As we experience "the coldest first two weeks of October ever recorded," it's not hard to think of warm, sun-washed places like Santorini, which is pictured here. A student group, my wife and I spent several hours on this amazing island in the summer of 2004. As winter sets in, I long to go back. Do you want to come along?
Canon 1D II 1/1000s f/18.0 ISO500 90mm
This is a candid shot of a family photo that Brian and Katie's wedding photographers were organizing. That's why no one is looking at me. I love the light and the soft colors in this photo. The light is late afternoon ambient light sifting in through the east windows on the 22nd floor of the Crowne Plaza Hotel in St. Paul. The people pictured are a few of the many Rausch's that inhabitant our new world. (Thats Katie and Brian in the middle of the group.)
Canon 5DII 1/50s f/5.0 ISO1600 17mm
Here's one more from Katie and Brian's wedding - this time from the reception dance. The reception was on the 22nd floor of the Crowne Plaza in St. Paul, MN, and, as you can see, the view was spectacular.
For those interested in technicalities, I was able to get a proper exposure of both the foreground and the background using flash by setting the camera to "aperture priority." On most cameras, that's Av. The camera then sets the shutter speed to expose the whole photo, including the background. Check out the exposure information below and you'll see that the shutter speed is very slow - but the flash freezes the action. Pretty cool. It still takes a steady hand or a tripod to keep the background lights sharp. In this case, I'm standing on a chair using a steady hand and a lens with image stabilization, which is also cool.
Canon 5DII 1/10s f/4.0 ISO800 17mm
These "stars" were four of the six bride's maids at Katie and Brian's wedding. This photo wasn't my idea and I was skeptical about getting a good shot. The sanctuary was fairly dark and I thought it would be hard to get details in the faces without washing out the beautiful colors in the stained glass and the flowers and dresses. But I was wrong. This photo was very rushed and I wish now that we had found the other bride's maids.
Incidentally, the colors that Katie picked for her wedding were brown and purple. "Brown and purple?" you ask. Just look. It was a great combination. Katie has a good eye and good taste. That comment may seem self serving since she also married our son!
Canon 5DII 1/60s f/2.8 ISO2000 115mm
It is the day after the Big Event and I am tired but happy. We enjoyed every thing about the day, including Brian and Katie's first dance in their life as a married couple.
These were growing over a doorway in a back street in a little village in Croatia. Green things like this seem to suggest the promise of something. Jelly? Wine? Or a meal for birds?
This variegated hosta plant was the subject of a photo posted on this blog back in the spring. The photo was called "Incipience," which means "about to happen." This hosta has grown up out of the earth, leafed out, lived its summer life and at some point became a feast for insects. Is this a metaphor for human life? That's too depressing to think about. . .
The phrase that comprises the title of this post means "he approves of this." Implicit in the Great Seal of the US is the idea that God approves of the formation of the United States, though it is a mere human who is saying this. The Greeks might call this "hubris."
So what about the photo? I have always been fascinated by the fine scroll work that goes in to making US currency more difficult to counterfeit. In spite of this detail, the simple color scheme makes our paper money the easiest in the world to copy. Thus, the newly designed bills of larger denominations are wildly colored - at least by older "greenback" standards. But the dollar has not changed.
We saw much that was green on our trip this past summer to Sitka, Alaska, including these sea bass. Our vantage point was an excursion boat named the Sea Life Discovery. I was fascinated by the murky, green water that our boat moved through and I was intrigued by the sea life. I took over 100 pictures but most are out of focus. Though this photo is a little marginal, it's one of the better ones.
Sea Life Discovery A view of the inside of the Sea Life Discovery
Canon 5DII 1/100s f/5.6 ISO1600 45mm
Special Note: This is the first is a series this week that I am calling "Seeing Green," which will feature green things I have photographed. Sounds exciting, doesn't it?
I like the transitional colors in these leaves. And I also like the veins that are clearly visible.
