Nature

10-31-12 Mysterious

Canon 5DIII 1/160s f/2.8 ISO320 200mm

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10-26-12 Aspen

Well, how about another golden aspen tree? This photo was taken a few years ago near Center Lake in the Black Hills of South Dakota.

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10-25-12 Variations On A Theme

It was on this day in 2009 that my mother died. And it was on the same date years before that that her mother and my grandmother died. So these roses are for Bernice and Ida. The "roses" are really the same rose with 4 different HDR treatments.

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10-20-12 Change of Seasons

A victim of frost and cold, this hosta leaf, once green and white, is still beautiful in fall tones.Canon 5DIII 1/50s f/7.1 ISO640 100mm

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10-12-12 Explosion

In an attempt to balance the rather dark and mysterious tree photo posted yesterday, I offer this flamboyant flower. If my mission were to photograph "happy," this is what I'd offer.Canon 5DII 1/320s f/7.1 ISO400 105mm

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10-11-12 Mighty Oak

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10-10-12 Touch the Sky

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10-02-12 Standing Out

Maple leaf by Scott ShephardBy the end of the day yesterday, our driveway was covered in leaves from the two ash trees in our front yard. I had run some errands around town last evening and returned just as the sun was going out of view between our neighbors' houses across the street. I turned back to look at the non-descript jumble of leaves on the driveway and noticed a patch of sunshine lighting up a very small area.I got my camera, which still had the 50mm 1.2 lens attached from yesterday's table shoot, and looked for a suitable subject for the ray of light. Knowing that I had only a minute or two, I quickly found a single, yellow maple leaf. I knew that if I arranged it just right, the gentle backlighting of the setting sun might bring it to life.And it did. You might think that I did something in software to enhance this photo. But aside from a few minor tweaks, the color and contrast you see here are what the camera recorded. Critics might suggest that the leaf is not properly focused, and I guess I would agree. But I think that the shallow depth of field and soft, unfocused parts of the yellow leaf lend to a feeling of decadence.This photo is yet another example of the importance of being in the right place at the right instant. But it is also an example of what it means to be a photographer: seeing things that others might not otherwise see. A child might lie prone to study a single leaf. And so would some photographers.

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10-01-12 After the Rain

Leaf covered table by Scott ShephardI took 83 photos to get this. The creative process was fairly typical for me. First, the photo wasn't premeditated.I was walking by this table outside our front door with a handful of stuff I was taking into the house when I saw leaves on it. Then I took a photo of a little stone bird my wife had placed on the table. Then I put more leaves on the table and took more bird photos. Then I got the ladder and shot from above. Then I saw the three distinct planes of focus in the aerial shot. Then I set the lens to f1.2. Then I got rid of the bird. Then I got the hose and sprayed everything with water ("Rain"). Then I edited this photo in Aperture and Nik Color Efex Pro 4.Then I had my photo.Canon 5DIII 1/400s f/1.2 ISO100 50mm

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09-30-12 Pastel

Fall color by Scott ShephardIt looks like I'm going to be a "fall color" theme for a few days. I've been to Sica Hollow State Park near Sisseton, SD, two days in a row and there is plenty of color there.Want to see more? Click here.

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09-29-12 Fall Fire

These leaves were photographed by Scott Shephard

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09-28-12 Furry Friend

Caterpillar by Watertown, South Dakota, nature photographer Scott Shephard

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