Day Thirty-One: ready...DODGE!!

This is about as peaceful as the dodgeball court will get Saturday afternoons in Lenexa, KS. Soon a referee asks both sides if "players are ready," and two seconds later an all out blitzkrieg of dodgeballian proportions erupts.

A rush to the center line, and then it is every woman and man for themselves. The rules? No shots to the head, and (if you play like me) you'll learn the rest as you go along.

The strategy? Hit and don't be hit. Dodge and don't be dodged. Decrease surface area if you are the last person standing. And don't be afraid to show off your cannon of an arm (as Friedo does above).

"ready...DODGE!!"

Day Thirty: Air Walk

I have heard and read an assortment of explanations as to why shoes wind up hanging from telephone lines: everything from kids playing, bullies bullying, graduates celebrating, and even gangs signing.

So, today I offer no interpretation - just a pair of shoes hanging from a wire. Or - with the telephone line cropped out of the picture - a couple of soles walking on air.

Day Twenty-Nine: For Whom the Bell Tolls

The campanile - or more formally the World War II Memorial Campanile and Carillon - at the University of Kansas is one of the most recognizable landmarks on campus. It has overlooked Potter's Lake for almost 60 years, built to honor the students and faculty of KU who died serving in WWII.

While the main purpose of the structure is to help remember those who have passed and remind visitors of the ideals for which KU stands, the campanile has come to mean many things to many people - especially to this former student and Lawrence resident.

Growing up, the campanile was the place to go on a Saturday bike ride with dad. It was the place to watch football games "on the hill." It was the place to count how many times the bell chimes and learn to tell time.

As a student, it was the place to sprint at the end of a nightly jog. It was the place to tailgate before football games. It was the place to count how many times the bell chimes and realize you were horribly late for your psychology class.

It's still the place to hear music from the carillon (a set of bells controlled by a piano-like keyboard). As a student I would pass by on the sidewalk below and hear a pretty eclectic collection of songs emanating from the tower, and I would wonder what kind of weirdo was doing the playing, and why they chose the songs they did.

Then I got a chance to play the carillon.

My set list?
1) The Crimson and the Blue (the KU alma mater)
2) University of Minnesota fight song (thought I might get in trouble for that one, but when I didn't, I played:)
3) Bon Jovi's "Living on a Prayer"

I'm pretty sure if I had peeked out from my lofty perch while I was playing the last song, I would have caught someone passing by on the sidewalk below giving me the exact same "who is that weirdo doing the playing?" look that I had once given. And so it goes.

For many students the campanile symbolizes the end of the road at KU: the traditional graduation march leads all the new degree holders through the campanile doorways on their way down the hill to Memorial Stadium for Commencement.

Superstition holds that if a student passes underneath the campanile before their graduation day, they will not graduate on time. Unfortunately, as previously mentioned, the bell tower marked the perfect end to my regular running route as a student, and so many times I threw caution to the wind and passed through its doors prematurely.

(I would always picture the closing scene from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade when doing this, yet not once when I passed over the seal did the ground ever break open and the tower crumble to the ground. Not once!)

Bike rides, football games, bells chiming, songs playing, friends meeting, long jogs, graduation walks, memorials - oh, and if you visit at night you can sometimes see an entire cauldron of bats looping above you. The campanile can be remembered for a lot of things - it certainly holds a lot of memories for me.

Oh, and I did manage to graduate on time. With two degrees, nonetheless!

So much for superstition.

Day Twenty-Eight: Night and Daisy

McCollum Hall sits high atop Daisy Hill in Lawrence with its four companion residence halls (Templin, Lewis, Hashinger and Ellsworth) providing a landmark of the University of Kansas campus viewable by drivers along the K-10 Highway from miles outside of town.

I wasn't sure what my "pic of the day" would be today, and as I made my way to Murphy Hall to hoard a practice room and play a little piano, I noticed the patchwork of McCollum's lit windows standing out against the dark night sky.

McCollum, the largest of the residence halls on Daisy Hill (which is a short, but steep walk down and up from Mt. Oread where the majority of KU classes are held) hosts a lot of social activities, including outdoor movies, dances, and even the occasional battle-of-the-bands...which may or may not have been won by yours truly (and his bandmates who made the roadtrip from Minnesota) back in the undergrad years.

Word to the wise: "American Pie" makes for a great encore!

South Park: Season One (Part 1 of 4)

Emily gave me the idea to capture one scene at various moments throughout the year during our "picture a day" project. The scene I chose today was South Park, a park near downtown Lawrence popular (in warmer months) for its band shell, fountains, and colorful flowers.

Here it's not unusual to see multiple games of frisbee, puppies and children romping in the grass, and picnics and art fairs popping up on any given Saturday.

But on this particularly frosty cold and snowy Tuesday there was not much of anything happening at South Park. People walking by were only on their way to warmer places.

The frisbees and flowers will wait until spring.

The picnics and music the summer will bring.

The children and puppies can frolic in fall.

And with luck my camera will capture it all.

:)

Day Twenty-Seven: Frosted Wheat

In Lawrence we like to prepare for the worst. Weather predictions of 2 to 4 inches of snow and possible freezing rain prompt conversations of school closings, electrical blackouts, and long lines at the supermarket filled with people who must stock up "before the storm hits."

Today all of this talk translated into a "light dusting" of snow.

While I did have to go to work today, I decided to take a little post-job, pre-sunset time to pictorialize a snowy day in Lawrence. I walked by the downtown buildings, took some pictures of lightly dusted gazebos and sculptures in the parks, but what ultimately caught my attention was a thicket of golden wheat swaying in the chilly breeze.

This wheat, dusted with snow, seemed to be waiting patiently in the winter wind for the kiss of spring to come and wake it up like Prince Charming would wake up his sleeping beauty -- his "Snow Wheat," if you will.

:)

Day Twenty-Six: Bullseye!

I am not an avid dart thrower. The drywall spotted with dart-tip-sized craters surrounding my discount-purchased plastic dartboard at home will tell you as much. That doesn't stop me from playing, though, and when I was looking around the house for a possible "picture of the day," I figured I might as well try for an action shot involving the bar room pass time.

It took a few tries (with the camera on the ground pointing up and the shutter set to continuous, high-speed shooting) to capture the dart in flight. What you see here is the composition of two sequential frames: the faint trace of red shows the middle dart's path just before its wobbly impact in - appropriately - the bullseye!

Day Twenty-Five: In a Blur

January is on the move, rolling steadily onward and pushing her predecessor December and her compatriot holidays of Christmas and New Years ever farther behind. Soon it will be inevitable: time to take down the lights. I already feel like they've overstayed their welcome, but they are like a friend who has nowhere else to go, and I just can't bring myself to push them out the door.

Where would they end up? Living in some cardboard box, hidden away from the everyday world? What kind of life is that for a friend? What kind of tangled messes might they be? How long would they remain there, motionless, lifeless? Until someone like me happens upon them, maybe almost a year from now, maybe as the weather turns cold again, and says, "sure, come with me, I have just the place for you. I will let your light shine."

Rest well, dear friend. Your time to shine will come again soon.

Day Twenty-Four: Oom-PAH!

The place: The Hessen Haus, downtown Des Moines.

The nickname: Das Boot.

The dress code: Lederhosen optional.

The drink of choice: Beer in a boot.

The music: Live polka.

The good times: Rolling like a barrel. A barrel of fun.

:)

Day Twenty-Three: Lofty Music

Day Twenty-Two: Procrastination

Well, it happened. I went 23 hours, 59 minutes and 55 seconds without getting a picture today. It wasn't for lack of trying or lack of opportunity.

I was in perfect position to photograph a glorious red, orange, purple and gold sunset over the steel blue of Clinton Lake. I reached for my camera, ran into position, lined up the shot, pushed the shutter release, and heard...nothing. No click.

No battery.

Oops.

Back at home, battery installed, I took a few less-than-stellar shots of a pizza box from Pyramid Pizza (a Lawrence favorite). Truth be told, I'm a little disappointed I couldn't capture in pixels the joy this pizza gives me....perhaps when I'm a more accomplished photographer I'll be able to transform a greasy pizza box into something more than a greasy pizza box.

Until then I'll have to focus my efforts on other things that bring me joy, like long walks on the beach, romantic candlelit dinners, and Richard Gere movies. (tip of the hat to Joe Monaco)

The rest of the evening was filled with things non-picture related, and so, due in part to my procrastination, today's picture captures the last 5 seconds of January 22nd.

Here's hoping tomorrow's picture comes a little earlier in the day!

Day Twenty-One: Ears to the Wind

Lucy went for a brief ride in the country today, and was caught here in the sideview enjoying the open air and the view of the farmland beyond the mirror. I took a few of these shots (when there were no other cars around) - I think this one captured the appropriate amount of ear floppage.

Day Twenty: A Girl and Her Dog

Em got her first puppy today. Meet Lucy.

I think the pictures say it all :)

Day Nineteen: Poor Man's Zamboni

One of my favorite things to do during the winter in Minnesota is to ice-skate on the Lake of the Isles in Minneapolis. The snowplowed portion of lake ice multiple football fields in length puts to shame any man-made rink that Kansas has to offer.

But even nature's handiwork needs a little fine-tuning from time to time, and so today the zamboniless lake crew was out with the water hose, filling in the chips and cracks that have accumulated in the more heavily trafficked patches of ice.

Growing up in Minnesota with a pond in the back yard, my friend Matt and I became somewhat self-proclaimed ice-aficionados. This method of hosing down the ice to smooth it off was nothing new to us.

Unfortunately for us, the garden hose couldn't stretch as far as the pond, so we had to find other methods to building the perfect ice rink. (Thinking back, that short hose probably saved my dad thousands in busted pipes and repair bills.)

It wasn't unusual at all for Matt or me to carry a bucket of water from the kitchen all the way down to the pond, where - very deliberately - we would move from crack to crack, filling in the uneven spaces and hoping for a quick freeze.

Of course taking off the skates, walking all the way up to the house and back down again with a bucket of instant-ice (just add cold) wasn't always the most convenient thing, so in a pinch saliva would do just fine.

And if carefully pouring water onto a frozen pond wasn't "unusual," just imagine two grade-schoolers crawling on their hands and knees, spitting at the ice and moving on to the next location, only to wind up and hock another loogie.

Perfectly normal.

Incidentally, this candid picture was taken from the driver's seat of my car, with my telephoto zoom lens, window rolled down, engine running.

I have never felt creepier.

Day Eighteen: Desaturated

The Yellow River, which runs alongside the cozy little city of Spooner, provides the dark contrast for an otherwise snowy winter scene in northern Wisconsin.

Though the grey sky, white snow, and dark barren trees give this photo the appearance of black-and-white, this scene is actually in full color.

It's nature that is desaturated.

Day Seventeen: Four Eyes

Not much to talk about here. I just liked the way the light cast shadows through these reading glasses resting on an old wooden tabletop at my brother's house in Spooner.

Day Sixteen: 1°

One little degree can be quite a defining thing.

One degree can be the difference between getting to walk on a frozen lake and getting to pay a $500 medical bill for the hypothermia you suffered after walking on a lake that wasn't quite frozen enough.

One degree can be the difference between lining up your golf shot properly and getting a hole-in-one (...never done it) and cursing yourself for missing two "gimme" putts and walking away with a bogey (...done it plenty of times).

One degree can be the difference between being a college drop-out who works behind the counter at a fast-food restaurant and being a college graduate...who still works behind the counter at a fast-food restaurant. (Shouldn't have majored in art history!)

After seeing an add for the movie The Air I Breathe, and meeting Forest Whitaker in New Orleans, I found out that I'm only one degree of separation away from Kevin Bacon!

Sometimes it seems that life is just one degree off from where you would like it to be. I'm sure if you asked my friends they'd be more than willing to agree that I'm at least one degree off from normal. My sense of balance must be off, too, because I usually find it necessary to rotate my camera pictures one degree clockwise or counterclockwise to make them level.

And at the time this picture was taken, the thermometer in Lawrence read 1°F. Pretty cold, by Kansas standards. (Of course, at the time this picture was taken I was not wearing a coat, being the stubborn, Minnesota, it's-not-really-cold-yet boy that I am.)

Photographer's Note: Look closely - what do you see? Do you see a guy in a big, white coat turned around facing a bush, perhaps doing something he shouldn't be doing outside (especially on a freezing day)? A couple of people have told me that this is what they saw in this picture (which is actually snow falling around a lamp in the trees).

To those people I say, 1) I would never take a picture of somebody doing that...just to set the record straight, and 2) yeah, I see it too, now. Thanks for that.

:)

Day Fifteen: Great Scott!

Meet Scott.


Scott is a talented musician, and I've had the privilege of playing music with him regularly for the past year or so. Though he is young, he already has many of the attributes that make up a great drummer: he keeps a steady beat; he picks up new music quickly; he likes to experiment with new rhythms and challenge himself musically; and...he's a little bit of a goofball.

Scott's creativity spans beyond the drumset. In fact, it was his idea to angle the camera through the drumset to capture him in motion.

Below is the official "picture of the day," Scott playing the old lick that he used to win the 6th grade drum-off!

Day Fourteen: Skin Deep

Sometimes a simple, ordinary picture can signify something much more complex.

And sometimes the true meaning of a photograph can only be found by peeling away superficial layers that surround the masked beauty that lies within.

Perhaps a picture like today's represents the true complexity that hides within most of the things we take for granted.

And perhaps it exemplifies the layers of inhibition being peeled away by the photographer as he grows and shares a little piece of himself every day.

Maybe, like an onion, the act of peeling away one's superficial layers is enough to bring tears - tears of joy, tears of sorrow, tears of pain, tears of laughter-

And maybe it is possible for all of this - this deep meaning and elegant representation of our innermost being - to be encapsulated in one scene, one picture.

But not this picture.

This...is just an onion.

Day Thirteen: Expectations

Expectation can be a funny thing. The more successful you are, the more greatness people expect from you. The greater the expectations, the easier it is to fall short and be judged a failure, thereby lowering expectations - only that they may once again recycle into their gradual build upward.

As a former KU student and lifetime fan, I have been to many Kansas Jayhawk basketball games. In all my time at Allen Fieldhouse I have never watched the home team shoot a single free throw that 16,000 dedicated fans did not expect to see go in. (Expectation here can be easily measured by the number of hands and arms in the air waiting patiently for permission to drop quickly down to rest, accompanied by the familiar sound of a "WHOOSH!" from the crowd.)

Not every free throw goes in, and that is to be expected. But when the 2007-08 edition of the Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team won the NCAA Championship last spring, it not only gave long time KU fans what they were hoping for (but had perhaps stopped expecting), it left this year's squad with some very large (Big Jay-sized) shoes to fill.

If expectations were high coming into this season, they were all but doomed to be short lived, as KU lost 6 of its top 7 leading scorers to the professional leagues or graduation in the off-season. The current season has been shaky thus far, and the young 'Hawks squad now holds a respectable 12-4 record after beating Kansas State in its Big 12 season opener earlier tonight.

It's fair to say that after seeing the effects of losing six leading scorers and all five starters from a season ago that fans have lowered their expectations for this year's team. You won't hear many people talking about a "repeat" title. But that won't stop fans from enjoying the reminders that still persist of last spring's basketball glory that swept through Lawrence like waves of wind through the golden Kansas wheat.

And who knows, come next March, expectations may start to rise. I have a feeling that, although they might not admit it out loud, fans will soon be expecting this team to outperform their temporarily lowered expectations.

As for today's picture:
The free throw went in; that was expected.
KU wound up defeating K-State; that was expected.
The referee to the left dances an excellent Macarena.

That was not expected.

:)

Day Twelve: My Refuge

I've spent a lot of time sitting at this keyboard. Much more time than I ever intended. And I'm not complaining one bit.

This keyboard has afforded me many opportunities. It has been my refuge after long days. At times it has made the long days grow even longer. Most importantly it has helped me extend myself in music, in friendship, and in faith.

This keyboard sits near the sanctuary of St. John's Catholic Church in Lawrence, where I serve as the director of the Jubilate choir - a collection of singers and instrumentalists who (to my good fortune) need little direction to make an amazing sound. And for those who might not be able to hear the music we make, sign language interpreters help to translate our lyrics. I consider myself blessed to work with such a talented collection of musicians and friends.

The keyboard can also be a lonely and solemn place, and I love it for that, too. I guess that was the mood I was trying to capture in this picture.

Originally I had hoped to have another person at the keyboard in this scene - someone that seemed to appear out of nowhere and give that instrument a new sound, something it hadn't quite heard before. For reasons I know I won't fully understand, that person was hesitant to have their photograph taken. Suffice it to say that God's gifts are all around us and they sometimes come in surprising packages.

I'm thankful for the gift of music in my life, all that it has brought me, and all I have been able to give through it!

Day Eleven: Optimism

Some days the drive to work or jog around the neighborhood seems full of great photographic opportunities - the way the light bounces off a building or a shadow rests along a wall makes an ordinary scene appear unordinary and worthy of capturing with a camera. Some days are full of vibrant colors that seem to make for frameable pictures everywhere you look. On some gray days you might have the time to search out the little delicacies and subtleties that otherwise go hidden by vibrant colors and contrasting shadows that steal the attention of my camera lens.

Today was none of those days.

Emily and I both struggled to find pictures today (to the point where one of us did a little "dance of frustration," which in itself might have made for a great picture of the day). But when all else fails, you can always try a little creativity.

This glass, half filled with water (or is it half empty?) gave some interesting perspective to a friendly face, and after a minute or two of experimentation a pleasing final product was reached.

Taking a picture today might have proven to be a bit of a struggle, but tomorrow I'll be seeing the world in a brand new, ready-to-be-photographed light -- as sure as my glass is half full.

Day Ten: Pig Tails and Little Piggies

I would like to imagine that someday, after my first child has arrived, the number of baby pictures in my house will eventually eclipse the number of dog pictures that are currently stockpiling on my computer faster than I can say "external hard drive storage."

Until that day, Emily Madison LaBarge continues to be the most photographed baby to pass through my camera lens. Emily "Large Marge" LaBarge is the daughter of my good friends Sarah and Brandon - I did not check with them before using this nickname.

Hopefully we are still good friends.Here, baby Emily (fresh off a round of "this little piggie") is being photographed by her new friend (in pigtails) Emily. Baby Emily's attention is being stolen by my camera's flash, but here is the pic that Emily grabbed at the same moment:
For more amusing pictures of baby Emily, and other great pics, check out "grown-up" Emily's blog. This little piggy's glad he did!

Day Nine: Rack'em!

The title of this blog, "One Click, One Pic A Day," might be a bit misleading. While I try to limit myself to posting only one picture per day, seldom if ever does that mean I only use one "click" of the camera shutter. Today's pic was the closest I have come to this feat so far in the blog.

Sitting at Johnny's Tavern in Lawrence, Emily and I were enjoying a post-Christmas Christmas party with her coworkers, both still looking for our pictures of the day. The pool table caught my eye and I thought I could capture the action of the initial break to a new game.

I wanted a shot of the cue ball speeding toward a freshly racked triangle, but I was a little late. I think I like these results even better. There's a lot of outward motion in all directions, and the faint v-shape traces of motion at the bottom (white) and top (red) of balls bouncing off the sides of the table.

I look forward to the day when it takes me only one click to get a satisfying picture, but I'm nowhere near that point yet. It's much easier for me to snap a few pics, take a look at the results (thank you digital cameras), and see what, if anything, I can adjust to make a more interesting picture. Of course, with action shots this usually isn't possible - so even though I didn't hold the camera completely still during the prolonged exposure (notice how the side of the table is blurry), I wasn't about to ask these two kind strangers at the bar to re-rack and break again so I could get a better shot.

Altogether there were only two clicks of the camera: one was a pre-break practice shot, and the second is the one that is posted here. Take a look at Emily's blog for another Johnny's pic and to see her daily posts!

Day Eight: My Sweet Tooth

Sunset pictures are like candy to me.

And I like my candy...
...or perhaps you've already heard about the Halloween incident of 1990? Check the newspaper archives, it was a display of candy gorgery of epic proportions. In fact I still seem to get a tummyache just thinking about it, although that could have to do with the pile of empty Now & Later wrappers building up around my keyboard as I type this. I do like my candy.

And if sunset pictures are like candy in my house, then dog pictures are the juice box used to wash it down: you know you don't really need it, you've had plenty before; it may seem like a good idea, but there really is no benefit to having another one; in fact, too many can make you downright sick to your stomach.

But, darn my sweet tooth, I can't resist the occasional juice box either. So how best to combine two of my "guilty pleasure" subjects, dogs and sunsets? With a little creativity and luck. I think I captured a little of both in this shot, using my pup Farley to silhouette the setting sun by the Clinton Lake dam.

Letting the sun peek through his legs and body gave a little something extra to this shot. I also like the prominence of Farley's ears - possibly my favorite of his features.

But I will stop here: if sunsets are like candy and dogs are like sweet sugary drinks, then hearing owners carry on about their pets' facial features is surely the inevitable tummyache that follows.

Day Seven: Bible Stories (a.k.a. Where I Find My Strength?)

I imagine the downtown Lawrence Community Building weight room as the place Rocky Balboa would train for his next boxing match, if "Rock" ever decided to venture out of Philapelphia. A hole-in-the-wall sized weight room with equipment that likely predates any of the Rocky movies (or movies in general, for that matter), it would be the perfect spot for a humble boxer from the streets to begin a run to the world title...were it not for the complete lack of actual boxing equipment.

In lieu of punching bags, the gym (which is open freely to the public) offers not much beyond the basics. Fortunately I'm a pretty basic kind of guy, so I'm not complaining...Especially when the KU Rec Center (my other gym) is full of New Year's Resolutioners lining up behind nautilus machines ready to make this year the year.

"The year" typically only lasts two to three weeks, but until then this future world title holder is punching in at the Community Building.

Being a basic weight room, people come there for basically one reason, to lift weights. That might seem like an obvious statement. But just like this gym doesn't come with a juice bar, sauna, or big screen TV (or any TV for that matter), let alone any extraneous piece of furniture upon which someone might sit to watch said TV if it existed, so too its inhabitants don't come with a lot of extras.

Here you'll see no laptops brought in "just to get a little extra work done." You won't find anybody reading the latest Stephanie Meyer novel. Even a ringing cell phone seems out of place in this environment. In fact, it's hard to get a glimpse - beyond the dimension of "weight lifter" - into anybody's life here. The only accessories that can be readily found are mp3 players, used to drown out the stale sound of silence spotted with intermittent clanks of metal on metal.

The headphones only serve to isolate everybody even further.

So, when something out of the ordinary finds its way into the tiny one-purpose room, it tends to stand out. And that is the subject of today's picture.I don't know who the owner of the Bible was, or why it ended up perched on this ledge, but I imagine that this particular (well worn) book went hand-in-hand with at least a few interesting stories.

Did it belong to the older gentleman who spent a peculiarly long amount of time stretching in the corner? Or was it left there by the young (and highly curious) boy who was obviously in a weight room for the first time in his life? If so, was it passed on to him by his nervous mother, who kept peering through the pane of glass in the gym door every 5 minutes to make sure nothing disastrous had happened yet?

I probably wouldn't judge this as one of my better photographs. But sometimes it's the story behind the scene that paints the real picture...even if we can only guess what that story is.

Day Six: With Lemon

My freshman-year Honors English teacher in high school taught me this lesson, and I needed a little reminder of it today: Keep It Simple, Stupid!

As I was driving home, looking for a good photo opportunity, I made a detour and went past the Penny's Concrete plant in East Lawrence. The property includes mounds of stone and sand, conveyer belts running in every direction, trucks constantly moving in and out, a large control/operations building in which the concrete is mixed and loaded -- basically a lot of action that I thought would make for a good photograph.

I liked the idea because Penny's Concrete is less than 2 blocks from my house, yet you would never know it was there because it is so tucked out of the way of mainstream traffic. As it turns out, my photographic curiosity (and telephoto lens) also caught the eye of the plant manager, who came out to pay me a visit and - after a little confusion as to "which side of the fence" I was on - gave me the okay to snap away.

I walked away feeling like that little non-confrontation left a bad taste in my mouth, but really I think I just didn't get a photograph that I felt was blog-worthy.

So later at burger night (a time-tested weekly roommate tradition that has grown to include any friends and loved ones that are free and interested in a half-priced cheeseburger), I took out my camera and near-mindlessly snapped a couple photos of Emily's "water with lemon."

I like the results, and the simplicity of the picture.

So, if I ever find myself "on the fence" again, I'll remember to lean towards the simple side.

Day Five: A Shot From Downtown

It's good to know that if you want a haircut for under $10 - but there's a chance you're a little too old to have mom cut it for you, and you're tired of having to shave your head after letting your roommates make their best ill-advised attempts with a set of clippers - there are still a few places you can visit...and soak up some atmosphere while you wait.

The Downtown Barber Shop on Mass St. in Lawrence is that type of place, and business was still hopping around 6pm (after the other barber shops had closed) when this picture was taken.
I like this picture for a couple of reasons. First of all, there is a lot of action taking place in a lot of different directions. In it you can the progression of the typical barber shop experience, from waiting with magazine in hand (far right) to having your name called (far left) to being in the chair and, ultimately, paying the dues for your new 'do.

Taking this picture also helped me overcome what has been a hurdle in the past: asking permission to "intrude" and photograph people. When I explained my project, nobody seemed to mind at all.....except one customer, after a flash temporarily blinded his barber and caused a near "clipper-slip." Oops.

Here is the Downtown Barber Shop from the outside sidewalk (looking down Massachusetts Street).

And here is the runner-up photo of the day - taken outside the Ingredient restaurant, this picture gives a different feel of downtown Lawrence.
What caught my eye intially were the light fixtures hanging inside - but instead of going in to take the picture, I took this one looking through the restaurant's large front windows, which ended up giving a view of the lightly populated inside as well as a reflected view of Mass St. (and the photographer, if you look closely enough) on the outside. I like the way this one turned out!

Day Four: A Time for Reflection

This Christmas season was special (but then, aren't they all) to me for a great number of reasons - this photo focuses on a couple of those in particular.

The nativity scene (my first...on loan) is a reminder of what makes every Christmas season special. I like the way the candlelight plays off the figures.

Another first this season was picking out my own (real) Christmas tree! I've wanted to have a real tree forever, and so one Saturday morning in January, Emily came with me to help pick out the perfect tree.

Pickins were a little slim.

But we found one that worked out just right, and I've been enjoying it ever since. While you can't see the tree in the photo, you can see its lights reflected on Ruby (the only guitar I've ever named).

That reflection caught my eye one day, and I thought it would make for an interesting photograph. Merry Christmas!

Day Three: For the Dogs

Meet Farley.


Being photographed here from multiple angles, the lab/border collie/??? seemed more interested in his owner than in Emily (who had a much better angle on the shot).

This shot was taken nearby Clinton Lake, Lawrence's closest claim to "the life aquatic." The man-made lake and dam provide a nice refuge on an otherwise busy day, with places to run, bike, hike, relax, camp, take your dog offleash, and - if you are feeling desperate enough to do so - swim.

Clinton Lake is a landmark in Northeastern Kansas and in my own life, which makes it somewhat odd for me to think that as little as 10 years before I was born the lake existed only on paper, only as an idea.

These shots were taken near the spillway which, depending on the openness of the dam gates, can provide a calm place for animals to and people to wade, or more turbulent waters like these seen here (with a slight time elapse of the camera).

I'm sure there will be more pictures of the dam, spillway, and lake to come in my collection of 365+ pics this year.

I'll just have to find my dam camera first.

Day Two: One Day to Live

"If you only have one day left to live, spend it in Topeka, KS. It will feel like forever."

The sentiment layered eloquently into this nugget of wisdom, passed on to me by a fellow Kansan, seems to be echoed by anybody I know who has ever lived, or spent time in, Topeka. Which is probably why the eyebrows of the people I was visiting in T-town today raised when I told them that it was my last day of "winter vacation."

"And you came here?"

But if you peer beyond the run-down warehouses and main drag that looks as if the 70s fell asleep and Rip Van Winkled themselves into what the rest of us recognize as the 21st century, Topeka doesn't seem half bad: quaint neighborhoods spotted with majestic homes, all up to date with indoor plumbing, and restaurants that combine the sophistication and elegance of a well-crafted wine list with the main menu and tableware of Joe's Deli (also up to date with indoor plumbing).

Ahh, Topeka.

Seen here is Memorial Hall (where an exceptionally stunning AAG works) in the reflection the Curtis Building (where an exceptionally handsome Italian works). In the (right) background of the reflection you can see the green dome of the State Capitol building.

On top of the Capitol dome is a statue called "Ad Astra" (To the Stars), depicting a Kansa Indian with bow and arrow drawn. The name comes from the Kansas state motto, "Ad Astra per Aspera," meaning To the Stars with Difficulty. The statue faces such that the arrow points toward the North Star.

So, if you ever find yourself lost in Topeka, first of all, I'm sorry. But secondly, look for the Kansa Indian to direct you home!

Day One: In Stitches

Driving home from Minnesota on a particularly icy day I was looking forward to spending some time in Ankeny with Emily and her family, cheering on her brother who was playing in a basketball tournament. I had gotten up early to make myself "presentable," and thought I had done a halfway decent job, but somebody had a little test of humility in store for me...

And in the case of Slippery, Hard Ice v. Face, "face" was the undisputed loser. Fortunately I was a rock-hard snowball's throw away from the urgent care center, where 20 minutes later I left as good as new, with only 10 stitches (a new record!) and what seemed like a pint of missing blood to show for it.

As of January 1, this is all that remains of the incident. (This, and as I imagine it, a small crater in the ice where my face hit the ground.)

I'm not too big on posting the self-portraits, but I did want to document this one so that it could be remembered. The rest of the trip was great. Emily's family was just the right level of "sympathetic," leaving to the rest of my friends to remind me of just how goofy and unathletic the whole thing must have appeared to be.

As far as posts, I'm accepting any alternate stories on how I came to need 10 stitches in my face. Anything better than "I slipped on the ice" will do!

Tell'em about the plan, man!

The plan, man, is to take a picture a day for the next 365 days. The idea came from my girlfriend Emily who is doing the same...and she got the idea from another friend. So if you like the idea, pass it on or, better yet, try it yourself!

Trying to come up with a unique subject to "capture" each day might be challenging. It will probably be even more challenging just to remember to take the pictures!

I mean, this is the guy that once drove an hour for a guitar lesson before realizing he had forgotten to bring his guitar....4 hours to Des Moines for a band concert before realizing he had not brought any pants to wear (awkward!)....and 8 hours to Kansas before realizing he was going to be starting his sophomore year of college with no underwear (and you thought no pants was awkward!).

So any feedback, ideas or encouragement you want to send along my way will be welcomed.

Of course, since I just created this blog, right now I'm talking to myself...but that'll change, right?

Blessings, peace, and Happy New Year!