06-04-09 View of A Nude Beach - Corfu

Don't strain your eyes looking for body parts, but most of the people in this photo aren't wearing clothes. You've got to love those free-spirited Europeans and especially the Germans, who outnumbered other nationalities on this beautiful little beach. How do I know? Research.

This beach is called Myrtiotissa Beach and is said to the "the most beautiful beach in Europe." Did the Germans enhance or detract from its beauty? You'll have to do your own research to answer that question.

Canon 5D 1/400s f/13.0 ISO400 24mm

06-03-09 Self Portrait - Corfu, Greece

This is what I look like when I travel. I think this is a flattering view! Behind me is the little grocery store that was just down the road from the hotel my wife and stayed at while visiting Corfu, Greece, in 2006. The store had a little bit of everything but was so small that three or four customers would have challenged its aisle space. But the store owner was friendly and thought big: on the awning the store proudly announces itself as a "Super Market" (in English)!

Canon 5D 1/125s f/7.1 ISO500 50mm

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06-02-09 City Hall - Delft, Netherlands

I'm embarrassed to admit this but one of the pleasures of visiting Delft last summer was standing in the very spot Scarlet Johansson stood in "Girl With a Pearl Earring." I like Scarlet but I don't think she likes me. This building, incidentally, isn't far from the spot she stood and is pictured in the movie.

Canon 5D 1/80s f/6.3 ISO400 45mm

05-22-09 Paris Street Performers

By Scott Shephard

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This photo was taken on a "walking tour" of Paris that was part of the last school trip I took with students. We saw various parks and buildings but at one point, while walking through an arcade, we encountered this group of street musicians.

I wanted more than the musicians in the photo and so I walked behind the group and framed the violinist between two of his companions. At the moment I took the photo, the violinist looked my way. This is a brief encounter between me and one of the Earth's 6.7 billion inhabitants frozen in 1/60 of a second.

Canon 5D 1/60s f/4.5 ISO400 50mm

05-21-09 Curiosity

One of the highlights of our trip to Japan in 2004 was a visit to the Japanese pre-school my son Brian worked at. The children we saw that morning behaved much as you'd expect children to behave anywhere, though I saw one big difference - these kids didn't appear to be as fearful or suspicious of strangers as our kids seem to be.

It was recess time when this photo was taken. As we stood and talked to one of the administrators, I noticed this young boy leave his pals on the playground and walk up to the open doorway to watch us. I turned the camera towards him and instead of turning away, he continued to watch me with intense and friendly curiosity.

Canon 1DII 1/320s f/4.0 ISO400 145mm

05-20-09 A View From St. Peter's

I have already posted a photo of the dome of St. Peter's from the inside. This is what you see when you stand on top of the dome. The climb up is a bit strenuous but well worth it. Though I would suggest you consider going up in the morning because you can avoid the heat and the crowds.

You can see two countries in this photo - Vatican City and Italy. The "border" is a white line at the open end of St. Peter's Square (which is actually an ellipse). The "square" and the colonnades that enclose it were designed by Bernini, who also designed the baldacchino visible in my interior shot.

What was I thinking when I got to the top? I was thinking that it's a good thing that there is a sign by the dome ticket window warning people with heart problems that the climb may kill them. I was also thinking that it's too bad Michelangelo, who designed the dome, didn't live to stand where I was standing. I wonder if Pope Benedict has been up here?

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Do want to view a narrated video of this photo? Try going here. (This is a bit of an experiment and it is clearly un-rehearsed!)

Canon 5D 1/640s f/5.0 ISO400 24mm

05-17-09 Maui Seascape

By Scott Shephard

We were at a road-side turn-out watching for whales when this very fast sailboat came into the picture. From the speed of the boat, I'm guessing it's a catamaran. Life is good on Maui!

Canon 5D 1/250s f/11.0 ISO160 24mm

05-16-09 Croatian Surprise

This little village is on the island of Hvar, which is part of Croatia. It was total serendipity that my friend Scott and I ended up spending two great days here. And it turns out that, according to one of the few residents who spoke English, we were the first people from the US to stay in this village. I am not a particularly adventurous traveler and get nervous when I don't have reservations for the night. But this place (down a 5-mile long one lane road!) was a great surprise. Click here to see this photo's location on Panoramio.

Canon 5D 1/20s f/4.0 ISO400 50mm

05-13-09 People Watching

I'm back inside the Art Institute of Chicago with this photo. I think I've admitted to a penchant for watching people look at art when I'm in art galleries. I was photographing this bronze sculpture (name? artist?) when I saw the gentleman in the background walk into the frame. I'm not the only voyeur in the room - the naked boy is watching, too.

Canon 1D 1/60s f/3.2 ISO800 35mm

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05-02-09 Starfish Cactus - Hawaii

This photo was taken with a macro lens, which allows the camera to get within inches of the subject. The actual cactus is hard to see in this photo and the flower itself is less than 1" across. When my son, Jon, who lives in Hawaii, saw the photo, he said I was lucky to get this photo since they don't bloom very often. I wish I hadn't cut the tips off the ends of the star - I need to go back to Hawaii to get it right!

Canon 5D 1/30s f/10.0 ISO250 100mm

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

05-01-09 Japanese Garden

This serene lake is part of a beautiful garden outside of Kyoto, Japan. We visited Japan in 2004 and as I browsed through photos I had taken, I had the reaction I often have when viewing older digital photos: I want to go back and re-photograph the areas we visited. But this desire isn't because I have a better camera or a better lens, but because I think I have a little better eye and also because I'm sure I missed some great shots.

I have many strong memories of Japan but one of the oddest involves the camera I was traveling with - a Canon 1D Mark II, which was considered a state-of-the-art dslr in 2004. The Japanese are gracious and friendly people but many were especially friendly when they saw my camera. They would walk up to me and, though they couldn't speak my language, would point to my camera, smile and shake their head in an affirmative way. The Japanese love quality electronics - especially electronics made in Japan.

Canon 1DII 1/160s f/6.3 ISO400 115mm

04-28-09 Mysterious Path

By Scott Shephard

IMG_5323 POTD

Here's one of the 75,000 photos that I can distinctly remember taking. And it is, like many of my photos, a bit of an accident. I had been taking photos along Iron Creek in the Black Hills and was walking back to my truck. There had been a brief rain shower, which left the vegetation wet and shiny. And then the sun came out and almost as an afterthought I took a picture or two of the trail looking back towards the sun.

Without the sun, there would be no bright highlight on the trail and the little pine trees and the birch trees wouldn't be rimmed by back lighting. In the viewfinder, I didn't see this - it was only when I viewed the photo on the computer screen that I saw how interesting the lighting made this picture.

Discolosure: this photo is enhanced with a Photoshop filter called "Midnight." Altered reality? This isn't photojournalism - it's an art form and I guess you'd called "Midnight" "artistic license."

Canon 5D 1/30s f/6.3 ISO125 60mm