Daily Photos

< April 2025

April 1, 2025
They didn`t have it in my size. Tools of the trade. While I work in an office, spring is happening outside. There has been some progress (see March 25, 2025), but the shop and my street are still closed. I`ve been spending time with Giuseppe Verdi lately.

April 2, 2025
With this street closed, I can finally use the crosswalk without worrying that somebody will run me over. Did you hear about the earthquake in Dayton? There are certain neighborhood trees I visit every spring. An itsy-bitsy spider has made this daffodil dangerous. Nature blooms beautifully. Humans pollute profusely.

April 3, 2025
I attended the WGI Color Guard World Championships for the first time 19 years ago (see April 6 and 7, 2006). When I started, I knew nothing about color guard and little about action photography, so my pictures were bad. At first, I took photos from the stands as a spectator, but over the years I became an official WGI photographer. Now I sit at the edge of the performance floor, in front of people who paid a lot of money for seats in the first row. With lots of experience and excellent camera equipment, my color guard photos this year are the best I`ve taken.

April 4, 2025
I like closeups of color guard, but sometimes I zoom out. I`ve seen a few of these shows before in previous competitions, which helps me anticipate shots like this. I haven`t seen most of these shows, so I need to be constantly ready for something amazing to happen. I took about 26,000 photos of color guard in three days. Homage Independent from Cincinnati has existed for just one year, and tonight they won the gold medal.

April 5, 2025
Is she excited? Yes, it`s World Championships! Is she flying high? Yes, it`s World Championships! Is she being rude? No, it`s World Championships! Did they catch her? Yes, it`s World Championships! Is she having an incredible experience that she`ll never forget? Yes, it`s World Championships!.

April 6, 2025
Months of work pay off with a medal -- for a few teams. Busloads of performers come to Dayton for the Color Guard World Championships, and they bring their fans. One of my favorite shows was all about the octopus. The medal ceremony takes place after midnight, but thousands of people stay to watch. Many of them will return in a year. I`ll be back next week.

April 7, 2025
With the river so high, is it safe to go rowing? Totally unconcerned that the river is flooded. Here`s why Main Street will be blocked off for weeks (see April 2 above). There`s just a bit of scaffolding still to be removed (see March 5, 2025). Some people think the U. S. should avoid entanglements.

April 8, 2025
Progress report: none (see March 26, 2025). The car that almost ran me over today (see March 5, 2025). It`s nesting time in the city (see May 18, 2021, and March 28, 2023). Architecture can be symbolic. CORRECTION: I still might get run over in the crosswalk even though the street is closed (see April 2 above).

April 9, 2025
A rainy night in the Oregon District. The repair is progressing at a deliberate pace (see April 1 above). Into the woods we go. Next thing to photograph: whiskers on kittens. My wardrobe for the next few days.

April 10, 2025
Thank you, Sparkman High School, for traveling 422 miles from Alabama to perform in Dayton. I`m speechless at all the time and effort it took for Clear Brook High School to travel 1,122 miles from Texas. Rhythmic Force Percussion came 1,182 miles from Texas to put on their show for my camera. Broken Arrow High School traveled 802 miles from Oklahoma to get to the UD Arena. I traveled three miles. Brownsburg High School came 132 miles from Indiana. I`m grateful to all of them for their dedication.

April 11, 2025
A percussion competition is very loud, and I always wear earplugs. This is one of several shows I saw this weekend about how young people will inherit a world that is doomed. Freaky masks are always appreciated (see March 24, 2018; April 9, 2016; February 13, 2016; and April 9, 2015). I spend most of my time waiting -- and waiting -- for the percussionists to look up from their instruments. This show with `horses` got the greatest response from the audience, and it`s gone viral online. The team from a Catholic school in Louisiana won the bronze medal.

April 12, 2025
Today I sat in the same seat for 14 hours taking pictures of percussion. Not every percussionist is a performer like this. Over three days, I saw this show (and many others) three times. I like performers who know where the camera is. The third time I saw this show, I was prepared to capture this moment.

April 13, 2025
A lot of wind instruments -- like horns -- hide the faces of the musicians, but I don`t have that problem with flutes. This was from a show called De-Composers. I avoid taking pictures of a performer against a plain background. Blurry teammates in the distance are better. I took 42,000 photos of color guard, percussion and winds during two weekends. Some were pretty good. I was taken by surprise when this performer went flying, but my Canon autofocus had her the whole way.

April 14, 2025
While I was taking pictures for 15 hours a day inside arenas, spring was happening outside. My allergies are raging, but flowers make me happy. When I take my daily photos as the sun is going down, that means I`m too busy. Someone is planning -- again -- to fix up this little place and turn it into a coffee shop. I needed a quiet and relaxed Monday after four frantic days of photography.

April 15, 2025
If I go outside now, I`ll be sneezing all day. Somehow I need to take a photo of a musician at the piano underneath the black quilt against the wall. At least my camera equipment is ready. Adam was gone for four days and is trying to catch up. At least when I come home from work, the sun is still shining through my windows.

April 16, 2025
Parasite? A lot of progress has been made since yesterday (see April 15 above). This could be why my flash isn`t working. My first musician photo went really well. After a hard day at work, I come home to the one I love.

April 17, 2025
I was nearly run over by someone`s sandwich delivery. Orchestra auditions are happening down the hall. When a mourning dove flies, its wings create a squeaky whistling sound. Everybody tryna make me sneeze (see April 15 above). I`m still getting used to my new camera (see March 13, 2025). It stopped working during the color guard world championship (April 5), so we need to rebuild trust.

April 18, 2025
I drink water, fruit juice, milk and iced tea (preferably raspberry). Pepsi hasn`t crossed my lips in decades. I photographed more musicians today, and my lights worked. Win: two-way bike lanes in downtown Dayton. Loss: the removal of many parking spaces. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, `Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?` MATTHEW 27:46 They sang songs about justice and mercy, and carried crosses symbolizing the end of racism, poverty and homophobia. Obviously a delegation of Republicans.

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