By Scott Shephard
The Paris Metro and a chance encounter between three of the world's 6.5 billion denizens. They will never meet again and the two disengaged women in this photo don't seem to really care. Guess which one of this trinity is a tourist?
If you look closely, you will see a ghostly figure in the subway window. He looks remarkably similar to this person (click).
Canon 20D 1/40s f/4.5 ISO1600 17mm
By Scott Shephard
I was waiting for the next metro at the Cavour metro stop in Rome. Having some time to kill, I took a few photos, including this one. The Roman metro stations are fairly dark so I used a slow shutter speed and in this shot I panned as the train came into the station. The graffiti ends up being blurred but the rather bored looking woman visible through the window isn't.
Canon 5D 1/8s f/4.0 ISO1000 24mm
By Scott Shephard
Deb and I were at the Rushmore Mall in Rapid City, SD several years ago, when we saw this motorcyclist begin to practice his stunt routine. He had two ramps, the first of which propelled him (at a fairly high speed) about 30 feet into the air. Sailing (at 6 mph) is sport enough for me.
Canon 1D 1/250s f/8.0 ISO400 70mm
I took this photo during the famous Sturgis Rally Week in Keystone, SD, in 2002. The photo isn't the art, of course. The beautifully chromed and crafted engine of the Harley Davidson is.
Incidentally, this photo shows up as part of a tutorial on a web site called Tutzor. This tutorial turns various parts of photos into a chrome horse.
Canon 1D 1/250s f/8.0 ISO400 70mm
By Scott Shephard
My good friend Jack suggested that I should consider posting a few of the portraits I have taken and so today I cave in to his gentle persuasive. Emily is a senior in high school and she, her mother and I spent yesterday morning taking her "senior photos." Emily is a great subject and we had perfect outdoor weather - very little wind and moderate cloud cover.
As you can tell, this photo is enhanced and portrait purists might be critical for this and perhaps other reasons. Frankly, I was playing with actions, filters and layers in Photoshop. I'll post a less manipulated portrait someday soon.
Incidentally, those of my generation (50-somethings) will remember that senior portraiture back in the 60s and 70s involved going to the studio in your best outfit and having one or two photos taken, the best of which ended up as an 8x10 on the wall. Times have changed!
Canon 5DII 1/320s f/4.0 ISO400 115mm
This photo may be a little too abstract to have meaning but I'll post it anyway. Hundreds of seagulls have moved on to the tires that form one of the breakwaters at the Spring Creek Marina on Lake Oahe in South Dakota. And on the two previous mornings as I slowly motored by to go out sailing, they took flight as I passed. On this day I was ready with my camera: I had about 30 seconds to get photos before the birds were gone and circling overhead. I took about 15 photos as I passed but this is the only one I liked.
Here's a less abstract version (click). While you're here, check out the Spring Creek deep water marina on the amazing Lake Oahe. (click)
Canon 5DII 1/800s f/16.0 ISO400 58mm
By Scott Shephard
This photo was taken very close to the location where my other "A Perfect Place" photo was taken. And I'm sorry if I repeat myself but I couldn't resist the amazing early morning cloud formation reflected in the nearly mirror smooth water. Charlie Brown says in "A Charlie Brown Christmas" that there are 3 things people will sit and stare at: fire, water and a Zamboni machine. No fire or Zambonis here; but plenty of water.
View on Panoramio to see its geographic location from space.
Canon 5DII 1/160s f/8.0 ISO100 24mm
Scott Shephard
Humans don't flock, of course. They march or gather or group. And "drafting," as mentioned in yesterday's post, only occurs at relatively high speeds. Thus, the guys playing the flutes are only able to get by with less effort than those in front of them because they were smart enough to pick little instruments. Notice the white leg guards on the drummers, by the way. I wonder how long that piece of equipment has been part of the uniform?
I should mention that this is the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace in London. Tourists flock there on a regular basis to witness the spectacle. Did I say "flock?" I meant "gather."
I went to the Redlin Art Center in Watertown to get some exterior shots and instead I got geese. Everyone probably knows that when geese fly together in their "V" formation, they get better mileage. In NASCAR terms, it is called "drafting."
I have juxtaposed a winter scene today with yesterday's photo of late July lilies - primarily because I wanted to use the word "juxtapose" in a sentence. Mrs. Connor, one of my high school English teachers, would be proud. So here's an obscure (and perhaps rhetorical) question: How is the porter scene in Shakespeare's Macbeth a good example of juxtaposition? Public praise to the first person who answers correctly.
Canon 5D 1/1000s f/4.5 ISO160 105mm
Nature does a pretty good job of providing worthy subjects, doesn't it? Photoshop does the rest.
Canon 5D 1/60s f/11.0 ISO400 100mm
It would appear that I'm trying to score points with my in-laws in this blog over the last few days. But of all the photos I took in Alaska, this is one of my favorites. When we walked by the cut-out on the streets of Sitka, Alaska, my mother-in-law agreed to pose. But she didn't agree to be the "Picture of the Day." I guessing I'm out of the will. Again.
Canon 5DII 1/60s f/5.6 ISO100 28mm
