Ansel Adams is to Yosemite as Shephard is to The Old Farm. I'm no Ansel Adams, of course, but like Adams, I keep returning to the same subject over and over again trying to get the perfect photo. And I'm still looking for it. . .Here are some previous attempts:The Old Farm At SunriseEarly Morning FarmsteadAbandoned
Manipulation of Another Kind
In yesterday's post, taken yesterday morning, I was commenting on how manipulative HDR photos could be. Later in the day, I was taking a few photos of some fancy gourds my wife bought at the farmers' market on Saturday and I realized that these gourds must be the product of manipulation, too.I think some geneticist somewhere sprinkled his/her magic mutation powder on regular gourd seeds to see what would happen. And this green, white and yellow thing is one of the products.I think that software manipulation of photos is much less insidious. Just imagine what would happen if the geneticist dusted you or your children with his/her special powder. . .(PS: My friend, Jim, inspired this post because of a comment he made on my Facebook page. Thanks, Jim.)
The Old Farm At Sunrise (HDR)
in HDR, South Dakota
This farm has been pictured several times in this blog. Today, I went there before sunrise thinking that maybe I would get something different. I had it in my head that I would try doing something with High Dynamic Range (HDR) photography.Thus, I set up my camera on a tripod and exposed first for the sky and then for the farm and foreground. When I got back home, I used the HDR function in Photoshop CS5 to merge the two photos together. And this is what I got.It is certainly altered (or enhanced) reality. I'm not sure I like it because I am a fan of photos that are "real." But I also like to experiment and play.(Here's what the two photos looked like before they were merged.)
Electrified (iPhoneography)
I was down in the cosmetology department of the school I teach in last week to talk about a project that will involve my photography students and I noticed a vestige of a bygone era. So while I was waiting to speak, I took a few photos of this multi-tentacled device standing in the corner.What is it? I'm guessing people of my generation will know. It is an electric curling machine. Today, of course, it has been replaced by the hand-held curling iron.Several years ago, in a unit on the Scientific Revolution, I asked my students to list the most important inventions of all time. In all seriousness one girl listed hair spray and the hand-held curling iron as #1 and #2. Little did she know what people in the 50s and 60s used. (Incidentally, the student listed the wheel and the printing press as #3 and #4!)
Window Seat (iPhoneography)
in people, Photography
When I travel, I am as captivated by looking at the scenery as any other tourist. But if the situation allows it, I also like to take photos of people looking at the scenery. I guess I'm a bit of a voyeur in that sense.In this case, I was on a plane flying over the Grand Canyon on an amazingly clear day. I must have taken 50 photos with my iPhone before I noticed a young girl in the window seat ahead of me who was also captivated by what we were seeing 30,000 feet below us.And so I snapped this photo.
Twentieth Century Classroom
in people
In the early part of the last decade of the twentieth century the overhead projector was pretty high tech for me. Having students present in my AP European History class was something I allowed from time to time. But I generally was the center of the classroom. I call that teachercentrism.I was looking for something else when I found this today. I remember the photo and I remember taking it. I was using Tri-X Pan film - thus the grain. The only light in this photo is the bulb from the overhead and I think I am lucky I got good exposure on the student's face and on the screen.But where are the pictures in his presentation?
Shadow and Light
This is the fourth in a series of sunrise shots that were all taken within 30 minutes or so of each other. This photo was almost rejected (which is my way of throwing things away - kind of). The rejection would have been based on the fact that so little is well exposed on this frame. In fact I would say that as much as 1/2 of this photo is almost pure black. In my mind, that's not good.But, when I looked at this picture again, I like how the black parts of the photo frame the incipient sunrise. I think that how the water goes from black to deep blue to orange is especially interesting.So this one became a keeper.
The Dancer
Loyalty
By Scott Shephard
On August 6, 2011, 30 US troops, including 22 Navy Seals, died in action when the helicopter they were riding in was shot down in Afghanistan. One of these soldiers was John Tomlinson and on the day of his funeral, his dog Hawkeye was allowed to attend.
As a precedent for today's post, you need to click here to see where Hawkeye chose to lie during the funeral. You might even want to read the article that accompanies the photo. I had seen the story about Tomlinson and his beautiful dog a couple weeks ago and today, when I was looking for something to post, I encountered a photo I had taken of the Monument to William of Orange in the New Church in Delft, Netherlands.
William was murdered by assassins' bullets, but his loyal dog, clearly oblivious to political machinations and violence, seems to wait patiently for his master to rise to action. Hawkeye, oblivious to precedents and analogies, was said to have sighed as he lay by Jon Tomlinson's coffin on the day his master was laid to rest.
First Color
The Last Days of Summer
A Sign of Summer
in Nature
I'm not sure if this macro photo of an ear of sweet corn is too abstract or not but when I was unwrapping this ear to prepare for tonight's supper, I knew I had to stop what I was doing and photograph it.I liked the beautiful soft glow of window light on the deep yellow kernels. I also liked the symmetry of the rows, though there is an interesting asymmetry at the focal point of the photo. Nothing's perfect, I guess.I was about to take the tenth photo in the series when Deb told me to put my camera down so we could eat. I think the 11th photo would have been the masterpiece of corn macros. She's a bit of a spoil sport sometimes. :-(Canon 5DII 1/60s f/4.5 ISO800 100mm