09-22-12 Gentle

That's little Ethan D grasping his aunt Deb's thumb.Canon 5D 1/80s f/2.0 ISO640 135mm

09-21-12 Stare-Down

This photo was taken at the Alaska Raptor Center just outside of Sitka. I was shooting through mesh wire with a telephoto lens. I said, "Smile" and this is the look I got.

09-20-12 Totem

I wasn't looking for photos to post when I found this one. There is nothing too complicated (or perhaps even interesting) in this picture, though it is an action shot and the photographer understood something about "the decisive moment": the picture was snapped at the precise instant the guide gestured upwards toward the totem pole.

09-19-12 The Youngest Shep

I don't know what it says about me that I take more pictures of things than I do of people. I don't know the answer to that but I do know that I don't see my youngest son, Jon, enough.This photo was taken near Sitka, Alaska, a few years ago. At the time, Jon was working for an adventure company and we got the royal treatment when we visited. And I liked Sitka, except that it stayed in the 50s the whole time we were there. (July!)

09-18-12 Ready and Waiting

There is an adage in photography that says that you should first find a good photo opportunity and then turn and look behind you because the best photo is often something you don't see at first.This picture is a good example in that what caused me to stop my truck along the gravel road in Iowa was the photo I took yesterday. After getting what I wanted there, I turned and looked across the road. And this is what I saw (click). It wasn't all that special, was it? But inspired by one of my student's great soybean photos (check out Lindsey Fowler's photo), I decided to move in. And this photo is the result. And it stands as a good example of the tremendous power photographers have: we get people to look at things they would probably never taken the time to see.By the way, I like Lindsey's photo better. :-)Canon 5DIII 1/320s f/4.0 ISO320 182mm

09-17-12 Golden (HDR)

I was cruising the backroads of Iowa with my good friend BZ looking for one of my favorite subjects - an Iowa cornfield. The cornfield wasn't hard to find, of course. What is a little more challenging is finding other things that make the corn a little less run-of-the-millIn the case of this photo, the sunrise helped and so did the built-in HDR processor my Canon 5DIII has. I shouldn't point this out, but I think there is a compositional flaw in this photo in that I think it would be better if A) the sun lined up with the rows of corn or B) I had given a little more room to the right of the sun when I framed the shot. But, as they say, "It is what it is." And, to paraphrase the Rolling Stones, "It's only a corn field but I like it."Canon 5DIII 1/25s f/18.0 ISO320 200mm

09-16-12 The Empty Nest

My wife spotted this small nest with a single unhatched egg a while back. I checked the nest again this morning and found that the bird has apparently "flown the coop." I have no idea of what kind bird egg this is and of course I have no way of knowing whether the little bird is living a successful life or not. But I do like the late summer symbolism of the empty nest. It kind of like kids going off to college. . .

09-15-12 All Square

This photo Of the Redlin Center in Watertown, SD, was taken with my iPhone 4s. It was then processed with Camera+ and Instagram, a photo taking, editing and publishing app which is hugely popular right now.Instagram requires a square crop, and that's the reason for the title of today's post. I don't have much else to say other than the square crop is fun to work with from time to time because it requires a rethinking of the compositional element of space. And, as photographers, it's good to "rethink" from time to time.Incidentally, I apply the same filter to all of my Instagram posts. The filter tends to over saturate colors and in the case of this photo the dominant tones are the three primary colors: red, blue and yellow. I like that in this photo.

09-14-12 Arachnophilia?

In a word, "no," I don't love spiders. But I don't hate or fear them, either. Given that I have posted one other spider (here) and two spider webs (here and here) in this blog in the last month, you should be able to infer my fascination with spiders.What was interesting about this particular spider is that I took several macro shots of the bark of the tree he/she is on before I even noticed him/her (how do you tell gender?). The other interesting thing about this spider is that it didn't move at all, even though my lens was only inches from it. Sleeping? Dead? Dormant? I can't say.

09-13-12 Sitting On A Park Bench

I was at a local park with my photo/media students recently (it's a tough job. . . ) and when they wandered off to do their thing, I took my camera out and started to take photos of the same, old things: leaves, trees, tree bark, etc. Then I saw a green, metal park bench and I knew I had found the perfect subject.I liked the color, of course, but I really liked the texture. I took several photos with a wide aperture because I liked the way metal bench looked as it gradually went out of focus in the frame. Finally, I decided the bench wasn't enough and so I put a single, worn pine cone on the bench. And here's the result.Looking for meaning and symbolism? Loneliness? Promise? E pluribus unum? Who knows what I was thinking. . . .(Incidentally, I would be impressed with anyone who saw the title of this post and thought of Jethro Tull's "Aqualung" album from the 1971. Play Me)

09-12-12 Join Me For A Photo Walk

17,392 people have signed up to be part of the 5th annual Worldwide Photo Walk. Why not be 17,393? This is the first such photo walk in Watertown and I'll be your leader. What is a photo walk, you ask? Well, photography enthusiasts, from pros to little children meet and are lead to various photogenic sites by someone who is also a photography enthusiast (me).Our goal is to take some photos, have some fun and learn a little. And there are prizes for the best photos from around the world. Check out the Photo Walk web site.Then go to the Watertown Worldwide Photo Walk site and sign up. It's free and painless!

09-11-12 Survivor

As I was thinking about the anniversary of the attack on the Twin Towers in New York on this day 11 years ago, I also thought about Hiroshima, which I visited in 2004.I avoid political commentary in this blog. So you should read nothing more into my post today beyond the fact that there have been many events in human history that have had profound impact on the architecture and psyche of a city but which also changed how everyone views the world. And I would say that 9/11 and the bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, are two such events.This photo, incidentally, shows the modern, arched Hiroshima Memorial (which shelters an eternal flame), framing a building which stood near ground zero. This building was left standing as the only remnant of a city center that was largely destroyed in the blink of an eye.