09-15-13 Captain Jenna

There are many good things that I could say about Un Cruise Adventures, the company whose boat we cruised on in Alaska recently. But one of the great features was their "open bridge" policy. Passengers were encouraged to come on to the bridge to see boat operations from the pilot's point of view. On watch in this photo is the Captain, Jenna, who is expertly guiding us near Ford's Terror. With a name like "Ford's Terror," you'd expect the place to be intriguing. And it was. . . .

Canon 5DIII 1/100s f/4.5 ISO400 29mm

08-15-13 The Pensive Nicole

This portrait of Nicole was taken in the Black Hills at my July "Black Hills Photo Adventure." I took quite a few photos of her and she was a great subject. I teach that the eyes are one of the most important parts of a portrait and yet I have her looking away from the camera. Why? Well, we were working on a pose that showed her relaxed and seemingly unaware of the camera's presence. In the next frame, Nicole is looking at me but I ended up liking this one best.

Is this the "real" Nicole? I can't say, though for the three days she was part of the Workshop, she impressed me as a fairly quiet girl and I think this photo captures that.

For those interested in technical things, this photo is lit with natural light and with a small soft box being held by Nicole's aunt, Patricia. I converted to black and white and then did something I don't think I've done with a portrait - I added grain so that it looks like it was taken with film. Imagine that!

Canon 5DIII 1/640s f/3.2 ISO400 120mm

07-30-13 Photographer At Work

A concern I have about retirement is that as I transition from my "normal" public self to my retired life, some people will start to think about me in the past tense. An even bigger fear is that I might show up somewhere and someone without proper social filters might say, "I thought you were dead!"

Well, I'm alive, though this blog has been on hiatus. So today, like the mythical Phoenix, it rises from the ashes. At least for a while.

And is it any surprise that I return with a photo of our amazing grand daughter, Glenyce? And there are more where this one came from. Do you have a few minutes? There are only 600 or so . . . .

07-07-13 A Sacred Moment

Our grand daughter, Glenyce Jane, was baptized today in front of many friends and family at St. Joseph's Cathedral in Rapid City, South Dakota. I must say that though I am no doubt a bit biased, it was a beautiful ceremony. And since I have designated myself the Official Photographer of Key Events in the Life of Glenyce Jane Shephard, I took many photos. But the one you see here is a favorite of many. See more here.

07-05-13 Glenyce Times Two

This is the doting great mother and namesake of our new grand daughter, Glenyce Jane. And GJ is worth doting over. :-)

06-24-13 Local Color

Deb and I are on the island of St. John for a couple of days and it turns out that our visit coincides with the annual street fair. The downtown area was open to pedestrian traffic only and was crowded with street vendors of all kinds.

I was trying to capture the spirit of the street fair when I saw this colorful gentleman, who was selling hand carved rattles and decorations. I was working on getting a good candid shot but when he saw me, he called me over a B&D agreeably posed for me. But in the end, it was when he wasn't looking directly at me that I got the photo I liked best.

His name, by the way is Delroy Anthony, and he is a life long resident of St. John.

Here's are a few examples of the many things he makes:

Check out more of my Virgin Islands photos here here

06-22-13 The First Mate at the Helm

Many would be surprised to hear that she handles subservience quite well - at least when I am Captain. Here she expertly steers us out of the Bitter End in the Virgin Islands.

Check out more of my Virgin Islands photos here here

06-14-13 Island Life

Yesterday morning, before Deb and I boarded the ferry to Tortola (BVI), we had some time to spend in Charlotte Amalie, the first stop on our Caribbean sailing adventure. Deb suggested that we hire a cab driver to tour the island but instead we got something better: Marge, one of the proprietor's of the Miller Manor B&B, where we stayed, took us on a personal walking tour, accompanied by her dog Sam.

At one point, when I was trying to find a way to photograph the Jewish cemetery, we encountered some locals, including this child, who initially gave me a forced smile but who then quickly ignored me. That's when I started taking photos. We only had a minute or two, but this is the best of the few I took.

There are a couple things I like about the photo. One of them is not the light. Some times you take what you get. But I do like two things: the fashionably dressed child, who wouldn't be out of place in most neighborhoods in the Western world. (Note the cool watch and plastic squirt gun.) But I also like the fact that there are two adults in this photo watching me take this picture. Both are clearly wary and maybe even a little suspicious. The child, of course, is oblivious. As a photographer, I like the child's attitude best. . . .

06-13-13 A Firm Grip

By Scott Shephard

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It is my wife's birthday today and we are observing it in the Virgin Islands, where are are going to be sailing for a week. But, of course, neither Deb nor I can stop thinking about Glenyce Jane, our new grand daughter, who is pictured here gripping her father's thumb.

As I look at this photo in the context of Deb's birthday I am wondering what Clint and Glenyce imagined about the future of their child, Debra. Would she be happy? Would she be healthy? And would she find success?

I would say that for Deb the answer is "yes" to all of the questions. And for Glenyce Jane, the expectations are the same. . .

06-06-13 The Indignity!

Glenyce Jane isn't even 12 hours old in this photo, which documents GJ's first serious bath. And serious is a good word for it - the health care worker, who was very good at what she did, didn't exactly treat our new grand daughter like fine china.

In this photo, GJ is getting her right arm pit scrubbed and I suspect that years from now, she will either be grateful for the documentation of such moments in her early life. Or she will be embarrassed. . . .

06-03-13 Really!

My Instagram followers will recognize this shot, which was published there yesterday. But my regular readers will know that redundancy is one of my hallmarks. So why not publish it here, as well?

The subject is, of course, our new grand daughter, Glenyce Jane S. The event was her first bath, being administered by a loving, efficient medical care expert, who did not pamper GJ.

I don't know know what kind of thought 10 hour old humans are capable of, but GJ's expression seems to be one of mild frustration mixed with resignation. She seems to be say, "If you really have to, I suppose. . . "

06-02-13 June Bug

Words fail to convey how I feel about the birth of our new grand daughter. But here she is, only three hours old. She's so new to this world that her parents (Brian and Katie) have yet to name her. But we like her nick name:"June Bug."

I suspect I will be posting a few more of this little girl from time to time. . .