pic & poem

Pic n Poem

May 27, 2013

Imac chose "pic n poem" for this week's Headbanger's theme.  Check out my  pals for their interpretations on this theme: Fishing  Guy, Katney, Imac and Lew.

Don't you just love the manner in which King David spoke of God's glory in creation?  Here, the Psalmist is looking at the sky, but gives special attention to the sun.  I selected this image for my header because it allowed me to draw the focus indirectly towards the sun and still leave lots of room for the text.  I hope you can see the text there, but if you cannot, I will repeat it here below.

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

  The heavens declare the glory of God,
    and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
² Day to day pours out speech,
    and night to night reveals knowledge.
³ There is no speech, nor are there words,
    whose voice is not heard.
⁴ Their voice goes out through all the earth,
    and their words to the end of the world.
In them he has set a tent for the sun,
⁵     which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,
    and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.
⁶ Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
    and its circuit to the end of them,
    and there is nothing hidden from its heat.

Psalm 19:1-6 (ESV)

sky scraper

There is a timed floodlight on a building near my home.  It lights up the tree at eleven PM like daylight.  I have often thought about taking night pics here, and I finally brought the tripod and took this picture.  And do you know what I noticed?  Do you see the star near the top of the tree?  Well, I had never realized that this tree... is almost as tall as the stars.  Any taller, and it might poke, scrape or tear the night's velvety shroud.  ;-)

For the next thee weeks, I plan to cooperate with a few blogging friends in a header competition.  While this is technically called a competition, for me, it is more like a community event.  We five will submit a post and header around the same subject.  I was afraid I might not have time, so I have only said yes to doing this for three weeks.  I do not know if I will be able to continue after that.  If you have not visited their blogs before, would you please consider viewing their posts and leaving a comment?  More information will be posted a couple of days from now.

crepuscular collection

I drove up to Wisconsin this weekend, and had a little time to kill in the late afternoon. The sun was very low on the horizon, and the drama of daylight's finale would climax quickly, followed just as quickly by the drawing of an opaque curtain.

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First, I worked to get the most realistic colors in this shot (above). Then, I toyed with the color settings in the camera, pulling one color or another. I fiddled with saturation, too. But I ended up most satisfied with a simple black & white. [click on any photo to enlarge]

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My favorite part of the amber waves of grain was the closest stalks, with their wavy details.

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There was a wooded area bordering the South of the property, and this is where I have done some archery. This path interests me because of how well lit the pathway stays, and how dark the woods can be on either side. When someone looks at this spot, they might just see a hill. Do you know what I see? My mind goes back to a time when I worked with campers there, and some children had the misfortune of disturbing a swarm of ground nesting yellow jackets. I also picture, in my mind's eye, my own children rolling down that hill. Thankfully, these are two separate stories, and not the same event.

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This last one was inspired by David Herrick, who's pictures I've seen on Facebook recently.

peace like a river

Last week's photo seminar was located at the University of Chicago, and the building sat right alongside the Chicago River. There were lots of tourists down below and nonstop boat tours.

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I have always loved Chicago, but I am not too keen on heavy congestion, and traffic jams, which is why I like this view. We have skyscrapers, but we have an element of elbow room as well. We are not bumper to bumper on the river, and the tall buildings graciously yield a compromise with the horizon down below. The blues and greens have an earthy serenity that offers a mental sanctuary from the busy rush and stressful deadlines.

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I quickly snapped this photo during a brief "bio break" and hurried back to my seat, where I had to crawl over knees, camera bags and sponsor literature. (laughing) Oh well... at least I have the picture, right?

whole lotta nothin'

We did a little visiting this weekend, and I took a few pics. And I wanted to share one or two of them with you today, but guess what... I checked my pocket today, and the thumb drive was missing. I can't retrieve them from the camera, because they've already been deleted. I like to keep the memory card as uncluttered as possible. The images are not lost forever; they're just on a computer that I can't get to right now.

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The best of intentions today yielded a whole lot of nothing. Oh well, that's the way it is sometimes. Maybe tomorrow I'll have those files, okay?

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In the meantime, I pulled this one from the archives. I took it last week, and it fits perfectly for today, because it shows a spot where there used to be a tree, and now it is... nothing. Those houses in the background are empty because construction was stopped... hence: nothing. And most of the photo is sky... more of nothing!! ;-)

just out of reach

This squirrel was gorging itself in this tree. Here, you can see it getting ready to consume one more tasty red morsel. Our squirrel leaned as far as it could and pulled the branches closer to reach the prize. Sometimes, I wish I could do that for the weekend -- just streeeeetch out and pull it closer. This weekend, I'll be hanging out with close friends, worshiping in community with local saints, and hopefully taking a Sunday afternoon nap. But at the time of this writing, that feels juuuuuust out of reach.

your attention please

What in the world is going on up there? It looks like a wake in the sky or ripples in the stratosphere from a cosmic concussion.

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Hmmm... could these clouds be mimicking a farmer's plowed field?

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This was one of those times, when there as absolutely no talent or special equipment required. I mean, who needs a trained eye to see that this sunset commands us to take notice. The sky was awesome, and everybody down here was looking up, soaking in the gorgeous sight. I would not be surprised if it contributed to a fender bender or two.

reflections from a rainy October

Barth Pond -- Downers Grove, IL

It feels like it has rained here EVERY DAY THIS MONTH!! There have been some breaks with sunny blue skies, but they were few and far between. Most skies have been dreary and dismal... unless you like gray, in which case, they were terrific!

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Overcast skies may not by my first preference for outdoor photos, but when I was less than impressed with what was going on above the horizon, I aimed the camera down a little bit and found that the view below had its own special kind of serene beauty. I liked the view of the sky better as a reflection than in the air.

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Have a blessed weekend!

accepting my limitations

Behind Bass Pro Shops -- Bolingbrook, IL

Two crimson saplings, approximately the same size, stood in close proximity to me. I wondered how to frame one or both for a picture, when all-of-the-sudden, it hit me. I sidestepped a few paces to change perspective, lining one sapling directly behind the other. It even made the foliage appear a little thicker.

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I wanted to walk closer, and look for more photo opportunities, but there was a sign. I assumed it would say "no fishing," but it said "no trespassing." Oops. The photo session was over... time to go home.

Today's Flowers

bésame mucho

My first thought, when I saw this flower was that it looks like it's whistling.

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midday garden walk

where does the music come from?

it is the flower

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Still thinking about this puckering posture... Could it be kissing the sunlight? Yup, I think so. Hey look! And here, the sun smooched on an apple, too!!

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Click on the flower badge to participate in Today's Flowers.

parhelia

Driving home last Friday, I noticed what looked like a rainbow in the Western sky. It was much brighter in one spot, and I couldn't believe there weren't more people reacting to it. This phenomenon remained in my view the whole drive, and I pulled over several times to attempt a better shot. I think this event was visible for about 45 minutes! I couldn't wait to get home to show the kids, even though it might be hard to see through the trees at that time. I didn't know how to explain it to my Spanish speaking neighbors, except to point and say arco-iris (rainbow), even though I was sure this was something special, and not a common rainbow.

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At one point, I pulled into a gas station and stood in the shadow of their big sign to capture the image without the sun's glare. People looked at me kind of funny until they saw what I was aiming for. The attendant even came outside to find out what was going on. It is not a rainbow, but a sun dog. I think this was the first time I ever saw one. I sure am glad to have captured a few images!

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http://www.atoptics.co.uk/rainbows/notabow.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_dog

http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/(Gh)/guides/mtr/opt/ice/sd.rxml