Shattered

Here's another photo from what I am now calling my "Rural Decay" series. It's the little Metro van pictured yesterday. If you missed yesterday's post, check it out here.I've been doing a little research and have learned that the Metro was produced by International Harvester from 1938 to 1975, which is a pretty long run for a vehicle. It is a "step" van, and was designed for delivery of things like milk and bread. The milkman who used to deliver milk to our neighborhood drove a little van and I'm wondering if it wasn't an IH Metro. I have fond memories of doorstep delivery of fresh milk and the man named Bob who delivered it.This blue and white metro has a license plate that dates back to the 70s, though I'm guessing the van was manufactured a decade or so before that. This little van represents an interesting piece of history and I wonder how it ended up on a farm north of Watertown? Was it "put out to pasture," so to speak? Did it have a function on this farm? Or was it simply abandoned here by some city dweller who no longer wanted it?You can invent your own story. . .

11-02-11 Country Metro

A little delivery van with a name like "Metro" seems like a paradox as it sits surrounded by decaying farm buildings 15 miles north of Watertertown. This is one of those photographic subjects that called me over and said, "Photograph me!" And so I did.I told my students yesterday that I am more inclined to take photos of peaceful landscapes, blooming flowers and fall leaves than I am to photograph things with bullet holes in them. Though now that I think of it, as I drive around through our rural landscape, I see many things that have been shot. And, as a photographer, I sometimes "shoot" things that have been shot. Like this Metro.Check tomorrow's post for more about this little van.

Rural Relic

This is another example of an HDR (High Dynamic Range) photo. In fact, there are two photos here - one exposed for the sky and one exposed for the dark side of the old hulk of a car. This photo is fairly realistic, though the rays that are visible in the sky aren't something you would normally see in a photo taken at this time of day. The HDR photo accentuates the contrast in the sky and you see the rays.

Out By Lonesome Lake (LATI Festival of Trees Choice)

One of the good things about my job is that when I give a photo assignment I often go out and do the assignment myself. Such was the case this past weekend. My particular mission was to shoot an HDR photo or two. I have spent about 10 hours on this task and, of the 300 photos I took, I've ended up with one HDR composite that I like. That's not bad for a day's work!I have posted an HDR (High Dynamic Range) to this blog before but I thought I'd do it again. In simple terms, an HDR photo is really one or more photos of the exact same subject with varying exposures layered on top of each other and adjusted so the whole photo is well exposed - from the very bright to the very dark.In the case of today's photo, if I had exposed for the beautiful morning sky, the grass in the foreground would have been barely visible. And if I'd exposed for the foreground, the sky would have been washed out. I must admit that the way I've done HDR so far has an element of the surreal in it. And I like that.Incidentally, this photo has been selected as this year's choice for my LATI Festival of Trees donation. It will be among many things that are donated and offered during the silent auction for the annual LATI scholarship fundraiser on November 18 at the Ramkota.Finally, if you are still reading this, you may be seriously interested in HDR. If that's true, go here to see a YouTube video I made on this subject.

Sailing Magazine - October, 2011

Welcome to those who might have arrived at "A Photo A Day" because A)you were looking for photos of sailing on Lake Oahe in South Dakota or B)you read Heather Steinberger's article on her excellent site. Here are a few links. Thanks for visiting!Heather Steinberger's web site and the "Inland Love" profile in the October, 2011, issue of Sailing Magazine.Sailing Photos (mostly from Lake Oahe but as far away as the Swiss Alps)Missouri River Photos (you may find some redundancy here since many of my photos are tagged "Sailing" and "Missouri")Lake Oahe Photos (same warning about redundancy)

Black Hills Gold

I was waiting for for a traffic light to change at a road construction site on the road between Hill City and Keystone. I rolled down the window and snapped this photo just as the light turned green. I'm a nature paparazzi.

The Same Old Stream

Yes, it's Iron Creek again, which I call "the same old stream" in this post, though this capture tends to feature the same old rocks more than the stream.Frankly, I was surprised to see so much water flowing through the creek this late in the season (October 9). But even though there was pretty good flow, it took an 8 second exposure the get the smooth, fluid look that the water has.I love this place and will probably never stop photographing it, though I suspect I don't need to post any more photos of the place on this blog.And I should say that sometimes my photography has less to do with the result than it does with the act.(Watch the screencast on how I "made" this photo here.)

From Another Era

We happened to be driving from the Hill City, SD, back to our cabin and we encountered the second to last run of the Hill City to Keystone 1880 train. It wasn't a great day for photos as it was raining pretty hard but It was a good chance to try to get a photo of what might be the only passenger train in South Dakota.We intercepted the train four times as the tracks meandered through the Hills. My idea of a good shot involved curving tracks and billowing steam and this photo was the best I could do.

On Location

Here are a few of my favorite people in one of my favorite places. The place: the old Redlin farmstead 15 miles north of Watertown. The people: Kendra, Sara, Ashley, McKenzie, Kelly, Holly and Alli (sitting). These are 6 of my second year Photo/Media students at LATI and one of my first year students (Alli). The occasion was an on-location portrait shoot.When I was doing senior portraits, I used to bring my subjects out to this old farm all the time. I liked the many looks that the buildings could give a portrait but I also liked how I could find spots with good light that were also protected from the wind. Wind is rarely an outdoor portrait artist's friend, especially with females. And in South Dakota, windy days are more common than calm ones.I had a good time on the day I took this photo but I think most of my students got better results than I did, which is what I would hope for.

More Old House Geometry

Almost everything in this photo is geometric and patterned. Even the chipping paint seems patterned.Thanks, by the way for the submissions to the haiku contest. Today is the 5th day after the contest started and thus it will end. I am submitting the many excellent poems to a panel of experts and I will announce the winner in tomorrow's post.

Geometry

Even the collapsing window frame of an abandoned farm house shows a precise geometric pattern in the strong, morning light.By the way . . . I sometimes wonder if people read my posts. More probably, you aren't into words and you come to my blog to see what I've posted. From my blog stats it is more probable that you've done a Google search and all you want is a photo for your Powerpoint.But for those who read, and who love wordplay, here's a challenge: Look at my picture and turn your reactions to it into a haiku. Then post it as a comment. The prize to the best haiku posted will be a 5x7 mounted print of you favorite "A Photo A Day" blog post sent to your address anywhere in the world. Seriously. Contest ends 1 week from now. By the way a traditional Japanese Haiku has three lines with 17 syllables:First line: 5 syllablesSecond line: 7 syllablesThird line: 5 syllables

The Old Farm - Another View

Ansel Adams is to Yosemite as Shephard is to The Old Farm. I'm no Ansel Adams, of course, but like Adams, I keep returning to the same subject over and over again trying to get the perfect photo. And I'm still looking for it. . .Here are some previous attempts:The Old Farm At SunriseEarly Morning FarmsteadAbandoned