Every once in a while, when out photographing, one comes upon a scene that is totally unexpected, yet completely compelling to capture with the camera.

This particular image is one I came across very early one morning in New Zealand, while I was on my way to see Milford Sound (my real photographic objective that day).

I remember the morning air was very cold, damp & foggy, and a strong frost covered the fields. The chill in the air was the kind to get right through your clothes to the inside of your bones.

Then I saw this scene. I just had to stop, set up the camera and capture this photograph, which I later turned into the digital watercolor that you see here.

For me, the simplicity of this scene whispers the winter secrets of that day…

I’ve worked on and with computers for most of my life, either programming them to do stuff, trying to figure out why they won’t do the stuff I’ve programmed into them, or trying to get them to do stuff other people have programmed them to do.

The problem can be traced back to 3 men on this day in 1947 at Bell Labs, when Brattain, Bardeen and Shockley invented the transistor, and started something no one could see coming or stop. The 3 shared the Nobel prize for physics for their invention.

It’s hard to imagine what our lives would be like without computers, even though I recall such days quite clearly.

Thomas Edison, the inventor of the light bulb and holder of over 1000 patents, also created the first string of christmas tree lights that we now love so much at this time of the year.

The quote presented here is a reply Edison made to a criticism of his work on the the light bulb, when it was known that it took over 10,000 attempts to find the design that worked.

Today, December 21st, is the winter solstice and, although there is no snow on the ground here in Memphis at the moment, I thought a nice winter scene would be good today.

This photograph was taken at the back of our home last winter when it did snow. I remember playing outside in it, throwing snowballs and making a snowman. It was also the first time that Tucker (one of the dogs) had ever seen snow, and it both puzzled and amused him greatly.

I think Mr. Hugo was right in his quote – laughter really does take the cold of winter away…

Apparently, on 20th December 1984, 33 previously unknown works were discovered in the Yale library. Later on, other works have also been found elsewhere, most notably one in an old shoebox.

Bach’s quote is an interesting one, and says a lot about the level of achievement one can attain when we have little other choice than to keep working.

I was originally going to go with a different quote for today, but then found that, on this day in 1835, Charles Darwin arrived in New Zealand on his 2nd voyage of the HMS Beagle.

So, I thought a New Zealand photograph would do nicely for today, together with a quotation from Charles Darwin.

Time is our 2nd most precious asset in life, the first being our attitude or state of mind. Without the will and drive to achieve something, no amount of time will get it done. Still, killing time ought to be a capital crime

On this day in 1991, DeForest Kelly, who played Dr. McCoy on Star Trek, was given a star in Hollywood. His dry sense of humor was one of the many aspects that contributed to the great success of the Star Trek series.

This image was created entirely from photographs of soap bubbles to resemble a spacecraft against the backdrop of two giant planets.

Meet Tucker, one of our Golden Retrievers. Although he shows no outward signs, I’m sure he’s as worried about the economy as the next man, er, dog.

Tomorrow will always be a better day.

I like to tie some of these daily images to events that happened on the day they are posted here, and this photograph of Reelfoot Lake is one of local interest.

Today, in 1811, the New Madrid fault in Missouri unleashed a magnitude 8.0 earthquake – that, and the aftershocks that followed, resulted in the formation of the lake we know today as Reelfoot, as well as causing the Mississippi river to flow backwards for a short time.

The quote from Lord Byron adds a poetic dimension to the serenity of this sunset scene (which also happens to be the place where my wife and I became properly engaged).

Today, 15th December, is the anniversary of the invention of Basketball, by James Naismith of Canada. A brief biography of this fascinating individual can be found at:

http://www.naismithmuseum.com/naismith_drjamesnaismith/main_drjamesnaismith.htm

I particularly admire today’s quote from him, which outlines three of the main ingredients to living an exemplary and successful life.