12-25-16 Into the Woods

By Scott Shephard

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This is an example of one of the tens of thousands of photos I have that sit in my figurative "photo closet." I took it a few years ago while exploring rural Maryland. The sun was going down and I was drawn by the way the leaves were being backlit by the strong sunlight. In another 20 minutes this would have been an entirely different scene.

When I approached this grove of trees along the road, I thought of the line from Macbeth:

Light thickens, and the crow

Makes wing to th' rooky wood.

Good things of day begin to droop and drowse;

Whiles night’s black agents to their preys do rouse.

It's an ominous statement made by Macbeth about a pending murder in a play that brilliantly plays evil against good and uses light and darkness to help do this.

Good photography uses light and shadow, too, of course, and this photo may demonstrate that. Macbeth's night was a thing to be feared but the coming night in Maryland wasn't. It seemed like a safe and civilized place. :-)

Canon 5DIII 1/160s f/7.1 ISO250 75mm 

05-01-16 No Worry

By Scott Shephard

Deb told me that if I posted this, I couldn't post another of us the two of us for the rest of the trip "because," she said, "people can post too many selfies." So be it. Tomorrow, if I have an Internet connection, it's back to animals, places and things.

Canon 5DIII

04-30-16 Life's A Beach

By Scott Shephard

"A dog's life" on the beach at Cane Garden Bay in the BVI isn't all that tough. I had seen these two roaming the beach and working the crowd the day before. On this day, they seemed exhausted. No towel and beach chair for them - the cool, white sand is enough creature comfort. Life is good!

iPhone 6s 1/1150s f/2.2 ISO25 4.15mm (35mm eq:29mm)

04-29-16 Free Range Rooster

By Scott Shephard

It is 5am as I sit here writing this and there are at least three roosters crowing. They have been doing this all night long. The idea that roosters make good alarm clocks because they crow at dawn is a "city-folk" concept. Certainly, on the island of Tortola is isn't true. They seem to call out out 24/7.

This particular rooster was part of a band of chickens we encountered on our explorations yesterday morning. There were other roosters in this group so I can't say if this one ruled the roost. Since chickens like this are free range and appear to belong to no one, I don't know what the island culture is about turning them into food. Deb had chicken on her salad yesterday and it makes me wonder. . . . 

Canon 5DIII 1/350s f/2.8 ISO400 100mm

04-27-16 A View from Our Porch

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By Scott Shephard

Deb and I have re-located for a few days and our first stop is a small house above Cane Garden Bay on the island of Tortola in the British Virgin Islands. It gets up to 85 degrees pretty regularly here and at night it dips down to 83. Pretty boring, I guess.

I hear that snow is forecast for parts of our home state. Unless climate change takes a bizarre turn, we won't see any snow here. :-)

Canon 5DIII 1/10s f/8.0 ISO200 27mm (3 frame HDR)