09-25-13 Shoreline

No, this is not typical shoreline along my beloved Lake Oahe in central South Dakota. You might have already guessed that this is one of several photos I took in Alaska. This photo was taken near Ford's Terror in the Endicott Arm and if you go back to my Captain Jenna post, you might notice that the shoreline visible out the window to the left is this very shore.

I shouldn't tell you what you should be looking at, but it's hard not to notice the big, black hole worn in the rocky shoreline. If you are hoping I'd tell you how it came to be there, I can't. But my theory is that it was caused by erosion. And a few hundred thousand years.

Oh, and you no doubt noticed my new theme? I thought it was time for a new look. How about signing up to be notified by email when I post a new photo. It's easy and it's free. Go to the bottom of the page and put your email address in. You can always cancel your subscription. :-)

Canon 5DIII 1/400s f/4.0 ISO400 280mm

[DKB url="" text="" title="" type="" style="" color="" height="" width="" opennewwindow="" nofollow=""]

09-24-13 Harvest Moon II

Yes, I'm a lunatic, though I don't howl at the full moon. I just try to take photos of it. This photo is chronologically misplaced in this blog in that it was taken about 12 hours earlier than the other full moon posted a few days ago. As you can see, the moon plays a much less prominent role in this photo. And I guess that was my intent. Here the landscape dominates and the moon just peeks in at the scene.

09-23-13 Crystal Blue

As I've already said, our recent trip to Alaska on the Un-Cruise ship Safari Endeavor was an incredible experience. There were many highlights but what I will remember the longest, I think, is our tour of the Endicott Arm near the Dawes Glacier. The eerie silence, the steady drizzle, and the awesome geology of this place contributed to the experience. It didn't hurt that our son, Jon, who is Chief Mate of the Safari Endeavor, was our excursion pilot.

And, of course, there was the blue ice, with its fascinating textures and its inner, blue glow. I know it's a leap to say it, but as I was photographing the chunks of ice, I couldn't help thinking of Walter's blue, crystal meth in the hit series "Breaking Bad." And I was also thinking of the '60s hit "Crystal Blue Persuasion" by Tommy James and the Shondells, which has nothing to do with glaciers. If you are in to chain of consciousness, here's mine on this post:

Un-Cruise > Dawes Glacier > ice bergs > blue > "Breaking Bad" > crystal meth > "Crystal Blue Persuasion" > the 1960s

Look over yonder what do you see The sun is a-risin' most definitely A new day is comin' people are changin' Ain't it beautiful crystal blue persuasion Better get ready gonna see the light Love, love is the answer and that's all right So don't you give up now so easy to find Just look to your soul and open your mind Crystal blue persuasion, mm-hmm It's a new vibration Crystal blue persuasion, crystal blue persuasion Maybe tomorrow when He looks down Every green field and every town All of his children every nation There'll be peace and good brotherhood Crystal blue persuasion

Buy it on iTunes

09-22-13 Harvest Moon

I had said in a previous post that the reason I stopped along Highway 14 in the early hours of September 19 was to photograph a beautiful full moon as it set over Western South Dakota. I worked this scene for twenty minutes and took several HDR sequences, trying to get the right composition. It turns out that I should have been working harder on getting the right exposure since I'm not happy with most of what I got. It turns out that when you use a slow shutter speed on a setting moon, you just get blur. Who would think that the moon sinks so fast?

The secret with a good full moon photo, incidentally, is to try to get it in relation to something that has a known scale because it makes the moon look bigger. I don't know that this photo does a perfect job of that but I was intending to show the moon in the context of the landscape I was in. I also liked the dirt road that leads the eye to the moon and if I zoomed in too much on the moon, I lost most of the road.

I would like to have a second chance on this moonset but, like many transient things that I photograph, I think what you are looking at is a once in a lifetime opportunity for me. Yes, there will be many more full moons. But to photograph the the so-called Harvest Moon over these hills will probably not be an opportunity I will have again.

For science minded, you might be interested in knowing that the Harvest Moon occurs in September and because it is close to the autumnal equinox, the moon rises and sets close to the same time for several nights in a row and stays looking fuller for a longer period of time. Thus it provides more light. In the days of manual harvest, farmers, who would often work through the night, appreciated the additional light at harvest season. Another feature of a setting moon is its color, which takes on the red hue from the atmosphere near the horizon. Some say the moon takes on a pumpkin color, which certainly is appropriate for the start of fall.

Have I left you wanting more? Check out this NASA ScienceCast:

09-21-13 Here Comes the Sun

I have come to realize that the most interesting thing about a sunrise isn't the sun. Instead, what makes some sunrises special is what the low, angular light is doing to the landscape everywhere except where the sun in visible.

This scene is one of several that I captured along Highway 14 in western South Dakota. Even if I didn't get anything camera worthy, it was a beautiful September morning to be in a part of our state that some would say is flat and bland.

Incidentally, if you look at the last three posts in this blog, you will note that I have moved the horizon to the bottom of the frame. I guess I am featuring the sky in my "Western South Dakota" series because I think that our amazing skies have much to offer. Montana's got nothing on us!

I should mention, incidentally, that the red band in this photo is ripe sorghum, which seemed to be planted in abundance in this part of our state. And did anyone noticed that the three primary colors are all dominantly present in this photo?

Canon 5DIII f/9.0 ISO320 35mm (shutter speed unknown - because this is an HDR composite?)

09-20-13 Fortress

I would say that today's photo stands in sharp contrast to yesterday's and in even starker contrast to the Alaska photos I have posted lately. But I don't mind juxtaposing from time to time.

I was driving on Highway 14 when I noticed these 4 grain storage units standing starkly on a distant hill. I was struck by how much they looked like parts of a castle from a distance. Of course, I was also struck by the stark setting of these structures, which is accentuated by the pure, blue South Dakota sky. Finally, the gentle serpentine horizon line, just barely colored in yellow, contrasts with the otherwise square and linear geometry of this capture.

Canon 5DIII 1/500s f/11.0 ISO250 75mm

09-19-13 Cloudscape

This photo is only a few minutes old and I am publishing this sitting by the side of the road just outside of Philip, SD. This morning's full moon and glorious sunrise have given me several photo opportunities as I've driven east along highway 14 towards Pierre, SD. And I couldn't resist sharing this particular photo with you.

My real reason for stopping along the highway was to capture the September full moon, which has been following me all the way from Rapid City when I pulled out of town at 5 am. And I did get the moon going down, though I'm not real happy with what I got on camera.

But shortly after the moon when down, the sun came up and I was able to get a pretty good sky shot. As with so many of my images, there is plenty of texture here. And a few lines and a little geometry. And, like so many of my photography experiences, I wish you had been here to share the time and place with me.

Canon 5DIII 1/250s f/11.0 ISO200 24mm

09-18-13 Scaling Down

Since I talked about the immense scale of Alaska yesterday, I thought it would be proper to show the smaller side of nature. In the context of looking at mountains, forests and glaciers, it's easy to miss things that are under foot some times. Of course, this is the power that we have as photographers.

Also, when I post my mushroom photo, I can feel better about myself: there are things in the Alaskan wilderness that are smaller than me. :-)

Canon 5DIII 1/80s f/2.8 ISO1000 100mm

09-17-13 A Different Scale

I have read that the great cathedrals and basilicas of Europe were designed, in part, to make humans feel small in the presence of the awesome power of God. And I'll have to admit that even to a 21st century traveler, these structures still have that impact on me.

But the amazing wilderness of southeast Alaska makes the biggest structure than humans have built seem puny. And, frankly, there is little that a photo or a mere description can do to communicate this. Suffice it to say that for most of the seven days we cruised the waters of Alaska, I felt small - both in terms of my size and in terms of the brief time my life represents compared to the geologic time it took to craft and scour the mountains and fjords of Alaska. But the effect of this on me and other viewers is not to be overwhelmed but instead to be inspired.

09-16-13 Nice Ice

My wife explicitly warned me not to publish too many photos of glacier ice so I guess I'm defying her with this one, since I published another ice photo a few posts ago. But I can't help myself. How can you not be fascinated with the colors and textures of this ice. And how can you not think about the Titantic, when you hear the thumping of small chunks of ice against the hull of the Safari Endeavor? But our captain is much smarter about ice than Captain Edward Smith. :-)

Canon 5DIII 1/800s f/6.3 ISO400 200mm

09-15-13 Captain Jenna

There are many good things that I could say about Un Cruise Adventures, the company whose boat we cruised on in Alaska recently. But one of the great features was their "open bridge" policy. Passengers were encouraged to come on to the bridge to see boat operations from the pilot's point of view. On watch in this photo is the Captain, Jenna, who is expertly guiding us near Ford's Terror. With a name like "Ford's Terror," you'd expect the place to be intriguing. And it was. . . .

Canon 5DIII 1/100s f/4.5 ISO400 29mm

09-14-13 Morning Procession

I was anchored near the mouth of Mission Creek at Lake Oahe (Missouri River) a couple weeks ago when I noticed movement on the point of the far shore. Using my binoculars, I noticed that it was a group of deer walking slowly along the beach. A few minutes later, I saw them walk into the water and then start to swim to the south point of the bay I was in. I estimated that the swim was about 1/4 mile and was more than a little surprised since I didn't know deer could swim.

Eventually, they arrived on the near shore and, having checked me out, hurried up the hill and out of sight. Below you will find two other photos I took in the sequence, including one where the buck (who was last in the line) has stopped and is checking me out. Given that he didn't have his Speedos on, do I dare say that he was "buck naked?" (Sorry.)

Canon 5DIII 1/1600s f/8.0 ISO400 200mm