Summer's Reminder

You may not know this but it isn't the cool weather that causes the first leaves to turn color and fall. It's the diminishing hours of sunlight. Photosynthesis - literally making something out of light - needs the fuel that sunlight offers and at some point in our part of the world, the leaves say, "I'm out of here!" and give up.It also part of the cycle of life. But because I am leaf-like in my need for sun, I'm not all that excited about fall and the winter that will soon follow. What do I get from the sun? Warmth. Melatonin. No need to wear socks.And daisies.

Neon

When we stopped along the road on the west edge of Henry, SD, our mission was to change drivers, not take photos. But, as often happens, something caught my eye. In this case, it was the pale green serpentine vine. Both the shape and the contrasting tones made this subject worthy. And, everything is the color green. And I apparently have a thing for green.

Artistic Moments

I have said that I can remember taking many of the photos I have even years after the actual capture. I suppose I'm pretty focused when I do that. (Bad pun, I know) But I also take photos that are forgotten. This one would be an example. I was spending a little time going through my travel photos and came across this scene from the Louvre in Paris.These children and their teacher/mother/???? have set up shop by the easel of an artist who has permission to paint a copy of one of the paintings in this gallery, though when I look at the copy and the wall I can't see which one. The copyist is gone but the observers remain. Why, I don't know. And which gallery this is, I couldn't say. There are many unanswered questions. Maybe someone reading this has answers. . . ?

Things Unseen

I've said before and I'll probably say it again: photography has the power to force the viewer to see things that are often ignored. We ignore them because either we don't have the time, the inclination or the interest. Those of us who capture images might say that some people just don't have "the eye."I can tell you that I'm still learning to see and that I have a long ways to go. To see the lines, to see the color and ultimately to see the importance of objects is part of what I am learning. Maybe I could say that about life in general?Here is a single goose feather stuck in landscape rock at the Terry Redlin Center in Watertown, SD. Now that I've forced you to look at this, you might think "that's nothing special" or "there's no real color" or "where is the rest of the bird?" I look at it and see something I've never really seen before - the delicate structure of each part of the feather. When I look at this picture, I wonder how much beta testing went into this design before it actually worked?Sometimes a good photo will raise more question than it answers.

The Duomo - Another View

This is a view of the famous Duomo dome taken from Giotto's famous bell tower. If you go to Florence, you might considered climbing to the top of this tower, though if you are out of shape, claustrophobic or acrophobic, it may not be your thing.Here's yet another view of the dome from a blog entry I posted a while ago called "The Impossible Dome."

Another World (But Not So Different)

Sailboats live in a different world when they are moored on Lake Lucerne in Switzerland, which is where this photo was taken. The water is clearer and colder in summer than Lake Oahe. And, of course, boats at the Spring Creek Marina don't have snow capped mountains looking down on them. Otherwise, this is a familiar scene to me: beautiful boats waiting dutifully for their skippers to take them out for a sail.

Room For All the Gods

This is the Pantheon in Rome and was built about 2000 years ago. The name means "to all the gods" and the structure was built by people who worshipped a multitude of gods and spirits. Much later in its history, the Pantheon became a Christian church but today it is a tourist attraction and a burial place.* And, if you ask me, it is an architectural marvel - even after 2000 years.If it looks amazing today, imagine walking into this space when it was decorated with statues of Roman deities and with the coffered dome covered in brilliant gold leaf. There is no doubt that this is my favorite ancient building. And, in case you are wanting to see more, I have a previous post in this blog extolling the Pantheon. Finally, if you like to make comparisons, check out this spectacular Chicago structure and discuss.*Italian Kings Vittorio Emanuele II and Umberto I; the Great Renaissance artist Raphael (also a Ninja Turtle)

Toilet Twitter

Today's social tools, like facebook and Twitter, help keep people in touch with each other in ways that are sometimes astounding. But people of our time might be equally astounded to learn how ancients kept in touch. Of course they chatted along the streets, in the bars and in the public meeting places, just as we do.But they also chatted in the public rest rooms. Talk about the weather and politics would have gone hand in hand with performing basic body functions. Men and women, rich and poor and old and young would have sat cheek to cheek (sorry, but I had to use that expression) in bathrooms much like this.Where are we in this photo? This is the well-preserved Roman city of Ephesus, where the apostle Paul lived and worked. Ephesus is in modern day Turkey and was a stop on our 10 day cruise of the Greek islands. My students are good natured about posing on the ancient toilets. But they were a bit embarrassed. I hope that making this moment public doesn't further embarass them.Incidentally, this blog post goes out to my first block world history class, whom I am teaching about blogging and RSS feeds. The first person in that class to post a response to this blog gets to take the iPad home for a day or two!

It's Not a Ferris Wheel

The London Eye may well be one of those metal things that are built for special occasions and then end up being iconic - such as the Eiffel Tower in Paris and the Space Needle in Seattle. The good thing about the London Eye is that if you take a ride in it, you get a great view of all of the other London icons, though if I had it to do over again, I think I'd like to go up around sunset.

He Lost His Head!

Yesterday we were inside of the Notre Dame cathedral and today we have stepped outside and are looking at the west facade. More specifically we are looking at carvings next to one of the three sets of doors into the cathedral.The man holding his head is St. Denis. He became a saint in part because the miracle he performed was to be martyred by being beheaded, then to reach down and pick up his head and walk 6 miles north of Paris, preaching the whole way. He finally died. And they built a basillica to honor him. Not bad for a day's work.In researching this post I learned a new word: cephalophore. A cephalophore is someone who carries his/her own head. Try working that into your casual conversation today!

Bokeh

According to my Mac's built-in dictionary, bokeh is "the visual quality of the out-of-focus areas of a photographic image, especially as rendered by a particular lens." I've said it before about my Canon 50mm 1.2 and I'll say it again: this lens gives good bokeh.This photo was taken in the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, France. My wife doesn't like it when I take photos of votives but I like having the chance to play with bokeh (and fire).

Three Tourists and One Local

He has a gun, a big hat, a red uniform and isn't smiling. The three girls have cameras and casual clothes. So guest who the tourists are.Incidentally, I'm not sure if the soldier is a Beefeater or not. I also don't know what he's guarding. Perhaps an important door? Or maybe he's just a tourist attraction. Kind of like the giant tortoises at Reptile Gardens?