Seasons – A Photo A Day (Squarespace)

10-02-16 Change Is in the Air

It’s good and bad . . . (read more)

By Scott Shephard

I appreciate fall, of course, mainly because of all of the changing colors. But at the same time, the changing colors also signal the end of summer. Frankly, I like summer best, mainly because of the warm weather and the good sailing I enjoy on Lake Oahe.

But I’m not complaining. And to have been out on a perfect morning like yesterday trying to capture the idea of fall in the Black Hills is hard to beat, especially given that my good friend Bill Z. was there to enjoy it with me.

Canon 5DIII 1/250s f/2.8 ISO200 100mm

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

04-07-16 Columbine

Another hint of things to come. . . (read more)

By Scott Shephard

Unfortunately, when some of us hear the word “Columbine,” we think of the school shooting that happened in Colorado in April, 2009. And I’m sorry to bring that up . . . .

But if you want to think of something brighter, think “delicate flower” and think of this picture. The name columbine comes from the Latin word for dove, a bird which produces a soothing sound and which is the symbol of peace. I like that. Further, if you didn’t know it, the columbine flower is the state flower of Colorado.

Canon D60 1/40s f/5.6 ISO200 120mm (35mm eq:192mm)

04-06-16 Rite of Spring

These small flowers are dangerous non-conformists.

By Scott Shephard

As I look out of my office window, I am more conscious than ever of the fact that the building covenants in our neighborhood are what I am calling “anti-color.” That translates as “earth tones” which translates as “dull.”

Add heavy clouds, light haze and mostly brown grass to the nearly colorless painting schemes and you have a prescription for the early spring South Dakota blues.

A pill might help. But how about taking in bright, purple crocus flowers, which seem to flaunt the color covenants in our part of town instead? You have to get down on your hands and knees to see them as they are pictured here. But why not bow down to this wonderful little iconoclast?

Canon 5DII 1/250s f/3.2 ISO400 100mm

03-16-16 Spring Has Sprung. . .

Spring has sprung, the grass has ris, I wonder . . . (read more)

By Scott Shephard

When Deb takes a photo of mine off the wall and puts it on the floor, it is her way of saying . . . . well, that she doesn’t want the picture on the wall.

She rarely does this and recently what she took down was my “Winter Triptych” which I’m sure she likes but which tends to remind us of something most South Dakotans want to forget: winter.

So I made what I am officially calling my “Spring/Summer Triptych.” It’s a creative title don’t you think? And for those wanting names for the flowers, from top to bottom, they are lily, crocus and flowering crab apple. I offer nothing fancy today; but I hope it is optimistic.

01-31-16 Winter Sports

There are a few good things about Minnesota snow. (Read More)

By Scott Shephard

People in warm climates sometimes ask why people live in cold places like Minnesota, where this photo was taken. There are many answers, most of which are convincing to someone like me. First, it’s home and that’s generally where family is. Second, if everyone moved to warm climates, place like Honolulu, San Diego and Cancun would be more crowded than they already are. Third, I am concerned that the cold weather apparel and tool industries would collapse. (China’s economy is already a bit unsettled!)

A less convincing reason is that we have snow and warm places don’t. Yesterday, when I was watching Brian and Glenyce sled down the hill at Minnesota State Fair Grounds, I was thinking that they can’t do that in Hawaii. And sometimes, when I walk on freshly fallen snow and hear the crunch under my shoes, I think that someone who has lived in southern California their whole lives has no idea of what they’re missing.

And the good thing about snow in the upper plains states is that it will melt away sooner or later. Maybe in May . . . .

Canon 5DIII 1/250s f/6.7 ISO200 102mm

03-25-14 Weathered (HDR)

Another weathered and somewhat broken down oak tree waits for the resurrection that comes every spring. . . .

by Scott Shephard

I’m on a “trees in snow” theme. As I’ve said, as tired as I am of cold and snow in my home state, it’s hard not to be enthralled with the beauty of trees in snow. In fact, when I went out driving in the snow storm on this particular morning, I was explicitly looking for bare trees with snow sticking to them. And I found a few . . . .

Canon 5DIII 1/5000s f/2.8 ISO400 175mm

Subscribe To A Photo A Day

03-24-14 Waiting for the Sun

Two bare oak trees at Lakota Lake in the Black Hills of South Dakota endure a March snow storm and wait patiently for spring.

by Scott Shephard

Children of the 70s may recognize my title’s allusion to the Doors’ song “Waiting for the Sun.” In the first stanza, Jim Morrison sings

“At first flash of Eden, we race down to the sea.
Standing there on Freedom’s Shore.
Waiting for the Sun Waiting for the Sun Waiting for the Sun
Can you feel it now that spring has come.
And it’s time to live in the scattered sun.”

— “Waiting for the Sun” The Doors

I’ve never really understood this song. In fact, there are a lot of Doors songs I don’t get. “Esoteric” might be a good word to describe them. Perhaps I need some kind of reality altering substance to truly appreciate the Doors? (I remember reading that the group’s name comes from a concept known as the “doors of perception,” which has something to do with LSD.)

Speaking of altering reality, no drugs are needed to understand this scene, though I have altered your reality a bit for you. I turned the scene to black and white (though it was pretty much gray as I originally photographed it). And I’ve cleaned up a few unnecessary distractions from the scene. So I hope you don’t mind that I cropped, flattened, adjusted and colored your view of reality today.

And, yes, I think these trees are “waiting for the sun.”

Canon 5DIII 1/3200s f/2.8 ISO400 170mm

Join Me In the Black Hills

Google

03-15-14 Knee Deep

Withered sunflowers wait for the winter ice to melt.

2014 03-15 Ankle Deep by Watertown, South Dakota, photographer Scott Shephard

Twelve minutes after I took the photo you saw yesterday, the road dipped through a low spot where sunflowers that hadn’t gotten harvested last fall stood in frozen water. I had almost driven past when I stopped, backed up about 1/4 mile and studied these sunflowers. The dark blue color of the ice, the orange tones of the heads and the way the sunflower stalks were reflected in the ice are what stopped me. I probably took 15 photos but this one ended up being the “keeper.”

You may think it strange of me to anthropomorphize* sunflowers. But to me, they look like crowds of frail, old people standing with drooping heads. And, more than that, I am struck by the juxtaposition** that sunflowers represent: they are one of the most beautiful South Dakota crops in their prime but one of the homeliest just before harvest. Is there some kind of metaphor here about you and me? Who knows. I just hope I never have to stand in frozen water. . . .

*Polysyllabic word #1!
**Polysyllabic word #2!

02-04-14 Dreaming of Fall Colors

2014 02-04 Dreaming of Fall Colors by Watertown, South Dakota, photographer Scott Shephard

This photo was taken a few years ago on a visit to the Yashiro Japanese Garden in Olympia, Washington. Our timing was perfect (and lucky) and the garden was, as any hunter might say, “a target rich environment.”

Canon 5D 1/60s f/4.0 ISO400 105mm

[maxbutton id=”21″]

Creative Commons License

Dreaming of Fall Colors by Scott Shephard is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.