07-17-12 Spring Wheat

Some would say that if you've seen one wheat field, you've seen them all. And from a distance that's probably true. But I'm afraid my quest for good wheat photos yesterday didn't satisfy me. So I went out again this morning looking again for the perfect wheat photo opportunity. I was hoping for better light today and I got it. Generally, it was overcast but the sun was working to push its way through occasional soft spots in the morning clouds. And so I got the perfect back lighting from the biggest soft box on earth.I took over 200 photos during the 30 minutes I spent at this particular field. I'll admit that I was practicing a little "spray and pray" photography because a gusty breeze was causing the heavy heads of wheat to move around. And since I was using a very narrow field of focus (low f-stop number), I wanted to be sure I had some focused photos when I got home.Towards the end of my shoot, Bret H., the field's owner, drove up and stopped. I walked over to his truck with my camera and told him that I couldn't resist taking photographs of his amazing crop. He simply smiled. When I showed him a photo I had just taken and said, "You're not a farmer; you're an artist," he smiled some more.If you haven't stopped by a mature wheat field and studied the plant that in some ways was and still is the foundation of western civilization, it's time you did. The whispy "hairs" and the braid-like grains of wheat truly are a work of art.

07-16-12 Amber Waves

When I went driving this morning in search of something to photograph, I figured that the perfect wheat field would likely draw me like a magnet. I am fascinated by bare, black fields that turn to green and then to beautiful yellow-gold. And we can't help but notice the harvest of wheat because the huge red or green machines that work the fields contrast so distinctly with the mature crop.But who has the time or interest to park and take a closer look at the grain? I would guess the farmer would. And so does the photographer, who, as I've said so many times in this blog, has the power to get you, the viewer, to take a closer look. And it is worth the time. . .

07-10-12 Five

There's something about looking at close-ups of flowers that makes me count. And in this flower, five seems to be the recurring number.

07-07-12 Frosty Love

It's been damn hot and dry in South Dakota and so I thought this rather cheesy posed photo an ornamental ball resting on a frost covered pine tree would be just the right medicine. In the winter, South Dakotans complain about the snow and cold. And in the summer we complain about the heat. But we do manage to survive . . .

6-30-12 Daisy, Daisy, daisy

Not counting the parts of daisies on edges of this photo, there really are three daisies in this photo. "Really?!" you say. Really. This is a layered HDR photo that I made (not took) with my Canon 5D Mark III. It has HDR capacity built in. The things you can do with the new-fangled cameras. . .Incidentally, the title of this post pays homage to the famous scene in Stanley Kubrick's fiLm "2001: A Space Odyssey," where an astronaut "kills" HAL, the on-board computer. (HAL, by the way, is an acronym that is only one letter away from IBM. Coincidence?).When that film came out in 1968, 2001 seemed so far away. And now it's 2012 and we have cameras that are smarter than those who use them. Like me and my 5DIII. . .

06-13-12 Pink and Blue

I learned just now that a group of flamingos has a variety of designations. You can call a group of them a pat, a colony, a flurry, a regiment, a stand or a flock. Though my favorite is a flamboyance.These flamingos were flying in rough formation for our benefit as we rounded the east end of Tortola in the British Virgin Islands. I was lucky to have my telephoto lens on my camera when then suddenly took flight and circled overhead.

06-10-12 Alien Life Form

I'm off on an adventure for a couple weeks and I'll be off the wifi "grid" for much of that time. Thus, I'm auto-posting things that aren't necessarily new or unseen. Most of the photos you'll see are some of my favorite Instagram photos.

06-02-12 Flowers For Katie II

I'm off on an adventure for a couple weeks and I'll be off the wifi "grid" for much of that time. Thus, I'm auto-posting things that aren't necessarily new or unseen. Most of the photos you'll see are some of my favorite Instagram photos.This one is new, however, and was one of the 92 photos I took a couple days ago.

06-01-12 Flowers For Katie I

Once again a photo found me. I was engaged in the mundane task of putting our garbage receptacle away, when I noticed that the late evening sun was offering perfect, direct light on Deb's beautiful Siberian iris patch, which had just gone into bloom. Knowing that I only had a few minutes of this particular light, I literally ran into the house to get my camera.I took 92 photos of these flowers - I just couldn't help it! Compositionally, this one made the "first cut," in part because I am a slave to the rule of thirds and this photo exemplifies it. I shot this with my Canon 70-200 2.8L lens so I could get very good selective focus. And, I used a tripod.Canon 5DII 1/640s f/2.8 ISO320 200mm

05-19-12 About To Bloom

I'm practicing my macro technique again, this time on an Iris that is probably one day away from full bloom. Somehow an iris bud reminds me of the super compact foam toys that blow up to huge proportion when you add water. I guess with an iris you just add water, too.

05-16-12 Standing Out

Yes, another pink tulip, misted by God with morning dew.Or did the photographer use a spray bottle?

05-15-12 Life Star

I took exactly one photo of this flower, in part because I had ventured into my neighbor's back yard to look at her flowers. To get one photo, I had to step carefully into the middle of her garden and I felt awkward doing this - especially without her blessing. I need to go back.As for the title, the inspiration was the Star Wars Death Star. Somehow, a cheery purple spherical flower seemed to be the antithesis of the menacing structure in the movie.