Tag Archives: green

02-08-13 Forest Primeval (Reprise)

by

2013 02-08 Forest Primeval

TS Eliot was wrong. Februrary, not April, is “the cruelest month.” At least for me. Yes, the days are getting longer. Yes, the temperature ocassionally soars into the high 20s. But it is often in the heart of February that what I think is SAAD (seasonal affective disorder) hits me. And I lose my will to post new photos to this blog.

So I’m posting old stuff. . . But, in the event that you haven’t meticulously looked at all four years of my posts, you’ve probably never seen some of these. So maybe they’re not old.

12-06-12 Kinkankuji

by

Kinkankuji (Golden Paviilion) Kyoto, Japan by Scott Shephard

I’ll have to admit that I like this photo, which isn’t something I’m inclined to say about my work. A photo should speak for itself, I guess.

But I like this one because it’s green, and South Dakota is anything but green right now. I also like it because I rescued it from the virtual dumpster. Finally, I like it because it helps me see the value of software processes in a photographer’s work flow. I don’t want to get technical in today’s post but I will say that I started with this image (click), and ended up with the “adjusted” version in the blog. They say you can’t fool Mother Nature. But she can be enhanced. :-)

Kinkankuji is otherwise known as the Golden Pavilion, which is near/in Kyoto, Japan. Here’s a satellite view (click) of the location. I wish I could tell you exactly where I was standing when I took this, but I wasn’t in to GPS fixes in 2004, when we visited Japan

11-04-12 Deep Woods

by

This photo of moss growing on a tree branch in the Black Hills of South Dakota was taken by Watertown, SD, photographer Scott Shephard

Here’s one I took a few years ago and which I found yesterday in a quest to find a photo to “operate” on. By operate I mean “to rescue from relative mediocrity by using cool software.” (Try finding that alternate definition in your dictionary!)

The software is onOne’s new Perfect Photo Suite 7 and the subject is a mossy branch I discovered deep in the shadowy woods along Iron Creek a few miles away from our cabin in the Black Hills.

08-25-12 Yucca

by

Wild yucca plants growing in central South Dakota photographed by Watertown nature photographer Scott Shephard

There isn’t much that’s real green along Lake Oahe in central South Dakota in late August. But the yucca plant seems to be well adapted to drought conditions and so in some places, that’s all that is green.

Sometimes, due to erosion along the shores of Oahe, you will see yucca clinging to soil cliffs and if you study them, you will see that they have roots that go down more than 10 feet. That’s how they survive.

Many South Dakotans have deep roots and that’s how we hang on, as well.

Congregation 2

by

Large cactus leaves

Yesterday’s photo was a macro close-up of a plant I could have held in the cupped palms of my hands. Today’s plant is a likely relative of yesterday’s, though this is no macro. These leaves could be measured in feet, not inches, and would need a small room to occupy.

Everything about the cactus and succulent section of the Sherman Gardens in Corona del Mar, California, was captivating when I was there with Deb recently. But I was especially struck by the beautiful, strong southwestern light. These leaves are almost glowing – in part because of the reflected light bouncing off of the leaves and also because the leaves are slightly translucent. But it was soft blues and greens of this plant that attracted me to this scene. The sun was warm but the hues were cool.

Incidentally, I am experimenting with a new app on my iPad and iPhone called iPhoto. To Mac users, it is nothing new. But it is new for our portable devices. One of the things it allows is the publication of something called “journals.” Here’s a link to my California journal.

Green Fingers

by

Fern leaves

I took around 500 photos while I was in California recently. Most of them are of plants. Today, I post yet another example of the flora that grow in southern California.

I believe that nothing in nature develops accidentally and when I look at this I wonder about the purpose of all of the parts of this fern and of their design. Maybe a fern expert could chime in. Or maybe I could look it up on Wikipedia. . . .

Linear Green

by

The underside of a fine leafed shrub

I am in California for a few days and because I am using my iPad and iPhone for work and connectivity, keeping up with this blog is a little more challenging – especially the photo editing. But I’ll try to do my best.

This photo was taken a few blocks from my aunt’s house and it is like alot of green things I post – it is very green.

But aside from that, I really like the luminescence of this photo. I probably took 40 photos of this plant and they are pretty redundant. But, as usual, my photography wasn’t so much about what I got as it was that I was out seeing and seeking. And it was a perfect southern California morning, with temperatures heading into the high 70s. :-)