Once, a while back when I thought that I should try to make some money from my photography, I started to make a set of photo greeting cards. This was one of them. I may have posted this aspen grove before but not with the Photoshop filters. Frankly, I use very little "effects" in my photography. I suppose I still think like I'm shooting film and I try to create the effects with the camera.My "card project" is dormant. The aspen grove is flourishing.
A Hint of Things To Come
in Nature, Seasons, South Dakota
Summer comes, and, some time in late July or early August, so does exceptionally warm weather. And we complain. But soon fall and winter come. And we complain. Thus, I have concluded, the weather we experience in South Dakota gives us something to talk about all year.Imagine living in Kona, Hawaii, where it gets into the 80s every day and slips into the high sixties almost every night. What do they talk about? Vog? Tsunamis? Coffee?
Taxi!
I have already posted one photo of a London icon that I took on a rainy evening in London. So here's another: the London Taxi.The traditional London cab is black. But it was obvious to Deb and me that that they are toying with that tradition since we saw several taxis that were customized with interesting paint jobs, such as this one. We've even heard rumors that there is one painted with a Wall Drug sign.Canon 5DII 1/8s f/9.0 ISO250 58mm
The Underside of Life
in Nature
Who looks at the back sides of lilly leaves? I do. Once again, I am photographing Stargazer lilies - but this time I was trying to see what I hadn't seen before.Incidentally, here's a photo I posted almost a year ago that also gives a slightly different view of this flower.
London, Paris & Rome - 1999
I came across this photo by accident this morning and decided to post it on the off chance that someone pictured looks at this blog from time to time. I suspect that a photo like this has very little meaning to anyone other than me and those pictured, though it may be interesting to study the people and their various reactions to the fact that I was taking yet another "group photo."This photo was taken in Florence, Italy, not too far from the Duomo. The trip took us to London, Paris and Italy. I have fond memories of our travels, in part because of the young people I traveled with (including my son, Brian) but also because my friend Scott P. joined us.I haven't traveled with students in several years and I miss it. Even though bus rides and tight itineraries are not my style of travel these days, I always enjoyed being surrounded by the un-jaded enthusiasm of young people learning about and then embracing the virtues of foreign culture and history.I also think it is safe to say that there isn't person in this photo that wasn't changed in some profound and positive way by the experience. And, of course, I was always happy to be part of that.Incidentally, the people pictured (in no particular order) are: Brady Warrick, Karl Ehresmann, Chris Bartelt, Christine Harte, Sarah Berg, Leah Reichling, Leah Bergan, Meagan Schmidt, Erin Strickerz, Heather Beck, Theresa Steichen, Nicole Berg, Brian Shephard, Micah Likness, Jason Jungers, Amber Gregersen, Cathy Barkley, Sandi Hagen, Anne Madison, Lori Reichling.If you know any of these folks, please forward the link to them. If you are one of these people, I'd love to hear from you - especially impressions that you might have about your experiences in Europe in 1999.
The Orange Sailor
in Family, people, South Dakota
It is a rare event that I have the pleasure of sailing with one of my sons. I would also imagine that it is a rare thing that anyone sails on Lake Oahe with the official FIFA World Cup colors of the Netherlands football team. But both were true yesterday as my son Brian and I headed back to the Spring Creek marina after a night in Mission Creek."Sailing" isn't exactly what we are doing here, since the wind was unreliable. But it was a beautiful morning with the sky just beginning to clear. And I suspect that Brian's bright orange shirt made us visible to both fish and fishermen.Canon 5DII 1/250s f/11.0 ISO200 17mm
The Charles Bridge
This is the famous Charles Bridge (pedestrian only), which crosses the Vltava River in Prague. I think I took this photo from the top of the St. Vitus Cathedral.
A Good Head
I'm on a Czech Republic kick this week, I guess. I often take photos of glasses of beer when we travel in Europe, especially when they are photogenic.The Czech Republic, incidentally, has the highest per capita beer consumption rate of any country in the world. How much does each man, woman and child drink there? About 42 gallons a year. The US is 13th on the list, with each American drinking about 1/2 of what each Czech drinks. If you are intrigued by all of this, check out this map.
Another Traffic Mirror; Another Self-Portrait
This time I'm with my good friend Scott P. and we are in Prague, Czech Republic.
Didgeridoo
This young woman is a street performer we encountered a few years ago while strolling along the Las Ramblas in Barcelona, Spain. Even before I saw her, I knew I was hearing a didgeridoo, which makes a kind of a droning sound.Was she a good didgeridoo player? Perhaps a virtuoso? Frankly, I couldn't tell a good didgeridoo sound from a bad one since we don't have many players in my home town. But I did put a coin in her collection plate. I liked her style. And her big didgeridoo.
Slowly Going Nowhere
in South Dakota
You aren't looking at a photo in this post so I suppose it doesn't really qualify for my blog. But since I post photos of Lake Oahe from time to time, I thought I'd show you what a typical sailing trip looks like. The lines that you see are my tracks as recorded on my Garmin GPS. On this particular trip I spent three days going here and there and covered over 100 miles.It may appear that I move around alot and I do. It may also appear that I really don't know where I'm going. And often I don't. And that's why I like being on my boat on Lake Oahe so much. In my other life as a high school teacher, I am governed my halls, rows, clocks and bells. On my sailboat I am governed by wind and whim.
Grace & Beauty
in South Dakota
Even if I weren't a sailor, I'd think that any sailboat under sail was beautiful. This is "Chardonnay" owned by the Russells of Pierre, SD. She is a beautiful Hunter 350 and her owners are an important part of the Spring Creek boating community.See this photo on Panoramio and Google Earth