I'm hoping to get out to the Peace Garden at Lake Harriet tomorrow morning.  It is one of 4 or 5 Japanese gardens in the Twin Cities and a fun place to shoot.  As a bonus, it is also right next to the Lake Harriet Rose Garden, the bird sanctuary and the Lake itself; all of which have their attractions.

So, come on out around 8:30 and shoot!

Peace Garden

I don't have cats, singular or plural.  So, I don't have cat pictures.  In fact, I only have the one seen below.

Esto es un gato blanco (forgive my attempt at High School Spanish, those of you who know better).  This is a Spanish cat.  It is napping next to one of the gates into the Alhambra.  Notice, no collar or other identification.  So, this counts as a wildlife shot :)

Gato BlancoThis cat was relaxing by the Wine Gate in the Alhambra.

This image was, in some ways, a happy accident.  I've seen lots of drawings/paintings/etc. of eyes that have images of something else overlaid in the pupil (a skull is one that is typically used).  Anyway, I decided to experiment a bit and see if something similar could be achieved photographically.

The first time I tried this was in front of my garage during the black and white class I took many years ago.  The results were interesting but a bit muddled due to the monochromatic nature of the image.  What I did find surprising was how reflective the (or iris, at least) actually is.  So, I went out to the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden and played around some more.  Here's my favorite from that.  I love all the layers you can see.  Eye color is visible.  Eyelashes are reflected, as is the camera. And, the pupil and iris are actually reflecting different things.  Surprises all around.

Ocular ReflectivityThis is a straight photo.I remember seeing several drawings or etchings that showed images in the eye (like a skull symbolizing the person seeing their own death). I was curious if I could capture something similarly in a photograph. This is the result.It's amazing how reflective eyes actually are, isn't it.