The Metal Flower Trees - The Getty Center (LA)

Morning Joe

When visiting my aunt in California, one of my routines is to visit a nearby Peet's Coffee shop. At 6 am, it is a fairly quiet place and that's why I like it.

LA Skyline - From the Getty Center

This was originally published to my scottshephard.posterous.com account from Instagram, but I'm trying to cover a few missing days in this blog.

This was taken from the Getty Center, which I have concluded is one of my favorite "buildings" in the world. Of course, it's not a single building - it is a series of buildings, an amazing location and the landscape surrounded the buildings. And that's not to mention thevgreat art inside.

The Big Picture

Farm Yard Graffiti (iPhoneography)

I went north of town yesterday looking for a decent opportunity for a panoramic photo. I ended up going to an old farmstead I've been to many times before.I've always been fascinated by this wall of red barn wood, scripted with the names of people who are mysterious to me but doubtless no strangers to the barn whose walls are etched with this farm yard graffiti.

Glassware III (iPhonography)

This is the last in the series.

Glassware II (iPhonography)

It looks like I've found a theme, though the glassware theme is the result of happenstance. The subjects pictured yesterday, today and tomorrow are due to my wandering eye and my ever-present cell phone. As I think I've said before, sometimes I intend to take photos. And sometimes the things I see compel me.

Glassware (iPhonography)

We were eating supper at the Zubkes' and couldn't help seeing the glassware lined up neatly in their dining room hutch. In particular, I liked the way the glasses were backlit. Of course, this photo is distorted with one of the many Instagram filters. I'm thinking the filters are a crutch that help make an average photo seem slightly less average.

Little Purple Flowers (iPhonography)

Originally posted here.

First Flowers

Finally, after what seemed like an endless winter, the snow is almost gone and the first delicate crocus are pushing up through the bare earth.This flower shot isn't anything new on this blog but these flowers are only a few days old. And to me they stand as a symbol of good things to come.

Rain, Fog & Trees

I drove up to what some people in Watertown call "Harmony Hill." It was a foggy morning and I was thinking that I would get an interesting shot of the ethanol plant down below, belching steam into the early morning fog. But when I got to the top of the hill, I couldn't even see the ethanol plant. But I did see this small group of trees, edged with the serpentine road that led to a nearby monastery.This shot is pretty seriously Photoshopped, in part because I've been learning a few new things and I wanted to practice them. This photo had 4 layers before I flattered it to publish it.Revision: I orignally posted a nearly square version but Jack's post inspired me to look again at the original crop. Jack's right: the full view is more "atmospheric."

Street Light

Early yesterday morning, I went out on the deck, where Deb, my wife, was standing. She said it felt a little like Hawaii and I politely disagreed, since it was 46 degrees it didn't smell like the tropics. But it was hazy and humid.As she started to list the things I had to do, I said, "Wait" and I went in to get my camera. I may not be in Hawaii but that doesn't mean there is nothing exotic to photograh - such as our neigbors' tree silhouetted against a street lamp and the deep purple morning sky.Even though I liked what I saw when I framed this photo, the camera saw it very differently and that's what I like about photography. Sometimes my camera captures things that I make better with software. But other times I see something and my camera makes it better with it's own internal software. It's a good relationship. . .