Category: Family

11-28-16 Baby Grand

A child prodigy? It’s a little too soon to tell . . . (read more)

By Scott Shephard

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart began toying with the piano at the age of 3 and some say that at age 5 was not only playing competently, but also composing short pieces. Ibby (aka Irene Bernice Shephard), at 16 months, may well be on her way to besting Mozart. Who knows?

What she was playing had no discoverable melody and rhythm. But I’m no musician. Maybe she was playing some avant garde melody well ahead of her time. Or maybe not. Mozart was a tempestuous prodigy. I’ll take a happy-go-lucky toddler over that any day. 🙂

Canon 5DIII 1/125s f/4.0 ISO400 100mm

 

11-12-16 Photographs and Memories

What value does an an informal portrait have? (read more)

By Scott Shephard

At a loss to find something to post today, I simply searched my photo library (229,674 strong as I write this) of photos I took on November 12. It turns out that I had several to choose from. But this one jumped out.

If you are still reading, I would be surprised, since there is nothing remarkable about this photo to anyone outside of the experience of the five of us pictured. Such is the nature of informal group photos of friends and family. Pictured from left to right are Frank Creveling, Betty Creveling (Frank’s wife and my cousin), my aunt Gladys, Deb ( my wife) and me.

What makes this especially meaningful to me is that all four of the others pictured are important to me. And two of them are no longer with us. Frank died a few weeks ago at the age of 91 and Gladys died in 2010 at the age of 97. Betty, Deb and I are “survivors,” I guess

But if we are lucky, we all survive – even in death. Today, for example, Frank and Gladys stand tall and smiling for my camera. And, of course, they survive in our memory. I’ll admit that memory and photographs are ephemeral. But a photograph like this jogs our memory; and it may, after memory fades, ultimately prove our existence to those who come after us.

Canon 20D 1/60s f/4.0 ISO400 28mm (35mm eq:44.8mm)

11-07-16 Visiting an Old Friend

Does your dog think you’re perfect? (read more)

By Scott Shephard

This studio selfie was taken 14 years ago on the day that our wonderful springer spaniel Polly was put to sleep. She looks heathy in this photo, doesn’t she? But bladder cancer had recurred and because we loved her, we knew what we had to do.

Is she looking adoringly at me? Maybe. But she’s also looking for more dog treats, which I was using to get her to pose with me. I had run out and this was the last photo I ever took of her.

When I look at this photo, I still get a little sad. But I also think of the expression

“We should try to be the kind of person our dog thinks we are.”

I do think Polly adored me but she adored everyone, except, perhaps, for the UPS Man, due to no fault of his own.

They say that dogs can sense human emotions, including fear and happiness. Some dogs can even sense an impending epileptic seizure, low blood sugar or even cancer in their owners. As I look at this photo, I wonder if dogs can’t also sense goodness in people, even when the people aren’t aware of it themselves?

I continue to try to be the kind of person Polly thought I was. But it’s not always easy. This photo reminds me not just of a good friend who has passed away but also of the fact that I need to keep trying to live up to her high expectations.

Canon 1D

09-26-16 Come to the Window

What I see when I say goodbye. . . (read more)

By Scott Shephard

We had a great weekend helping son Brian take care of his two girls while wife and mother Katie was away for a short family trip. I have suggested that both kids tend to be moving targets but I’ve found that there are some places where they will stand still for a while. The front door is one of those places.

The window already had a few hand prints before we started taking photos but there were quite a few more when we were done.

Canon 5DIII 1/180s f/5.6 ISO400 84mm

09-25-16 Ibby Outside

A brief pause for the perpetual motion machine. (read more)

By Scott Shephard

Ibby (aka Irene Bernice) doesn’t sit still for my camera very often. And when she does, I’m lucky if I get one or two shots before she moves on. Such was the case yesterday during our informal portrait session in her back yard. The session lasted all of two minutes

At 14 months Ibby is a perpetual motion machine. She has little to say and yet she always seems to get what she wants and needs. And, of course, she’s amazing to watch.

Canon 5DIII 1/1500s f/2.8 ISO400 130mm 

07-26-16 Glamorous Glenyce

Glenyce couldn’t care less about “glam”. . . (read more)

By Scott Shephard

This may be one of the first times that when I said, “Stand here because I’d like to take a picture,” Glenyce cooperated. Often, she says, “No” or just simply turns away from my camera.

When I posed her, I didn’t tell her how to look or how to stand. I did ask her to wait for the clouds to go over the morning sun so we would have softer light. She did. And we got this photo.

Is she glamorous? That’s the last word I’d want to apply to the bright, curious and sometimes impetuous 3 year old. Is she beautiful? I’m guessing that you may already know how I’d answer that question. . . .

Canon 5DIII 1/750s f/4.0 ISO400 102mm

07-25-16 Ready for Church

A beautiful subject on a beautiful Sunday morning . . . (read more)

By Scott Shephard

My photo sessions with our two granddaughters are rarely formal. I have the luxury of just trying to be at the right place at the right time and if I get a keeper or two, I feel lucky.

In the case of Ibby (Irene Bernice), I almost always have a willing and photogenic subject. Though the problem I have is that my big camera blocks my face and she’s still occasionally puzzled by that. But, if I have a helper behind me (aka Deb), I can get a smile.

Yesterday, Ibby was dressed to got to church with her great-grandmother Jane in Hermosa, SD. It was a beautiful morning with subdued sunlight. How could I go wrong?

Canon 5DIII 1/350s f/4.0 ISO400 82mm

07-19-16 Just A Few Years Ago

“A few” turns into 10 or more in a hurry . . . .

By Scott Shephard

When our two sons, Brian and Jon, were little, Deb used to tell me that I’d better appreciate them for what they were because they “will grow up in a hurry.” I’m not sure I believed her and frankly, when they were toddlers, all I wanted was for them to get to an age when I could have a reasonable conversation with them. Unfortunately, by the time that happened, they were busy with friends and school and their personal pursuits. Before I knew it, they were in their 30s. They did grow up in a hurry.

I took very few photos of my sons when they were little and I feel sad about that. But every once and a while I come across a photo I took of one or the other, including this one. I don’t know the date (pre-digital) but we were in the Black Hills and I’m guessing Jon was in his late teens. I told him that I wanted to practice taking a portrait or two. Jon was a willing and a photogenic subject.

Years later, when I look at this photo, I don’t long for days past nor do I feel regret about missing opportunities. That seems pointless to me. All I can do is look forward to the many opportunities Deb and I will have to spend quality time with our sons and their family circles.

Canon something or other on black and white film.

07-15-16 Duet

This old piano teaches me something about the meaning of the word “value” . . . (read more)

By Scott Shephard

This old piano has been in Deb’s family for almost 80 years. Deb’s grandma Leah bought it used to liven up their home. Eventually, it went from rural Miller, SD, where Deb’s grandparents farmed, to her parents’ house in Sioux Falls. A few decades later, it came to live with us in Watertown, SD. It has now followed us to three different houses.

It has no monetary value and if I’d have had my way, it would have been left behind two houses ago. But as I look at this photo, I am given a powerful lesson on the meaning of the word “value.”

Deb has always said it had “sentimental value,” and while I never scoffed at the idea, I failed to see how a heavy piano that caused more than one mover to curse could be something we’d hang on to. To me it was essentially a very big, somewhat ragged souvenir.

This photo helps me understand Deb’s attachment. Here our son Brian sits and plays this old instrument with his youngest daughter Irene. Brian’s innate musical ability came from his grandpa Clint, who first played this piano when he was very young. And, if Irene is lucky, she will inherit her father’s and her great grandfather’s talent.

When Irene puts her little fingers on this piano, she is the fifth generation to come in contact with an instrument that has brought music and life to every room its been in. I have a new-found fondness for this piano. But I also hope that before Deb and I move again, Brian or Ibby move it to their house. 🙂

Canon 5DIII 1/20s f/4.0 ISO500 32mm

Here’s an archival photo of Deb playing this very piano. It’s a bit blurry, I’m afraid but that’s Deb’s Grandpa Arie sitting in the background.

07-10-16 Sister Act

We celebrated Irene Bernice’s 1st birthday and Glenyce enjoyed the event. . . (read and see more by seeing the blog)

By Scott Shephard

We hosted Irene Bernice Shephard’s (left) 1st birthday party yesterday and a good time was had by all. There was much that made it a special day but grandmother Mary Brass made very special outfits for the grandchildren. And they were a colorful hit!

Canon 5DIII 1/2000s f/2.8 ISO400 200mm