A View through a Doorway at Thommanon, Cambodia

The randomness of my photo blog continues as I return to Cambodia with this image, which I snapped in early November, 2008. My trip to Cambodia with a friend was brief but amazing. In one day, we managed to see reconstructed and unreconstructed remains at Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom and a half-dozen other sites nearby, including Thommanon. As we explored what seemed like every square foot of the buildings at Thommanon, I shot about a dozen pictures. As I stood in a smaller building on the western end of Thommanon, I looked through its doorway at the main structure to the east. I was amazed by the architectural detail of this nearly 900 year old structure, and I wanted to capture some of this detail and the main building's size with my camera. I decided to use the frame of the doorway to "frame" the top of my photograph. I like how the darkness of the doorway's frame contrasts with the lightness of the sky. I get drawn in by the incredible details and by the three dark doorways of the main structure. I find myself especially wanting to enter the middle doorway. [By the way, the middle doorway leads to a very small room cut off from the rest of the building.] From a distance, the light and dark values within the photo and the shapes created by the value contrasts gain my attention. As I imagine potential images like this one, I enjoy looking for different ways to present the subject matter to the viewer. "Framing" a subject with a part of the surrounding environment is not often possible; but when it is possible, I think it can greatly enhance the interest of the final image.

A View of My Guitar

Trying to get away from the landscapes and architecture I tend to photograph, I decided in the Fall of 2009 to photograph objects in my apartment. I thought about what I would photograph by looking at the variety of textures, shapes, lines and colors around me. I took close-up photos of pillows and rugs, of pottery and wooden furniture, of books and manuscript pages. I also took some photos of my cherry colored Harmony guitar. For me, the shape of a guitar lends itself to incredible photographs; the head and tuning keys, the long neck with its many frets, the pick guard, the sound hole and the bridge all easily become visually stimulating shapes, especially when photographed at unusual angles. In this case I aimed my camera at the lines printed around the sound hole while facing towards the guitar neck. For me, the lines draw me in and carry my eye up and into the image. The strings moving across the upper left corner add to the picture's interest, as do the reflection of the strings in the guitar body. From a distance, the dark oval shape created by the sound hole, the black and white lines wrapping around the hole and the red-orange color of the guitar make for an eye-catching composition.

Thermophiles at Yellowstone

When I went to Yellowstone with a friend in July, 2007, I wanted to see Old Faithful, among other known destinations in the park. Little did I know that Old Faithful would not be the most exciting site in that part of the park. My friend and I covered more than a few miles traversing the boardwalk that wraps around numerous geysers and several pools of hot water filled with incredible colors. These colors are formed by a high concentration of thermophiles (literally, "temperature lovers"), living organisms that thrive in very hot temperatures. Along a stretch of boardwalk not far from Old Faithful, I came upon this wonderful section of a hot water pool containing a variety of greens and yellows. I just had to stoop and gaze at this beautiful site, and I just had to try to capture an image of it with my camera. I really like this picture because it still leaves me wondering what it is, even though I know. I look at it and think of both a bird's eye view of a swampy river and of a microscopic view of some unusual organisms. This photo reminds me to stop and look closely at whatever might be at my feet.

Fly Fishing on the Lewis River

I haven't posted on this blog in a while, partly because I haven't been out and about lately photographing anything worthwhile. Instead, I've been mostly photographing my other artwork. Every once in a while I look through some of my older photos for images I might display; I've shown some in a couple of local photography shows. This photo was one that I showed in a nature-themed photography show on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus. I captured this image in late July, 2007, when I went camping with a friend in Yellowstone National Park. Not far from the south entrance, the Lewis River winds its way east underneath the main road and south toward the park's boundary. My friend and I wandered along the river to the west to see the short waterfalls nearby; then, as we returned to the road, I wandered across the road to get a better view of the two fly fishermen wading out in the stream. I really like the way the river winds its way into the distance. I also like the two logs that appear at the bottom of the image, pointing the viewer up into the photo. I highly recommend visiting Yellowstone National Park, if you get the chance.