This is yet another photo from the Plitvice Lakes. I am standing on the shore shooting down. The clear, blue water is not fancy Photoshop work - it is the amazing work of Nature.
Nature
02-01-10 Running Water
This is one of the many waterfalls at the Plitvice Lakes in Croatia. I had no tripod for the shots I took in this beautiful location so the water isn't quite as blurry as I'd like. The striking feature of the the Plitivice Lakes is the amazingly blue and clear water that flows through the park.
01-29-10 Reflections - Tropical Breeze
My wife doesn't really like it when I take her photo so instead I often take a photo of the reflections I see in her sunglasses. This is a palm tree in Mexico. But it's also a close-up Deb's head. She'll be thrilled.
01-25-10 A Return To Summer
Over the top of my computer, as I look out my window, I seen blustery winter weather bringing more light snow that is mostly horizontal. There is a "winter weather advisory" this morning - whatever that means.
On my computer desktop, however, I am looking at a beautiful Stargazer lilly. It's not hard to imagine warmer summer weather, is it?
01-20-10 Winter Light
in Nature, South Dakota
In my brief foray to the cemetery, where I knew I could find a multitude of frost-covered trees, I looked for shots where the light was coming straight at the camera through the branches of the trees. The sunlight was relatively strong but still obscured by thin fog, which meant that with all the white surrounding me there was very good ambient light, as well. It is that ambient light in this photo that provides the detail on what would otherwise be the shaded side of this pine bough.
On an even more geeky note, it is a photo like this that helps me appreciate the high 23 mega-pixel resolution of the camera I use. You are looking a a compressed, resized version of the original. But even in this, I think you can see excellent detail in the needles of this tree.
01-19-10 Magical
in Nature, South Dakota
It is relatively rare that we get foggy days in South Dakota - especially in winter. And I suppose if it were more common, hoary evergreens wouldn't be magical. But to me they are. My only regret is that I didn't have more time yesterday to take photos. I could learn to love SD winters if they were always so photogenic. . .
10-13-10 Corsican Poppies
These poppies were on the island of Corsica, which is off the coast of Italy. They could have been anywhere, since they seem to grow wild along roads and in pastures throughout western Europe.
12-20-09 A Mysterious Place
in Nature
This was the last tree I photographed when I went outside yesterday morning to get some photos of frost on trees. What captivated me was the fact that this tree was more white than green because the tree's needles were almost completely covered with the frost.
I call the photo "A Mysterious Place" because it was somewhat surreal when I stood under the canopy of the tree to get the effect of the soft light illuminating the thin, frost-covered needles.
Look For the Light
in Black Hills, Nature
By Scott Shephard
The one thing I have gotten better at in my photography is looking for the sometimes subtle play of light in a scene. And sometimes the camera sees this much better than I do. I believe that the reason for this is that cameras record contrast better. Contrast is the difference between bright and dark and the human eye's remarkable range helps us ignore these differences.
When I saw this grove of aspen trees near our cabin, I found it interesting. But the camera saw much more than I. These days, I take more photos of things that may at first seem un-photogenic because I know that the camera will help me look more closely.
12-14-09 He's Not Handicapped
in Nature
One day I looked out our patio door and saw this squirrel eating the bird seed we had put out. I looked more closely and noticed that he was missing one of his front paws. I turned to Deb and said, "Look - there's a handicapped squirrel on our deck!" She said, "It looks like he's doing quite well with only one paw. I would say he's not really all that handicapped."
In a flash, Deb had rearranged my whole concept of what it means to have personal limits. Is it really possible that a one-footed rodent can change my thinking? Well, it was actually Deb (who has few limits) who did this. The squirrel was simply a metaphor. Our name for this squirrel, by the way, was Lefty. He showed up a few more times over the next few days and then he must have moved on.
12-12-09 The Curious Cat
Can you handle the inquisitive, yet trusting look of a cat. This isn't just any cat - it's Brian's cat, Lucy. This isn't the only post about curiosity. Do you see any similarities in this photo (click)?
11-22-09 Parallel Universe
in Nature
These furry objects are part of the reproductive system of a tropical flower. I call this photo "Parallel Universe" because the casual observer often misses the minute and often fascinating details of things like the not-so-private parts of flowers.