The Interaction of Light with Matter

The light turns up then down
as clouds scuttle in the wind.
Gold leaves gild my vision
and spread brassy sound
round and round.

Some are descending notes lost
in the still green honey suckle
whose red berries will fly ostinato
over the low drone of winter
and the crack of white crust.

Then there is a chorus of paw paw
singing with yellow pellucid soprano voice
in the dark drum understory,
cymbals clash in suddenly bronze light
that quickly dims to subito.

See: http://www.npr.org/2013/11/01/242356997/einsteins-real-breakthrough-quantum-theory

Another Visit to Konza Prairie.

Yesterday I had to go to Kansas State for a meeting on science core outcomes related to transferability **insert arcane educational jargon here** and since the meeting finished at noon, decided that I needed a Konza Prairie break. The grasses and forbs are just starting to turn to their fall reds and browns; the tree foliage is still pretty green.



So here are some pictures, some taken with my DSLR telephoto but some with my new phone (LG G2) and its pretty amazing camera (OK for a phone). The animated gif is made by G+ from photos taken with 'burst mode".  This is cool.

First, from the phone:

What I really like with my phone is the ability to touch the screen to select focus points that are also used for metering. For instance this picture originally had a bright blue sky but the tree trunk was badly underexposed. But focusing and metering on the trunk gave this picture. The sky is blown but I got the trunk detail I was looking for. And with a bit more fiddling I probably could have done a better job of this. OK I can do something like this with my DSLR but it is a bit more awkward.






















From my DSLR (Canon 2i with 250mm telephoto).

I love the red ground color the grass seed heads are turning.

A Fritillary-not sure what species.  250mm telephoto lens.

Stained Glass Sumac

Stained glass sumac 2, a photo by pdecell on Flickr.

Partially skeletonized sumac leaves. I think of all the fall leaf colors I like sumac the best. especially when light is transmitted through the leaf.

Via Flickr:
Edited in Picnik to get rid of the blue cast on the upper portion of the original.

Berries 2

Berries 2, a photo by pdecell on Flickr.

This is an unedited macro taken with my Droid Bionic. The camera is wonderful but the stock interface is a bit pokey. Fortunately I shoot lots of macros so I am pretty patient when it comes to shooting so I am not bothered by the pokey focus.

Hedge Apple

Hedge Apple

And darkness falls as happens each year when the planets
Turn their eyes from the sun and clouds lid the earth
Wind whip drives the rains raw, what leaves are left
Excoriated by its sharp tongue

And darkness falls even when the sun bleeds
Through the dawn’s fog and slowly melts the frost
Geese honk fading in the air as if no one is around
To hear them in the orange light

And darkness falls even in mid-day through the branches
Now stilled and fires banked smolder in your buds
I feel in vain amongst the thorns on your rough trunk
Until I feel the littlest promise of light
For me to cling

In amber light

In amber light
Originally uploaded by pdecell

My kind of fall leaf shot. From Mary's Lake in Lawrence Kansas. Th ant is Camponotus and is presumably collecting honey dew from the aphids.

Sumac Lit From Behind

Even if sumac were red in the Spring
It would not be as beautiful as now
Where the deer sleep in their forms.