Rolling Iowa Farmland

Photo taken at mid day from the Grinnell Rest Area on I-80 between Iowa City and Des Moines.

Mid day is not the best time for landscape photos, but it was when I was there.

According to the plaque at the Rest Area, Grinnell was founded by Josiah Grinnell after following the famous advice of Horace Greeley who told him to "Go West, young man, go West."

Grinnell is the home of Grinnell College alma mater of actor, Gary Cooper and Robert Noyce, inventor of the process the made the micro-chip possible, and thereby the modern electronics revolution.

Beautiful Places

Photo processed in Photoshop CS5, HDR Pro using three exposures.

Scott Kelby, author and Photoshop guru, asserted in a Livonia, MI seminar last week that if you want to take beautiful pictures you must take your camera to beautiful places. His implication – You must travel to iconic places such as, Yellowstone National Park, Grand Canyon, Smoky Mountains or any of the several "arches parks" in Utah to find outstanding photos.
I take great exception to that argument.

First, look for the beautiful light, it's usually at dawn or at dusk, although every now and again you can find interesting light at mid-day. Next, identify what it was that moved you to point your camera – what made you say, "WOW?"

You will find that you are always in a beautiful place.

These three photos were taken within about ten minutes overlooking the White River delta at Montague, MI. The beautiful light was, of course, the impending sunrise. The WOW factor was the spectacular color. The reflections on the water provided a magnificent texture. The cloud patterns repeated in the reflections provided an interesting foreground, complete with middle and background all within a framework of thirds (the requisite pattern for a successful landscape photo).

Click on any of the three photos to see a larger image.

Pink Chairs in the Sunset...

...way out on the lawn.
They are old, retired and started to yawn.
They rose before the dawning, played all day with nary a snooze.
Pink chairs in the sunset, they left you to get more booze.

Afternoon Trout Stream Flows Into the Night

Architectural Digest Visits Barb's New Condo

...hey, it coulda happened.

The new corner cabinet needs a couple knick knacks. Otherwise, the color, balance and decor are all very nicely done.

Hummingbird Moth

Wildflowers in the Afternoon

I find it difficult to capture a photo of wildflowers that shows the beauty of their color scattered in a broad, mostly green, field.

Form Shape Texture

The most "everyday" of everyday subjects illuminated by a bathroom skylight at mid-day.

Worn-Out Gloves

...but the patio is finished.

September Morning in the Neighborhood

Montague, MI – September 11, 2013. My stroll through the neighborhood early yesterday began at the new

park behind the Trailway Campground.

Early morning light on a sunny day washes everything in spectacularly brilliant hues. Wild flowers flourish next to an old telephone pole and farther into the new meadow where a herd of deer feeds during the night.

Delicate Poppies, in particular, visually shout out the magnificence of nature reflected in early morning’s glow.

An elderly woman angles for panfish on the river delta next to the Fishing Bridge. She was among the very few people to witness this gorgeous morning in our neighborhood.

Golden color on the Lily Pads is a stark reminder that we are on the cusp of season’s change. The river flats will soon be frozen and covered with snow (something I don't intend to see again).

Down on the lake at the Municipal Marina a john boat floats in a broad sliver of morning radiance, a vision that will be totally unremarkable at mid-day.

A park bench, lamp post, and evidence of well-fed Canadian Geese mark the end of my morning amble on this early September day when the sky was clear, the air soft and the temperature absolutely perfect. The perfect time for a stroll through the neighborhood.

Discover the Light

Pussywillows in a crystal vase lit by the sun from a south facing window.

Red and Blue Jackets

An image based on light and color, manipulated in Photoshop CS5 with a border added in Perfect Effects 4.