Nature
This is a tree that lives in the park in front of the Colorado state capitol building. I like the apparently random nature of the lines and angles in a tree. But in this photo, I also like the texture of the bark.
1/125s f/7.1 ISO400 60mm
I was done taking pictures on this particular morning and was heading back to our cabin. As I drove down the road along a small lake, I noticed a single deer along a path that paralleled the road. I thought, "I may have my next 'Picture of the Day.'" My concern was that if I got out of the car and started taking photos, the deer would run off. Instead, he/she struck a pose.
1/60s f/5.6 ISO320 105mm
There is nothing in this palm leaf that identifies with the Greek island of Corfu. But that's where I took the photo. I like the random stringy threads that seem to contrast with the regular fan of the palm fronds.
I haven't had a chance to photograph the iris (or is it "irae" or "irises"?) that are blooming now so I resurrected a photo from a few years ago. There is very nice background blur on this one thanks to the 28-200 2.8 lens I used.
Canon 5D 1/80s f/6.3 ISO200 200mm
I thought I'd balance my rather somber cemetery photo from yesterday with something a little less heavy. So how about a butterfly perched on some lavender?
This photo was taken on the island of Hvar, just off the coast of Croatia. Deb pointed out the butterfly and told me it wasn't "just" another butterfly but that it was a swallow tail. She says it was the third one she'd ever seen. I guess it's my first one. Hvar Island, incidentally, is one of the world's largest producers of lavender. I have seen lavender before - but not fields of it like I've seen here.
Click here for more photos of Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Don't try to read too much into the title of this one. This is just a photo of three pink tulips looking up at me.
Canon 5DII 1/100s f/6.3 ISO250 100mm
By Scott Shephard
Incipience means "beginning to happen or develop." When you live in a state like South Dakota, where spring comes late, there is something very special about buds and flowers that are about to bloom. In this case, we are looking at the white flowering crab apple tree right outside our front door. Blooms in this phase are ephemeral - you may find them in the morning, leave and return later to find that they have flowered. This says something about the transitions we and our families make in life, too, doesn't it?
Canon 5DII 1/250s f/2.8 ISO400 100mm
By Scott Shephard
I wandered out into the yard and found these hostas just beginning to unfurl their green and white leaves.
Canon 5DII 1/125s f/3.5 ISO400 100mm
By Scott Shephard
The moon looks like a crescent moon but it is actually a lunar eclipse. My wife and I had driven east of Watertown to find a clear view of the night sky. By the time the moon was partially eclipsed, it had grown fairly dark. Thus, in this shot I am using an ISO setting that I tend to avoid. I had taken a few shots of the moon but then drove to a place where I could get something interesting in the foreground. The snow capped trees were perfect.
Canon 5D 1/80s f/6.3 ISO1000 195mm
This is close-up of one of the many plants growing in the back yard of the house we stayed at on the Big Island in 2006.
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License
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
Though you can't see the Missouri River in this shot, you would if you walked up the hill you see in the background. This particular area is near the famous "Al's Oasis" restaurant in Central South Dakota. The evening before this picture was taken stormy weather moved through. But the morning dawned clear and bright.
View on Panoramio Compare to "A Different Season"
Canon 5DII 1/80s f/13.0 ISO320 82mm