By Scott Shephard
You may have noticed a few photos of "Wandering Star" in this blog. Well, here's another one. There is nothing particularly photogenic about the boat on the trailer, though my wife, Deb, does add significantly. We took the boat off the water this past weekend and it now sits in my driveway waiting for the final clean-up before we store it for the winter. It was a good summer but as people around here are inclined to say in early September: "Where did the time go?"
By Scott Shephard
This time I'm wandering the streets of Dubrovnik when I encounter this photo opportunity. I've concluded that some weddings are planned around the photography and not the vows. Is that cynical?
By Scott Shephard
My wife is a pretty good sport but every time I try to take a photo in a European traffic mirror, she looks at me like I'm really stupid. And I'm not stupid!
By Scott Shephard
This is not the first time I've posted a photo from this beautiful place. It also peaceful - for a while. If you ever visit, try getting there before the bus loads of tourists show up.
A single maple leaf frozen in thin ice. It had been floating in the pond the day before but it got caught in the first freeze of the season.
By Scott Shephard
This may seem a little self-indulgent. Sorry - I do think that this is the first time my face has shown up in my blog.
This is a 3 second timed exposure, which means that I had to smile for three seconds. Try doing that some time. If you ever wondered why people in old-time photo aren't smiling, it's because the old cameras required a several second exposure - and it's hard to smile for several seconds.
Here's another one from my trip several years ago to the Sertoma Butterfly House in Sioux Falls. I wish I knew more about butterflies. Perhaps someone looking at this knows the name of this species?
One thing a remember about my trip to the Butterfly House is that the volunteer docent who followed me around was careful to point out butterflies that were fairly young, since older butterflies often have damaged wings. This is another example of the word "ephemeral," which I used in an earlier post to talk about sunlight. Canon 1D 1/800s f/3.5 ISO500 70mm Some rights reserved under Creative Commons Copyright
By Scott Shephard
What humans create often pales compared to what Nature creates. Consider the butterfly, for example. The threatening eye's on this butterfly's wing appear to have been painted there. But, of course, they weren't. Pretty amazing, if you ask me.
This photo was taken at the Sertoma Butterfly House in Sioux Falls. If you have a chance to visit, you should. It might be worth going at the time reserved for photographers. The day I visited, there was a 5th grade class there - it wasn't exactly relaxing for me or the butterflies.
Canon 1D 1/160s f/3.5 ISO500 200mm Some rights reserved under Creative Commons Copyright
By Scott Shephard
In the early 60s all the talk about "sex, drugs and rock 'n roll" was baffling to me, but I did think the Space Needle was awesome when my parents took me to see the Seattle World's Fair in 1963.
I'm pleased to say that when I returned to Seattle last year (2008) and went up in the Space Needle, I still found it awesome. It occurred to me that the Space Needle is the West Coast equivalent of the Eiffel Tower. Both towers were considered offensive to the aesthetic tastes of some. Both towers were considered technical marvels at the time they were built. Both towers "lived" to see another century. And both towers have become iconic. The view from the top of the Space Needle was amazing. (click)
You are looking at mature Cascade hops growing outside the Red Hook brewery near Seattle, Washington. Hops give beer a slightly bitter taste, which some beer connoisseurs crave. We are looking at flowers, too. As with many things that humans eat or drink, I'm left wondering who had the idea to put these brown buds in beer to see what it did to the taste?
Having been put in charge of finding a place to stay near Siena, Italy, I was very proud to have secured lodging in a well-kept Villa a few miles away from the city center. On the grounds of the villa we stayed in a small cottage that had once been a grainery. Just a few feet away from the cottage was a large swimming pool. There was also a main house that had been converted into 4 more apartments. But for two days we had the place to ourselves. The cost per night was $100!
None of these details have anything to do with this photo other than the fact that it was taken near our villa. (I like the sound of that.) I suspect that this view is a bit of a cliche since scenes like this are commonplace around Siena. I half expected to bump into Francis Mayes (Under the Tuscan Sun) but her villa is in Cortona.
I think I've mentioned that I enjoy taking candid photos in art museums. This photo was taken in Tacoma, Washington, at The Museum of Glass. This art lover seems exhausted by the experience of seeing all that glass. He's sitting on a glass, leather and chrome bench.
Canon 5D 1/30s f/4.0 ISO640 60mm Some rights reserved under Creative Commons Copyright
