05-07-09 A Perfect Sunday Afternoon

To say that the Missouri River dams in South Dakota have changed the face of the river is an understatement. In the attempt to tame the river and tap its potential for irrigation and power, towns and burial burial sites were submerged and the original landscape of the "real" river was lost forever.

But just below the dams, I imagine that the River looks as close to what it might have looked like before the US Army Corps of Engineers brought in their heavy equipment. I also think that what you are seeing in this photo isn't significantly different from what the Lewis and Clark Expedition might have seen in 1803, when they made their way up-river.

They would have been blessed, as I was, to experience the quite calm of a Sunday afternoon on the Missouri River. View on Panoramio to see its geographical setting.

Canon 5DII 1/400s f/13.0 ISO250 45mm

03-23-09 The Perfect Place

I often find that some photos become favorites more for sentimental reasons than for aesthetic considerations. This photo is perhaps the best example I have of that. Pictured is the Mission Creek area near the Little Bend of the Missouri River. I have spent the night in my sailboat, Ariel, which is named after a sea spirit in Shakespeare's play The Tempest. I have walked up on to a bluff and am looking northeast over a glass-smooth body of water.

Is this a great photo? No. Is is one of my favorites? Yes. But only because it helps me remember what it's like to be in (for me) the perfect place: warm, quiet and utterly peaceful.

Incidentally, I use this photo to illustrate the rule of thirds and the principle that the eye is typically drawn to the brightest part of the picture, which is my sailboat.

No photo info: this is a scan of a film image (so 20th century!)