Amidst the concrete jungle of LA there exists an occasional green oasis, including this beautiful hilltop, illuminated by the morning sun. Below this hill lies the Hollywood Freeway. And if you looked up from the spot, you would see the smog-shrouded city. (click) (If you've looked at the linked photo, that's Hollywood in the foreground. The round building is Capitol Records.)
Take a minute to look at this post from a while back (click here) and then consider the three biggest differences. And one similarity. Discuss.
One similarity that I can see is that they were both taken through the window of a car on an interstate highway. A difference? In one the world is whizzing by at 75 mph and in the other it is hardly moving.
For the record, one was taken in southern California and the other was taken in western South Dakota. And I love both places.
Oddly, I was reminded of the famous Rembrandt painting, "The Anatomy Lesson," when I was processing this photo. It was taken at the Norton Simon Museum of Art in Pasadena, California and it shows an art class pondering a work by Picasso.
That there should be no snow or ice in Pasadena, California, might be enough for South Dakotans enjoying a brief spring break. But that there should be greenery and flowers and warm breezes is enough to erase a whole, harsh winter.
These “flowers” caught my attention because they are green and were in a deeply shaded part of a garden adjacent to the Norton Simon Museum of Art in the town that is the home of the Rose Bowl Parade.
Canon 5DII 1/80s f/4.0 ISO200 105mm
That’s me with the camera and behind me is the Santa Monica Pier in southern California. And way off in the distance is the peaceful Pacific ocean, smooth and welcoming on a beautiful spring day.
Just around the corner in the unfocused part of the photo is the owner of the sunglass kiosk. When she discovered me taking this photo, she said, “No photo’s allowed.” I said, “I’ve already taken the photo but the dock and the light and the reflections are public.” She insisted otherwise and after a short philosophical exchange about ownership, I walked away. And then I bumped in to Fred and Kathleen, two people from Watertown, SD. What are the odds?
Today I will serve up some iris from a garden we visited in Japan. I call this the promise because now that the snow is melting, I can see bare earth in my wife's flower garden. It won't be long before we see our own iris.
Here's another art gallery interior that is relaxing for me to look at. This photo is calm, quiet and suggests introspection. And yet there is a naked figure "looking'" my way. And are these "real" people sitting on the bench? Or are they reproductions of people sitting on a bench?
incidentally, the three paintings on the wall facing the camera are by Gaugin, Van Gogh and Cezanne. Paul Gaugin lived my current fantasy: he packed up his paints and moved to Tahiti to paint the native women. But I can't paint and I'm quite happy married to my native (Dutch/German/South Dakotan) woman.
Finally, if you've never been to the Minneapolis Institute of Art, where this photo was taken, you need to go.
"Fan" is derived from "fanatic" and maybe these guys serve as a good illustration. what else would make you paint yourselves like this?
This is another photo from the 2008 WHS homecoming ritual. The interesting thing about these guys is that when they got to the football stadium, they were barred from the event because a new South Dakota High School Activities Association rule requires all spectators to wear shirts at state-sponsored events. To circumvent the rule, they put on white t-shirts that were cut in such a way that allowed the letters to show through - a true loophole. Check out the shirts here (click).
These girls are members of the class of 2009, which I'm sure was a great class. Every senior class is, isn't it? This photo was taken at the Powderpuff Football Game, which is part of our homecoming ritual. The seniors won. But they always do, since cheating and bribing of the referees is allowed.
On a technical note, this photo is an example of a technique I've used here before. It's a combination of "dragging the shutter" and zooming the lens at the same time. To drag the shutter, set the camera to "shutter priority," use a slow shutter speed (1/20 sec), and make sure the flash fires. To get the best result, you also have to make sure that either the subject moves or that the camera moves (or zooms). The result is occasionally an interesting ghosting effect.
Canon 5D 1/20s f/7.1 ISO500 24mm
They say that there is no "I" in team, though when gymnasts perform, all of the events are solo events. It's the team total that matters, of course, and our gymnastics team has been on a roll the last few years.
This photo was taken before a home meet a little over a year ago. I didn't get many good photos because the great telephoto lens I normally use broke that day. I didn't get many action shots but I did get a few of the team.
This is my third dog post but the first time in a long time that I am yearning to get a dog. How can you not love a puppy like Max, a beautiful golden retriever?
Whenever, I tell Deb I want a dog, she reminds me that we travel a lot and that I'll have to be satisfied with Mac. And for the most part, I am. Though Mac rarely treats me like I'm some kind of god like Polly used to. I'm lucky if Mac even wakes up from one of his endless naps when I come home.
The most strking thing about this photo to me is that if I didn't tell you where it was taken, you wouldn't know. These children could be from almost any cosmopolitan city (that had massive bronze public sculptures). The other thing that strikes me is the nature of the play. Is it cooperative? Is it work? Does it have a purpose? And what are they thinking?
Finally, because I tend to see analogies wherever I look, tell me that my photo doesn't in some way seem reminiscent of one of the more famous photos of all time (click). Where was it taken? The city of Delft in the Netherlands.
