Daniel Greene

Category: Photography

Posts with photos, about photos, and about photography itself

  • Cactus Blossom a Cornucopia for a Bee

    This cactus blossoms in the early morning before the direct sunlight hits them. This means the photographer must capture them either in the available light, which is subdued, or use a flash. I shot this with merely the soft morning light that was available. Two hours later, when the flowers were bathed in direct sunlight, they had already wilted.

    I’m experimenting with my new zoom telephoto lens to take macros. The results are grainier than what I can get with my fast macro lens, because the maximum aperture at 300mm is f/5.6, so I have to bump up the ISO to capture enough light, and the increased ISO results in some noise or “grain,” as film photographers say. Still, I’m happy with the results, at least on this image.

  • Synchronicity?



    Synchronicity?
    Originally uploaded by danielgreene.

    This morning, Andy asked me if I was making coffee (which I was), and I responded sarcastically, “No, I thought we’d have hot chocolate instead.” After saying that, I decided to have hot mocha instead of just coffee. I’ve never made that decision before. It was just a “wild hair.” I got the can of hot cocoa powder out of the pantry and used the remaining product to make my mocha. As I was about to throw out the container, guess what I saw on the bottom? “Best before April 19, 2007”! Well, did I get that wild hair just in time, or what?

    Then Andy asked me to check the calendar and see whether it was his step-mother’s birthday tomorrow. Well, I found out that her birthday wasn’t until next Thursday, but it reminded me that today was my own dad’s birthday!

    And what’s also really weird is that this morning the dogs were so excited they just couldn’t wait for us to get out of bed. I got up and said to Andy, “You’d think it was some kind of special doggie holiday we don’t know about!” Did they know it was their “grandfather’s” birthday? I don’t know. It’s been a freaky morning!

  • Antiwar Candlelight Vigil



    Antiwar Candlelight Vigil
    Originally uploaded by danielgreene.

    I’m posting this photo to commemorate the efforts made four years ago by American citizens to show the U.S. government that its people were against going to war with Iraq. This vigil was sponsored by MoveOn.org, and it took place in Balboa Park in San Diego, California. Sadly, it’s been over four years since then, and so many thousands have died, so many billions have been squandered, and so many people worldwide have been turned off by Americans. But, “It’s better to light a candle than to curse the darkness,” eh?

    I submitted this to a photo contest after the protest. I never heard anything about it that I recall. I do think it captures a moment well, though.

  • Glorious Blossoming of Cactus Blooms

    The cactus buds I’ve had my eye on the last few days finally blossomed this morning, and boy did they gloriously unfurl! It’s a good thing I captured them when I did, too, because only a couple of hours later they had wilted. These are truly ephemeral beauties. I’m lucky I was there to shoot them and proud that I did.

    As I write this, however, I am struck at the similarities between photographers and hunters. Both talking about “shooting” and “capturing.” Both involve the conflict between Man and Nature. Both involve going into Nature and bringing it back to share with Man. A hunter shoots a deer and puts its head and antlers up on the wall. A photographer shoots a deer (or cactus flowers, as the case may be), and puts its image up on the wall (or the Internet, as the case may be). Both hunters and photographers take pride in, and gain social recognition by, what they capture for the delectation of their fellow Men (people).

    Of course, nothing is destroyed when one shoots a photograph– (more…)

  • Lunch at Chicago Hamburger Co.

    Today on the way to work, I finally tried a restaurant I’ve driven by over a thousand times: Chicago Hamburger Co. It has always looked a bit seedy to me, like the lunchtime equivalent of a “greasy spoon.” But, you know what? It was great. It was bustling and very popular. I had the Western Burger, a hot, juicy charbroiled 1/3 pound burger with grilled onions, BBQ sauce, crispy bacon and crunchy fried onion rings. I also had a side of crispy golden french fries. I was so hungry, and enjoyed my meal so much (AND was in a hurry to get to work on time) that I forgot to take a photo of my food. I hope I did a good enough job of painting a mouth-watering picture with my words. Oh, and don’t let the one space in front fool you: when I first drove past, every space in the lot was taken, and I had to park around the corner in front of someone’s house. Oh, and would it be too naughty to mention that there was no shortage of sexy working-class men eating lunch there, too? 😉