The Green Blade
Shadow & Light
This was a decoration on the base of a public fountain in Arles, France. As I was getting this photo ready for posting, it occurred to me that I rarely go looking for "sun and shadow" photos because I am usually looking for soft light in shade. It is part of my style. Or rut.Arles is the city in which Van Gogh, one of my favorite artists, lived and worked for a while. Other artists besides Van Gogh worked in the south of France because of the light. The weather isn't bad, either.Canon 20D 1/100s f/7.1 ISO200 68mm
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Big Sky Over Mission Creek
My boat is parked in my driveway, dwarfing our little red Prius. There are many projects waiting for me but today it is rainy and cold. So I am spending time looking for photos of Lake Oahe and the Missouri River.This photo (taken with film in another century) looks north over the mouth of mission creek. The peninsula visible in the middle is called Mouse Island and I am guessing that the strip of land connecting the island will be under water this summer due to the fact that the reservoir is almost full. The boat is this photo is named Ariel and I sailed her for over 20 years.For a sense of the geography of this place, you really need to see this spot on my Panoramio web site.
Sailing the Alps
Of course you can't "sail the Alps" but you can certainly sail with the Alps in full view, as here on beautiful Lake Lucerne in Switzerland.The last student group I took to Europe spent two nights in this beautiful place. After London and Paris, it was a perfect place to recharge our batteries. It was also a good place to window shop for expensive Swiss watches. Oh, and I bought a Swiss Army Knife while I was there. It looks pretty much like one you could buy at Scheels.Canon 5D 1/80s f/4.0 ISO400 95mm
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Welcome!
The May issue of "Sailing Magazine" has hit the stands. And I'm proud to say that "Early Morning With Wandering Star" made it into that issue. If you have found your way to my blog from "Sailing Magazine," welcome.If you are just wanting to look at a few photos, you've come to the right place. If you are thinking about coming to Lake Oahe to sail and need more information, please contact me.If you'd like to see the photos in my blog tagged "sailing," click here.Here's the on line article (minus the photos).
Celebrating the Sun
In honor of Earth Day 2010, I looked for something in my collection that seemed appropriate and this was the best I could do. "What is it?" you ask. This is a small solar panel on my sailboat "Wandering Star." Here it is beaded with dew and just beginning to do it's work turning sun rays into energy to power essential things like my iPod.Sailboats, of course, are solar powered since without the sun, there would be no wind. The hull of my boat is white. But "Wandering Star" is really pretty green.Canon 5DII 1/500s f/10.0 ISO400 93mm
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
About To Burst
Kruzof Woods
I've been lazy in my search for new subjects to photograph and so I am dusting off the archives. This photo isn't that old - I took it this past summer on our visit to Jon in Sitka, Alaska.Kruzof Island is a rugged, unhabited island best traversed by rugged 4 wheeled machines. Walking would work but, unless you encounter and angry bear, it doesn't cause the same adrenaline rush the green noisy Yamahas cause.Canon 5DII 1/40s f/4.5 ISO500 24mm
Complementary Colors?
Purple and green go well together,V as this photo of a pine cone blooms evidences. On a short break from a technology conference in Sioux Falls, SD, we wandered over to the Japanese Gardens on Covell Lake. It is a photogenic spot but my eye was caught by these bright purple flowers. I don't know how the pine tree reproductive process works, but once again, we see Nature in a lurid attempt to keep the life force going. Well done! (Incidentally, I was tempted to Photoshop the spider webbing from between two of the blooms but I decided that that's part of Nature, too.)
Signs
Cool Morning Light
I've been stuck in Corsica, France, the last few posts. These rocks defined the end of the small beach near which our hotel was located. I was up early (as usual) and found that the soft contours, eroded by millions of years of weather and sea action, seemed kind of sensuous. I also like the sheen that the night rain had given the rocks. And finally, the cool highlights from the soft, ambient morning light are what I really like about these rocks.




