09-14-12 Arachnophilia?

In a word, "no," I don't love spiders. But I don't hate or fear them, either. Given that I have posted one other spider (here) and two spider webs (here and here) in this blog in the last month, you should be able to infer my fascination with spiders.What was interesting about this particular spider is that I took several macro shots of the bark of the tree he/she is on before I even noticed him/her (how do you tell gender?). The other interesting thing about this spider is that it didn't move at all, even though my lens was only inches from it. Sleeping? Dead? Dormant? I can't say.

09-13-12 Sitting On A Park Bench

I was at a local park with my photo/media students recently (it's a tough job. . . ) and when they wandered off to do their thing, I took my camera out and started to take photos of the same, old things: leaves, trees, tree bark, etc. Then I saw a green, metal park bench and I knew I had found the perfect subject.I liked the color, of course, but I really liked the texture. I took several photos with a wide aperture because I liked the way metal bench looked as it gradually went out of focus in the frame. Finally, I decided the bench wasn't enough and so I put a single, worn pine cone on the bench. And here's the result.Looking for meaning and symbolism? Loneliness? Promise? E pluribus unum? Who knows what I was thinking. . . .(Incidentally, I would be impressed with anyone who saw the title of this post and thought of Jethro Tull's "Aqualung" album from the 1971. Play Me)

09-12-12 Join Me For A Photo Walk

17,392 people have signed up to be part of the 5th annual Worldwide Photo Walk. Why not be 17,393? This is the first such photo walk in Watertown and I'll be your leader. What is a photo walk, you ask? Well, photography enthusiasts, from pros to little children meet and are lead to various photogenic sites by someone who is also a photography enthusiast (me).Our goal is to take some photos, have some fun and learn a little. And there are prizes for the best photos from around the world. Check out the Photo Walk web site.Then go to the Watertown Worldwide Photo Walk site and sign up. It's free and painless!

09-11-12 Survivor

As I was thinking about the anniversary of the attack on the Twin Towers in New York on this day 11 years ago, I also thought about Hiroshima, which I visited in 2004.I avoid political commentary in this blog. So you should read nothing more into my post today beyond the fact that there have been many events in human history that have had profound impact on the architecture and psyche of a city but which also changed how everyone views the world. And I would say that 9/11 and the bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, are two such events.This photo, incidentally, shows the modern, arched Hiroshima Memorial (which shelters an eternal flame), framing a building which stood near ground zero. This building was left standing as the only remnant of a city center that was largely destroyed in the blink of an eye.

09-10-12 Purple and Gold

This purple and gold flower was a single bloom in a bouquet of cut garden flowers my wife bought at our local famers' market. Amongst all of the flowers in the arrangement, this one jumped out at me. And so, when our back deck was bathed in soft late afternoon light, I took a few photos.When I looked at what I had taken this morning, I noticed that a close view of this flower showed its imperfections. And so I had a dilemma: should I retouch it like I might a human portrait or should I leave it alone?This post is the answer. Aside from the standard corrections I make on many photos (contrast, sharpening, vibrancy, etc.) I left it alone.

09-09-12 I Have Photographed Royalty

I have been to Buckingham Palace but I've never taken a photo of the Queen. But I have photographed KiYi Royalty many times. In this case, I am showing you a picture of all of the 2006 Watertown High School KiYi royalty. The Princess and Chieftain (following a Native American theme) were Ben Dylla and Carissa Hauck.I am publishing this photo because Watertown High School's homecoming week starts today and, like small town homecomings all over the US, it is marked with pageantry, celebration and a general disregard for the primary purpose of high schools everywhere - educating the young. I wonder if they let school out early for such things in China?

09-08-12 Magical (HDR)

Generally, I use HDR tools very carefully when I work on photos. I'd like you to see a broad range of darks and lights in my HDR photos rather than an exaggerated HDR effect. I'm pleased that Joe Farace commented on this when he wrote about this blog in the October issue of Shutterbug.So why am I posting an HDR photo that is clearly less than "real?" I don't know. I worked on this photo for 30 minutes when, on a whim, I decided to see what Nik HDR Efex 2 would do to this scene. And this is the version that made the "final cut."Canon 5D 1/25s f/7.1 ISO250 40mm

09-07-12 Contradiction

Rick Steves, the American travel writer, says that for some Americans, a visit to Mostar is Bosnia can be "a bit jarring." This photo may be a good example of what he means: an inviting sidewalk cafe is juxtaposed next to a building that is riddled with bullet holes.I have been to Mostar twice and both times I am reminded of the long term consequences and scarring that war brings to people and cities. But Mostar also reminds me of the resilience of human beings. If you have a chance, I think you should spend some time in Mostar.

Meltdown!

Regular readers will notice that I have made significant changes to my blog theme. It wasn't intentional. In fact, I just got done telling my photo/media students that they should pick a theme and stick with it because potential customers don't want to spend time trying to re-learn how to navigate a web site.So I apologize. But last night I experienced a "major malfunction" with the Modularity theme I was using. Rather than take my blog offline until I figured out how to fix things, I picked a new theme. Frankly, I like it, largely because it allows for larger photos. It also has other cool features, which I don't have a clue on how to use. But learning is a good thing isn't it?In the October, 2012, issue of Shutterbug Joe Farace posts a screen shot of my blog and a description of the features of my homepage. If you came here expecting to see what he describes, sorry. Bad timing. :-( But a new, cool look. :-)Painting: "The Persistence of Memory" by Salvador Dali, Museum of Modern Art

09-06-12 The Old Bridge, Mostar

Stari Most ("the Old Bridge) is a name I've seen for bridges in other places in for former Yugoslav Republic. But this particular bridge is the most famous Stari Most. It spans the Neretva River in Mostar, Bosnia. Though it is called "the Old Bridge," parts of it date back to very recent history because it has been reconstructed.It stood for close to 500 years before it was intentionally destroyed in the Croat-Bosniak war. In war there is a general convention that art and architecture are spared. But in this case the enemy made an exception. Fortunately, it has been meticulously reconstructed.

09-05-12 Full Bloom

As the flowers fade, the days get shorter and the nights get cooler, mundane shots of a simple flower in summer bloom start to look better and better. I took this photo in late June and the image file was gathering dust amongst the 12,000 photos in my 2012 Aperture library.Canon 5DIII 1/400s f/2.8 ISO400 100mm

09-04-12 I Like Frank

This is certainly not the first time I've posted a photo of Frank, by Chuck Close. One of the more interested illicit uses of one of my photos from this blog involved Frank (click here to read a tale of theft and Creative Commons copyright misdeeds).Finally, this is not the first art gallery photo. In fact art galleries are one of my favorite places to take pictures. Why not take a few minutes to look at a few of my gallery interiors? Just click here.And, as long as I've gone overboard with links in this post, here's the one art gallery post in this blog that I like the most.