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03-18-10 Still Life

Here's another art gallery interior that is relaxing for me to look at. This photo is calm, quiet and suggests introspection. And yet there is a naked figure "looking'" my way. And are these "real" people sitting on the bench? Or are they reproductions of people sitting on a bench?

incidentally, the three paintings on the wall facing the camera are by Gaugin, Van Gogh and Cezanne. Paul Gaugin lived my current fantasy: he packed up his paints and moved to Tahiti to paint the native women. But I can't paint and I'm quite happy married to my native (Dutch/German/South Dakotan) woman.

Finally, if you've never been to the Minneapolis Institute of Art, where this photo was taken, you need to go.

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03-15-10 Unity

IMG_9829 They say that there is no "I" in team, though when gymnasts perform, all of the events are solo events. It's the team total that matters, of course, and our gymnastics team has been on a roll the last few years.

This photo was taken before a home meet a little over a year ago. I didn't get many good photos because the great telephoto lens I normally use broke that day. I didn't get many action shots but I did get a few of the team.

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03-02-10 The Impossible Dome

This is the inside view of one of the most famous domes in the world. It was designed by Brunelleschi and the exterior dominates the skyline of Florence. The exterior is what every visitor to Florence sees but many don't take the time to step inside the famous Duomo. The interior is difficult to photograph because it is fairly dark. But it is certainly worth the visit.

I call this "The Impossible Dome" because the church was built on such a scale that no one had the engineering skills and technique to cap the transept. Finally, Brunelleschi invented the process and the dome was built.

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03-02-10 Brunelleschi's Dome - Exterior

To get an idea of the scale of this dome, look closely for the people standing on the walkway around what is called the "lantern." I've never been to the top of this dome but it's on my list.

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03-01-10 A Pretty Nice Fishing Hole

I read somewhere that for every day we spend fishing we should add a day to our lives and for every day we spend golfing we should take a day away. I guess it has something to do with the relative stress and frustration of the two activities.

It would be hard not to enjoy fishing in this place - even if the fish weren't biting. I use the term "fishing hole" tongue in cheek in this post since the man is actually fishing in Starrigavan Bay, which is a few miles north of Sitka, Alaska. The snowy mountain in the distance is Mt. Edgecombe, a potentially active volcano.

Want to see this on a map? Why not click here!

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02-26-10 Main Street - Corfu Village

This is a shot that I took through our rental car window as Deb and I drove through a small village on the island of Corfu. Europeans drive much smaller cars than many Americans, in part because fuel is more expensive but also in part because less space is devoted to autos - such as this road which, to me, looks more like a alley.

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02-18-10 A Single Tree

This is a quintessential South Dakota sunrise: a single tree and an expanse of prairie pasture. The tree and the sunrise are commonplace; but the clouds aren't. On this particular morning, I was struck by texture of the clouds and how there was a single band of sunlight along the horizon. Light like this is short lived. Usually, you can't say, "That's pretty - I'll go get my camera." By the time you have your camera, even if it is only minutes later, the moment has passed.

Canon 1D 1/60s f/2.8 ISO400 200mm

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02-04-10 He Has Horns!

Michelangelo's Moses This is Michelangelo's "Moses," and it is housed in one of the most unassuming places any great work art resides - the Church of St. Peter in Chains in Rome. Michelangelo was commissioned to do Pope Julius II's tomb and Moses was to be one of 50 sculptures to decorate the tomb. Humility? I don't think so.

The Pope ran out of money and the tomb was scaled back. But we got "Moses" out of the deal. Why the horns? Well, one account I've read says that the horns come from a mistranslation of the Old Testament. The Hebrew should have read "rays of light," not "horns."

Whenever I see a Michelangelo sculpture, I am struck first by how amazingly life-like the cold stone is. But I am also in awe of the physical feat it must have been for Michelangelo to wrest the figures from the stubborn Carerra marble.

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12-28-09 Charles Bridge - A View From the Castle

By Scott Shephard

This is a long shot of the famous Prague bridge.

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11-08-09 The Redlin Center - Watertown, SD

Almost anything looks better in morning light, including the Terry Redlin Art Center in Watertown. This photo was taken a few minutes after I took "Flocking Behavior 01." (Click)

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11-03-09 The First Snow

This is from my recent stay in Denver. I didn't have much time to wander around taking photos and the weather wasn't real conducive, anyway, with wet snow falling nearly continuously for two days.

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10-29-09 The Big, Blue Bear

I am in Denver this week and we are being treated to the first major snow storm of the season - 8" so far. But it is supposed to be sunny tomorrow, when I fly out.

This is the big bear sculpture that stares into the lobby of the Denver Convention Center. I'll have to admit that it wasn't the best day for street photography, with snow coming down in big chunks. But sometimes the worse weather conditions make for unique photos.

Click here to get a view from the inside.

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