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
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
Some houses have more to say to me than others. Do they talk to you? (see the photo essay by following the link to my blog)
By Scott Shephard
When you turn south off of US 212 and head towards Miller, SD, you will pass an old farm house that sits on the crest of a hill in a part of my state that otherwise seems flat and limitless. The two story structure faces east and seems to want to bend down on one knee. But it is still stands and breathes. And it always talks to me.
I figure I’ve been by this place over 200 times. And every time as I pass it, it quietly calls out. “Look at me,” is what I usually hear. But sometimes in the morning or evening darkness, without seeing it, I only hear it say, “I’m here.” For, you see, even in the dark, when I drive on highway 45, I know the country road it lives on.
Yesterday morning, as I approached on my way home, it said in an pleasantly insistent tone, “Let’s talk.” And so I slowed and turned. It was sunny and warm and when I got out of my truck, camera in hand, all I heard was birdsong, distant cattle and the sound of other vehicles speeding towards their destinations. Their drivers hadn’t answered the house’s call.
Photographing a place like this is a reverential act for me. I feel like I have been asked to take a portrait of someone who may not be around much longer. And I have many questions. “What is your name?” “How long have you been here?” “What can you tell me about the craftsmen who build you?” “What’s it like to spend a winter here?” And, ultimately, I ask, “What joys, what sorrows and what triumphs have you witnessed in your long life?”
When I asked these questions yesterday, I was met with a friendly, and perhaps stoic, silence. We might expect that from an aged South Dakota Flatlander. But even in its silence it had much to say to me.
I listened as I walked around and took a few photos. When I left I said, “I’ll be back. Will you wait for me?” All I heard in response was the pleasant birdsong and the silence of the beautiful South Dakota prairie.
Canon 5DIII 1/250s f/11.0 ISO250 24mm
Here’s looking at you, kid. . . (read more)
By Scott Shephard
My wife, Deb, asked me yesterday if I remembered that I had a photo blog that I used to post to once a day. And, yes, I did remember. She pointed out that I had plenty of good photos to share. And, I guess she’s right. So I’m back! At least for a day. . . .
It seems appropriate that I should return after close to a six week absence with a picture of the youngest member of the extended Shephard family. We know her these days as “Ibby,” though her full name is Irene Bernice.
And what can I say except that I think she’s beautiful. But what grandparent wouldn’t say that about one of their grandchildren?
Canon 5DIII 1/180s f/4.0 ISO640 102mm
It’s no secret that I like the look of bare trees. . .
By Scott Shephard
I guess I can’t help it. I like to photograph bare trees – whether dying, dead or, as in the case of this massive oak in Maryland, about to leaf out. It’s that brachiation that enthralls me. ( I just used two fancy words to pay homage to all of the English teachers that helped shape me. 🙂 )
Canon 5DIII 1/60s f/8.0 ISO200 35mm
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
Tiny cattle inhabit a bucolic western South Dakota river valley.
So 15 minutes after capturing “Knee Deep,” and roughly 30 minutes after “Beyond Wasta,” I came across this vista, which is looking northeast over the Belle Fourche River valley. The size of the cattle gives a bit of scale to this scene. It was windy and a bit cool when I got out of my truck to set up my tripod (this is an HDR sequence). But when I look at this photo, I feel a sense of silence and peacefulness. And if cattle can feel contentedness, I’d guess they’d feel it here
“Why black and white?” you ask. I didn’t like the quality of the color in the scene and I also felt it distracted from seeing all of the shapes, lines and contours. Finally, I like the way black and white makes the cattle and their shadows stand out from the pasture land that they have chosen to picnic on.
Canon 5DIII 1/60s f/14.0 ISO100 182mm
