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

05-19-06 Trinity

Don't try to read too much into the title of this one. This is just a photo of three pink tulips looking up at me.

Canon 5DII 1/100s f/6.3 ISO250 100mm

05-18-09 Incipience, Too

By Scott Shephard

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Incipience means "beginning to happen or develop." When you live in a state like South Dakota, where spring comes late, there is something very special about buds and flowers that are about to bloom. In this case, we are looking at the white flowering crab apple tree right outside our front door. Blooms in this phase are ephemeral - you may find them in the morning, leave and return later to find that they have flowered. This says something about the transitions we and our families make in life, too, doesn't it?

Canon 5DII 1/250s f/2.8 ISO400 100mm

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

05-15-09 Incipience

By Scott Shephard

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I wandered out into the yard and found these hostas just beginning to unfurl their green and white leaves.

Canon 5DII 1/125s f/3.5 ISO400 100mm

05-14-09 Mellette House - Watertown, SD

The Mellette House was the residence of Arthur Mellette and his family. It was built around 1885. Mellette was appointed Governor of Dakota Territory in March, 1889, and in October, 1889, he became the first governor of South Dakota.

So ends the history lesson. Mellette House web site

This photo is a film scan. What's film?

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

05-12-16 Bowling

By Scott Shephard

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I posted a photo a couple weeks ago that elicited several responses amongst my facebook friends. It was called "Memories for Sale." Today I am posting two photos taken back in the late 1960s by an anonymous photographer that captures my mom and dad in great form.

In looking for photos to decorate my mom's new room in the nursing home she has moved to, my sister found these and stuck them up on the bulletin board. When I visited my mom this past weekend, they were one of the first things I noticed. I didn't have access to a scanner so I simple took photos of the photos. Thus, the quality isn't all that great. But to me, the great subjects make up for that.

05-11-09 A Blurry Band

By Scott Shephard

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I did a series of photos with this effect for the WHS yearbook a few years ago. There are two special techniques being used. One is called "dragging the shutter." What happens is that if you turn your flash on but manually adjust the shutter speed to a fairly slow speed, you can sometimes get some interest ghosting in the image. You can see that in the green t-shirt in the center of the photo. The other technique is to zoom in on some central subject while you push the exposure button. This creates a natural radial blur in the photo. I took 8 or 10 pictures before I got the effect I wanted.

Canon 5D 1/15s f/3.2 ISO100 75mm

05-10-09 Lunar Eclipse

By Scott Shephard

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The moon looks like a crescent moon but it is actually a lunar eclipse. My wife and I had driven east of Watertown to find a clear view of the night sky. By the time the moon was partially eclipsed, it had grown fairly dark. Thus, in this shot I am using an ISO setting that I tend to avoid. I had taken a few shots of the moon but then drove to a place where I could get something interesting in the foreground. The snow capped trees were perfect.

Canon 5D 1/80s f/6.3 ISO1000 195mm