Photo A Day: February 9 to February 24
Welcome back for photo time, all. On this roll please enjoy my attempts to grapple with lighting, some skewed romantic content, noteworthy graffiti and the first in an absurd (and still ongoing) series of unseasonal winter storms. I promise it gets better.
February 9, 2013. ???
Of the exceedingly few drawbacks of my vintage camera, one of the most unforgiving is the tendency to lose the first or last photo on a roll. This was supposed to be Phil at the Bottleneck watching the KU game. Instead it is an empty vacuum, a point of darkness in an otherwise bright existence.
February 10, 2013. Balloons in a tree, 700 block of Indiana St, Lawrence, KS.
I remember this day as cold, with extremely violent wind. My girlfriend had left town that morning, it was a dismal day out, and then I found these Valentine’s Day balloons tangled in the branches of a tree down the street. It was like a physical manifestation of someone’s cast aside affections, a symbol of isolation on a cold and comfortless day. On retrospect, they probably blew over from the flower shop two blocks away.
February 11, 2013. Dark Knight window display, Game Nut, Massachusetts St, Lawrence, KS.
The day was still much brighter than this photo indicates. Chalk this up as another whiff in my attempts to adjust properly for light conditions. You can kind of make out Batman, and the “DENT, H.” with Two Face’s head mounted on. This really is the weakest window display I’ve seen at Game Nut. Maybe the camera was actively opposing a dumb photo.
February 12, 2013. Poprah/Ru Pope. Mississippi St sidewalk, University of Kansas.
There’s a little balcony of sorts on the sidewalk on my walk to campus, across from the football stadium. It seems to be the testing area for somebody who makes graffiti stencils. This one appears to be topical – I believe this was immediately after Pope Benedict announced his impending retirement. A statement in favor of the ordination of women and transgendered priests?
February 13, 2013. Mallott Hall, University of Kansas.
That moment when you think you can capture perfect sunset conditions, but your camera takes like two minutes to set up and you miss it. Part of this project is about capturing my day-to-day experiences, but there’s no specific memory attached to this. Just a record of how – despite all the beautiful architecture on the KU campus – this is what I see every day going to work.
February 14, 2013. An Orgasm. Watson Library, University of Kansas.
The inscription reads “An orgasm took place right where you are studying!” It’s written on a study desk at the library (and right next to it is “I <3 MU”). It seemed like a fitting Valentine’s Day photo, even if it’s not strictly readable.
February 15, 2013.
On the road to Columbia, I thought the long string of lights outside KC would be an interesting photo. Once again, I thought there’d be more light to see than there was. At this point I feel the series of indiscernible low-light photos is not really enjoyable for anyone, so I need to start leaving the house earlier, or figure out how to use my camera better.
February 16, 2013. MU/KU, Frederick Building, Columbia, MO.
One of my hobbies is using “high art” modes to express really “low art” content. Bathos is sort of my personal fascination. In this case I said “I’m in Columbia. MU and KU are both playing. Let’s experiment with double exposure self-portraiture!” No one wins. Well, more accurately, KU won and MU lost.
February 17, 2013. Abandoned department store, Providence St, Columbia, MO.
On Providence there’s an abandoned retail outlet, right by an Office Depot everyone assumes is abandoned. The place looked like it’s been extensively used as an overnight for homeless – bottles, an old mattress, clothing, a torn-up sleeping bag. It also made a nice addition to my collection of graffiti in unexpected places.
February 18, 2013. Floating apple, Lakota Coffee, Columbia, MO.
I’ve taken pictures indoor at Lakota before that have come out beautifully. Not much more to be said about it at this point. This may be Jonny Pez at his computer, or just a floating apple in a salt mine.
February 19, 2013. Pedestrian bridge, Robertson Hall, University of Kansas.
Nothing groundbreaking here, but a nice perspective shot, with some sort-of graffiti. I had just set up an appointment for travel vaccinations at the Health Center, explaining why I was somewhere on campus outside the two places I ever go.
February 20, 2013. De-icing, Wescoe Hall, University of Kansas.
I think I was late to be aware of the pending snow-pocalypse, and was fascinated at the trails of liquid covering all the sidewalks on campus. It was interesting to watch the community attempt to hunker down for the massive onslaught of snow. I miss it already.
February 21, 2013. Snowy bike, 8th and Mass, mysterious industrial building on the river, Lawrence, KS.
Snow days are fantastic, although I spent this one with a brutal hang… headache. But around 5:00 I realized I should go out and enjoy the snow (which at that point I thought was a one-time opportunity). So I got the camera, put on my boots and took a walk downtown. I even walked along the riverfront, which may have been a lofty undertaking. Ah well, snow day.
February 22, 2013. Snow truck, Lawrence, KS.
And the next day I decided to drive to Columbia. Here’s what the truck looked like before departing. Pro tip: dust pans work very well for clearing snow off a vehicle.
February 23, 2013. Snow backhoe, Columbia, MO.
Columbia got snow, too. And apparently they deal with it by just scooping it all into trucks and moving it somewhere. Presumably a massive snow landfill or penguin sanctuary. Actually, I really think there should be a conversation about how to effectively exploit large stockpiles of snow – temporary igloo housing?
February 24, 2013. Snow dump, Columbia, MO.
Or maybe they just dump it wherever. It’s still fun to see how places respond to overwhelming snowfalls.
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