Red roses are a symbol of love in our culture. So sending roses is an act of love, I guess. And I'll admit that fresh, red roses beautifully arranged are hard to beat. But they're expensive. And they are ephemeral: if a fresh rose symbolizes love, what does a wilted, drooping rose suggest? I'm not even going to suggest the possible answers to that question.But these roses will never wilt. So that's why they are "better than the real thing." Feel free to share them with someone you love. . . .
Blog
02-13-13 Another Web Site??!!!
in Blog
Yes, I am launching a new web site (visit it now, (please?)). "Why," you ask. To be honest this blog (which is about to celebrate it's 4th anniversary!) is decidedly non-commercial. And my new web site is pointedly commercial. I'm not exactly a starving artist but I but I've found that photography and blogging about photography are expensive habits.This blog will continue at this web address. But it may be moving. And, while I'm at it, my new web site has an address right now that will be changing -- as soon as I'm smart enough to know how to do that.My "Better Photography Blog" will likely be migrating but, for the time being, I am posting it twice. How about bookmarking the new address?Anyway, how about visiting my new site. Even better, how about filling in the contact form? There's nothing in it for me (or for you) other than it is our way of getting to know each other a little better. After all, a blog is a social media and being social often involves a conversation. So let's start one. . . .
02-12-13 Back In the Days of Film
in Architecture, Blog, Photography
Here's a photo that was taken with my Canon film camera 12 years ago. Yes, film! If you look closely, you will see white specks. Those are dust specks on the negative. And if you look closely again, you will see film grain. Holy cow!My workflow for this photo was as follows
There you go. And, if you ask me, I like the photo but it's not all that special. As if no one else ever stood here and took the exact picture. . . .
02-11-13 Classes Cancelled
in Architecture, Blog, Seasons, South Dakota
A major winter storm moved through our part of the state, bringing about a foot of snow and high winds. Sadly, classes at Lake Area Technical Institute were cancelled.
02-10-13 Katie S.
This isn't the first time I've posted a photo of Katie S. but I can't help it. This photo was taken years ago and Katie was one of my favorite subjects.
02-09-13 Stone Lion
in Architecture, Blog, Travel
TS Eliot was wrong. Februrary, not April, is "the cruelest month." At least for me. Yes, the days are getting longer. Yes, the temperature ocassionally soars into the high 20s. But it is often in the heart of February that what I think is SAAD (seasonal affective disorder) hits me. And I lose my will to post new photos to this blog.So I'm posting old stuff. . . But, in the event that you haven't meticulously looked at all four years of my posts, you've probably never seen some of these. So maybe they're not old.
02-08-13 Forest Primeval (Reprise)
TS Eliot was wrong. Februrary, not April, is "the cruelest month." At least for me. Yes, the days are getting longer. Yes, the temperature ocassionally soars into the high 20s. But it is often in the heart of February that what I think is SAAD (seasonal affective disorder) hits me. And I lose my will to post new photos to this blog.So I'm posting old stuff. . . But, in the event that you haven't meticulously looked at all four years of my posts, you've probably never seen some of these. So maybe they're not old.
02-07-13 Silver In Black and White
I guess I'm stuck on black and white these days. And, while this macro photograph isn't exactly a "Wow" photo, I'm guessing it's a closer look at a silver coin than you may have had before. This coin, by the way, was left to me by my aunt Betty of California.
02-04-13 A Favorite of Mine
I like this photo so much I may have already posted it, though I'm guessing it is a color version. Though the colors are good in the original, there is something about this soft sepia version that I like. Of course, what makes this a good portrait is the subject, who is every bit as real, pleasant and happy as this photo implies.Incidentally, I write about this photo, as well as others, on my "Better Photography Blog." Just click here.Canon 5D 1/160s f/8.0 ISO100 67mm
02-03-13 Death Star?
in Blog, Photography
This photo is the result of a totally serendipitous process. I have been playing with a Canon Speedlight and a Canon infrared trigger (the ST-E2) off and on for the last few days. I have also been using a snoot to focus the light on macro subjects. I started with the Christmas cactus I photographed in natural light a few days ago. I then moved to a freshly printed dollar, thinking that bright, focused, angular light might result in something cool. (It didn't). And then, just a short time ago, I went prowling for something with shape and texture and I found a Shure microphone I just happened to have lying on my den floor. (Why? You ask. There's no good answer for that question other than there are a lot of things on my den floor.)And this is the result. I like the picture but, as I've often said, that doesn't mean it's a good picture. What I like, though, is that I think I've made a fairly usual thing look interesting because of the the point of view and, more importantly, the way I've used light. The other thing I like is that I used a iPad mini box as a reflector on the right side of the subject. Beyond that, my "studio" is nothing special in this photo. In fact, here's what the shot set-up looks like:
There really was as much ambient light in the room as you see in the snap shot. The reason everything besides the microphone is so dark in the final photo is that the Speedlight was bright, it was very close to the the microphone and the light was focused by the snoot.Canon 5DIII 1/60s f/9.0 ISO200 100mm
02-02-13 Morning Sky
This photo found me. I was heading west yesterday morning to run an errand on the way to work and I noticed nice, soft blue and scarlet hues in the western sky. Thinking that I might have a good sky to drop in to a photo that has I less interesting sky, I took this photo.I really wasn't thinking that the photo would stand on its own, but when I worked on it in Aperture 3.4, and with Nik HDR Efex 2, I decided I liked it.
02-01-13 Captain Shep
On a day when the wind chills have dipped to -42 degrees centigrade, I'm left dreaming of warmer climates. This photo was taken last June in the British Virgin Islands, where it rarely dipped below 75 degrees. And that's our son, Jon, at the wheel.