12-17-13 Feeding Frenzy

I taking a bit of a break from writing and in the process giving you at bit of a break, as well. Enjoy the photo.

Canon 5DIII 1/30s f/4.0 ISO400 100mm

12-16-13 Ruffled Symmetry

This is the third in a series that I am now calling "Shades of Green in Black and White." This one was taken in the fern room at the Como Park Conservatory. I won't tell you what I like about this photo other than that I love the play of light on the contours of the fern fronds.

Canon 5DIII 1/50s f/6.3 ISO500 100mm

12-15-13 Into the Light

On my recent trip to Minneapolis and Saint Paul with students in the Photo/Media program at LATI, we spent about an hour in the Como Park Conservatory. I had been there several times before so I wasn't sure that I would find anything new to photograph. But while there I did take 97 photos, some of which were HDR sequences.

Of those 97 photos, 37 were taken of the palm trees in the central dome of the conservatory. So I guess you might say that that the trees captured my attention. And this shot is one of several that I took of the very top of the central palm tree.

In black and white it may be a bit abstract in that you don't see the context of the tree. But that's alright with me. As I've said before, I like the ability to take a "whole" and show the parts in a way that the viewer might not be able to see without the aid of my camera.

Canon 5DIII 1/60s f/5.0 ISO250 100mm

For context, here's another capture (HDR) that shows more of the tree and of it's location:

Central Dome - Como Park Conservatory

12-14-13 Awakening

Yesterday I went to Minneapolis and Saint Paul with a few of the second year LATI photo/media students. This photo was taken on our last stop at the Como Park Conservatory, which is a great place to visit on a cold December day in part because it is warm and humid inside and in part because the color green abounds. And, as I've mentioned, in winter here in South Dakota, I seem to be drawn to green things.

So I like green and yet I've stripped the color out of this fern. Why? As a photographer I sometimes like lines, texture and tonality and sometime color distracts us from those things. Over the next few days I will posting a few of my favorites from the Conservatory and from the Minneaplis Institute of Art, where we also stopped for a while. If you want a sneak peak, I've posted a few more photos here. (click)

Canon 5DIII 1/50s f/6.3 ISO500 100mm

12-11-13 The End of the Season

When Deb and I paid the entrance fee for the Lauritzen Gardens in Omaha, Nebraska, a few weeks ago, we weren't expecting much given that the gardens were past bloom and prepared for winter. But we were surprised by what we found. And even if we hadn't found anything worth seeing, it would have been good just to stroll through a largely deserted landscape on a nice November day.

I suspect that many gardeners would feel that what you are seeing here is a mess that needs to be cleaned up. But I see a great mix of lines, colors and textures. This isn't quite like Monet's famous lily ponds at Giverney but this but perhaps a way to pay tribute the one of my favorite artists.

Canon 5DIII 1/250s f/5.0 ISO200 100mm

12-10-13 Late Fall

It occurs to me that in the Black Hills of South Dakota, where this photo was taken, the ponderosa pine is visual white noise in that there are so many of them and, unless they are fallen or bug infested or on fire, they are rarely seen.

Good photography often involves being in the right place at the right time. But good photography also is about directing the camera towards things in ways that help people "see" scenes, events and objects in ways that make them worth noticing.

So today I present a detail of a lowly ponderosa pine which has probably been standing largely unnoticed for 50 years. And what is special about this tree branch? Perhaps nothing. But when photographed at the the right time with the right light, it is certainly interesting and, I think, worth stopping and looking at.

Canon 5DIII 1/200s f/2.8 ISO200 200mm

12-08-13 Symbiosis

Deb and I took a hike through a nature area on our visit to St. John in the US Virgin Islands this past June. I spent quite a bit of time photographing the plants that grew on plants here, much like this air plant is growing on the side of a small tree, which is also host to a vine that is curling upward. Are these plants friendly and helpful to each other? And is that what symbiosis means? Or are we seeing evidence of parasitism?

And are these questions really necessary if, like me, all that is striking about this place are the rich green hues and filtered light in a shaded forest?

Canon 5DIII 1/60s f/4.5 ISO640 60mm

For those who might be interested in seeing a more mundane but much more "unnatural" place for one of these to grow, check out this photo, which I took on a walk in Charlotte Amalie in the BVI:

11-26-13 Another Time and Another Place

I suppose I should be posting something slightly more seasonal, shouldn't I? But perhaps these purple iris are blooming somewhere in Australia, where summer is about to begin. So I would suggest they are seasonal.

Frankly, I wasn't looking for a flower photo for this blog today; I was just looking for a colorful photo I could work on with a new version of Perfect Photo Suite 8, which just hit the market today. I like the software and, of course, I like the flowers.

Canon 5DIII 1/320s f/2.8 ISO250 100mm

11-24-13 The Mysterious Moon Jellyfish

Here's another capture from the Doorly Zoo and Aquarium in Omaha, Nebraska. As I was working on getting this photo ready for this post, it occurred to me that the photos you see here fall into one of about three categories: photos that demonstrate a process, photos that attempt to show a unique or new view of things, and photos of things, in which process, art and uniqueness are not primary considerations.

This Moon Jellyfish photo falls into the third category. Do a Google search and you will discover over a million hits. And many of the photos are much better than this one. So why post? Partly, to borrow a phrase from mountaineer George Mallory, "because it's there."

Also, because I often see and think analogously, this photo reminded me very much of the alleged "brain" in Michelangelo's famous centerpiece of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Judge for yourselves:

In case you are wondering, the "brain" is the form in which God (the one with clothes) seems to be floating. Had Michelangelo seen a human brain before he painted this? No doubt. Did he say the strange form in the painting was inspired by brains he had seen? No. What does it all mean?

What it means is that I accidentally took a photo that is vaguely reminiscent of Michelangelo. So at least for today, I am in good company.

Canon 5DIII 1/50s f/4.0 ISO2000 67mm

Creation of Adam photo courtesy of Wikimedia

11-20-13 Fall Colors At the Lauritzen Gardens, Omaha

The leaves have turned and fallen in Watertown, SD, but I discovered that if you go south about 300 hundred miles, you will find that you can still find fall colors. These leaves were photographed at the Lauritzen Gardens in Omaha and though the flowers beds were tilled and ready for winter, there was still plenty to enjoy.

The way leaves fall is random, of course, but if I had arranged these leaves, I would have put them just like this.

Canon 5DIII 1/200s f/4.5 ISO200 100mm

11-18-13 Going To School

Those who follow my Instagram feed will have seen a variant of today's post. Both were taken at the Henry Doorly Aquarium and Zoo in Omaha, Nebraska. Deb is here for a Midwest Higher Education Compact meeting and I'm along as her driver, body guard and photographer. You didn't know that the president of Lake Area Technical Institute had people like me did you? All are unpaid positions.

Our group was visiting the aquarium for our dinner last night and I agree with Deb, who observed that she had never eaten a meal with sharks circling overhead.

We were served beef, not fish, so as not to insult the sharks.

11-16-13 Tropical Colors

This photo of a Hawaiian gecko is the third in a row in this blog that come from my 2006 collection. Like so many other photos of mine, it had been abandoned and exists only because I'm not good at throwing things away.

The colors in this photo are unlike almost any that occur naturally in South Dakota, though I am struck by how similar the color palettes are in this photo and in my recent post from Salt Lake City called "A Little Color." Check it out.

Canon 5D 1/2500s f/3.2 ISO100 135mm