Category: Animal

07-04-16 A Wary Visitor

This is a rare visit from a white tailed buck. . . 

By Scott Shephard

I don’t know much about deer hunting but I do know that antler size and number is something to notice. I count eight, certainly, but I think non-hunting photographers like me see a male deer a little differently.

For example, how can you not be struck by the soft blue gray look of the antlers? Or the symmetry? And can you see that the very end of the right ear is missing? Or that his fur is somewhat wet from the recent rain? What else can you see when you look at an animal like this as a specimen rather than an object?

I make no judgements about hunters and hunting in asking my questions. Hunting serves a purpose and many see mildly domesticated deer as pests. Nevertheless, I think it would be illegal to shoot this guy on our property in the Black Hills given that he was attracted by the frequent feasts of cracked corn we offer and the nearby salt lick we offer to our forrest friends.

But I sit on our porch with my high power lens and fire away. 🙂

Canon 5DIII 1/180s f/2.8 ISO400 200mm

04-30-16 Life’s A Beach

By Scott Shephard

“A dog’s life” on the beach at Cane Garden Bay in the BVI isn’t all that tough. I had seen these two roaming the beach and working the crowd the day before. On this day, they seemed exhausted. No towel and beach chair for them – the cool, white sand is enough creature comfort. Life is good!

iPhone 6s 1/1150s f/2.2 ISO25 4.15mm (35mm eq:29mm)

04-29-16 Free Range Rooster

By Scott Shephard

It is 5am as I sit here writing this and there are at least three roosters crowing. They have been doing this all night long. The idea that roosters make good alarm clocks because they crow at dawn is a “city-folk” concept. Certainly, on the island of Tortola is isn’t true. They seem to call out out 24/7.

This particular rooster was part of a band of chickens we encountered on our explorations yesterday morning. There were other roosters in this group so I can’t say if this one ruled the roost. Since chickens like this are free range and appear to belong to no one, I don’t know what the island culture is about turning them into food. Deb had chicken on her salad yesterday and it makes me wonder. . . . 

Canon 5DIII 1/350s f/2.8 ISO400 100mm

03-23-14 Walking the Dog (2004)

A man walks his dog on the dock in the bay (on the Greek island of Crete).

by Scott Shephard

I have decided that Sunday’s are going to be my “Flashback Day,” which means that I will post something from either my recent or ancient digital or film photography past. You’ll have to come back next Sunday to see if I remember saying this or if I am true to my word.

This photo was taken in 2004 from the observation deck of a cruise boat that had just docked on the island of Crete. Deb and I were on a Greek island cruise with a group of great Watertown High School students.

This is really more of a snap shot than anything, though I like the look and feel of the photo. I also like the composition, though I will admit that I knew nothing of the “rule of thirds” or of leading lines or of texture or of light and shadow, etc., etc. I must have had some subliminal grasp of these things because they are all present. Or, I just got lucky.

Canon 1DII 1/800s f/10.0 ISO320 300mm

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02-03-14 Under the Sea

2014 02-03 Under the Sea by Watertown, South Dakota, photographer Scott Shephard
2014 02-03 Under the Sea by Watertown, South Dakota, photographer Scott Shephard

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This is a GoPro frame capture of my brother-in-law luring a tropical fish closer to him using a banana as bait. I’m guessing that naturalist wouldn’t like the fact that the fish have become somewhat domesticated. But it’s good for the snorkelers.

11-24-13 The Mysterious Moon Jellyfish

2013 11-23 Another World - Moon Jellyfish by Watertown, SD, photographer Scott Shephard
Here’s another capture from the Doorly Zoo and Aquarium in Omaha, Nebraska. As I was working on getting this photo ready for this post, it occurred to me that the photos you see here fall into one of about three categories: photos that demonstrate a process, photos that attempt to show a unique or new view of things, and photos of things, in which process, art and uniqueness are not primary considerations.

This Moon Jellyfish photo falls into the third category. Do a Google search and you will discover over a million hits. And many of the photos are much better than this one. So why post? Partly, to borrow a phrase from mountaineer George Mallory, “because it’s there.”

Also, because I often see and think analogously, this photo reminded me very much of the alleged “brain” in Michelangelo’s famous centerpiece of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Judge for yourselves:

Creación_de_Adám

In case you are wondering, the “brain” is the form in which God (the one with clothes) seems to be floating. Had Michelangelo seen a human brain before he painted this? No doubt. Did he say the strange form in the painting was inspired by brains he had seen? No. What does it all mean?

What it means is that I accidentally took a photo that is vaguely reminiscent of Michelangelo. So at least for today, I am in good company.

Canon 5DIII 1/50s f/4.0 ISO2000 67mm

Creation of Adam photo courtesy of Wikimedia

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

11-16-13 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