Nature
There were many things about our brief visit to Alaska that are memorable. But oddly, the profusion of these tasty, orange berries stands out. No doubt there is a name for them but all I know is that I didn't eat enough.
;
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
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
I was within a few miles of the Missouri River (and Lake Oahe) when I saw the low sun lighting up this wheat field. One of the reasons you don't let the sun hit your lens is "lens flair," which is apparent in this photo. Lens flare is caused by the sun reflecting and refracting off of interior lens elements. But sometimes it can enhance a photo.
I don't know if the flare helps this picture. But for me the picture is enough: an expansive field of golden wheat on a sunny summer day.
Canon 1D 1/125s f/18.0 ISO200 20mm
I have discovered that pale yellow flowers are hard to photograph and this is probably the best I can do. I hope you have a well-adjusted monitor!
Can you see the light in this photo? Look at the softly highlighted stems of these flowers and you will. I don't think I saw this when I took the photo. As I've said before, there are often things I see on the computer that aren't really all that visible through the view finder.
Canon 5D 1/320s f/2.8 ISO160 150mm
You could just see this another wall with ivy growing on it. Or you could see it as a deeply symbolic photo representing the conflict of "man vs. Nature," and our attempt to impose structure and pattern on a universe that is as random as the ivy's vine creeping across a red brick wall.
What was I thinking when I took the photo? Frankly, I was probably thinking that I liked the yellow tint that seems to edge all of the leaves. More likely, I wasn't thinking at all. . . .
This is an early morning shot of a back lit tree in the Borghese Gardens in Rome. There is something prehistoric-looking in these leaves. I don't know what kind of tree this is but it could be a relative of the locust, which grows in some places in South Dakota.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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. . .