Tag: architecture

08-26-16 Off the Beaten Path

A turn here and a turn there and you are a world away from the throngs. . . (read more)

By Scott Shephard

On a typical summer day in Venice, Italy, it is likely you’d find throngs of tourists. Some complain that the city has become a sort of Disney Land in that it is a place that people visit for all of it’s attractions and leave at the end of the day.

I don’t like crowds but being a tourist myself, I am often part of the crowd. I discovered, however, that in places like Venice it isn’t hard to “get away from it all.” This 2005 photo is evidence. Not too far from this place you’d be hard pressed to avoid bumping into someone. But here you’g be hard pressed to find another person. It’s my kind of place. I love the textures in this old place. And I love the silence, which I hope you, too, can appreciate when you look at this photo.

Canon 20D 1/15s f/4.5 ISO400 30mm

04-16-16 Stone And Light

It has been called by some a “palace of justice” (read more)

By Scott Shephard

As some old timers say, “They don’t build ’em like that anymore.” That’s certainly true of the Codington County Court House, which was built in the late 1920s. Though the building is beautiful, there is talk about the need for something more “modern.” Modern isn’t always architecturally interesting, though I understand the need for space, efficiency and security.

The problem with modern is that it often pays little respect to the “vintage.” In fact, the antecedent to our current court house was destroyed to make room for it, even though the old building was itself a beautiful structure. Out with the old and in with the new, I guess.

Canon 5DIII 1/80s f/4.5 ISO1250 16mm

04-24-14 Peace and Quiet

The candid camera captures a man lost in a work of art at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC . . . .

By Scott Shephard

Other than distant voices, the sound of my camera’s shutter was the only thing to break the silence of this wonderful room in the National Gallery of Art. But the man in the photograph was oblivious to all of that. Such is the power of art . . . .

Canon 5DIII 1/40s f/2.8 ISO1000 16mm

04-22-14 A Great Place To Study (HDR)

Good architectural design involves good furniture. . . . 

By Scott Shephard

An ongoing project of mine is to photograph various places at Lake Area Technical Institute where a local office store (Office Peeps) has provided furniture. The LATI library is featured in today’s post and as far as I’m concerned everyone involved in the design did a brilliant job.

Years ago, when Watertown High School added a large new wing, there was an open house to show off the new space. One of the taxpayer complaints was, “Why did we waste so much money on color?” The thinking must have been that institutions should be gray and drab since gray and drab is cheaper. Color, light and space have huge impact on how we feel. And as I life-long teacher I can tell you that all of the senses play a significant role in learning.

Canon 5DIII 1/10s f/7.1 ISO320 19mm

 

A few more from the photo shoot:

03-31-14 Details

The impressive soaring dome at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, was no doubt inspired by the Roman Pantheon. . . .

By Scott Shephard

When I’m shooting a photo in a place like the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, I often wonder what I could possibly photograph that someone else hasn’t already done. The answer on my visit yesterday when I took this was, “Not much.”

But I still took this picture, in part because I wanted the place in my photo collection. I was also experimenting. The experiment? Can I do an HDR photo at ISO 1250, without a tripod and have two of the three exposures slower than 1/60 of a second? The answer is yes, I guess, Though a magnifying glass would no doubt show the imperfections.

On a side note, I am struck by the fact that under this spectacular dome, the statue is the Roman god Mercury. I wonder if designers could get away with blatant paganism in a public building these days?

Canon 5DIII 1/50s f/2.8 ISO1250 16mm

03-04-14 Sleeping On the Job

I’m not sleeping now and I’m not really sleeping in the photo, either. I was at Lake Area Technical Institute working on a project for Office Peeps, a local office solutions retailer, and decided it might be a good time to get a self portrait. Also, I was using Camranger to remotely control my camera so it was convenient to get myself in a photo. (If you look closely at the iPad on the floor, you will see the same photo you see here because I can get a live view on my IOS device with Camranger.)

For those who are regular readers of my blog, you might see the humor in the title, given that my last post for “A Photo A Day” was on the 17th of February. Have I been sleeping too much? No. Have I been traveling? No. Did my wireless connection quit? No. Do I have a good excuse. Maybe.

I have been working on projects and, significantly, I have been working on a new web site, which you are apparently looking at right now. Thanks for visiting. (How about subscribing to new posts on both my “Learn” and “A Photo A Day” pages here at Scott Shephard Photography? Just fill in the little box on the right.)

Will “A Photo A Day” as you know it disappear? No doubt. When? There is much doubt.

And, yes, four external links is way too much for the average viewer. But you’re better than average, aren’t you? Check out some of the LATI Office Peeps project photos here.