Yes, I Am . . .

The whole sentence is: "Yes, I am thinking of summer and sailing on Lake Oahe."

Transformational Technology

This is a photo I took of Ethan working on an iPad during his sister, Evie's, baptism gala and there is much that I could say about the photo or about the event. But I want to talk about difference between adults and children when it comes to iPads.Give an iPad to a child (or an adult who has never touched a "regular" computer) and they adapt very quickly. It turns out that the fingers of the hand are pretty facile and intuitive tools. Even a caveman would probably agree with that.But give an iPad to an adult with years of normal computer use and they will say, "Can I plug in a mouse?" or "How do I hook up a keyboard?" Quite honestly, keyboards and mice aren't the least bit "natural" or intuitive. In fact, the QWERTY keyboard layout was invented in the 1878 and designed in such a way that keys wouldn't jam together if a person typed too quickly.Keyboards, mice, desktops and folders were integrated into desktop computers because computer engineers wanted to make the transition from a traditional office to an office centered on computer workstations less threatening. Microsoft even threw in Paper Clip Man in MS Word to give a human face to the New Machine.The iPad, and other tools like it, are changing all of that. In fact, I've read that Jobs wouldn't allow USB ports in iPads because he didn't want it to be driven by peripherals. He wanted to push "touch" and the human hand as the most logical peripherals. Beyond that, you don't have to worry about saving documents. Computer folders are very 20th century.I think the iPad is the prototype for the next generation of computers - no mice, no hard drives, no DVD drives, no folders and no desktop. And certainly no Paper Clip Man. A keyboard? No doubt there will be one for people like me, who at least in this way, are stuck in the 19th century.But now that I think of it, Apple has given us another glimpse of the future of computer input: Siri, which is voice recognition with a friendly attitude. But beyond that, it is intelligent voice recognition - Siri gets to know us and knows what we mean even when we don't say it. Wow!

04-16-12 Take A Closer Look

While I was waiting for a few of my students to take photographs of the amazing Cathedral of St. Paul, I stepped outside and took a few shots of the exterior. I had my 70-200 telephoto with me and so I focused on details.It occurs to me that what you see in this photo and how you see it are totally dependent on the photographer. And that's an interesting power to have. . .

04-15-12 Textured Geometry

Lately, I have become very conscious of the role that texture plays in my photography and that what attracts my eye is often the textures in a scene, not the scene itself. And because textures are enhanced (or even caused) by light, photography is all about light. The word photography literally means "writing with light." Study this photo and if you can see the textures, you can see the light.Having said that, it's hard not to see all of the textures in this photo, which is of the south facade of the Minnesota State Capitol building in St. Paul. I liked the color version but when I turned it into black and white, the textures became more important than the color.For those who care, these columns are Corinthian in style, which is characterized by the elaborate design at the top, known in architecture as the capital.

04-14-12 Just Before Sunset

We don't have trees like this in South Dakota - at least in my part of the state. I think it is an oak tree and oak trees have a very distinct form of brachiation. The branches are twisted and, in my mind, gothic. I would have bare, twisted oak trees in front of my haunted house, if I owned one.This tree is about to leaf out and lives (happily or hauntedly?) on San Juan Island in Washington state.

04-13-12 Ready To Ride

It would have been hard NOT to see the bright, purple bicycles lined up at the hotel we stayed in while visiting Friday, Harbor, Washington. I photographed the bikes but didn't ride one.

04-12-12 Drift Wood

This was taken along the shore at San Juan Island National Historic Park, which is near the southeastern tip of San Juan Island. Of course driftwood was once adrift, and that means anyone navigating the waters along these shores, especially in small boats, must always be aware of the hazards of hitting floating logs before they become shore bound.Here's a Panoramio view of this location.

04-11-12 Easter Morning, 2012 - San Juan Island

This photo was taken a few miles west of the city of Friday Harbor, Washington, on San Juan Island. I had found this location the day before but thought that it would photograph better just after sunrise. The chances that I would have a mostly clear morning weren't that great. But, as you can see, nature performed well for me.I used Auto Exposure Bracketing to take three different exposures of the same scene but in the end I used the darkest of the three and a plug-in in Aperture to create this photo, which shows details in the darkest parts and in the brightest. That's what HDR (high dynamic range) does.

Seattle City Scape

Being in the right place at the right time makes a photographer's job easier. Sometimes I manage this by intent and sometimes by luck.In the case of this photo of Seattle, I got lucky. Apparently, it had been cloudy, cool and rainy for most of the week prior to our three-day stay in the area. But during our entire stay, it ranged from partly cloudy to crystal clear. I took this photo later in the afternoon, which resulted in nearly perfect light for the scene. And I couldn't have asked for more interested clouds.And, yes, this photo is manipulated in software. In my intent to work on the contrast in the photo, I found a setting in Nik Color Efex 4 that gave a look to this scene that I liked.

Oh, Canada

My son Jon and his friend Lynn gaze off towards Victoria, Canada, from the west shore of San Juan island in Washington state.

Well Musseled

I apologize for the bad pun in the title of this post - I couldn't resist. The mussels were one of the many delicacies we enjoyed on our visit to Friday Harbor, Washington.

Early Morning North of Town