophone. You can go your own way. LINDSEY BUCKINGHAM

August 8, 2023
In general, water is more interesting than dry land. Fish beware: that beak isn`t for eating seeds. A guy with a big camera taking pictures of birds. This could be a self-portrait, except for details like the socks. In the middle of a giant lake: `Let`s set down right here.` One sun, but countless reflections.

August 9, 2023
Behind the scenes. What kind of world is it with no butterflies? Once you decide to stop doing the same old thing the same old way, life is a constant ascent to excellence. Stop sign. Facetnating.

August 10, 2023
I do a lot more than just talk on the radio. I stopped talking on the radio an hour early so I could see this group play jazz. Keigo Hirakawa. Dean Hulett. Reggie Jackson.

August 11, 2023
Another August, another Germanfest Picnic. The younger they are, the more fearless they are. Would you like some popcorn with your salt? I like how everyone wears traditional German clothing. Die schone Mullerin by Franz Schubert.

August 12, 2023
Lederhosen and accordions: Germanfest continues. The parents sat in the shade and watched. A German shepherd? Have you met my friend Holda Stein? Will this photo get published (see May 31, 2023)?

August 13, 2023
I told them, `You guys should have dressed up,` cuz I`m funny like that. One of them keeps getting taller (see August 15, 2021). At Germanfest, a polka band plays for Sunday Mass. This part of Mass always makes for good photos. Seeya next year, Germanfest. Auf Wiedersehen!

August 14, 2023
The beginner`s book is missing, so I`m not sure how to turn it on. Notice the reflection of the photographer, looking a little warped. A nine-string guitar is easier to tune than a twelve-string. Waiting for the next violin virtuoso. This is what I photograph on a rainy Monday.

August 15, 2023
To begin the day, I missed the Flyer by ten seconds. So I walked to work, hoping that it wouldn`t rain. This used to be a Greyhound station. Now it`s an eyesore. I -- I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference. ROBERT FROST I made it to work in time to interview Katrina Kittle about her latest novel.

August 16, 2023
When I open the camera bag at 6:23pm, that`s a bad sign. When I eat lunch at dinnertime, that`s also a bad sign. I got an autographed book after my interview yesterday (see August 15 above). Now I`m editing the interview. This is where I made her laugh. Tomorrow will be a big day. It will require two cameras and three shirts.

August 17, 2023
Fish and humans come together again (see August 18, 2022). The giant catfish was returned to the river safely, and it has quite a story to tell its family about alien abduction. It`s easy to catch fish when you use electricity instead of a rod and reel (see August 18, 2010). The students learned a lot, and new friendships were formed. They paddled off to their next adventure, and I went to work.

August 18, 2023
He has his expensive hobby, I have mine. There were two of them, and neither wanted me around. There was one of them, and neither wanted me around. Places to go. Turn off your screens and go outside on a summer morning.

August 19, 2023
It`s a hot Saturday in August: must be time for Porchfest. Can I get some appreciation for this porch please? Holly`s sweet voice was a blessing to St. Anne`s Hill (see August 21, 2021). Dayton Salsa Project drew a big crowd. The crowd didn`t just stand there and listen.

August 20, 2023
It`s UD vs UC, you see. They managed to avoid a collision. They managed to avoid a concussion. There was much noisy taunting from the student section. Dayton came out on top, literally.

August 21, 2023
Some squirrel species have a tail that`s 70% of their body length, while others have a tail that`s 120%. That time a butterfly and bee collided in midair. It`s a hot day, and I saw someone bathing in the river. I`m just an urban wildlife photographer. Did you read my latest column?

August 22, 2023
And thereby hangs a tale. WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE While the squirrel had its breakfast, I had mine. I work in an overly air conditioned building, so walking home in the hot sun gives me a chance to thaw out. First a brewery, then a music store, now a fitness center. I received a letter from myself asking for money.

August 23, 2023
Three days of squirrels. I need to broaden my vision. Oh, what four strings and a lot of heart can do. After years and years of work, the renovation of this office building into a hotel isn`t done yet. Nature was doing just fine, and then we came along. We cut down trees so we`ll have room to park our cars.

August 24, 2023
The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls and tenement halls. PAUL SIMON The flash is pointed backwards, so I thought it might be a Nikon user (see September 5, 2020), but it`s a Sony. She taught the audience to sing a 3,000 year old Indian song. World`s longest drum solo. I was there. I saw it. She didn`t put her Grammy on display (see July 9, 2022).

August 25, 2023
Bigger than a hawk, smaller than an eagle: an osprey. I usually know what to expect when I take pictures, but this milkweed tiger caterpillar took me by surprise. Mourning doves normally give themselves away by their call, but this one was completely silent. I had to SEE it. `What shows do you watch?` Uhhh . . . sunrise. I also had a picture of a fish waving its fin at me from the edge of a pond, but you get to see this flower instead.

August 26, 2023
This bug was ugly, but I didn`t say that to its face. Walking to the Levitt tonight, this vintage music was a perfect prelude to the concert I was about to see. Visitor is a band made up of young local musicians. I wasn`t sure what decade I was in. Visitor was the opening act for another band, but I didn`t stay for that group. Visitor was all I needed to hear.

August 27, 2023
Woodland Cemetery has been burying Daytonians since 1841 and they haven`t run out of room yet. People will criticize her flute technique for all eternity. The Wright brothers are nearby, but I come here instead. A token of affection. It was another day of overcast skies. I don`t mind.

August 28, 2023
That`s not right -- right? It`s easy to get your ducks in a row when it`s only one. I respect educators in any setting. He`s telling her -- and showing her -- how to river surf. Just sitting around the house. By walking instead of driving, I see new things and meet new people.

August 29, 2023
Birds in my neighborhood are going crazy for cicadas. Walking to work, I heard a falcon -- but didn`t see it. Someone misspelled my name. What`s wrong with this picture? Sometimes vandalism is clever.

August 30, 2023
A tasty treat for a bird (see August 29 above). My normal workday was unexpectedly interrupted. Little people are fun -- and noisy. Inside the Neon there were smiles and concessions. Outside the Neon there was singing and dancing.

August 31, 2023
The sun was in rare form today. Destruction leads the way to renovation. Shadows are long at 1:26pm. This worries me. Drop shadow. Did Cesar Pelli envision this when he designed the building?

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