Day 172: June 21, 2010

Summer Solstice

OK, so I really need a UV filter.  This was shot with the kit lens (as are almost all of my shots) and, once again, hand-held as I was on my way to class this morning.  Normally I don't deliberately try to stage a shot, but today I made an exception.  The focus of my graduate program is renewable energy, and every day, on my walk from the parking lot to the classroom, I pass this solar panel. There's a sign with educational information about solar energy nearby and the lights (you can see one in the foreground) are solar lights.

Since today is the summer solstice, I wanted to take a picture that was symbolic of that.  This was taken about 50 minutes after the offical (ie meteorological) start of summer.  I tweaked the post processing a tad to enhance the lens flare.  

I didn't notice the bicycle leaning against the solar light pole until I got the photo uploaded to my computer.  But it seems fitting for a photo celebrating solar power and alternative energy.  If you look closely, there are power lines in the distance - beyond the cars.   Alternative energy sources need to be in the foreground of everyone's thoughts, but we've got a long way to go to wean ourselves from our dependency on fossil fuels.