This is another one of my early experiments in portraiture. Regan had come along on a photo shoot to provide company for a friend of hers I was photographing (whose pictures I can't find :-( ).
After photographing her friend, I asked Regan if she minded if I took a few pictures of her. She grudgingly agreed and this photo may show a little of her reluctance. I didn't know much about portraiture then but I did know that the soft window light I found for this portrait is flattering. I hadn't learned about Rembrandt lighting but it is present in this portrait.
I was waiting for my tour group to gather after a tour of the Roman Colosseum. As always, the ancient building was crowded, noisy and swelteringly hot. I turned away from our group and found these two tourists sitting in the flood of light entering the colonnade, no doubt plotting their strategy for their visit to Rome. This photo makes the Colosseum look quiet, cool and relaxing. Maybe that's the magic of photography. Or may it's the deception.
In the process of organizing my photo collection (400,000+!) I came across some of my first portrait sessions. This happens to be of a girl named Ellie and is one of my favorite portraits. I was shooting film in those days and then developing it in my makeshift darkroom. Once the negatives were ready, I used a high resolution film scanner and Photoshop to process the pictures.
In my brief foray to the cemetery, where I knew I could find a multitude of frost-covered trees, I looked for shots where the light was coming straight at the camera through the branches of the trees. The sunlight was relatively strong but still obscured by thin fog, which meant that with all the white surrounding me there was very good ambient light, as well. It is that ambient light in this photo that provides the detail on what would otherwise be the shaded side of this pine bough.
It is relatively rare that we get foggy days in South Dakota - especially in winter. And I suppose if it were more common, hoary evergreens wouldn't be magical. But to me they are. My only regret is that I didn't have more time yesterday to take photos. I could learn to love SD winters if they were always so photogenic. . .
This photo opportunity was just across the street from the Ronald McDonald shot from yesterday. I was tempted to get my hair braided but decided against it. :-)
I took this candid shot in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, in 2001. I'm not sure if the young Mexican boy was aware that Ronald seems to be offering his friendship.
They float if you drop them into the canal. But otherwise, they seem less than user friendly - no stretch, not stealthy, and a little heavy.
These poppies were on the island of Corsica, which is off the coast of Italy. They could have been anywhere, since they seem to grow wild along roads and in pastures throughout western Europe.
When I researched this plant, I discovered that there is a multitude of types of palms. This is one, but I don't know the name. :-(
The metaphysical debate that intrigues me is whether nature is chaotic or patterned. The palm leaves and flowers that I've posted on this blog suggests that not only is nature patterned but it's predictable.