01-09-14 Altered States (HDR)

This photo is demonstrably "unreal." As I've said before, humans don't see out of focus light as soft, overlapping balls. And we certainly don't see the world upside down, as it is shown here in a crystal ball I inherited from my grandma Ida.

But wait a minute. . . Our eyes are lenses somewhat similar to a crystal ball. And, in fact, all that we see is upside down, too. But our brains, for some reason, turn it "right side up." So do I dare ask, "What is reality?"

Canon 5DIII f/5.0 ISO320 100mm

01-01-14 Circle of Light

I had mentioned yesterday that I had another photo that showed a drastic difference between what the human eye sees and what the camera "sees." Yesterday, the difference had to do with focus, depth of field and bokeh. What today's photo demonstrates may not be so obvious unless you understand the concept of "dynamic range."

Dynamic range is the term used by digital photographers to describe a camera's ability to show the range of shades in a scene from very bright to very dark. And, generally speaking, cameras don't do such as good job compared to the human eye, which is brilliant.

When I saw this palm leaf, singled out by the relatively bright sky above, I didn't see what you see in the photo. I saw the highlights as bright green and the shadows as dull green. And when I took the photo and looked at it on the built-in screen, I thought, "Wow! I didn't see that." And I liked it.

I'll admit that I did use a few fancy software processes to boost the dynamic range of the photo a bit. But I didn't want to kill the highlights you see here. Is is a good photo? I can't say. But, as I've already said, I like it.

Canon 5DIII 1/60s f/4.0 ISO640 102mm

And for detail junkies, Here's the raw, unprocessed file

2014 01-02 Bright Palm by Watertown, South Dakota, photographer Scott Shephard

01-01-14 What We Never See

My title for this post isn't so much about the fact that we don't see rain, or rain-drenched leaves in our normal experiences. Though most people rarely stop to study a leaf as closely as I'm asking you to do it here.

What I mean is that the camera "sees" things very differently than humans do, including color, contrast and focus. And for sure the human eye can't see unfocused areas* as the lens does because when we look at another point in a scene, our eyes automatically focus there.

And discovering the unexpected is one of the reasons I find so much joy in making a photo.

And speaking of joy, welcome to 2014! I will be celebrating five years of "A Photo A Day" soon and I do appreciate you, the viewers, who certainly provide another source of joy for me.

*The unfocused areas are called bokeh. In this photo, the blurred circles in the background are other rain drops hanging on other leaves like the one you see in focus here.

Canon 5DIII 1/100s f/4.0 ISO400 102mm

12-12-13 Countless Unseen Details

Someone once suggested that "Countless unseen details are often the difference between the mediocre and the magnificent." When I teach photography, this is one of my many mantras: what helps our work rise above all of the billions of photos being taken is our close attention to details and our true understanding of what those details are.

This photo is not presented as an example of the "magnificence" but this detail of the Cathedral of the Madeleine in Salt Lake City is. If you look at a broader view (click), you will will find that while the figure of Jesus is the centerpiece of the this facade of the cathedral, it is only one small part.

And I can assure you that the architects and sculptors did not intend for this statue to be seen with a telephoto lens attached to a high resolution camera as you are seeing it.

So why are the edges of the pages of the book so carefully rendered? And why is there so much detail in the face and hands of Christ that would not be seen from a distance?

The answer is simple: these were all done in a quest to create something that was truly magnificent.

12-10-13 Late Fall

It occurs to me that in the Black Hills of South Dakota, where this photo was taken, the ponderosa pine is visual white noise in that there are so many of them and, unless they are fallen or bug infested or on fire, they are rarely seen.

Good photography often involves being in the right place at the right time. But good photography also is about directing the camera towards things in ways that help people "see" scenes, events and objects in ways that make them worth noticing.

So today I present a detail of a lowly ponderosa pine which has probably been standing largely unnoticed for 50 years. And what is special about this tree branch? Perhaps nothing. But when photographed at the the right time with the right light, it is certainly interesting and, I think, worth stopping and looking at.

Canon 5DIII 1/200s f/2.8 ISO200 200mm

11-14-13 The Festival of Trees Metal Print Is Here!

Each year I donate a photo to the Lake Area Technical Institute Foundation to be auctioned at their annual Festival of Trees, which is quickly approaching. The photo usually has a winter theme and this year's picture is called "Spring Melt" and was photographed along Iron Creek last April.

Being a perfectionist, I rarely like my photos in print form but I have to say that this one, printed on metal, is pretty special. Of course it helps to have such great scenery. :-)

08-25-13 Singled Out - Morning Light on Grass #3

This is the last of three macro photos that are intended to suggest that photographers have the potential to make common things interesting by finding the right framing, focus and light.

08-24-13 Singled Out - Morning Light on Grass #2

Second is a series of three.

08-23-13 Singled Out - Morning Light on Grass #1

This is the first in a series that I am calling "Singled Out." The series is an attempt to show you that photographers have the power to make the mundane interesting. All it takes is the right framing and the right light. All of the subjects in this series are considered weeds.

08-01-13 Photographers At Work

In keeping with my "Working Photographer" theme from yesterday I post the second in a series. This time, the photo is of more mature subjects then Glenyce J. The subjects: Patricia, of Monterey, CA and Nicole of Houston, TX. The setting: Lakota Lake, the Black Hills, South Dakota.

And the event was my July Black Hills Photo Adventure, which drew participants from all over the US. (Well I'm exaggerating. The states represented were TX, CA and SD, which is almost the whole United States.) Anyway, we had a perfect morning to visit one of my favorite early morning photo locations.

It looks like Nicole and Patricia are having a good time, doesn't it? And they are smiling in spite of the fact that I made them get up well before 5am to enjoy the morning "golden hour."

Canon 5DIII 1/60s f/5.6 ISO400 200mm

03-26-13 Luminaire

I knew when I saw these "candles" (made by Energizer) at Target that I had to have them and that they could provide an interesting photo opportunity. Frankly, this shot isn't what I had envisioned when I was walking out of the store. But it's what I ended up with in an impromptu photo session last night.So what are we to make of this tableau? It could be that, to paraphrase Macbeth, it "[signifies] nothing." And it's no accident that I mention Macbeth, since in the speech where that phrase is borrowed, he also talks about a candle. Though his candle is "brief"; these Energizer candles are supposed to last 90 hours.Maybe its about loneliness, alienation and the meaninglessness of life. Yes, Macbeth talks about that too. ("[Life] is a tale told by an idiot signifying nothing.")And maybe I'm asking you to think too much. (At the end of the play, Macbeth probably thought too much; he should have put more thought in to his scheme to become king at the beginning of the play.)Maybe this photo tells the story of a photographer who should have been doing something more serious than playing with Energizer candles and his prized Canon 50mm f/1.2 lens.