But first, a little story about Nis, Elina and Loumari...
Here we see Nis contemplating his own reflection.
Here's mom, Loumari, a little pregnant with a brother for Nis and Elina.
Here's Elina with some of her cherished things.
A closeup of Elina.
Elina contemplating an early lunch
So where is the dad giant, Isak Heartstone? Well, believe it or not, it turns out that he was killed by the city of Breckinridge, Colorado so they didn't live happily ever after...
Steve Gammons of the Louisville Area Soaring Society (LASS) doing a winch launch of his 4 meter RC sailplane at the Charlie Vettiner RC Soaring flying site.
Two of the butterflies I saw this past weekend in Tom Sawyer Park
This first one, which is one of the varieties of Black Swallowtail, had huge wings. They were larger than any of the other Black Swallowtails I had previously seen.
This Monarch butterfly was nice enough to stay in a dark area where the light could still shine through its wings.
In a world of moving pictures, I have always been more fascinated by still images. They seem to work on the brain in a different manner than moving images. If you read a lot of photography blogs, you will soon figure out that there are two photographic subjects that are despised by “serious” photographers. They are train tracks and cemeteries. “Too cliche,” the serious photo bloggers will tell you. Well, that may be, but what if you just want to capture beauty in whatever form you happen to find it? I’m sure I would enjoy photographing, not only trains (and their tracks) but planes and automobiles as well, but I just don’t have access to a large variety of different subjects in those genres.
Serious photographers will also say that you are wasting your time if you head out to make photos in the middle of the day, when the sun is harsh and contrasty. “Go out only during the ‘golden hours’ at dawn and dusk,” they will tell you. Well, there certainly is good light during those golden hours, but what if you only have access to a particular location or subject outside of the golden hours? What if your schedule doesn’t allow you to be choosy? Perhaps you could learn to deal with contrasty light and other impediments to satisfying photographs? It's worth a try.
I say photograph what you want, when you want, or when you can. Each press of the shutter button will teach you something about your camera, light, perspective, etc. and you will see things, both in your subjects and yourself, that you may not get the chance to see if you wait for the perfect time or place to start taking pictures and enjoying photography. I also like to think of myself as a conduit of images to people who, for whatever reason, can’t get out themselves, to see what I see. Whether it be deer in the local state park, or a particular work of art at the local outdoor art gallery known as Cave Hill Cemetery.
And, as much as I enjoy gathering photographs, I really enjoy getting a good look at them on the computer and editing them in a way that I find pleasing or even surprising. You’d be amazed at how much color one can find in what first appears to be a gray slab of granite! When you look intently at something, you will see more.
Back in the day there used to be a show called “CBS Sunday Morning with Charles Kuralt”. Each episode would end with some usually eclectic story of a location, person, phenomenon, etc. to leave you with something to think about after the news portion of the show. The video would start rolling with some calm footage accompanied by a voiceover by Charles Kuralt describing what you were about to see. It was usually something you wouldn't see anywhere else
In the spirit of that show long ago, some photos from Louisville’s secret outdoor art gallery, all gathered in the last week or so.. Happy Sunday morning!
