Category: Nature

11-08-16 “I Was Here First”

Is there room enough for two?

By Scott Shephard

Our normal bird bath/bird feeder visitors are sparrows and the occasional pheasant. But yesterday we spotted these blue jays. So I set up my camera and my CamRanger, which allows me to see the scene on my iPad or iPhone and control the camera from another room, and waited for the birds to strike a pose.

Frankly, they aren’t too cooperative when it comes to posing but of the 15 or so photos I took, this one seemed to have the most merit.

Canon 5DIII 1/350s f/4.0 ISO200 200mm

11-04-16 Present at the Creation

My blog title today is figurative, of course. And literal.

By Scott Shephard

I’m not old enough to have been present at The Creation, which happened eons ago. But I can finally say that I did witness the slow and geologic creation of a little more earth – in this case the Big Island of Hawaii.

I have seen videos of lava flows on Hawaii before and while the lava seems dangerous, it also seems deceptively sedate – it has an amazingly warm glow and it seems to move languorously. But when you witness molten lava flowing into the ocean from as close as 50 feet away, it is anything but benign.

The sound of the boiling sea water, the whiff of sulfurous gas and the crash of the waves against the new-formed earth are both fascinating and scary.

The boat ride to this amazing place wasn’t exactly easy as we were pounding into 7 foot swells most of the way. And it wasn’t cheap, either. But it was certainly worth it.

A few more from our outing . . .

And a short video . . . 

[youtube=://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAotLMTzZBk&w=854&h=480]

10-04-16 Another Day

The sun has risen 22,936 times during my life. I’ve missed seeing most of those sunrises. How about you? (read more)

By Scott Shephard

It just occurred to me that while the sun rose only once in this place on this day it is otherwise always rising and always setting all day long every day. Of course, it’s more accurate to suggest that the earth revolves all day long as the sun stays fixed relative to our point of view on earth.

As a child I remember wondering how fast you’d have to move so that the sun would appear to stand still. Answer: 1,037.5 miles per hour.

But I wasn’t moving when I took this photo. In fact, I was transfixed. You would have been, too, if you had be up on The Rock with me a few mornings ago. The light you see in this photo lasted about 4 minutes. But it was worth the trip. . . .

Canon 5DIII 1/15s f/16.0 ISO200 47mm (5 frame HDR)

09-22-16 Sparkling Harvest Moon

What do you see that I don’t? (read more)

By Scott Shephard

I think a photo is a combination of what the photographer sees and composes and how the camera records it. And while the digital camera is designed to to capture the world the way most humans see it, that isn’t always the case. This photo is a good example.

Van Gogh might have seen funky things radiating from celestial objects (see “Starry Night”)* but I certainly didn’t see rays coming from the moon on the morning I took this photo of the Harvest Moon setting over the Black Hills. I also didn’t see the colors quite as vividly as you see them here. Finally, the clouds had a different look to me.

But my camera “saw” all of this. That’s part of what motivates me when I go out hunting for photos, especially in predawn light such as this. I often can’t wait to open the photo up in my “digital darkroom” when I get back home. I like to see what develops.

On this morning, I took several series of photos for well over an hour. The light and clouds were changing quickly and when I got done, I had the feeling that while I felt blessed just be witness to such a beautiful morning, I felt that my photography was a big FAIL. And while it may seem odd, it has occurred to me lately that my photography is less about results than it is about process. It’s also largely about being in amazing places like this in the dawn’s early light and completely losing track of time and self.

Is this a good photo? You’ll have to decide that. I’m just happy I was there when it happened.

*One theory suggests that Van Gogh’s exposure to lead based paint caused him to see halos around bright objects. My camera has had no such exposure.

Canon 5DIII 6s f/11.0 ISO320 16mm (five frame HDR)

07-27-16 The Buck Stops Here

Apologies to Harry S. Truman. . . (read more)

By Scott Shephard

I apologize to Harry Truman for turning his famous quote into a cheesy blog title but I couldn’t resist. And, yes, I have posted two other white tailed buck photos recently. So I also apologize for repeating myself.

In this case of this deer, we were taking photos of the grandchildren when our son Brian pointed him out as he was moving through a wooded area behind us. I pointed my camera towards him, Brian whistled and the deer stopped and struck this pose. Frankly, I couldn’t have posed the deer in a better spot – it is well lit by soft morning light and the dark, internal framing helps show him off.

He looked at us for a few seconds and then continued on his way. Right now, life is good for this beautiful animal but I hope he lays low when hunting season rolls around.

Canon 5DIII 1/350s f/2.8 ISO400 200mm

07-06-16 Aspirations?

What do you want to be when you grow up? (read more)

By Scott Shephard

Generally, when I go looking for photo opportunities, I look for color, texture, and lines, among other things. On the morning I took this photo I was first looking for small things that are easily missed and then for color, texture, etc.

When I am taking photos, I am thinking about composition and framing. It’s only later, when I am back in the “darkroom,” that I think about potential meaning. Today’s photo made me think about how many things start as flowers, including ponderosa pines like this one. (You are looking at baby pine cones.)

It also makes me think of aspirations – things that we hope to be, do and see. Humans can have aspirations but I don’t think trees can. Humans, to a fair degree, can control what they become. Pine trees can’t. It is inevitable that pine cone flowers will become pine cones. Beyond that, who knows? External forces are in total control.

Canon 5DIII 1/125s f/4.0 ISO500 100mm

07-05-16 Rock of Ages

The rocks are as old as the Hills. . . . 

By Scott Shephard

One trick photographers use to recharge is to have a “project.” I’m not so good at that because I am easily distracted. But on our recent visit to the Black Hills I decided I needed something to get me see things I don’t normally see. So on my last day in the Hills, my project was “rocks.”

What I discovered, as I hope you see in this photo, is that there is plenty to look at. There is so much color, so much texture and so much to ponder. For example, it took me a few minutes to make this photo but the subject was in the making for a few million years. How does it happen that mountains get weathered down to smaller rocks? And what’s it like to be strong and sturdy after all those years?

Canon 5DIII 1/60s f/4.0 ISO200 85mm

A few more rocks (in black and white):

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

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

04-23-16 Genesis

“In the beginning. . . ” (read more)

By Scott Shephard

When I think of the “Book of Genesis” in the Old Testament, I don’t think of God willing coconut trees to grow out of volcanic rock on a place like the Big Island of Hawaii. But why not?

There is certainly something elemental about a fledgling tree growing out of some of Earth’s newest land – in this case near (or over) what was once the community of Kalapana. The black volcanic rock looks impossibly barren and hard but it is neither – it is brittle and rich in nutrients. Soon, there will be rich soil here and maybe even earth worms. But the word “soon” has a different meaning here and can’t easily be understood in human years.

Come back in a few thousand years and you won’t know the place. I’m thinking God’s watch doesn’t measure days or minutes or seconds. Probably not not months or years, either. . . .

Canon 5DIII 1/125s f/6.7 ISO100 47mm