Dayton Art Institute Scavenger Hunt

Dayton Art Institute at night

Marble Relief

It's a pretty well established fact that the Dayton Art Institute is an amazing resource that far too many Daytonians ignore. There are school groups that go through that even though the kids are right there they're still not opening their eyes and seeing it all.

To help you, my dear reader, to more fully experience the vast collection of the DAI I have put together a small scavenger hunt. I've included just a few bits that are focused in a single area. But to give you an idea of what I'm talking about there is to the right a picture of a marble relief... Where is it?

The marble relief is close to a more recognizable statue. But just because something isn't featured doesn't mean that it isn't worthy of attention.

 Most people familiar with the DAI will recognize these miniature figures playing a board game.

But what about this rooster that is only inches away?

Hale Cloister

I went to the DAI regularly growing up and I feel it is important to encourage not only the children to pay attention to art, but also everyone on a regular basis needs to look around and see what there is. In an attempt to help you see with new eyes I've put together two sheets. Nothing fancy, just a little scavenger hunt. Some pictures will be easier than others, but the goal is to look at each of the six images and figure out where they are in the museum.

Without further fanfare I present to you:
DAI Scavenger Hunt Pg. 1
&
DAI Scavenger Hunt Pg. 2

The value of Riverscape Metropark

I've gone on several evening strolls looking for pictures to take. For several months I was trying to take at least one postable picture every day however I got sick, my bike broke down (which happens when run off the road by a car) and life's other little things led that noble effort to slowly fizzle until I gave up the pretense and accepted my defeat.

When I was living downtown I would often find myself gravitating to one of 2 places for the drive to take a picture because I was on a schedule. The closest was the Dayton Art Institute, which I'll elaborate on later, the other and more common was Riverscape.

I never really figured out why I was drawn to Riverscape as a landscape photographer. Riverscape as a park isn't attractive. I would take pictures of  the various features of the park, but as a whole there was nothing that jumped out and screamed "TAKE MY PICTURE!"

There are various plants that have pretty flowers, unique structures, and of course the fountains, but the park without people is just blase. But I hadn't figured that last part out yet. I kept trying to capture the essence of the park but I was doing it when the soul of the park wasn't there.

Artists and Rocks

My fiance decided she wanted to get some fresh air over the weekend and break out her oils.

Fortunately we live comfortably near to several nice bits of parkland and finding something worthy of being painted takes only a stone and a good throwing arm. On this particular day we went to the Oakes Quarry in Fairborn which if I'm honest is one of my favorite parks. It is fairly large at 190 acres and I've never seen the parking lot with more than half a dozen cars. (You'll learn quickly that I don't like heavily populated places).

The majority of our time was spent alone, although we did get a brief visit from a couple dogs that seemed like they were having a very good day.

More as a curiosity than anything else I set up one of my camera's on a tripod to snap off a picture of the painting every 60 seconds, This resulted in a fascinating time lapse (viewed here). Since the day was largely overcast with sporadic bursts of sunlight I let the camera select its own exposures, That's why the overall brightness remains the same even though there are periodic flashes of direct sunlight. To help keep the exposure consistent I covered the eye piece so that the sensor was only receiving light from in front of the lens and not through the back as well.

While the D3200 was stationed at the painting I walked around a bit and took some shots with the D750 to give you a better idea of the scale of the park.

In the original raw file of the top image the painting easel is only a few pixels tall, I was impressed with a hand held capture to be able to recognize a seated person at nearly a mile of distance at all with a 24mm lens.

Walking through the park it becomes pretty clear that this place is frequented by many artists, including a few who feel the need to leave their mark. Some by simple arrangements of stone and others by more destructive means. Although as far as I know it is still vandalism, the fact that it shows up in a man made quarry that's only 80 years old and not in other nearby parks with exposed rock faces is encouraging... And somehow I doubt it is the Steve Carell, but you never know. 

It's easy to see why there is so much activity in the quarry as the location is fairly inspiring. As long as graffiti remains a small and localized phenomenon I don't feel that is detracts from the overall experience of nature. As for rock formations- they're just fun.

As a whole I would highly recommend a visit to the Quarry. It has a blasted lunar surface for the largest part, but it also has grassy prairie, a quiet wooded stream, rocky crags, stocked ponds, and everyone's favorite: you can find and take home your own fossils. The walls are protected active research sites, but there are marked piles of stones that are free for the taking.

My beginnings.

Hanging on the Shore

This remains one of my favorite shots even though it is one of my first.

     I was interested in photography since I was a small boy and Nikon and Canon SLR cameras were on display at the department stores. I would fawn over the cameras and their esoteric controls. My father's response to my pleading was simple and understandable (now) "If you can explain what the buttons do and how the camera works I'll get you one, but not until then." The internet was still in its infancy and I wasn't even a teenager yet so the requisite knowledge was not forthcoming and I eventually gave up on a parentally subsidized camera and saving my allowance for over a year to buy one myself was simply out of the question.

     I enjoyed taking pictures with my cell phones for years but never took the leap into buying my own dedicated camera because in the back of my head I always knew that "one day..."

     I finally decided I could afford to take the plunge and started researching, I spent months figuring out how to get the best click for my buck when I discovered an online retailer with a great price for a very respectable Nikon D3200. I jumped on it and simultaneously ordered accessories from a few other sites. By the next day the accessories started arriving; filters sized to the kit lens, a carbon fiber tripod, Lowepro backpack specially designed for cameras and their accessories, a spare battery, I even had a 500mm (exceptionally cheap) lens... but no camera... 7 days... 1 month... 6 weeks... I finally gave up hope and canceled the order because the retailer kept pushing back the ETA.

     I had everything I needed to start taking pictures except for the camera so I went into a local camera shop and picked up the best I could afford with what I had left and walked out with a used Nikon D3000.

     My first few shots were hampered by the 500mm's inability to focus. But even so I took the time to familiarize myself with the camera and its controls. At this point I can explain what every button does and how to use a D3000 to its maximum potential.

     Fortunately it was only a week before I found a lovely Nikkor 35mm f/1.8 on Craigslist that came with several filters and since both the new lens and the originally planned kit lens have 52mm filter threads I was able to also use the filters I had already purchased.

     At the time I was cycling exclusively and I picked up the new lens a couple towns away. On the ride back to Dayton I stopped in a park and started playing with my new setup.

     In addition to the first image "Hanging on the Shore" here are a few more shots I took that first day with my first usable lens.