Nature
I've decided that I will try to take a photo of this spot on Iron Creek every year. I probably shouldn't post it here, though, because they all look the same. This shot is a little further upstream from the other Iron Creek shot I posted quite a while ago.Anyway, there was plenty of water coming through the creek on the day I took this. It makes it easier to get the blurred water look that you see in this photo.
These are dwarf lilac buds. The green is tinged with a hint of purple. The buds are also delicately be-dewed. (I am smiling about that last sentence because I rarely get to use a word like "be-dewed.")One thing I realized when I was taking this photo yesterday morning before I left for work was that I am paying much more attention to what isn't in focus in my photos. The camera compresses reality into two dimensions but the out of focus area of a photo adds depth and interest. It can also detract. So the lesson is: when you compose a photo, be sure to frame the subject but once that is done, look around the subject to make sure it helps the photo.
In honor of Earth Day 2010, I looked for something in my collection that seemed appropriate and this was the best I could do. "What is it?" you ask. This is a small solar panel on my sailboat "Wandering Star." Here it is beaded with dew and just beginning to do it's work turning sun rays into energy to power essential things like my iPod.Sailboats, of course, are solar powered since without the sun, there would be no wind. The hull of my boat is white. But "Wandering Star" is really pretty green.Canon 5DII 1/500s f/10.0 ISO400 93mm
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Purple and green go well together,V as this photo of a pine cone blooms evidences. On a short break from a technology conference in Sioux Falls, SD, we wandered over to the Japanese Gardens on Covell Lake. It is a photogenic spot but my eye was caught by these bright purple flowers. I don't know how the pine tree reproductive process works, but once again, we see Nature in a lurid attempt to keep the life force going. Well done! (Incidentally, I was tempted to Photoshop the spider webbing from between two of the blooms but I decided that that's part of Nature, too.)
This dangerous looking cactus was lurking only a few feet away from the "Fuzzy Logic" cactus I posted a few days ago. No doubt both designs are effective in keeping their native predators at bay. But talk about contrast!For those interested in details the name for this is the Cowhorn Euphorbia and it comes from South Africa. We found it in a botanical garden in California.
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The poet TS Eliot said that "April is the cruelest month" but I can't really agree with him on a day like today. There was a sliver of a moon in the east as the sun rose to a crystal clear dawn. There is the promise of warmth in the rising sun.After months of looking out at the monotone landscape of our back yard, I now see the hint of green. And, in these delicate, pale purple Snow Glories growing in my wife's garden, there is the promise of better things to come.
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We're not quite this far into spring yet - we'll have bleeding hearts in another month, I suppose. But I couldn't resist posting something green and flowering.
If you hadn't already figured it out, this is a cactus. Nature's design? Or an experiment in genetic engineering? Either way, what were they thinking!? Compare this cactus with "Thorny Problem."The botanical name for this plant is the Mammillaria vaupelli "Cristata." Sometimes it's called "brain cactus."
This is another photo from our recent trip to California. After I got done taking a few broad shots from the top of Mulholland Drive, I turned my camera towards some long grass that was illuminated by the strong morning sun.
This title is not at all descriptive of the subject of this photo. The title suggests how I felt when we visited California. The fact that I had never seen a plant like this (in the Norton Simon art park in Pasdena, California) suggests that I was a bit of an alien. Sorry, but I don't know what it is called.
As I was looking at my California photos to find something to post today, I decided that I think that everybody ought to visit the Los Angeles area. It seems so American to me: the sprawling megapolis, the wealth, the exotic cars, the Walk of Fame, the beautiful endless coast and the mixing of cultures, to name a few.
For a South Dakotan like me, California is like Japan: exotic and inviting. For what it's worth, incidentally, I also think that everybody ought to visit South Dakota - especially Californians.
Amidst the concrete jungle of LA there exists an occasional green oasis, including this beautiful hilltop, illuminated by the morning sun. Below this hill lies the Hollywood Freeway. And if you looked up from the spot, you would see the smog-shrouded city. (click) (If you've looked at the linked photo, that's Hollywood in the foreground. The round building is Capitol Records.)
That there should be no snow or ice in Pasadena, California, might be enough for South Dakotans enjoying a brief spring break. But that there should be greenery and flowers and warm breezes is enough to erase a whole, harsh winter.
These “flowers” caught my attention because they are green and were in a deeply shaded part of a garden adjacent to the Norton Simon Museum of Art in the town that is the home of the Rose Bowl Parade.
Canon 5DII 1/80s f/4.0 ISO200 105mm
