08-15-09 Hidden World

I took exactly 65 pictures of my wife's single blooming Star Lilly plant this morning and this was one of the last ones I captured. And I like it best. Is there a lesson for would be photographers in this? Perhaps. For me the lesson is to take photos from many angles and you might be surprised. Photography literally means "writing with light." But for me, photography sometimes offers the opportunity to learn the difference between "looking" at something and truly "seeing" it. Enough of the philosophy! If you want to see two of the other 65 photos I took, check these out:

Star Lilly 01 (click) Star Lilly 02 (click)

Canon 5DII 1/50s f/5.0 ISO400 100mm

08-14-09 Walking the Dog

By Scott Shephard

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I was with a student group cruising the Greek islands when I took this picture and it is another good example of serendipity. I don't know why I was standing on the deck of the cruise boat when I spotted this lone man walking his dog along the quay on the island of Rhodes. Both of us were in the right place and the right time.

Canon 1DII 1/800s f/10.0 ISO320 300mm

08-13-09 Today's Our Anniversary (34th)

How are Deb and I celebrating? I'm in Minnesota at the PGA tournament with my son Brian and Deb's in Sioux Falls. How's that for romance? But she is special and I am lucky. And we will no doubt celebrate our anniversary on Friday. Will I give her an opal, which is the gift you give on your 34th? I doubt it.

Happy anniversary, Deb. You are still beautiful.

(PS: Can you see the shadowy figure reflected in her eyes? He looks alot like this guy.)

Canon 5D 1/320s f/8.0 ISO400 105mm

08-12-09 It's True!

By Scott Shephard

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I was in Florence, Italy, the night the Italians beat the French in the World Cup Football Championship. Needless to say, as I tried to sleep, the Italians partied all night long. The next morning I was wandering around looking for photos, as I often do.

Around the corner from our hotel entrance, I found a newsstand loaded with papers proudly proclaiming the Italian victory. I don't speak Italian but I signalled that I wanted a photo and this was the pose that the news vendor struck. "Tutto Vero!" means "all true!" "Campioni del mondo" means "Champions of the World." Italians are passionate people but they are especially passionate when it comes to World Cup Soccer.

Here's a photo I took the night before as Italians watched the early part of the match at an outdoor bar across the street from my hotel. (click)

08-11-09 Chance Encounter

By Scott Shephard

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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

08-10-09 Stranger On A Train

By Scott Shephard

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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

08-09-09 Risky Behavior?

By Scott Shephard

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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

08-09-01 Harley Art

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

08-07-09 Emily

By Scott Shephard

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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

08-06-09 Even More Flocking Behavior

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

08-05-09 A Perfect Place, Two

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

08-04-09 Flocking Behavior 02

Scott Shephard

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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."