Scott's Photo Blog

Georgia O'Keeffe -ism

2012-02-14T12:27:00.000-06:00

Hibiscus Flower

As I've said before, I love flowers. This is the same blossom as in the previous post, just a little closer up. I like to imagine that Georgia O'Keeffe would like this one.

Courthouse Hibiscus

2012-02-03T18:30:00.001-06:00

Hibiscus Flower

This lovely hibiscus was blooming outside the LaPorte County Courthouse last August. My high zoom was up to the task. This is straight out of the camera.

All work and no play...

2012-01-18T12:25:00.002-06:00

Girl as Lamp

Never forget that photography should be fun. Art is great, but you can't be serious all the time. Humor and silliness are important sparks for your creativity, and you discard them at your peril. This snapshot is a silly, catch the moment thing prompted by the antics of teenagers, but it gives me ideas for more serious work that I hadn't thought of before. Get your camera out and snap! Back in the days of expensive film and processing, there was some excuse for not taking photographs, but in the digital age those reasons are gone. Hard drive space is cheap, and if you don't like the images you can just delete them. Take all you want, and don't be afraid to be goofy.

The Best Camera…

2012-01-17T13:55:00.001-06:00

Is the one you have with you. iPhone ftw!

Signature

2011-12-09T05:45:00.001-06:00

Daisy, Ogden Gardens, Valparaiso, IN

For a long while I worked a job near this botanical garden park in Valparaiso, and every day (weather permitting) at lunch I would head over to the park and take photographs. My stated goal was to get one good image in an hour. This particular one, which I just adore, came on a day when I was able to get several good shots in that hour. It's become my signature shot; it's on my business cards, bumper stickers and car magnets. I still love to look at it.

Needless to say I have a LOT of flower images, so expect to see more of them here.

Ice Storm

2011-12-02T05:58:00.001-06:00

Icy Window, Grovertown, IN

This is an older picture. We had a pretty severe ice storm a few years back and, despite the fact that it was well below zero that day, I went out with my then very new DSLR to get some pictures. Two expended batteries and some very cold fingers later, I had images on the card that I hoped would be okay. No chimping for me in that weather! This image of ice layered on one of our barn windows is one of my favorites. I hope you enjoy it.

Peony Macro

2011-11-30T05:03:00.001-06:00

Peony, Ogden Gardens, Valparaiso, IN

This is old, but a favorite. Taken with a now defunct Olympus waterproof compact, when I was first learning the joys and limitations of compact digital cameras. I love the pattern of the petals in this shot.

LaPorte County Courthouse

2011-11-25T07:16:00.001-06:00

County Courthouse, LaPorte, IN

On a beautiful afternoon in August, I had some time to kill in LaPorte. Naturally the camera came out, and this building, which dominates the entire downtown area, was a ready subject. The breeze was just enough to move the flag occasionally, and I was lucky enough to catch it just right in one of a dozen exposures.

Memories of the Sun

2011-11-16T05:51:00.001-06:00

Sunset, Grovertown, IN

Eventually you'll get tired of me posting these, I'm sure. I'm not there yet. At this point it's dark when I leave for work and dark when I get home, so I'm trying to hang on to what it is like to actually see the sun on a daily basis. Weekends just aren't enough.

On Fire

2011-11-09T05:39:00.004-06:00

Sunset, Grovertown, IN

This is another shot from the same sunset as the last shot I posted. This is absolutely straight out of the camera, no adjustments needed. I love it when that happens.

Natural Glory

2011-11-03T06:04:00.001-05:00

Sunset, Grovertown Indiana

Sometimes, the world sees fit to remind us what a beautiful place it truly is. I turned off the main highway last night and that 90 degree change in perspective brought this in front of me. I immediately pulled the car over and got out, camera in hand. The camera was set for a 24mm equivalent lens; if I'd had a wider setting I would have used it, because I still couldn't take it all in. There are more from this sunset, but I wanted to start with this overall view.

Setting Moon

2011-11-02T05:45:00.004-05:00

Setting Moon, Valparaiso, Indiana

The setting moon this particular morning was so beautiful that I just had to stop and photograph it. Even though I was on my way to work, which is very serious business in American culture. I'm quite sure the other commuters wondered who the lunatic with the camera was! Just me, and in this case lunatic is probably an apt description, since I was enthralled with this lovely moon.

Spring Wildflowers

2011-11-01T10:31:00.001-05:00

Spring wildflowers - Potato Creek State Park, Indiana

This shot was taken with one of my favorite cameras, a Canon "High Zoom" advanced amateur model. It's not that I don't love my DSLR, I absolutely do. The Canon has a ton of convenience features that my (older) DSLR doesn't have, and it's smaller and lighter to pack on hikes. Recently Sony has announced a DSLR body using SLT technology that has all the features of the Canon plus some, and boy that makes me want a new camera body!

I don't know what these flowers are called, but they were all over the forest floor this spring. I find them just lovely.

Trillium

2011-10-21T14:12:00.000-05:00

Trillium, Potato Creek State Park, IN

Another exceptional shot from my little compact camera on that spring hike. With a little patience I can often get some very nice results with it. Mostly it's a matter of bearing its limitations in mind.

Purple Wildflower

2011-10-19T10:03:00.001-05:00

Purple Wildflower, Potato Creek State Park, Indiana

I don't always pack around a DSLR, but sometimes I still get an amazing shot. This beautiful little flower was captured with a $60 refurbished Sony compact, which I take on hikes with the family. Goes to show you that Helmut Newton was right, it's not about the equipment.

First Entry

2011-10-14T13:28:00.001-05:00

Ogden Gardens, Valparaiso, Indiana

This photo is one of my wife's favorites. Normally I don't apply filters and so forth to my images in post-processing; it's just not my thing. In this case, however, I think it works quite well. The soft glow from the filter enhances the sylvan setting and makes me look for faeries under the burning bush. I applied a gaussian blur filter to this image for a contest entry. It took third place.