By Scott Shephard
We stopped at a road side look-out on the west coast of Maui. And as my three traveling companions leaned against the rail in the hopes of seeing whales, I couldn't resist snapping this photo. They weren't impressed when I showed them the photo. But they did see whales.
Here's another macro photo that renders the subject a little abstractly. Donna, my neighbor, urged me to check out her roses and this is what I saw. Thanks, Donna, for growing them!
Canon 5DII 1/80s f/6.3 ISO200 100mm
Our son Jon has a way of getting work that allows him to get paid to do things that others might do just for the fun of it. This summer he is in Sitka, Alaska, taking tourists on thrilling (and occasionally bone-jarring) rides in the waters around Sitka. The boat is a high-performance Zodiac-like vessel that Jon says will do 60 mph on smooth water.
In this photo Jon is giving us our instructions before we board the boat. Reassuringly, he tells his passengers that the orange suits they are wearing will keep them afloat if they should fall overboard. No one fell off - not even my 70+ mother-in-law. (And NO, I wasn't wishing she would. I love my mother-in-law. :-) )
When she's on the boat, I get to order her around and she listens. Brilliant! When we are on land, she tries to order me around but it rarely works. That's brilliant, too. This was taken on a recent outing on Lake Oahe. Good wind, a nice summer evening and a willing subject.
Canon 5DII 1/250s f/11.0 ISO400 24mm
Several years ago our oldest son Brian gave a concert and part of his Senior Project at the University of South Dakota. As I was looking for photos to post to this blog, I came across the pictures I had taken for Brian. There wasn't much light in the room other than that lighting the stage. This photo has a gritty look to it - in part because of the black and white process I applied but also because I was shooting at high ISO.
Yesterday's Alaskan adventure was to motor to Kruzof island and ride Yama Rhinos (a heavy duty ATV) through the woods. This is one of many spots where hardwood trees have grown along the narrow, rough and pond-rich roads.
When we got back home around 8 pm, we were tired, dirty and more than a little sore. When our son, Jon, is leading us, quiet museums and art galleries aren't usually part of the itinerary. And that's OK with us!
Here's another one from the Raptor Center we visited in Sitka, Alaska. I don't know the story on this beautiful bird aside from the fact that he/she is a survivor who now has a permanent home showing off to photographers and other visitors.
For the tech geeks, I should mention that this photo is about a 3/4 crop, meaning that I threw about 3/4 of the photo away. I was wondering why I needed a camera with 23 million pixels and this photo is the answer. Of course, it helps to shoot with a lens like the 70-200 2.8L.
I'd like to say I'd captured this photo as I walked through the Alaskan woods. But actually, this is a photo of one of the many survivors being cared for at a raptor rehabilitation center just outside of Sitka, Alaska. Somebody had shot at this owl but fortunately it was only wounded. Hunters and power lines seem to be the biggest cause of birds needing rehab - not drugs and alcohol.
Here's another one from Denver, Colorado. I was visiting the art museum and was captured by the construction of a new wing of the museum. The red structure that frames the two workers is itself a work of art. Check out this photo (which isn't mine) for the context and to see what the finished building looks like.
1/500s f/13.0 ISO400 56mm
Scott P and I were waiting to catch the morning train to Paris. As busy as this train station is, I was struck by the peacefulness at the moment I took this photo. As I look at the picture, I am also drawn to the fact that the golden morning sunlight streaming in the windows echoes the golden color of the trains. I didn't see this when I took the picture. What I saw were all of the lines and curves and if you go back and look at my architectural photos, it's clear that I have a penchant for lines and curves.
Dead flowers covered in frost on a cold November morning. Try thinking of that when you are about to bemoan the humidity or heat or thunderstorms that are part of summer in our beautiful state.
There is an otherworldliness to this subject, isn't there? Would you have know what this was if I had identified it?
This morning I finally realized why paintings and sculptures get such lame titles sometimes - the artists spend all their creativity on the art and have nothing left when it comes time to name it. I doubt my photo is a work of art but I do know that the title is lame.
Anyway, I'm back in Chicago for my "Picture of the Day." This one is of part of an intriguing foot bridge in (or near) Centennial Park in downtown Chicago.
