Film vs. Digital Capture

I know this is an old debate, but this is more an observation. I think digital photography is great. It's revolutionizing photography, and makes the sharing and creating of imagery much easier than it ever was. It has changed the way I think about and make photographs. However, I fear the day when I can no longer get film. I recently posted some images from a potato cellar along Hog Hollow Road. Today I've been scanning some film I shot on the same day. I just really prefer the images from film. The film handled an amazing range of contrast and seemed to interpret color a little differently than digital. Anyway, here are some scans from that same day.



Potato Cellar, Hog Hollow, ID 2006 (exterior views made with film)


Potato Cellar, Hog Hollow, ID 2006 (interior view made with film)

Bird Flu?

Susan tells me I shouldn't pick up dead birds (because of bird flu I guess). I think she's overreacting a bit (I hope so anyway).

Horned Larks live in open spaces. With all of the snow they tend to congregate near roads to eat seeds and grit. It's a pretty good, though sometimes dangerous strategy.


Road-killed Horned Lark, Walker, ID 2006

Hog Hollow Potato Cellar

Larry Prescott, a junior high school art teacher in the area who is taking a few photography classes, showed me some photographs he took of an old dome-shaped potato cellar in the area. Today Jon and I drove out on Hog Hollow Road looking for things and hoping to find that cellar. It was a gorgeous day (a balmy 36 degrees, sunny and no wind), it was fun to be out, and we found the cellar. It's a really strange structure that sits out in the middle of nothing. The interior was just as strange and the acoustics were amazing. If you stood a certain distance from the walls the echos were startling.



Potato Cellar (exterior views), Hog Hollow, ID 2006


Potato Cellar (interior view), Hog Hollow, ID 2006

After photographing, Jon and I went to look at the Great Gray Owls in the Chester area. We then met our wives for at Chiz's in St. Anthony for supper (I highly recommend the chicken dinner). We then went to Walk the Line, which was playing at the cheap theater in Rexburg. It was a pretty nice day.

Moose

It's still cold (my car themometer read 6 degrees tonight), but the days are getting longer. I now have time to do a little exploring between the end of the work day and darkness. This moose was hanging out with a few Trumpeter Swans on the Henry's Fork near Chester this evening.


Moose and Trumpeter Swans, Chestser, ID 2006

Drift Control

The farm fields on the bench southeast of Rexburg are prone to severe drifting. It snows a moderate amount in Rexburg, not much melts all winter, there are no trees for several square miles on the bench, and the wind blows constantly. This all makes for a pretty good recipe for big drifts. In order to control this somewhat, the county plows trenches in the fields that run parallel to the roads. This is in hopes that the snow will drift in the trenches rather than the roads. It must be fairly effective I suppose.



Trenches in the Snow for Drift Control, Near Rexburg 2006

ipod

So, a few weeks ago I upgraded to a video ipod. I didn't know how I would like watching video on such a small screen, but I must say it's pretty sweet. I've purchased season 2 of "The Office" and have been enjoying it immensely. I was watching an episode this evening while waiting for the Snowy Owl to make an appearance (which it didn't, at least not where I was).

We Can't Escape Winter

We were hoping to catch a break from the bitter arctic death of a Rexburg winter this weekend. It's even cold in Provo. It snowed an inch or so tonight. Here's a picture of Curtis and Shandy's yard.

Trip to Utah

Susan, the children, and I are in Utah this weekend to attend the missionary farewell of a friend. It's been good to see everybody. Tonight we went to my brother Curtis' home to help him do a project. We then went to California Pizza Kitchen, where his wife Shandy works, to have dinner. It was crazy, but we had good food, beverage, and conversation. Here we are:


Curtis and Shandy at CPK


Most of us at CPK


Kevin, Ethan, and their cousin Carson


Jacob cried the whole way home

Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day everybody. Susan and I didn't do anything special today. Like I tell my students - "every day is Valentine's Day at our house".


Valentine's Day Decorations, Rexburg, ID 2006

Juniper

I went back up to see if the Great Gray Owls would put in an appearance early enough to photograph them. They came out, but not until it almost too dark to see let alone photograph. While I was waiting I noticed Red-winged Blackbirds setting up territories. Spring can't be far away, though winter seems it will never end. I photographed this single juniper while waiting for dusk.


Juniper in Snow, Chester, ID 2006

Great Gray Owls

Great Gray Owls breed in the island park area, which is around an hour north of Rexburg. Some winters, especially when there's been a lot of snow, these owls come down to the valley. This winter there have been a lot of them around. My friend Cliff told me about a few he'd been seeing near Chester.

Tonight Susan, the boys, and I went out to first look for the Snowy Owl, which we found, and then went to Chester to look for the Great Grays. We arrived at Sunset and found two, one of which was sitting right next to the road on a fence post. On the drive back we saw three more sitting in some trees next to a house. I took a few photographs with the ISO set at 1600 and was shooting at 1/30 of a second (it was getting pretty dark). Here are a couple of the better ones, which aren't that great, enjoy.



Great Gray Owl, Chester, ID 2006

Hagerman Weekend

My friend Cliff and I spent the Friday evening and Saturday birding in and around Hagerman, an area along the Snake River between Twin Falls and Mountain Home, Idaho. Our goal was to find some winter sparrows and enjoy the slightly warmer weather the region provides. We found a lot of waterfowl including Snow Geese, Cackling Geese, White-fronted Geese, Mute Swans, and Tundra Swans. We also found a lot of common sparrows, common hawks, a lot of road-kill Barn Owls and Screech Owls, and numerous Gulls, but nothing rare. The weather was fairly decent, and it was nice to be out. I took a couple of photographs along the way.

This awesome motorhome was in Glenn's Ferry. We were tempted to buy a ticket, but were afraid we'd win.


Motorhome, Glenn's Ferry, ID


Detail

On our way home we stopped at Niagara Springs State Park. I've been there a few other times, but always in the middle of the day. It was great to be there in nice light. Niagara Springs is one of several places where water in the underground aquifer of the snake river plain reemerges. The following was taken from a couple of governmnet websites describing Niagars Springs: "Tumbling down the canyon side at 250 cubic feet per second, Niagara Springs is a sight you won’t soon forget. The churning water is the icy blue of glaciers. The springs are a National Natural Landmark and part of the world-famous Thousand Springs Complex along the Snake River. The site is one of a number of large spring sets where the Snake River Plain aquifer drains into the Snake River from the northern cliffs of its canyon. It is illustrative of the enormous volume of water transmitted through this aquifer."


Niagara Springs, near Buhl, ID 2006

Potato Cellar Winter

I've mentioned my fascination with potato cellars in a previous post. I'm mostly interested in the older cinder block, wood, dirt, and straw cellars, but the newer ones also have a certain appeal. Here's one I photographed yesterday.


Modern Potato Cellar, Walker, ID winter 2006

Snow & Sky

I've been spending a lot of time lately in the farm fields SE of Rexburg looking for that Snowy Owl. While I've been out I've been making a lot of photographs that aren't that different from each other. I don't know what I'll do with them, but here is a small sampling.


Farm Fields in Winter, Walker, ID 2006

Office Photographs

I tend to collect things, mostly natural objects such as: skulls, leaves, snake skins, feathers, rocks, hornet nests, and the like. Most of these things aren't allowed in the home (I'm sort of kidding here, Susan is very patient), so I keep them in my office. Nice light was entering my office this afternoon, so I photographed some of these objects.


Hosta on Manilla Folder


Cliff Swallow Eggs on Manilla Folder


Back-lit Paper from a Wasp Nest


Back-lit Snake Skin

Snow-covered Dirt Pile and Russian Olive

I don't have too much to say about this photograph. In fact, I guess I don't have anything to say.


Snow-covered Dirt Pile and Russian Olive, Rexburg, ID 2006