Seasons
This is from one of my favorite spots in the Black Hills - Lakota Lake. I have taken other photos of backlit leaves here and I have found that getting to this spot just after the sun comes up gives me the best photo opportunities. In fall, oak leaves are not particularly striking. But with the right light they are much more interesting. Maybe that's true of anything we photograph.
This photo was taken in a small Croatian city south of the Plitvice Lakes National Park. Instead of driving through town, Deb and I turned off the main highway and wandered through the residential area, which included these moldering Soviet-era apartment blocks. Scattered in this neighborhood there were several serious woods piles like this, in addition to neatly stacked piles in covered areas on the opposite sides of these buildings.This wood is to provide real heat in winter. I am struck by the paradox of wood piles outside of buildings that have satellite TV antennae mounted on the walls. Warmth and television both help South Dakotans get through winter, too!
After seeing yesterday's post, my wife told me not to post any more winter photos for a while. I guess I saw that as a bit of a challenge and so today I am defying her request.This one was taken last Christmas. But I'm not in our backyard here; we're in Mexico on the Yucatan peninsula. A blanket of white snow might be nice to see in photos but I would take palm fronds tinted by tropical sunlight any day.
This is offered to provide a little balance for yesterday's post. There is beauty in winter. But generally it's not green.
Summer comes, and, some time in late July or early August, so does exceptionally warm weather. And we complain. But soon fall and winter come. And we complain. Thus, I have concluded, the weather we experience in South Dakota gives us something to talk about all year.Imagine living in Kona, Hawaii, where it gets into the 80s every day and slips into the high sixties almost every night. What do they talk about? Vog? Tsunamis? Coffee?
I was within a few miles of the Missouri River (and Lake Oahe) when I saw the low sun lighting up this wheat field. One of the reasons you don't let the sun hit your lens is "lens flair," which is apparent in this photo. Lens flare is caused by the sun reflecting and refracting off of interior lens elements. But sometimes it can enhance a photo.
I don't know if the flare helps this picture. But for me the picture is enough: an expansive field of golden wheat on a sunny summer day.
Canon 1D 1/125s f/18.0 ISO200 20mm
I found these brightly colored leaves in the heart of downtown Seattle. I had wandered out of the conference I was attending during my lunch hour to look for a few photo opportunities. I found this tree in a courtyard of an office building. After I had taken a few photos, I noticed two armed security guards walking my way and they weren't smiling. They told me to stop taking photos. I said that I was only taking pictures of leaves. But that didn't matter. They told me I was on private property and that I would be charged with trespassing if I didn't leave the property. So I left.
But I got this photo!
Over the top of my computer, as I look out my window, I seen blustery winter weather bringing more light snow that is mostly horizontal. There is a "winter weather advisory" this morning - whatever that means.
On my computer desktop, however, I am looking at a beautiful Stargazer lilly. It's not hard to imagine warmer summer weather, is it?
We have had early morning fog lately, which leaves the trees hoary with frost. What does "hoary" mean? White or gray, as in "hoary beard," "hoary sea foam," or "hoary frost." So ends the vocabulary lesson.
By Scott Shephard
I was hot tubbing at Bill Zubke's in a SD blizzard. What possessed me to run from the steaming hot tub and jump in the snow? Stupidity. I hope this photo isn't too disturbing for younger viewers. I know it disturbs me.
I drove through the cemetery this past January after a fresh blanket of snow. I have always been fascinated by the arrangement of the monuments in the military section of cemeteries. At the Mt. Hope Cemetery in Watertown, there are monuments that date back to the 19th century, and many wars are represented by the veterans buried here.
This is from my recent stay in Denver. I didn't have much time to wander around taking photos and the weather wasn't real conducive, anyway, with wet snow falling nearly continuously for two days.
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