I'm Back From Therapy

The prescription was a week of sailing on Lake Oahe and I gladly complied. My ailment? Nothing really, given that I have a good life.But being on my boat for a week is my meager excuse for ignoring my "Photo A Day" blog. I should have called it "A Photo Once and A While."(Thanks, Alexis, for scolding me into action.)Oh, and what you are looking at is birds in flight. And, as astute observers might notice, I have applied my favorite new Photoshop process, which is top secret for the time being.[smugbuy gallery="http://scottshephardphoto.smugmug.com/Fine-Art-Photography/Fine-Art/21122937_fHW9Lh"]

The Forest Primeval

This was taken early in the morning on the day we left beautiful Lake Bohinj in Slovenia. It was damp and quiet when I stepped out of the car to take this photo and the only sounds were or a few birds who were already up and working. And the drip of night rain from the branches and leaves of the trees.

Purple & Green

I haven't posted a flower photo for a while so here you go. . .

Sunrise - July 4, 2011 (Looking East)

Any experienced sunrise observer knows that often the most glorious part of the sunrise is what you see just before the sun comes up, especially if clouds are present as they were on this morning. I have found that you have only a few minutes before the clouds loose their red rims from the insipient sun.

Sunrise - July 4, 2011 (Looking West)

Generally, the western sky isn't what gets our attention at sunrise. But on this morning, from one of my favorite locations in South the Dakota, what I saw when I looked west was worth capturing.If you knew what to look for in this photo, you would be able to find Harney Peak, which is the highest peak in the US east of the Rocky Mountains. Mount Rushmore is also visible on the far right.I'll show you the view east tomorrow.

Elemental

The Pre-Socratic Greek philosophers spent considerable time pondering the nature of the universe. One, whose name was Empedocles, said simply that everything can be reduced to four elements: air, earth, fire and water.Of all of these, my camera is most often drawn to the latter. Maybe that's why I return again and again to Iron Creek when I am in the Black Hills. I was just out walking along the creek when I found this photo. I figured I had enough of Iron Creek, though it's not often that the rocks are wet and the creek is running high so late in June.Canon 5DII 2.5s f/11.0 ISO200 32mm

A Miniature Forest

I was walking away from another flower shoot when I noticed the way the early sunlight was bathing this "grove" of incipient lillies. And so I had to take a few photos. The dew, incidentally, is real - I didn't not have to spray it on.

Third In An Informal Series

This is another tulip shot, this time in my neighbor's yard. I love the beautiful deep purple of these flowers.Here's the first one I posted a few days ago.And here's the other one.

Altered Reality

I have said that because the human brain doesn't see frames around things, photographers manipulate reality simply by framing a subject and clicking the shutter. I have also said that as a rule, I don't like to use software (such as Photoshop) to further manipulate reality.But guess what? I have been learning new things in Photoshop and this tulip photo and the one from yesterday are results of fairly heavy "altered reality." What have I done? It involves layers and blending options.But forget about that. Instead, I hope you like the dark, mysterious look and the deep tones of the reds and greens in these tulips, which I found growing between two buildings on my morning walk in St. Paul last Sunday.

About To Burst

Pink Explosion

What caught my eye as I drove by this beautiful bed of tulips in front of the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis was the fact that there were a few yellow flowers scattered amongst all then pink ones. Look closely at this photo and you will see one small, yellow tulip.

I took a few shots of the yellow flowers thinking my theme would be "Nonconformity." but I ended up shooting a plethora of pink tulips. The shots I liked best were the ones where I shot not the early morning sun. This way, the leaves and the heads are all backlit.

Green Collage

I'm playing with another app today. This one's called PhotoShake. It's a convenient way for me to recycle old stuff. :-)