06-29-09 Back Street - Assisi, Italy

Back in the days of film (the 20th century for those who wonder), I had been to Assisi with a student group and found this spot during the half hour or so I had to wander around on my own. I took a photo using black and white film and liked it except that the exposure wasn't quite right and the print I made from a film scan was a little too grainy.

So, a few years later, I was in Assisi again and I went looking for the spot. Given that Assisi is a maze of streets, I was a little surprised that I actually found it. And this is the photo I took.

06-28-09 Quiet Mountain Village - Corsica

Deb and I were out for a drive and found many mountain villages that were quiet and picturesque. In this case, I was able to use the trees to help frame the photograph. The orange things visible on the the left side of the photo are nets that are laid out under the olive trees they are attached. They catch the olives during harvest season.

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

06-27-09 I'm Lovin' It

I think that there is a bit of irony in this photo but you'll have to find your own interpretation. I was struck by the juxtaposition of the slogan and the nude statue at this McDonald's in Prague, Czech Republic.

06-26-09 The Bride and Her Bridesmaids

By Scott Shephard

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Here's one more from Caitlin and Jordan's wedding. The entire wedding party was wearing black and white tennis shoes and when I asked to get a close-up shot of the bride's shoes, the photo turned in to this spontaneous grouping. What I liked about taking photos at Caitlin's wedding was that little seemed to be staged and that Caitlin was very comfortable about how things went at her wedding. I would say that this is very unusual for a modern wedding. And it was refreshing.

06-25-09 The Calm Before the Storm

This photo was taken from the back of my sailboat as it was moored at Spring Creek Marina north of Pierre, SD. I was fascinated by the texture and the color of the clouds. Instead of taking the photo, I should have been checking the mooring lines of my boat because a few minutes later winds reaching 50 to 60 mph hit the marina. Many of the boats suffered minor damage including mine. (Click here to see a few more photos.)

The black line visible on the water is an artificial breakwater made of giant truck tires. Unfortunately, a large section broke loose, allowing wind-driven waves reaching 4 or 5 feet high to roll through the marina. It was a hell of a ride!

I love sailing on Lake Oahe. But for 30 minutes, I was wishing that I and my "new" boat Wandering Star were anywhere but there.

Here are a few "Photos of the Day" that feature the Missouri River: The Perfect Place Incipience 3 Lake Oahe Sunset 212 Bridge Over the Missouri River Wandering Star

06-21-09 Caitlin & Landon

Two days of wedding pictures? I guess so. I don't shoot many weddings but how could I say "No" when charming Caitlin asked me to shoot informal photos at her wedding?

I converted this photo to sepia but there was a lot of color at Caitlin and Landon's wedding. For more photos, click here.

06-20-09 Prague Wedding

We were outside of the Old Town Hall in Prague waiting (along with about 5000 other tourists) for the famous Astronomical Clock to do it's thing. But before it chimed, a wedding party came streaming out of the Town Hall. Though the bride and groom were Czech, the wedding looked like it could have occurred in the US - rice, flower girls, photographer, videographer and all the rest. Notice the couple to the bride's right - did they just have a fight?

06-19-09 Iris

I haven't had a chance to photograph the iris (or is it "irae" or "irises"?) that are blooming now so I resurrected a photo from a few years ago. There is very nice background blur on this one thanks to the 28-200 2.8 lens I used.

Canon 5D 1/80s f/6.3 ISO200 200mm

06-18-09 Stari Most - Mostar, Bosnia-Herzegovina

By Scott Shephard

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This is not a remarkable photo. Do a Google search and you will find many more that are better. I did want you to see this bridge, though, since I have referred to it in other posts. To me, the most remarkable thing about this bridge is that it stood for centuries and both literally and symbolically bridged the cultural differences that existed in Mostar.

Then, in 1993, it became an intentional victim of the bitter war that affected so much of this region. The bridge was rebuilt with the aide of the international community but there are signs everywhere that say "Don't forget '93," which was the year the bridge was destroyed.

One Muslim man I encountered the day I took this photo told me that "don't forget" is not a call for revenge. Instead it is a reminder that we should never forget the damage that intolerance and hatred can inflict on people.

06-17-09 The Tire "Guy"

By Scott Shephard

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While driving on the island of Dugi Otok (off the coast of Croatia), we picked up a nail in one of our tires. The locals in the town we were staying in said they couldn't fix tires but that there was a tire person two towns over. We drove there expecting an overall-wearing mechanic. But instead this is who helped up. She was the island's tire expert but she's obviously not a guy. Does your tire specialist wear flip-flops?

06-16-09 Smile!

I couldn't help photographing the Asian tourists being photographed in front of a painting on a giant egg in front of a famous landmark in Zagreb, Croatia. (Confused?)

To see the setting for this photo, click here.

Canon 5DII 1/400s f/13.0 ISO400 24mm

06-15-09 A Survivor

By Scott Shephard

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June 15, 2009

For several centuries, Mostar was a place where people with strong ethnic and cultural differences could live, work and worship in harmony. But in the 1990s that tolerance unraveled and buildings as well as people became victims.

This mosque, for example is one of only ten surviving houses of Muslim worship in Mostar. Before the war there were over thirty. The rest were intentionally destroyed, as was the famous bridge called Stari Most that spanned the Neretva River.

The bridge has been rebuilt and the mosques are active places of worship again. I think that tolerance has returned but everywhere there are signs of the war including shelled-out buildings and bullet-riddled walls.

The heart of Mostar is a beautiful place to visit and while the people seemed friendly and eager to please, I got the sense that people are still recovering from the pain and hardship of living in a war zone.

Click here for more photos of Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina.