The Little Angel

This ornament, which adorns our "tropical fish" bathroom, is my favorite Christmas ornament. I have tried to photograph it as it hangs near the bathroom window but haven't gotten good results. So this morning I put it on our dining room Christmas tree and photographed it there.I like the textures of this ornament - especially in the star being held by the little angel.

Leafy Bokeh - Paris

I wasn't looking for bokeh* when I took this photo. In fact, I didn't know what it was at the time. But here it is in all its glory. Also, here is green in all its glory. This time the green is basswood tree leaves in a park in Paris. There is snow out my window but not a speck of snow in the window we look through today in "A Photo A Day."Here's a bit of trivia: the interstices between leaves that cause bokeh in a camera also act as pinhole lenses and if you can find spots of light on the sidewalk that come through the holes, they will be circular because the sun is circular. But in the event of a partial solar eclipse, the projections will be crescent shaped. Don't believe me? Try being in South Africa, Tasmania and most of New Zealand on November 25, 2011. That's when and where the next decent partial solar eclipse occurs.*"The visual quality of the out-of-focus areas of a photographic image, especially as rendered by a particular lens." (Japanese origin)

A Bride and Her Entourage

This is Jennie and she and her attendants were getting ready to pose for the "real" photographer in Willmar, Minnesota. I had been hired as second photographer, which is the perfect assignment for me.

Another World

There is a stretch of Summit Avenue in St. Paul that is lined with mansions that harken back to an era of of conspicuous opulence. The JJ Hill House is certainly an example. Completed in 1891, it was known as the "showcase of St. Paul." Today it is no longer inhabited but is instead open to visitors.This photo is a detail of the grand staircase that leads from the foyer to the second floor. Everything you see here was hand carved by meticulous craftsmen and the detail is amazing.I wonder how often they have to dust all of the woodwork?

10-12-10 The Most Famous Warehouse?

I just finished reading a new book entitled The Kennedy Detail, which gives the accounts of the Secret Service agents whose job it was to protect John and Jacque Kennedy the day they went to Dallas in 1963. Until this book, these men had remained silent about their experience. It is a book worth reading.This is a shot of the famous "Texas Book Depository," which is now a historic landmark and a museum. If you look to the farthest window on the top floor, you can see where Lee Harvey Oswald fired the shots that killed JFK and stunned the world. In the middle left of this photo is the so-called "grassy knoll." From which some conspiracy theorists say a second gunman fired shots.I was in the third grade when Kennedy was killed and I didn't really understand the significance of this event. Now, after more than 50 years, I can see that it was an event that changed the psyche of our nation, just as 9/11 has seemed to.I must admit that I don't think I have figured out the true meaning and significance of this event. Interestingly, the "truther" conspiracy movement has already fogged what some think is "true" about 9/11. Will it take us 50 years to understand the impact of this event?Incidentally, I have posted another somewhat similar photo of the Texas Book Depository. But today's photo gives you a broader view. I hope you don't mind.

The Orange Temple

This is a detail of one of the many photogenic buildings on the grounds of the royal palace complex in Kyoto, Japan. Like many of the places I've visited on our travels, I want to go back to this city for more photographs. When? I have no idea. . . .

Where Did All the Flowers Go?

If you are inclined to be philosophical, you might read deep, existential meaning into today's picture and the title I gave it. Yes, I suppose you could say, as Macbeth did, that life is a "walking shadow" and a "brief candle signifying nothing." And you could say that nothing better symbolizes this sentiment than twisted, dead flowers, bent by age and time, standing in a garden covered by snow.But don't give in to this depressing thought! Here's a happy thought: the flowers in this garden have gone to sleep and will soon wake up in all their glory. In fact in a few short days, the days will start getting longer. Spring and summer are surely around the corner. :-)Footnote:I read an interesting article that suggested that because Macbeth lived in a northern climate, with short winter days, he might have been so pessimistic because he was suffering from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). If he and his Lady could have had a couple weeks on the beach in Mexico, the story might have been very different. . .

Suspicion

For the last several years, in addition to teaching at Watertown High School, I have also volunteered to take photos for our yearbook. Sometimes the editors tell me what to photograph. And sometimes I'm told to "wander." And that's how I found this subject.The art rooms are my favorite places because I can almost always find people doing things rather than sitting and listening to teachers. Often the students are so absorbed in their work, that they are oblivious to me. But this girl was anything but oblivious.When I was about to take the photo, this girl gave me this look, which isn't exactly hostile and not exactly friendly. It is suspicious. After taking this photo, I told her who I was and what I was up to and she relaxed and let me take a another photo or two.This photo didn't make the yearbook but I like it nevertheless, largely because of her undisguised doubt. But I also like it because I think this girl looks a little like Scarlett Johansson, one of my favorite actresses.

Blue Abstraction

These are lounge chairs built into a swimming pool at a resort somewhere south of Cancun, Mexico. This was another abandoned photo that was re-discovered in a search for something to post to this blog. Good picture? I don't know. . . . Nice place to sip tropical punch on a warm, sunny December day? Oh, yes. . . .

Tenacious

Once again, I made a foray into my neighbors' yard. It seems that the tulips, leaves and apples are occasionally more photogenic on the "other side." I have been watching these apples for a while and after our recent snow, thought I should capture a photo or two.To do this right, I need a ladder since the apples are about 10 feet up the tree. I also need better light, though this photo let me experiment with the flash exposure compensation built in to my camera.As a look at this photo, incidentally, I am wondering if the idea of Christmas ornaments (round balls on trees) was inspired by tenacious fruit that refused to fall?

What's In A Lei?

The answer to the question posed in the title is "plumeria." Plumeria are the fragrant flowers that grow on trees - but not in South Dakota. :-(These plumeria were growing in Hawaii. I was reading that in some Pacific cultures the plumeria is associated with vampires and in others the trees are said to provide shelters to ghosts. Ghosts and vampires must smell good in these places because the fragrance of these flowers is strong and pleasant.

Walls of Glass

The most famous Gothic cathedral in Paris is the Notre Dame de Paris. But I think St. Chapelle is the most beautiful, primarily because there is so little stone and so much glass in the walls.When I walked into this structure the first time, I stood for several moments in amazement. This structure was built in the 13th century. If I'm amazed, imagine how someone from the 1300s would have felt when walking into this sacred place the first time.