Daniel Miller's Shameless Self-Promotion

thx

I've read a few lists of the things people are most thankful for and since I usually forget to show it, I wanted to take a little time to give proper credit. To all of you on this list (which is in no particular order), I am sincerely thankful and wouldn't be where I am now without you.

to Shannon, for trusting an old friend with nothing less than the most important day of his life

to Beth, for giving an old friend the happiness every man longs for

to my parents for being the safety net that every child should have, no matter how old the child gets

to Becky for showing me that it's possible to have the courage to keep searching

to MB for her hospitality and for a hug (real or long distance) when I so desperately needed it

to Todd for his sense of humor and the laughs he gives

to Jim & Joy for letting us pick up our friendship like I never left

to God for R

to D for taking care of R

to Katherine for always being happy to see me in the #

to the people in #macobserver for being so cool to hang out with

to Bryan for noticing and reaching out

to Ryan for my Powerbook envy and the Amtrak tips

to Jason for being a good friend and always setting the photographic bar higher

to Tim for the guidance and experience I so desperately needed

to my friends at the Register for being my second family in Sandusky

to all of you reading this, for taking the time to share in my journey. Thank you all so much.

East Coast Playa

I haven't been keeping a very regular update schedule here during my trip out East, so here are a few hasty entries from my time so far.

Monday, Nov. 17, 2003
On the way to Washington D.C., Shannon and I were driving through the mountains in Pennsylvania and I was shocked. It turns out there really *are* purple mountains! (as in purple mountains' majesty...) The mountain was frickin' PURPLE!

Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2003
We went to a talk by John Shattuck, a Clinton administration advisor on human rights, at Politics and Prose, a book shop in DC. The talk was interesting in the fact that I heard from an insider instead of a talking head on the news or some analyst. I knew for sure that I was in Washington D.C. when a book fell from the shelf next to me and hit the floor at my feet. The lady in front of me looked and I remarked, "Wow, I guess this means I should buy it!" and she responded, "No... you should sue the bookstore." I'm still not sure she was kidding...

Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2003
After checking out the Silver Diner, we went to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum despite the pouring rain. Now you'd think the threat of rain would have prompted us to take an umbrella... oops, guess not. But we did have the option to purchase one at the Smithsonian gift shop for $22! Again, guess not.

Thursday, Nov. 20, 2003
I woke up this morning and stumbled into the bathroom to get ready for Mary Beth who was coming to pick me up. I rubbed my eyes and opened the shower curtain and saw the ugliest cricket ever, already occupying the tub. I thought about apologizing and waiting my turn. This was no regular cricket, it had hair under its arms and a tattoo that said "Born to make noise." Instead, I quickly grew a spine and flushed the sucker.

After the insecticide, MB and I jetted off to Baltimore on the lovely choked highways of our country. We stopped off in the slightly touristy Inner Harbor (I tried to get MB to straddle a cannon outside of the USS Constitution, ala Cher, but a swarm of preteen Catholic schoolkids beat her to it) and ate at Pizzeria Uno. Ummm, oh my god. That was the best pizza I've had since Godfather's Pizza left Toledo. It was *that* insanely good. So our trek progressed on to the Apple Store at the Towson Town Center. MB had never actually seen one in person and it was great fun to see her eyes light up as she walked around all the toys.
We had planned to go out and hit some local bars, but after being initiated into the BPR (Back Porch Ritual) with MB and her husband Iain. The groove was right, so MB and I kept talking, drinking and geeking out on our Macs instead of patronizing the local dens of iniquity. ...and now it looks like the leftover pizza is out of the oven! Mmmmmm!

Manhattan's

An assignment that sounded simple enough turned into a technical challenge when I actually saw the conditions. Shooting the jazz trio would have been hard enough with the low light level in the club but I had no idea they would literally be playing in the shadows. I ended up making a picture highlighting the lack of light on a band member.

Photo by DANIEL MILLER
Ben Wolkins, Flugel Horn player in the Andre Wright Trio, belts out some mellow jazz at Manhattan's on Adams St. near Downtown Toledo, Thursday night, Nov. 13.

At Risk

I was tasked to document an unclear story about the Phoenix Academy, a charter school in Toledo that dealt with "at risk" kids. While I didn't know exactly what "at risk" referred to or what the thrust of the story would be, I did my best to document what I saw.

Photo by DANIEL MILLER
Trey Porter is silhouetted as he sits with his friends Sumner Bell, at left, and Wilton Coleman in the lounge at Phoenix Academy near downtown Toledo, Wednesday, Nov 12 2003.

Photo by DANIEL MILLER
A sign informing students of random weapons checks is taped near the entrance to the Phoenix Academy near downtown Toledo, Wednesday, Nov 12 2003.

Union Station

I had to pick my parents up from the train station downtown and from previous experience I knew I should take a camera to have something to do while waiting.

Photos by DANIEL MILLER
Trackside lights burn late into the night over the platform at Central Union Plaza in downtown Toledo, Saturday Nov. 8. In the mid-nineties, the Lucas County Port Authority bought the station from Conrail for $20,000 and changed the name from Union Station.

A passenger sits playing a game in the lobby at Central Union Plaza while waiting for the Amtrak Capitol Limited, running almost 2 hours late.

Part of the platform canopy's riveted construction is illuminated as other supports stand in the background.

Eclipsed

I haven't done a lot of low light level work with the Canon EOS 10D, so I thought the recent lunar eclipse was a good time to do a quick test.

Photos by DANIEL MILLER
The moon is covered about 25% by Earth's shadow.
Exposure data: 1/320th f5.6 @ 400 ISO, Canon EF 70-200 2.8L with 2x extender.

The moon is covered about 99% by Earth's shadow.
Exposure data: 1/15th f5.6 @ 800 ISO, Canon EF 70-200 2.8L with 2x extender.

Cycles

I was returning from an assignment 40 miles to the west of me and decided I didn't want to see the same old Ohio Turnpike again. I wanted to find a route that might offer something more interesting to see. While headed back on Rt. 20, just west of Assumption, Ohio, a small field of dead sunflowers caught my eye.

Photo by DANIEL MILLER
A dried sunflower petal twists in the chilly November air. The flower was part of a small patch by the roadside near Assumption, Ohio.

Photo by DANIEL MILLER
A wilted sunflower droops towards the ground at the edge of a patch along Rt. 20 in Fulton County, Ohio.