Rembrandt as a young man

Taking photos of paintings hanging in a museum is difficult. Most museums prohibit the use of flash or lighting of any kind. They also ban the use of tripods. If you view a dozen different reproductions of the same painting, you will see a dozen different colors. This self-portrait by Rembrandt van Rijn, c. 1628 is a good example. The image above is one that I took handheld with my Sony HX400v camera obviously without a flash. Here is the official Rijksmuseum reproduction from its website.

I am usually surprised when I see a familiar painting in "real life" for the first time. The colors are usually far different than any of the reproductions. This issue brings up the basic difference between photography and reality. Photos do not show real life. The camera's sensor or even film is always an interpreter of reality. By the way, I have always noticed that I see color differently through each of my eyes. If I alternatively close one eye or the other, I see subtle changes in the color of the light.

Snowfall Patterns

We keep having snowstorms well into the last week of March. Fortunately, the snow all melts within a day or two. But one benefit of the snow (besides the water) is the beauty of the patterns created. Here, the new leaves on the trees in the background become little decorations. The rest of the snow creates a striking pattern on the ground and along the branches of the tree that is still waiting for leaves.

Gold is Always Gold

Many years ago, we were out in the Arizona Sonora Desert and found a wash with particles in the sand that glittered yellow in the sunlight. We took some home and washed away the sand thinking we might have found gold. Fortunately, in those pre-internet days, we had access to a good library of books. Very quickly, we learned that iron pyrite glitters just like gold in the sunlight but gold is always gold even without light shining on it. The particles we found looked dull and worthless out of the sun hence the saying that all that glitters is not gold. The image above shows some real golden jewelry from the Rijksmuseum, the Museum of the Netherlands in Amsterdam.

Storm in Northern Arizona

It is always interesting to see a storm move through. I have been fascinated by storms for most of my life. I always feel like I need to be outside and feel what is really happening. In the western part of the United States, the storms track generally from west to east. In the summer they come from the Southwest and in the winter they come from the Northwest. There are always exceptions. This part of Arizona is very nearly a desert, usually defined as an area with less than 10 inches of rain a year. The area shown in the photo gets about 8 inches a year. In Mesa, Arizona where I lived for many years the rainfall average in right on 10 inches a year so it qualifies as a desert. Provo, Utah where I live now gets almost twice that amount with 18 inches a year.

The Last Spring Snow?

Well, technically it is Spring but you would have a hard time finding any Spring flowers poking up through about three inches of snow. There really are a few flowers under all that white but you can't see them right now. We are not really surprised with snowstorms in the Spring, I have seen it snow here in the mountains on the 4th of July.

Watching the Sun Set

What do you do when every place you look is another photo opportunity? Sometimes that is how I feel in Southern Utah and Northern Arizona. Here in Kodachrome Basin in Southern Utah, I find that the rock formations are endlessly fascinating and as the light changes the colors rapid progress through the entire spectrum.

Sunset like a flame

While we are socially distancing, it is partial compensation to live in a spot surrounded by so much beauty. The leaves are coming out on some of the earlier plants and trees and the days are getting longer and more colorful. I love the mountains and I particularly love sunsets. Fortunately, I do not have to brave the crowds buying things at Costco.

Watching the Mountain

This is the view out of my front room window. Consequentially, I often end up running outside with my camera and taking a photo. This time, I was already outside when the light changed and this was the result. You can't really predict when this kind of photo will appear and so it is a good idea, if you are a dedicated photographer, to always carry a camera or always have one readily available. I still think about the shots I lost because I didn't have a camera with me at the time.

Unusual Flowers Unidentified

Sometimes, I can identify the plants that I see by spending some time online. In this case, the white leaves and small flowers defy my attempts. This plant was growing in the National Arboretum in Washington, D.C. and I didn't see a label telling me what it was. Any thoughts out there?

A Perfect Arrangement

You can only see a limited amount of life's detail that surrounds you. When I see an almost perfect design in nature, I feel the need to record it. Of course, there are all sorts of things surrounding this small, artificially planted, grove of trees but the plantings and the bushes surrounding the trees have intentionally been formed into a perfect arrangement. The smooth bark of the trees contrasts perfectly with the texture of the leaves of the ground-covering bushes.

Rhododendron Kyoraku Satsuki Azalea 1978

This is a Rhododendron Azalea which was started to be trained in 1978. It is called Kyoraku Satsuki which loosely translated is May Comfort. This beautiful plant was part of an exhibit at the National Arboretum in Washington, D.C.

Roseate Spoonbill

Here is a short description of the roseate spoonbill from Wikipedia: Roseate Spoonbill:

The roseate spoonbill (Platalea ajaja) - sometimes placed in its own genus Ajaia - is a gregarious wading bird of the ibis and spoonbill family, Threskiornithidae. It is a resident breeder in South America mostly east of the Andes, and in coastal regions of the Caribbean, Central America, Mexico, the Gulf Coast of the United States, and from central Florida's Atlantic coast at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, adjoined with NASA Kennedy Space Center at least as far north as South Carolina's Huntington Beach State Park.

This particular roseate spoonbill was found in the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, D.C. 

Brazilian Prehensile-tailed Porcupine

This is probably a Brazilian Prehensile-tailed Porcupine or Coendou prehensilis.  Here is a short description of the porcupines around the world.

Porcupines are large rodents with coats of sharp spines, or quills, that protect them against predators. The term covers two families of animals: the Old World porcupines of family Hystricidae, and the New World porcupines of family Erethizontidae. Both families belong to the infraorder Hystricognathi within the profoundly diverse order Rodentia and display superficially similar coats of quills: despite this, the two groups are distinct from each other and are not closely related to each other within the Hystricognathi.

They would be cute animals if they did not have so many quills. I found this one in the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, D.C. 

Brillant Succulents

Most people only see succulents as house plants but, of course, they do grow wild because that is where they came from originally. These are not cactus. Here is a short explanation of where they originate.

Succulents originate from dry, desert locations. Succulents first cropped up in areas with long dry seasons (such as Africa), since they store water in their leaves. 2 They get their name from their thick, sap-filled leaves. Succulent comes from the Latin word "sucus," which means juice or sap. See "10 Things You Never Knew About Succulents."

This plant was growing at the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute in Washington, D.C. 

Dessert Table

Once a month, during the school year, the Brigham Young University Museum of Art (MOA) has a Night at the Museum and serves delicious refreshments. I thought I would take a photo of the piled-up treats before they were all gone. Unfortunately, due to the coronavirus pandemic, we probably won't have any nights out at the MOA for a while.

Golden Coin Cake

We have an annual St. Patrick's Day dinner which is sort of strange since we don't have any close Irish ancestors. This was the cake baked by one of my daughters for the occasion. It was a wonderful cake but the surprise was inside.

Never Ending Beauty

This photo was taken the same day as the one in the previous post but was taken in the evening rather than the morning. It is amazing what the change in the light will do. This is Mount Timpanogos from my front yard.

The End of Winter

Warmer days filled with sunshine have quickly melted all the snow in the Wasatch Front valleys. The snow is also starting to melt up the sides of the high mountains. Even the huge piles of snow left from plowing the snow-covered streets have started to disappear. We can now look forward to Spring and a return of green and the color of flowers. With the world-wide threat of disease and economic collapse, it is comforting to see that our natural surroundings are "doing business as usual."

Winter Color

Almost every winter we have one or more amaryllis growing in our kitchen window. This one was a late bloomer and waited until March to bloom with four lovely flowers. Sometimes, we can get them to bloom a second year, but usually, we get a lot of green leaves and no flowers, so we buy or receive as gifts new flowers. We aren't very successful in growing anything else inside our house and lately, with the huge herd of deer that have taken up residence in our yard, not much else grows either. We do get beautiful iris in late April and May, but most of the other plants struggle after they are eaten by the deer.

Late Evening in Utah Valley

I can't decide if this is photograph of a sunset or something later. It was already quite dark when I took this photo but the iPhone 11's Night Mode brightened it up and made it look like a sunset. Since we live close to the steep edge of the "bench" or the former shoreline of Lake Bonneville, we don't get much of a view of the valley and the view goes away in the summer when the trees get all their leaves.

An Elephant's Eye

We are glad that we have deer instead of elephants on the hill next to our house. But elephants are nice too. The deer have worn an almost permanent trail across the lawn and up the hill. I can only imagine what that same trail would look like if there were elephants. This elephant lives in the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute in Washington, D.C. 

Young Dama Gazelle, Smithsonian’s National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute

Of course, it is easier to take wildlife photos if the wildlife is in a zoo. In this case, the Dama Gazelle is the largest gazelle species and is critically endangered and is also one of the rarest. Fewer than 400 individuals remain in the wild, mainly in Chad and Sudan. So, I am unlikely to get a photo of this gazelle anywhere else. Here is a summary of this beautiful animal from the website for the Smithsonian’s National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute.

The dama gazelle, also called the mhorr or addra gazelle, is the largest of the gazelles and was once common and widespread in arid and semi-arid regions of the Sahara. There are currently three recognized subspecies of Nanger Dama: N. dama ruficollis, N. dama dama, and N. dama mhorr. The Smithsonian's National Zoo exhibits N. dama ruficollis. 

Nanger dama ruficollis, is the lightest in coloration and the most eastern subspecies of the three. Common names for this subspecies include Addra Gazelle, Kordofan Gazelle, and Nubian Red-necked Gazelle. 

The upper part of their body is mostly reddish brown, whereas the head, rump and under parts are white. 

Both males and females have horns. They curve back and up, but reach a length of only about 17 inches (43 centimeters) long. The male's horns have 18 to 23 distinct rings and smooth tips while the females are typically smaller, thinner and the rings less distinct.

Leaf Retrospective

Two of the fundamental elements in art are color and form. Minimalism reduces art to these two elements but nature has its own form of minimalism which is more akin to abstract realism. I would call this type of photo abstract natural minimalism,

If you were walking along and even noticed a puddle such as this one, you would probably not give it a second thought. However, this particular photo is not trivial. Did you notice the green leaf at the bottom of the photo?

Entrance to the National Zoo, Washington, D.C.

I have lived in places where statuary is rare. This is because cities, such as Phoenix, Arizona, are so new, they have not had time to include statuary among the sprawling shopping centers and subdivisions. One exception is downtown Scottsdale, Arizona. For this reason, when I travel around the world, I notice both the commemorative and decorative statuary. The lions at the entrance to the Smithsonian National Zoological Park on Connecticut Avenue, NW, in Washington, D.C. are almost hidden by the surrounding plants and likewise mostly unnoticed by the crowds of visitors standing in line to go through the security checkpoint. But I always notice the details of the world surrounding me.

The White House, Washington, D.C.

The street in front of the White House in Washington, D.C. used to be a busy city thoroughfare but for many years, it has been converted into a pedestrian walkway. The White House faces Lafayette Square, a favorite location for gatherings of all kinds, usually for some sort of protest. South of the White House is the Ellipse, a large park area on the National Mall. The Washington Monument is also directly south of the White House and you can see it sticking up in the background. Visiting all of the buildings around the Mall requires quite a bit of time and a lot of walking. Most of the photos you might see of the White House were likely taken on the occasional warm sunny day. Our visits to the downtown Washington, D.C. were usually more likely to be on days like the one shown above.