Basketball Hex

At the Watertown Civic Arena, the south bleachers put the fans pretty close to the action. In this case a Roosevelt basketball player is getting some friendly help from the Watertown fans as he attempts to throw the ball inbounds. He seems oblivious.I find it interesting to study the various expressions on the faces of the Watertown fans. Are we showing good sportsmanship here? I don't think so, but I'm a little old fashioned. . .Subscribe to A Photo A Day by Email

Little Lizard

This little guy briefly flitted into view, posed for this photo and then flitted back into hiding. This is a gecko, as you may know, and you find them in unlikely places in Hawaii, including bedroom wall and bathroom mirrors. They are harmless and, as you can see here, colorful.Subscribe to A Photo A Day by Email

A View From My Window?

The actual view from my window today shows bare tree, evergreens that seem less green than they did a month ago and a thin layer of snow and ice trying to cover what is left of the grass in our back yard.The scene you are looking at today appears only when I close my eyes and think of Mexico. . . .

11-23-10 Wonderful Freckles

I went looking for a portrait to post today, in part because I don't post many and I thought it would be a good change of pace. As I was looking, this one jumped out at me.There is really nothing fancy about this shot. It is a fairly standard head shot done outdoors in open shade. I know it's outdoors because I can see the sky in the catchlights of Amanda's eyes. The photographer is reflected there, as well, if you look closely enough.What struck me about this photo is that the subject is clearly very relaxed and she has a very real smile - maybe even a Mona Lisa smile. I also like Amanda's freckles. Generally, the eyes are the focal point in a head shot. And then what? In this case the answer is the pattern of freckles playing across her face gives the viewer's eyes something more to do. My experience in taking photos of young people is that they wish they didn't have freckles. But in Amanda's case, I'm glad she did.

13,910

In keeping with my "Big Island Diversity" thread, I thought I'd post one more photo, this time from the top of Mauna Kea. This photo shows where the title of this post comes from, though the official height of Mauna Kea is 13,796 ft. My Garmin GPS uses satellites to estimate altitude and so it has us a little higher than we really are.This photo, incidentally, was taken the same day as this photo. I would have no photo if it weren't for my adventurous brother-in-law, who convinced us we needed to go to the top of Hawaii. My wife kept her eyes shut on part of the drive up and I didn't like the idea of wind chill and snow. That's why we left South Dakota for our brief trip to visit our son Jon a few years ago!

To the Sea

In a quest to find something a little different to post, I came across a small collection of photos I have from a few years ago called "Around the House." I'll admit that I wander around from time to time looking for things that catch my eye. On this occasion, I found these shells, which are displayed in our main bathroom.I was using my macro lens and focusing on rigdes and edges. In processing this photo, I used a filter that gave the image a look as if it had been shot on film - in this case Kodak Portra 160VC, a film I used from time to time. Among other things, the filter adds grain and lint.Do I miss film? I miss it no more than I miss a phone that is permanently attached to a wall . . . .

The Inner Sanctum

It may seem a little odd that I am posting a photo like this but it is rare that my desk is this clean. Thus, to commorate this rarity, I am sharing my workspace with the world. I don't keep a timer going, but I'm guessing I spend about 4 hours a day here. Thus I have many tools to keep me entertained.

An Adventurous Spirit

I have said before that our youngest son Jon tends to take us to interesting places when he is in charge of the itinerary. Here's a good example: we are in the Waipio Valley on the Big Island. Contrast this with the photo of Hawaii I posted a couple days ago and you will also see what I mean by "diversity" on the Big Island.

Unlimited Variety

The Big Island of Hawaii is a remarkable place, with snow capped peaks, humid rain forests and barren terrain that looks like is could be from another universe. This photo was taken near the famous green sand beach near the southern tip of the island. Our son Jon took us there and I thought it was going to ruin the truck we we in. But I'm glad we went.

Frosty Hangers On

I was about ready to leave for work yesterday but I made the mistake of stepping into my back yard. What drew me was that I could see that we had gotten a good frost during the night. The other thing that drew me was the soft, filtered light coming from very thin cloud cover. This is an average bush, with average leaves. But it is very special light.The other thing that helps this photo is the selective focus. You may see this photo differently, but my eyes are drawn initially to the top right corner because that is the brightest part of the photo. But I linger there only briefly because I am looking for something more sharply focused. So I follow the line of the branch until I lock on to the well-focused orange backlit leaf. Did I think of all of this before I pushed the shutter release? As Sarah Palin (and many South Dakotans, as well) would say, "Youbetcha!"I ended up taking 50 photos yesterday morning but this is my favorite - at least right now.

The Beauty Is In the Details

Of course the saying is that the "devil" is in the details, but it's hard to believe that when you look closely as the amazing amount of careful work that went in to decorating the interior of the Codington County Courthouse in Watertown, SD. The other thing that amazes me is that there are thousands of courthouses like this throughout the US. These structures were built at a time when there was enough time, talent and money to do such public works.Incidentally, this photo, and other photos of the courthouse, were done for an assignment I gave my Lake Area Tech Photo/Media students. I figured that if I could assign the project, I could just as well do it. To see the product of this effort, go to my Flickr account here.

A Multitude of Curves and Lines

When I went down to the Codington County courthouse to vote a couple weeks ago, I was reminded of how beautiful a building it was. Thus, I went back last week to take a few photos and this is one of my favorites.Though I like it, I'm thinking that someone else might see it and wonder what this is. Among other things, you are looking at the stained glass dome that covers the central foyer. They don't make public buildings like this any more.