Month: November 2013

11-18-13 Going To School

2013 11-18 Going To School by Watertown, South Dakota, photographer Scott Shephard
Those who follow my Instagram feed will have seen a variant of today’s post. Both were taken at the Henry Doorly Aquarium and Zoo in Omaha, Nebraska. Deb is here for a Midwest Higher Education Compact meeting and I’m along as her driver, body guard and photographer. You didn’t know that the president of Lake Area Technical Institute had people like me did you? All are unpaid positions.

Our group was visiting the aquarium for our dinner last night and I agree with Deb, who observed that she had never eaten a meal with sharks circling overhead.

We were served beef, not fish, so as not to insult the sharks.

MHEC Dinner, 11-17-13 at the Doorly Zoo and Aquarium

11-17-13 Union Pacific Engine #4023

2013 11-17 Union Pacific 4023 by Watertown, South Dakota, photographer Scott Shephard
Just above the Lauritzen Gardens in Omaha, Nebraska, is a display of two Union Pacific freight train engines. This photo is one small detail of the older Engine #4023, which was a massive steam engine. As I walked around the engine, I was struck by all of the moving parts that comprise a steam engine, especially the mechanisms that transferred steam to power that turned the massive wheels.

Canon 5DIII 1/125s f/2.8 ISO100 100mm

11-16-13 Tropical Colors

2013 11-16 Tropical Colors by Watertown, South Dakota, photographer Scott Shephard
This photo of a Hawaiian gecko is the third in a row in this blog that come from my 2006 collection. Like so many other photos of mine, it had been abandoned and exists only because I’m not good at throwing things away.

The colors in this photo are unlike almost any that occur naturally in South Dakota, though I am struck by how similar the color palettes are in this photo and in my recent post from Salt Lake City called “A Little Color.” Check it out.

Canon 5D 1/2500s f/3.2 ISO100 135mm

11-15-13 Cat’s Eyes

2013 11-15 Cat's Eyes by Watertown, South Dakota, photographer Scott Shephard
I’ll bet you didn’t know that a common characteristic of the four species of venemous snakes* in the US is that they all have “elliptical eye slits, aka “cat’s eyes.” The important thing, then, is that if you encounter a snake, you need to look it in the eyes to determine if it is deadly or not. If you stare in to a snake’s eyes and see that they look more like a human’s eyes, then he/she** is your friend.

Mac is no snake, of course. And he’s not venomous. He has been known to kill mice and small birds from time to time but he does that primarily because that’s what cats do in their spare time. Mac has been part of our family for 13 years now, though he is a sprightly 7 in this photo, taken in 2006.

Canon 5D 1/400s f/3.5 ISO400 135mm

*rattlesnake, cottonmouth, coral snake, copperhead
**Only trained herpetologists can determine a snake’s gender.

11-14-13 The Festival of Trees Metal Print Is Here!

2013 11-14 Festival of Trees Print Is Here!
Each year I donate a photo to the Lake Area Technical Institute Foundation to be auctioned at their annual Festival of Trees, which is quickly approaching. The photo usually has a winter theme and this year’s picture is called “Spring Melt” and was photographed along Iron Creek last April.

Being a perfectionist, I rarely like my photos in print form but I have to say that this one, printed on metal, is pretty special. Of course it helps to have such great scenery. 🙂

20x30 Used Perfect Resize

11-12-13 Changing of the Guard

2013 11-12 Changing of the Guard by Watertown, South Dakota, photographer Scott Shephard
The phrase “changing of the guard” can be metaphorical but at the Prague Castle in the Czech Republic it is literal. But the event is also a tourist attraction. Deb and I just happened to be arriving at the Castle when the three men seen here were marching to their post. Their baby blue uniforms are traditional but not particularly “normal” when it comes to military garb. Maybe the intent is to make the opponent feel happy and non-violent.

Have I just returned from the Czech Republic? No. We were there in 2006 and I found this photo in the process of organizing my vast collection of forgotten photos. I call it “dumpster diving” and the fact that I got caught up in processing this photo when I should have really been culling it is a reason I get so little organizing done. Some day I’ll start on my closet, but I’ll have the same problem with old college papers that I have with photos . . . .

Canon 5D 1/320s f/7.1 ISO400 105mm

11-09-13 The Final Details

2013 11-09 The Final Details by Watertown, South Dakota, photographer Scott Shephard
I haven’t quite exhausted my small collection of exterior details of the Codington County Court House. But I think I’ll hold at three for now. Maybe I’ll make a triptych. . .

Did you know that you can get each day’s “A Photo A Day” post conveniently delivered to your email inbox every day at 8:30 am? It’s like getting your newspaper delivered to your door except that there is no news and no paper. Just go here.

Why 8:30 am? That time is based on personal and exhaustive study of workplace behavior: you are sitting at your computer at work and and you are already looking for a convenient distraction. Or a vicarious experience. Or a photo to jazz up that Powerpoint you are doing. . .