This photo was taken in a small Croatian city south of the Plitvice Lakes National Park. Instead of driving through town, Deb and I turned off the main highway and wandered through the residential area, which included these moldering Soviet-era apartment blocks. Scattered in this neighborhood there were several serious woods piles like this, in addition to neatly stacked piles in covered areas on the opposite sides of these buildings.This wood is to provide real heat in winter. I am struck by the paradox of wood piles outside of buildings that have satellite TV antennae mounted on the walls. Warmth and television both help South Dakotans get through winter, too!
The Journalist
When Deb and I travel to Europe, I generally create the itinerary and take care of all the details before we leave: plane and train tickets, hotels and auto rentals. Once there, when we aren't on a train or plane, I drive.So "What does Deb do?" you ask. Aside from giving me constant advice and helping me keep track of lenses, chargers and ipods, she participates in our "travel democracy." Nobody leads and nobody follows. Instead we jointly decide what we will see and do on any given day. It works well.Beyond, that, I would say that Deb is the left brain and I'm the right. She writes about our travels and I picture them. This photo, of course, is evidence of our symbiosis.For those who might wonder, in this shot, we are on a train going from Berlin to Dresden, Germany. I am taking a picture of Deb writing in her journal while a blurry women in the background reads a book.Why did I convert the photo to black and white? It looks more "journalistic."
Safe Harbor
I apologize to all of my disciplined readers who may find that my blog appears at irregular times lately. It seems that when I get up these days, I start working on planning for my 8:30 history class instead of looking for a new photo to post. I'll try to do both in the morning from now on.Anyway, this photo was taken in a small village on the island of Hvar, Croatia. Like many small villages on islands along the Dalmatian coast, Vrboska is scenic, inviting and a good place for sailors to spend some time. Deb and I arrived via ferry and automobile, but maybe next summer we'll sail here. . .
Under Construction
in Architecture, Travel
We are learning about Ancient Greece in my world history class this week and I thought it might be appropriate to show a snapshot I took of the Parthenon a few years ago. I have been to Athens a few times since 1998, and every time there have been cranes and scaffolds present. I'm guessing that maintaining a 2500 year old building isn't easy.Here's a bit of an "easter egg" for my AWH students: The first person who posts a thoughtful reply to today's blog gets the iPad tonight. Sorry Katie S but you don't qualify.
The Aged Angel
To me cemeteries are always photographically interesting and I think that this blog is evidence of that. This angel is one of the first things I photographed in Mt. Hope cemetery in Watertown, SD. As you can see, the angel is worn by time and covered in part by dark lichen. And she is engaged in quiet prayer every time I visit her.(Click HERE to see other cemetery posts in this blog.)
Feed Me
in Nature
When I looked at this photo (which I had taken, processed and then abandoned), I was struck by how much these flowers look like newly hatched birds in nest waiting to be fed. Thus, today's title.
December 25, 2009
After seeing yesterday's post, my wife told me not to post any more winter photos for a while. I guess I saw that as a bit of a challenge and so today I am defying her request.This one was taken last Christmas. But I'm not in our backyard here; we're in Mexico on the Yucatan peninsula. A blanket of white snow might be nice to see in photos but I would take palm fronds tinted by tropical sunlight any day.
The Promise of Winter
in Nature, Seasons, South Dakota
This is offered to provide a little balance for yesterday's post. There is beauty in winter. But generally it's not green.
Summer's Reminder
in Nature
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
in Nature
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
in Architecture, Europe, Travel
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.