The Underside of Life

I visited the Como Park Conservatory in St. Paul this past weekend and enjoyed stepping from the cool, October air into tropical humidity. There are many photo opportunities, including a room filled with many types of ferns. I don't know what the name of this particular fern is but from the other side, it was one of the least interesting. But the backside was amazing, as I hope you agree.I always feel good when I see something that many others don't see because I think that this ability is what helps define a "photographer." And I keep working on becoming a better photographer.

Clinging To Life

This vine is at its best when it's green - when it is busy doing its photosynthetic thing. So there is an irony in the fact that it looks best when it is about to give up its efforts for the season. That's true of almost all leaves, I guess.

Moist Color

Sometimes when I am out taking photos in our garden, I carry a spray bottle to add a little "nature's mist" to the flowers. During the time I had to take photos in Olympia, Washington, a few years ago, mist was no problem - it drizzled almost non-stop. And there were many photo opportunities, though I had to work quickly because my camera isn't particularly water proof.I found this photo in the Japanese garden close to downtown Olympia. I would love to go back on a nicer day, though the rain did much to enhance my photos.

584 and Counting

Here are some statistics about this blog: Since February, "A Photo A Day" has had 9561 unique hits and 42,119 total hits. On any given day, some of my viewers visit because they know about this blog. But I also get visitors using Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc. to search for things like "flying geese," "amazing flowers," "mycenae," "Thad Titze," "southern most point Hawaii," and "Japanese school girls." Those searches were all charted from yesterday's hits. Every time I look at the search terms that got people to my site, I am humored and mystified. And sometimes chagrinned. (Japanese school girls!!!????). (Thad may be mystified by being subject of a Google search but I'm not. He's going to be famous some day. And here's the post that made my blog.)I have also posted 584 day's worth of photos and that's what got me started on this post on statistics today. Being pretty right brained, I keep no master list of what I have posted. Thus, I rely on memory to keep from repeating myself. I can actually recall almost all of the photos I post, though I often can't remember the specific photo I posted on any given day. My wife, who looks at the photos late in the day, will say "Nice photo today." And I will often say, "What's the photo?"And today I don't know if I have posted this particular photo before. I can tell you that the very first "A Photo A Day" photo was taken from this very spot. I visit this spot as often as I can, both "really" and "virtually." I tend to go alone but today I am taking you. Thanks for coming along.

Frosting

Aspen Leaves Again

I suppose you could say that this is the second is a series. I'll call the series "Three From the Same Tree." Today, the dominant color is yellow, which one would expect from aspen trees.

Aspen Leaves

There is still color to be found in South Dakota, though most of the trees in our yard have lost their leaves. These aspen leaves are still hanging on. The blurred color in the background is caused by the bright red leaves still clinging to the burning bush plants that decorate one edge of our deck. Generally, I work pretty hard to get the focus on the main subject to be deep enough so it is all in focus. But this time, when I looked through the viewfinder, I decided it was OK to have a couple places on this branch blurred. Why? I can't tell you, except that it seems to somehow complement the seeming randomness of nature.We have had a great October in eastern South Dakota but I know winter is coming. In fact, I looked at the snow blower in my garage yesterday and thought that maybe I should see if it runs.

Magical

This is from a few years ago. The original photo is fairly mundane and though I don't like to manipulate a photo too much with Photoshop affects, I'm guilty of doing it here.

10-10-14 Nature in Black and White

I was back in my neighbor's back yard this past weekend looking for photo opportunities. We probably have plenty for me to photograph in our yard but we didn't have hosta plants with big leaves that were giving up the ghost as these were. I turned this photo to a high contrast black and white photo in part because I have been looking at the photography of Edward Weston. I'm not sure I like this photo but here it is anyway.

There Are No Answers Here

I remember reading an essay in a college literature class that was written by a poet who was concerned that the so called "new" science would take the mystery out of the universe by coldly explaining everything in scientific detail. Today, when I was looking at these yellow leaves, I wondered for a moment why some leaves are red in the fall and others, like these, are yellow.I imagined that science could give me an answer and I almost did a Google search. But then I realized that I am better off just wondering what the answer is because for me wonder lies in the mysterious realm between ignorance and truth. Though I do respect science and embrace its truths, I am also occasionally comfortable with my imaginings.So if you know the scientific reason for different fall colors, good for you. But don't tell me - at least today. I am quite content to wonder. . . .

Ready To Retire

These leaves have done their work for the relatively short summer season in South Dakota. The fall colors of these leaves are not very glamorous. But at this stage in their lives, they have an amazing amount of character with the many shades of green, yellow and brown.Soon they will fall to the ground and be raked up. But before then, they will grace the little lilac tree in our neighbor's back yard with the kind of quiet beauty that is often ignored.

Verdant Tropical Stream

A few years ago we were visiting our youngest son, Jon, on the Big Island in Hawaii. As is his nature, he took us to a place that wasn't exactly easy to get to but which was stunning in it beauty. It is called the Waipio Valley. This is a small creek that we encountered and I would have liked to have had much more time here. As it was, because we had two cars full of family members, I had about 5 minutes to photograph this spot. Maybe next time. . .