Photos and the Reasons Why

Flickr Link
Taken on September 3, 2007
Camera: Apple iPhone
Aperture: f/2.8

I took this photo on the very first day of my Road Trip, as I was driving out of Yosemite. It ended up being a perfect iPhone desktop screen, one I kept for quite some time.

I’ve always like the incongruity between the size of the stone in the foreground when compared to one of the world’s most famous domes, in the background. The line which leads directly from the foreground rock to Half Dome is also fun.

Yosemite is one of the most beautiful places in the world and I desperately hope to spend some significant time there in the future, especially now that photography has become a serious hobby of mine. Yosemite is so incredibly beautiful that the pictures that come out of it continue to be mind boggling, even after seeing hundreds or thousands of them. Each crag or nook or cranny or waterfall at sunrise is on it’s own a beautiful place, yet the valley in central California is one of them.

Every Sunday I go into my archives and choose a photo to represent the end of this week.

Flickr Link
Camera: Nikon D40
Exposure: 0.003 sec (1/400)
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 55 mm
ISO Speed: 200

The two letters covered by leaves in this photo are “SF” indicating the photo was shot in San Francisco. This sign is posted in a park very near to the northernmost tip on San Francisco. Pretty much the only things north of this sign include the park immediately beyond the sign and the Fort Point area underneath the Golden Gate, you know, where Madeleine attempts to jump to her death in Vertigo?

I chose this photo for today because, until recently, it was one of my most viewed photos. As of this writing, it has 87 views on Flickr, no comments, and no favorites. I never quite figured out why it was getting hits. The photo itself is flat and uninteresting. While the concept of the photo is absurd, it isn’t that humorous. It does represent my continuing frustration in figuring out what makes a good photo and what people are looking for.