Winter and Nazis in Central Ohio

My state passed a law last year requiring a photo identification if voting in person. The legislature, the governor and the secretary of state expressed a concern about fraud in our elections. To my knowledge, the only fraud going on involved their culture hero (the Orange Emperor) and he could end up in prison for his election shenanigans, in addition to all his other crimes. My 98-year-old mother hasn’t driven for years and allowed her driver’s license to expire. I took her to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles to obtain an ID and both times we were turned away because they would not accept the documents she brought as proof of her 98-year existence in Ohio. We gave up. My mother has me. How many others are going to find themselves in the same predicament who don’t have me. If the law was passed to make it more difficult to vote, our adherents to minority rule have succeeded.

If you want to live in a state where old, white, Christian, Republican lawyers are making your medical decisions for you, Ohio is the place to be. These same people are passing the most preposterous and dangerous laws about how we’re educating our children from preschool through college. Because if you’re seeking the best strategies for educating young people, why wouldn’t you go straight to a lawyer?

We’re in the process of changing voting rules because these old white guys have figured out that they can’t pass their unpopular policies with a straight up majority. You know, the way voting in a democracy works. So, they have a ballot issue coming up this summer to require supermajorities for referenda that are initiated by the state’s citizens. And there isn’t a supermajority required to pass this ballot initiative, because if everyone understands that you’re cheating, why even pretend otherwise. If you consider democracy an unnecessary inconvenience, then Ohio is for you.

When I was growing up, we didn’t know from ADHD, autism, peanut allergy or transgender. I don’t understand transgender. There’s absolutely no way that these old white lawyers understand it any better than I do. But it isn’t stopping them from passing laws that significantly impact these people’s lives in the most intimate ways. If you’re trying to unravel the most complex interplay of biology, genetics, psychology, and culture, I have no doubt that an old, white, Christian, Republican lawyer holds the answers.

If your idea of an entertaining afternoon is a Nazi and white supremacist rally, you’re going to find it in Ohio.

We have so many problems in our state, and this is the kind of crap these legislators are focused on. Why work on unaffordable housing or climate change when you can pass laws ensuring intellectual diversity in our schools, including colleges (not hurting white people’s feelings with facts). The notion that the GOP is the party for small government is deader than a doornail. They are inserting themselves into the most personal and private areas of people’s lives. It is frightening and appalling.

Many of these policy initiatives are introduced and paid for by outside interests. Our legislators are more than happy to support these measures and our wimp of a governor signs the legislation. The city of Columbus is trying to pass and implement some gun safety measures, like requiring safety locks on guns so that our preschoolers aren’t accidentally blowing their brains out. There are interests in our state fighting these initiatives. Ohio has become the heart of some of the ugliest and anti-democratic quality of life issues. And to top off the total demoralizing experience, we have J.D. Vance and Jim Jordan.

I’m waiting for these jackasses to pass a law requiring me to accept Jesus as my personal savior.

I need to stop watching the news. Once I’ve learned the essentials (how many people were shot in the Hilltop, how many Kias and Hyundais were stolen, and tomorrow’s weather forecast), I need to turn it off and go back to reading books about antisemitism.

I’m going to spend the next few blogs presenting the last of the photographs I took this winter. I know, summer started this week. I’ve been busy. After being out of school since Pauline died, I decided to return to the classroom. I’ve been taking photography classes at Columbus State Community College since my retirement in 2011. Last spring, I took an introduction to digital photography. I decided to repeat the class to review all the fundamentals. This summer I took Photoshop for Photographers. This is also the second time I’ve taken this class and my fourth class on Photoshop. I have been working my raw images in Lightroom for years. I have relied on Photoshop primarily for retouching. Photoshop is an amazingly complicated piece of software and Adobe changes its functionality every ten minutes. Their incorporation of AI has also made the program more interesting and complicated. If you don’t use it regularly, there is a lot to forget. I learned a lot and look forward to experimenting with ways to make my work more creative.

My busy schedule will continue for the rest of the summer. I have no idea how I found the time to raise two children, to work a full-time job and to run a not-for-profit health advocacy organization. I volunteered to take photographs for the Special Olympics. They have a large, statewide event this weekend. I have no doubt that I’ll have hundreds of photographs to work from this experience. The following weekend, I leave for San Antonio for the Siegel Rare Neuroimmune Association Quality of Life Family Camp. I’ll end up with thousands of images to work from our camp. I look forward to writing about and presenting images from both events. In the meantime, back to winter in central Ohio.

Columbus Zoo and Aquarium

I made a trip with Nancy and family to the zoo. I enjoy shooting the animals once I get past my complicated feelings about zoos. Shooting through glass doesn't help my attitude, and especially when there are lots of people around who are reflecting into the glass. Fortunately, there are ways to deal with these reflections in post production that don't require shooting with a polarizing filter.

Mr. and Mrs. Mandrill had the cutest ever little baby boy. Yes. I'm sure he is a boy.

Even at the zoo I see beautiful abstracts and lovely dead crap. Shooting reflections across ice is a favorite. And I love shooting these warm colors as they are backlit. The abstract motion creates a beautiful background. Once you develop a way to look, it is difficult to unsee this stuff even in places you don't anticipate it.

Franklin Park Conservatory

After my Introduction to Digital Photography class started in January, I made a trip to the Franklin Park Conservatory with Bruce. There are so many great abstracts waiting to be had, and they constantly spray the plants with a mist that is just spectacular for close up and macro photography.

Hark Road Park

Also in January, I made a trip to Hard Road Park to shoot a design assignment for my digital photography class. Hard Road Park in January is a veritable treasure trove of lovely dead crap.

Alum Creek State Park

I made it out to Alum Creek in February to do another shoot for my digital class. This assignment was about motion and this was my panning shot.

I loved these scenes with a thin layer of ice and the reflections. The designs in the ice are pretty fantastic. Who makes this stuff up? I worked one of them warm and the other cool.

And I just couldn't pass on the most interesting lovely dead crap.

Emily Traphagen Park

Bruce and I get out to shoot together about once each month. February can be a difficult time to shoot in central Ohio. Often there isn't snow and there isn't going to be much color. But if your thing is lovely dead crap, there's no shortage of subject matter.

These are everywhere in central Ohio in the winter. I refer to them as weird balls; a special class of lovely dead crap.

And some beautiful reflections and impressionist abstracts.

Even though I have a serious addiction to color, both of these images screamed out to be black and white.

Hard to pass up color during winter in central Ohio. The reflections of light off of the branches is what did it for me.