We Can See Ourselves!

We were packing our rental car and getting ready to leave our little cottage in Aldeia da Mata Pequena, Portugal, when the two resident peacocks walked up and started to look at themselves in the dark reflection. I thought they were admiring themselves, but when they started to peck at our car, I concluded that they thought they were looking at two other peacocks that somehow posed a threat. They moved on amiably when I opened the passenger car door.

Celebrating the Newborn

With billions of leaves bursting into life, who would think that we should revel in the rebirth of photosynthesis? I would.Canon 5DII 1/60s f/2.8 ISO320 100mm

Spring Fern

I was out walking along Iron Creek in the Blacks Hills a few years ago. It was early spring and most of the vegetation still had it's winter colors. But I encountered a small area that was green with new life. I think it was spring fed and that's why there was so much color.These ferns (?) were growing out of a rock wall. I likenthe depth the dew gives the photo. The mile or so along Mission Creek, where I have found so many photos, is one of favorite places on Earth.

Mercurial

I was disgustedly looking out our dining room windows, wondering if the cold rain would end any time soon. But then I saw the silver lining - wind-driven rain had covered the window in beads of water of random size and shape.I like how each drop reflects the color of the greenery in our back yard and how the bright silver of the beads makes them look droplets of mercury. You've never seen drops of mercury? In the 60's it was part of our middle school science curriculum to get to play with mercury! The teacher came around with a heavy bottle of silver liquid and poured globs onto our tables. It was liquid metal.And when the teacher wasn't looking, we took silver dimes and coated them. They stayed slippery for days as the mercury evaporated. Do I have mental problems and other infirmities because I played with what I now know was a highly poisonous material? No doubt.Canoon 5DII 1/60s f/4.0 ISO800 100mm

My Neighbor's Flowers

I shouldn't admit that I've been admiring my neighbor's purple tulips. But I couldn't help it. All of her tulips are purple and, against the green grass, stunning. And so I sneaked over to their back yard and took several surreptitious shots before I made my way back to our yard. Only their dog noticed me: it barked continuously while I was in their yard. Fortunately, the dog was shut inside. So I was safe. And my wife doesn't know I have a thing for my neighbor's flowers.

Relics

On the journey back to eastern South Dakota from a meeting in Deadwood, I decided to take the back way home. In my urge to get home I often drive by things that I think are photogenic. But on this trip I decided to stop when I saw interesting things.This creek bed is about 100 miles west of Pierre. Not everyone finds dead trees photogenic but I do. I debated about posting the photo in black and white but Deb said she liked the color version better. And she's always right.Here's the black and white version.

Another Try

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.

Dewey Buds

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.

Celebrating the Sun

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
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Complementary Colors?

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.)

Thorny Problem

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.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

Pardon Me, TS Eliot

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.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License