June 2016 – A Photo A Day (Squarespace)

06-28-16 Someone’s Watching Me

Sometimes when you think you are alone in the woods. . . (read more)

By Scott Shephard

I was working on taking a few macro photos of moss and lichen on the north side of a small ponderosa pine when I noticed something in the sunlight up the hill from where I was working. I looked up and this is what I saw.

We get fawns, yearlings and mature does close to the cabin because they get cracked corn. But the bucks are rarely in our field of view. They’re shy, I guess. Or standoffish.

But this guy stood for a minute or so while I photographed him. Of course, I had the wrong lens but I guess one of the virtues of a high resolution camera is that you can crop about 80% of the frame away and still have something.

After taking 4 or 5 photos, I looked down to check what I had gotten. When I looked up, he was gone. Maybe he’ll come again and maybe this time I’ll have the right lens. . . .

Canon 5DIII 1/180s f/4.0 ISO400 100mm

Here’s the whole frame:

06-24-16 “I Ain’t Afraid of No Ghost”

Can you name the movie my title references? And, more importantly, can you name both the puffy ballon in this photo and the name of the puffy surrogate that appears in the movie?

By Scott Shephard

Oh, the power of free association! It was a complete accident that I came across this photo and it immediately brought back memories of getting to see the Macy’s Thanksgiving parade a few years ago in New York City.

But it also brought back memories of the summer of 1984, when the movie “Ghostbusters” was released. Our family saw it and we, like millions of others, bought the soundtrack. To be honest, I don’t remember much about the movie. I do remember the “shocking” way in which the Ghostbusters freed NYC of the evil ghost. And, because it got played over and over and over, I remember the song “Ghostbusters” by Ray Parker Junior.

Which brings me back to the Macy’s parade: The ballon is the Pillsbury Dough Boy. Because Pillsbury had concerns about letting their corporate icon be associated with a ghost, the movie makers came up with their own happy, puffy guy. His name was Stay Puft. But hard core movie buffs would have already known that. Incidentally, General Mills (Pillsbury et al.) didn’t introduce the balloon version of the Dough Boy until 2009, 25 years after the movie.

Canon 5DIII 1/180s f/5.6 ISO400 96mm

06-23-16 Mac: b. 2000 d. June 23, 2016

It isn’t easy saying goodbye to a friend – even if the friend is an common orange tabby cat . . . (read more)

By Scott Shephard

There is much that I could say about our cat Mac, who came into our home from the Humane Society 16 years ago. Instead, I will simply say that we put him to sleep today as an act of mercy and love.

He was really Deb’s cat – I always thought of myself as a dog person. Slowly but surely, though, Mac turned me into a cat lover. Each night he cuddled against me as I went to sleep and each morning he purposefully led me to the cabinet in my den so he could enjoy his cat treat. Today it was Friskies Party Mix Crunch.

I wonder how many nights and how many mornings it will take before I quit expecting to see our good and loyal friend Mac?

Canon 5DIII 1/60s f/4.0 ISO3200 102mm

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06-22-16 Abandoned

My old friend is long gone . . . (read more)

By Scott Shephard

A few days I wrote about on old farm north of Miller, SD. Today, I am posting a photo taken several years ago of another old farm house, this one north of Watertown. This farm house was kind of like an old friend in that I visited many times and always felt comfortable in the presence of this place. I even took portrait subjects there. And on one perfect fall day, I took my one of my photography classes out here.

Sadly, the farmhouse and the out buildings were bulldozed and burned to make room for more crops a few years ago. I still feel sad about this but I do understand the economics of farming that would have led to the destruction of a place that had little more than sentimental value.

Fortunately, I have a few photos of the farmstead. Though I wish I had more . . . .

Canon 5DII 1/40s f/5.6 ISO250 47mm

Here are a few more photos, the first of which is one of my favorite photography groups. The others are before and after aerial photos. The last aerial photo shows the pile of rubble that remained after the farm was bulldozed. But even the rubble is gone now.

06-19-16 New Life

These leaves turn sunlight into acorns. (read more)

By Scott Shephard

I decided that after posting three black and white photos, I needed to add a splash of color to my blog. And, after yesterday’s fairly heavy subject, I decided to offer something “fresh.” So here are oak leaves aglow in the morning sun in the Black Hills. I took this photo two weeks ago and I would guess that the leaves are about a month old. And they are hard at work.

The word that springs to mind when I look at this picture is “photosynthesis,” which has always intrigued me. In the case of these leaves, they ultimately turn sunlight into acorns, which, when they aren’t feeding squirrels and chipmunks, are making new oak trees. A leaf may be nice to look at but don’t forget that it’s also a machine.

Ponder that for a while, my friendly reader. . . .

Canon 5DIII 1/125s f/4.5 ISO200 100mm

06-18-16 Shouting Out in Whispers

Some houses have more to say to me than others. Do they talk to you? (see the photo essay by following the link to my blog)

By Scott Shephard

When you turn south off of US 212 and head towards Miller, SD, you will pass an old farm house that sits on the crest of a hill in a part of my state that otherwise seems flat and limitless. The two story structure faces east and seems to want to bend down on one knee. But it is still stands and breathes. And it always talks to me.

I figure I’ve been by this place over 200 times. And every time as I pass it, it quietly calls out. “Look at me,” is what I usually hear. But sometimes in the morning or evening darkness, without seeing it, I only hear it say, “I’m here.” For, you see, even in the dark, when I drive on highway 45, I know the country road it lives on.

Yesterday morning, as I approached on my way home, it said in an pleasantly insistent tone, “Let’s talk.” And so I slowed and turned. It was sunny and warm and when I got out of my truck, camera in hand, all I heard was birdsong, distant cattle and the sound of other vehicles speeding towards their destinations. Their drivers hadn’t answered the house’s call.

Photographing a place like this is a reverential act for me. I feel like I have been asked to take a portrait of someone who may not be around much longer. And I have many questions. “What is your name?” “How long have you been here?” “What can you tell me about the craftsmen who build you?” “What’s it like to spend a winter here?” And, ultimately, I ask, “What joys, what sorrows and what triumphs have you witnessed in your long life?”

When I asked these questions yesterday, I was met with a friendly, and perhaps stoic, silence. We might expect that from an aged South Dakota Flatlander. But even in its silence it had much to say to me.

I listened as I walked around and took a few photos. When I left I said, “I’ll be back. Will you wait for me?” All I heard in response was the pleasant birdsong and the silence of the beautiful South Dakota prairie.

Canon 5DIII 1/250s f/11.0 ISO250 24mm

06-14-16 Inside Looking Out

Glenny enjoys the view from her tiny, tiny house. . . . (read more)

By Scott Shephard

For her third birthday, Glenyce Jane S. got a new house complete with sink, stove, cordless phone. The house is somewhere in size between an oversized doll’s house and a downsized tiny house of the kind you see on TV these days.

She likes her new house, of course, and has no trouble sharing the space with family members, me included. Though I have found it is easier to get in to the house than out.

Canon 5DIII 1/250s f/6.7 ISO320 67mm

A few more. . . (photos by Katie Shephard and Deb Shephard)

06-13-16 Ibby

Here’s looking at you, kid. . . (read more)

By Scott Shephard

My wife, Deb, asked me yesterday if I remembered that I had a photo blog that I used to post to once a day. And, yes, I did remember. She pointed out that I had plenty of good photos to share. And, I guess she’s right. So I’m back! At least for a day. . . .

It seems appropriate that I should return after close to a six week absence with a picture of the youngest member of the extended Shephard family. We know her these days as “Ibby,” though her full name is Irene Bernice.

And what can I say except that I think she’s beautiful. But what grandparent wouldn’t say that about one of their grandchildren?

Canon 5DIII 1/180s f/4.0 ISO640 102mm