It's good for a photographer to be a morning person and this photo is evidence. The light is good, the breeze has yet to pick up and there is a serenity in this scene that I doubt exists an any other time of the day.
This was taken is the picture-perfect city of Brugge, Belgium, on a trip Deb and I took in June, 2008.
13,350 feet
By Scott Shephard
By Scott Shephard
I'll let you in on a secret: I sometimes play the role of Mother Nature. In this case, I misted the flowers with a spray bottle. The beads of water add interest and I'll bet I'm not the only photograper who does this.
NOTE: I'm going where there is no wireless and because I am behind in my photo a day project, there will be no commentary on the next few photos. I have a feeling no one reads this stuff, anyway. :-)
Visiting St. Peter's is an overwhelming experience and I'm guessing that the architects had that in mind when they planned this massive place. The dome that appears in this photo was designed by Michelangelo, but sadly he died before its completion. The structure with the darker, bronze pillars rising from the left corner of the photo is called the baldacchino, and was designed by Bernini. It is close to 10 stories tall (98 ft.). That, alone, give you a sense of the scale of the dome.
On the technical side, this camera and lens combination was the first time I was truly amazed by the capabilities of the Canon 5D. I shot with a high ISO and low shutter speed to get this shot and I was impressed by how little digital noise that showed up in the photo and how sharp the photo is - in spite of shooting without a tripod at 1/40 of a second.
Canon 5D Canon f/4.0 1/40 Canon 17-24mm 4.0L (17mm) ISO 1000
The Pantheon was built close to 2000 years ago and I am still awed by its design every time I walk in. In fact, I would have to say that the Pantheon is my favorite structure in Rome. For this photo I stood towards the wall of the building and pointed the camera towards the ceiling. I wanted to get some of the oculus ("eye") in the shot, though the bright light flowing in caused a little lens flair. I shot using my 24-105mm lens and I was wishing I had the 17-24mm lens that I had decided to leave at home, though the image stabilization built in to the lens I used allowed me to use a an otherwise impossible shutter speed.
Canon 5D f/4 1/30 24-105 4.0L (24mm) ISO 650
This photo was taken the same day the other Votive Candle post was taken. This time I was experimenting with the amazing Canon 1.2 50mm lens I travel with. This lens is excellent for poorly lit interiors, such as a cathedral. It is also very good at creating a very narrow depth of field, as in this photo. I'm not sure that this is a good photo, given that there isn't a real good focal point. But some people have told me they like it.
Also, I use this photo to illustrate what photographers call bokeh, which is the term used to describe the brighter, out-of-focus points in a photo. Some lenses have good bokeh and many don't. Needless to say, the Canon 50mm 1.2 gives great bokeh.
Canon 5D f/2.8 Canon 50mm 1.2L 50mm 1/250 ISO 400
I took this photo in Mexico a few years ago. I don't have much to say about it other than I like the the geometry of the palm leaf. The paradox of nature is that there are so many things that seem random and chaotic. And then there are things that are precise and ordered - as in this leaf. Scientists and philosophers have certainly written about this. I just took a picture.
Canon 5D f/4.5 1/80 Canon 24-105 4.0L 67mm ISO 320
One oak leaf back lit by the morning sun - it doesn't get much simpler than this. Since I was shooting into the sun, the challenge was to find shade for the lens to avoid lens flare. From the sunny side, this leaf looked dull. But with the sun shining through it, the leaf came to life - which is a bit of an irony for a leaf about to fall.
Canon 1D II f/5.6 1/250 lens unknown 240mm ISO 100
"The name you will never guess. The name that no human research can discover, But the cat himself knows and will never confess." TS Eliot
This orange tabby cat was resting comfortably amidst the rush of tourists near the Stradun in Dubrovnik. He is a carbon copy of our cat, Mac, and apparently lives near this stone bench because I have seen this same orange cat sleeping in almost the same place in an album of photos some one else had posted of their visit to Dubrovnik. Life is good!
Canon 5D