This photo was taken in a small village named Vrboska in Croatia. But I could easily be somewhere in Italy or Greece, where I have observed the same fashion for older women. I don't know why they wear black, unless it has something to do with the tradition of mourners donning black. Perhaps women such as this one who wear black are widows?
By Scott Shephard
I like what Nature has done to the man-made lines in this sidewalk at a public building in Olympia, Washington.
By Scott Shephard
Flowers again. This is post #200 and I'm starting to repeat myself. I should have called this blog "A Picture Every Other Day." :-)
By Scott Shephard
What do math, Sponge Bob and Patrick Star have in common? Yesterday, in a rare confluence of cartoon characters and real humans, they were one and the same. You see it was "Famous Person Day" at WHS as part of our homecoming week. And I can always count on my esteemed colleagues Stephanie and Susan to do things right.
Do I dress up on days like this? Once, I came dressed as myself only to find that my "friends" in the social studies department came dressed like me. What day were we observing? It was "Nerd Day."
Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi 1/60s f/5.0 ISO800 50mm
By Scott Shephard
This is a re-creation of a photo I took of these guys on the beech in Mexico several years ago. Of course, I don't know where that photo is right now. From right to left they are: Matt, Jon, Brian and Derek.
By Scott Shephard
You don't know how rare this photo of my wife and her mother is. Neither appreciates having their photo taken but I guess I was in the right place and the right time. And I had great soft light, too. Two of my other favorite women are my mom and her (click to see). But I'm happily married and don't want a new mother-in-law.
By Scott Shephard
The lesson in this colorful railing is that if something is left unattended long enough, it has the potential to become photogenic. Could that be true of the amazing clutter that surrounds me on my desk as I write this?
By Scott Shephard
"The Holy Family" is in the heart of Barcelona, my favorite city in Spain (though I've only spent time in a total of 5 Spanish cities). It was begun in the 19th century and in 1883 the controversial and perhaps visionary architect and artist Antonio Gaudi took over the task of completing the church. Gaudi died in 1926 and the church is still unfinished. The official "La Sagrada Familia" web site says that "the church could be finished some time in the first third of the 21st century." To me it seems to be Barcelona's equivalent of Korczak Ziolkowski's "Crazy Horse" monument in that both are being funded entirely by private donations and both are taking forever to complete.
As a side note, the Alan Parson's Project recorded a concept album called "Gaudi." Check it out on iTunes. And, as long as I'm meandering, did you know that Alan Parsons was the sound engineer for Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon," which is considered one of the best recorded albums ever made (as far as sound engineering is concerned)?" You can check that out on iTunes as well. The Alan Parson Project is perhaps best known for providing the music used by the Chicago Bulls when they introduced their players during the Michael Jordan years. Maybe they still use it. . . . The song is called "Sirius."
By Scott Shephard
Yesterday I posted a close-up from Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota. Today I am posting a photo I took in Nashville, TN. To see this huge statue of the Greek goddess Athena, you need to visit "the world's only replica of the Parthenon" in Centennial Park near Vanderbuilt University. It is well worth the visit.
The original gold and ivory statue of Athena in the actual Parthenon was plundered in ancient times and there is no perfect description. Thus, the artist of the version you see here was allowed to imagine what the statue might have looked like. For another view of this statue and to get an idea of scale, try going here (click.)
By Scott Shephard
So what are the four presidents staring at? I was looking at some photos I took a few years ago and it occurred to me that they are all staring off in different directions. It's like they don't even know that the others are even there. It's kind of a strange portrait, if you ask me. (Full view: Click here. Or here.)
This is being posted on Patriot Day, incidentally, and in the days, weeks and months following 9-11 there was a significant concern that even national icons like Mt. Rushmore and the Statue of Liberty would be subject to attack.
I just checked and our threat level today is Yellow, which means "significant risk of terrorists attacks." Does anyone else crave the good old days of the Cold War when all we feared was communism and nuclear annihilation?
Footnote for art lovers: Do you think Borglum was aware of this colossal statue (click) of the Roman emperor Constantine when he was trying to figure out how to make the pupil and iris in the presidents' eyes look real from a distance?
By Scott Shephard
We are less than a week away from homecoming and one of the photographic highlights of the week is the Powderpuff Football Game. It's a good chance to get candid shots of seniors enjoying one of their rights of passage.
The technique you see in this photo has been featured before. I "dragged the flash" and zoomed as I pushed the shutter button. You get ghosting and a radial effect when you do this.
By Scott Shephard
I was asked to do candid photography for a wedding in Minnesota. At one point well before the ceremony, the bride and groom cleared the sanctuary and shared a few private moments.
No one, not even the candid photographer, was allowed inside. A paparazzi would have barged in and snapped a few shots. Instead, I bent down and took a few shots through the frosted glass of the sanctuary door. "Fogged" and "out of focus" may describe this photo. But I prefer "ethereal" and "soft."
