Lilly Pond

Sometimes an obvious post title jumps out at me. And other times, nothing strikes me. Such is the case today. "Lilly Pond" is pretty boring, isn't it?This photo, incidentally, is a departure from my normal style in that I rarely would photograph flowers in full sun. But waiting for shade wasn't an option. This pond is one of a couple at the Mission at San Juan Capistrano and I was there on a sunny southern California day at high noon. This isn't my favorite time of day to shoot any photo but actually, this brightly lit lilly came out OK. To get the selective focus, I set my camera on aperture priority, set the aperture to widest number (4.0) and then lowered the ISO. I let the camera set the shutter speed. Notice the bokeh in the background?

Not Exactly Easter Lillies

But they are as close as I could come on this Easter Sunday in Southern California. These beautiful flowers were captured at the Mission at San Juan Capistrano.

Little Purple Flowers (iPhonography)

Originally posted here.

First Flowers

Finally, after what seemed like an endless winter, the snow is almost gone and the first delicate crocus are pushing up through the bare earth.This flower shot isn't anything new on this blog but these flowers are only a few days old. And to me they stand as a symbol of good things to come.

Rain, Fog & Trees

I drove up to what some people in Watertown call "Harmony Hill." It was a foggy morning and I was thinking that I would get an interesting shot of the ethanol plant down below, belching steam into the early morning fog. But when I got to the top of the hill, I couldn't even see the ethanol plant. But I did see this small group of trees, edged with the serpentine road that led to a nearby monastery.This shot is pretty seriously Photoshopped, in part because I've been learning a few new things and I wanted to practice them. This photo had 4 layers before I flattered it to publish it.Revision: I orignally posted a nearly square version but Jack's post inspired me to look again at the original crop. Jack's right: the full view is more "atmospheric."

Street Light

Early yesterday morning, I went out on the deck, where Deb, my wife, was standing. She said it felt a little like Hawaii and I politely disagreed, since it was 46 degrees it didn't smell like the tropics. But it was hazy and humid.As she started to list the things I had to do, I said, "Wait" and I went in to get my camera. I may not be in Hawaii but that doesn't mean there is nothing exotic to photograh - such as our neigbors' tree silhouetted against a street lamp and the deep purple morning sky.Even though I liked what I saw when I framed this photo, the camera saw it very differently and that's what I like about photography. Sometimes my camera captures things that I make better with software. But other times I see something and my camera makes it better with it's own internal software. It's a good relationship. . .

Iron Creek

I'm back at Iron Creek again, but this time with my cell phone camera and Instapaper.I made a short video of this place, which you can view here. The video was made with my iPhone and then edited and published (via ATT 3G) with my iPad 2. The movie needs more editing but it is testament to how fairly simple tools allow for creation and publication in the field (or in this case, in the woods).

The Old, Rugged Tree

While visiting California recently, I wandered over to a cemetery near my aunt's house. It was a cemetery unlike anything in my home state - large mausoleums with drawers for the remains of loved ones. And there were no above-ground tomb stones.The most striking feature was the landscape and trees, most of which were kinds I didn't recognize. I'm guessing this tree, which is framed by the colored class walls of mausoleum vestibule, is older than the cemetery. Is is a banyan tree? I don't know.

Where I Work

Just in case some of you are lounging in tropical climes and were missing the experience of a South Dakota winter, this may help. This is one of the west doors at Watertown High School a month ago on a day that wasn't exactly a "Chamber of Commerce" day.The good news is that most of that snow is gone now, though we did experience a mini-blizzard earlier this week. Years ago our state tourism department used "Be glad you live in South Dakota" as their slogan. But they dropped it for some reason.But, still, I do like South Dakota. I just don't like winter. Anywhere.

Quit Your Carping!

These aren't carp, of course. They're koi, the prettier cousins of carp. This photo originally appeared on my companion web experiment, scottshephard.posterous.com.Want to watch a very short video filmed, edited and posted with my iPhone? Click here.

A Beautiful Place

In light of current events in Japan, I went back to my collection of photos. I hadn't really looked closely at this one before but I like it because the place conveys the kind of beauty and peace I found in many locations while visiting Japan. The images of destruction in Japan are wrenching. We might find comfort in the beauty of the Japanese landscape and character, but where do the Japanese go? Memory and photos will hardly suffice in the days and weeks to come.

Order and Chaos?

There is so much that seems random in nature. And then there are birds flying in formation. . . In this picture, grabbed on the fly, notice how the angles of the birds' wings fit into each other.But then notice the clouds: are they the antithesis of these birds in flight?