This gourd no doubt came from a long line of mutants.
09-26-12 One Particular Harbor
My friend Scott P. and I spent a couple nights in an apartment in this little village on the island of Hvar (Croatia). English wasn't spoken by the people we dealt with, though we were able to communicate, in part because the the lady who owned the apartment spoke some German and so did Scott. Like photos I sometimes take, we weren't actively seeking this place: we turned a corner and there it was.
09-24-12 Winter Eclipse
This is was shot in minimal light a few years ago. Having heard that there was going to be a total lunar eclipse on this night, Deb and I went driving to find a good locale to see and photograph the moon. I finally found this four trees posing nicely in front the waning moon.
Early Morning Blur
09-23-12 Early Morning Blur
in Blog, Photography
Yes, I am driving and taking photos at the same time. But it was only 6am or so and rush hour hadn't started yet on highway 212 in Watertown, SD, where I live. Furthermore, I had my camera mounted on a tripod and I was using a cable release. So I was not a distracted driver.This is a good example of trying to fix a fairly poor photo with fancy filters. Thanks, Nik Color Efex 4.0Canon 5DIII 1s f/16.0 ISO100 50mm
09-22-12 Gentle
That's little Ethan D grasping his aunt Deb's thumb.Canon 5D 1/80s f/2.0 ISO640 135mm
09-21-12 Stare-Down
This photo was taken at the Alaska Raptor Center just outside of Sitka. I was shooting through mesh wire with a telephoto lens. I said, "Smile" and this is the look I got.
09-20-12 Totem
I wasn't looking for photos to post when I found this one. There is nothing too complicated (or perhaps even interesting) in this picture, though it is an action shot and the photographer understood something about "the decisive moment": the picture was snapped at the precise instant the guide gestured upwards toward the totem pole.
09-19-12 The Youngest Shep
I don't know what it says about me that I take more pictures of things than I do of people. I don't know the answer to that but I do know that I don't see my youngest son, Jon, enough.This photo was taken near Sitka, Alaska, a few years ago. At the time, Jon was working for an adventure company and we got the royal treatment when we visited. And I liked Sitka, except that it stayed in the 50s the whole time we were there. (July!)
09-18-12 Ready and Waiting
There is an adage in photography that says that you should first find a good photo opportunity and then turn and look behind you because the best photo is often something you don't see at first.This picture is a good example in that what caused me to stop my truck along the gravel road in Iowa was the photo I took yesterday. After getting what I wanted there, I turned and looked across the road. And this is what I saw (click). It wasn't all that special, was it? But inspired by one of my student's great soybean photos (check out Lindsey Fowler's photo), I decided to move in. And this photo is the result. And it stands as a good example of the tremendous power photographers have: we get people to look at things they would probably never taken the time to see.By the way, I like Lindsey's photo better. :-)Canon 5DIII 1/320s f/4.0 ISO320 182mm
09-17-12 Golden (HDR)
I was cruising the backroads of Iowa with my good friend BZ looking for one of my favorite subjects - an Iowa cornfield. The cornfield wasn't hard to find, of course. What is a little more challenging is finding other things that make the corn a little less run-of-the-millIn the case of this photo, the sunrise helped and so did the built-in HDR processor my Canon 5DIII has. I shouldn't point this out, but I think there is a compositional flaw in this photo in that I think it would be better if A) the sun lined up with the rows of corn or B) I had given a little more room to the right of the sun when I framed the shot. But, as they say, "It is what it is." And, to paraphrase the Rolling Stones, "It's only a corn field but I like it."Canon 5DIII 1/25s f/18.0 ISO320 200mm
09-16-12 The Empty Nest
My wife spotted this small nest with a single unhatched egg a while back. I checked the nest again this morning and found that the bird has apparently "flown the coop." I have no idea of what kind bird egg this is and of course I have no way of knowing whether the little bird is living a successful life or not. But I do like the late summer symbolism of the empty nest. It kind of like kids going off to college. . .
09-15-12 All Square
in Architecture, Blog
This photo Of the Redlin Center in Watertown, SD, was taken with my iPhone 4s. It was then processed with Camera+ and Instagram, a photo taking, editing and publishing app which is hugely popular right now.Instagram requires a square crop, and that's the reason for the title of today's post. I don't have much else to say other than the square crop is fun to work with from time to time because it requires a rethinking of the compositional element of space. And, as photographers, it's good to "rethink" from time to time.Incidentally, I apply the same filter to all of my Instagram posts. The filter tends to over saturate colors and in the case of this photo the dominant tones are the three primary colors: red, blue and yellow. I like that in this photo.