TS Eliot was wrong. Februrary, not April, is "the cruelest month." At least for me. Yes, the days are getting longer. Yes, the temperature ocassionally soars into the high 20s. But it is often in the heart of February that what I think is SAAD (seasonal affective disorder) hits me. And I lose my will to post new photos to this blog.So I'm posting old stuff. . . But, in the event that you haven't meticulously looked at all four years of my posts, you've probably never seen some of these. So maybe they're not old.
Travel
02-09-13 Stone Lion
in Architecture, Blog, Travel
TS Eliot was wrong. Februrary, not April, is "the cruelest month." At least for me. Yes, the days are getting longer. Yes, the temperature ocassionally soars into the high 20s. But it is often in the heart of February that what I think is SAAD (seasonal affective disorder) hits me. And I lose my will to post new photos to this blog.So I'm posting old stuff. . . But, in the event that you haven't meticulously looked at all four years of my posts, you've probably never seen some of these. So maybe they're not old.
01-25-13 Stand Out
This is deja vu all over again, given that I have already posted an HDR photo of this tree. I moved closer to the tree for this shot and I used a slightly different HDR process to make this picture. And Monet painted the same thing over and over and look where it got him. . . .
01-22-13 The Promised Land
On the night before he was assassinated in Memphis, TN, Martin Luther King, Jr., addressed a small group of people. And in that speech he said
“Like anybody, I would like to live a long life--longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now… I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land.”
The cause he was in Memphis to help further was a strike by the newly formed Sanitation Workers Union, who were working to get better pay and improved working conditions. One of the signs that the strking workers carried said, "I am a man."Yesterday, as I returned to my hotel, I rounded the corner on to Peachtree Street in downtown Atlanta and encountered the Martin Luther King Day Parade. It was an eclectic affair, comprised of groups representing the Girl Scouts, the Boy Scouts, the "Free Tibet" movement. And many more.The group photographed here carried replica signs that copied and extended the message of the Memphis sanitation workers union: "I am still a Man."On the day after a black man took the oath of office for the presidency of the United States, I am left thinking about "the promised land." No, America isn't the promised land and I don't think Barack will lead us there. But I believe we have moved much closer to the promise that the US holds for all of its citizens.Two days ago, I gave up my seat at the front of the bus to an elderly black woman, who smiled pleasantly at me as she sat. I was not trying to make a statement. I was not thinking about race. I was only doing what was right. Today, I realize that perhaps my act stands as a small symbol of the promise King spoke about the night before he died.
01-20-12 Arrival
This location is a world apart from the abandoned farm photos I posted a week ago. I'll admit that I am more comfortable in the quiet expanses of the South Dakota prairie than I am in a underground train station. But both places intrigue me.
01-19-13 Peachtree Station
in Architecture, Blog, Travel
I am in Atlanta, Georgia, for a few days to attend the annual Imaging USA conference. And four of my Lake Area Technical Institute photo/media students are with me. It should be a good experience for all of us.This photo was taken on the run. I was more interested in getting to our hotel than taking photos but I couldn't resist when I saw this scene. But instead of taking my big camera out of the bag, I snapped a single iPhone photo.When I photograph architecture, I look for symmetry, which is kind of the opposite of what I look for in landscapes. But in both, I look for lines and texture. And there are lines and texture galore in this photo. . . .
01-09-12 Mike, Scott & Clarence in Las Vegas
I have been to Las Vegas only once, and this photo documents the highlight of that visit: our hotel had a swimming pool! That's my brother Mike and my dad sitting on the diving board. And the story I am told (because I don't remember it) is that when no one was looking, little 7-year-old Scotty went out to the edge of the board and jumped in. The problem was that Scotty really didn't know how to swim. Whether that event occurred before or after the photo was taken, I can't say.This photo doesn't pass the test as far as quality photos are concerned: it has compositional issues and the photographer (my mom?) posed us with our backs to the sun, leading to underexposed faces. But like billions of other bad vacation snap shots, it is still an important photo - at least in my personal history.This photo, incidentally, was in an album that my aunt Betty had kept. In managing her estate, we ended up with several of her photo albums and it is obvious to me that even though she lived in California, her South Dakota family was very important to her.
01-03-12 Mi Amigos
It's always fascinating to see how people react to my camera. In this case, all but the second from the left were obviously eager to be photographed. Their smiles are great and the food was pretty good, too.
01-02-12 Welcome!
Sorry if I seem to be on a Mexico theme lately but when I look out my window, all I see is white and gray. So here's a little color.Most resorts that we've been to in Mexico offer some kind of welcoming drink, and these six glasses of (non-alcoholic) punch were being set up for our group.
01-01-13 Waiting for the Sun
Those of my generation know that the title for this post is also the title for the title track of the Doors third album "Waiting for the Sun." They sing
At first flash of Eden, we race down to the sea.Standing there on Freedom's Shore.Waiting for the Sun, etc. etc. etc.
And, this photo does little to reflect those lyrics. But I did take this photo early in the morning one day, well before the crowds arrived on the beach and a little before the sun came out from behind the bank of clouds that typically hovers over the eastern horizon off the shores of the Yucatan Peninsula.
12-31-12 Seeing Blue
This is the pool at the resort we stayed at recently. And this is yet another HDR photo (3 in 1) that has also been adjusted a bit with Nik Color Efex Pro 4 and OnOne Photo Suite 7.
12-30-12 Friend or Foe
The coati is a relative of the raccoon, an animal we are familiar with in South Dakota. These coati were part of a band of 15 or so and they were pretty good at working the residents of the resort we stayed at recently. They look cute and innocent but they could be aggressive, as my brother-in-law found out. One of them climbed right up his leg looking for a handout and leaving bleeding claw marks. All of the signs on the resort said "Don't feed the animals." That was probably good advice.