Sam Can Shoot

Scoop.It Topic ~ Photography: Inspiration & Technique

2012-01-25T08:00:00.000-06:00

A quick plug! I recently talked about the photo sites Pinterest and carbonmade on Sam Can Shoot. I briefly touched on Scoop.It at my True to Words blog. But I never mentioned my photo topic under Scoopt.It here!

I have started curating a topic called Photography: Inspiration & Technique at Scoop.It.

“The best photography information and inspiration on the net for amateur, advanced, semi-professional and professional photographers alike.”

It has been fun! If the topic interests you, please check it out and if you are on Scoop.It, you can follow it, too!

Do you use Scoop.It, Pinterest or carbonmade? Share your link in the comments!

365 Project 2012 ~ Week 3

2012-01-21T21:20:00.002-06:00

My schedule is opening up a little so I have time to have some more interesting subjects in my 365!

Minnesota Wild Pillow Pet ~ 15/365 ~ 2012

My Desk Adornments ~ 16/365 ~ 2012

Traffic Signal ~ 17/365 ~ 2012

STOP SOPA ~ 18/365 ~ 2012

Hairball ~ 19/365 ~ 2012

Frozen Lake Minnetonka at Dusk ~ 20/365 ~ 2012

Bored Calvin ~ 21/365 ~ 2012

STOP SOPA & PIPA

2012-01-18T00:00:00.000-06:00

I can't figure out the HTML to blacking out my blog for today and all the website that could teach me how to do it are blacked out! So I'm just going to post this instead.

Excellent explanation from Stanford Law as to why SOPA and PIPA must be stopped and rewritten.
Google infographic showing the numbers and variety of people protesting these bills.
Sign the petition or write your federal representatives.

365 Project 2012 ~ Week 2

2012-01-14T16:41:00.001-06:00

An update for my 365 project. Not a particularly exciting week, but one in which I feel like I accomplished many tasks.

Successful Failure ~ 8/365 ~ 2012

(I had intended on being asleep around 10:30 - but I remembered to take my 365 photo!)

New Year's Resolution Initiated ~ 9/365 ~ 2012

Icy Heart ~ 10/365 ~ 2012

Work Station ~ 11/365 ~ 2012

Handsome Harry ~ 12/365 ~ 2012

Chocolate Birthday Cake ~ 13/365 ~ 2012

Snow-Covered Rocks ~ 14/365 ~ 2012

Sam Can Shoot Top Posts for 2011

2012-01-07T23:08:00.000-06:00

Here are the top posts published at Sam Can Shoot during the 2011 year.

10. A Little Night Photography - Light trails in traffic in the Lowry Hill East neighborhood of Minneapolis.

9. Blue Eyed Panda - This black husky mix has a beautiful blue eye.

8. Stroll Around Downtown Minneapolis - A few random shots around the neighborhood.

7. 365 Project 2011 - Ultimately, my 365 was unsuccessful, but I'm hoping 2012 is better!

6. Sunny Day at Target Field - I will be a Twins fan until I die, even if they disappoint me sometimes.

5. Shooting Lightning - I photographed lightning, so now I think I'm awesome. Nevermind, I've always thought I'm awesome. :)

4. National Photography Month 2011 -This actually contains some photos from the same area as "A Little Night Photography," only with more daylight.

3. James J. Hill House at Night - Some photos from a nighttime gas-lit tour of the historic James J. Hill House. It was amazing!

2. Minnesota Swarm Game - Lacrosse is seriously one of the most underrated sports in America. In what other sport is it legal for the players to beat each other with sticks?

1. Minnesota Renaissance Festival 2011 - The popularity of this post does surprises me. I'm not sure why, it is such a fun place!

365 Project 2012 ~ Week 1

2012-01-07T21:48:00.000-06:00

First try in 2010 ended in June. Second try in 2011 ended in July, though I denied it until about November. Third time in 2012 is the charm, right? Right?!?

Here are my photos for the week. I'm hoping to try to upload weekly on Saturdays, as long as I'm not away for the weekend or something. Feel free to harass me if I am late or I forget! I really want to do this all the way through for once.

Happy New Year ~ 1/365 ~ 2012

Bunny Slippers ~ 2/365 ~ 2012

Sleepy Tweak ~ 3/365 ~ 2012

Lady, You Are Incredible ~ 4/365 ~ 2012

Foggy Moonlight ~ 5/365 ~ 2012

Questions Thwee ~ 6/365 ~ 2012

Sage Wands ~ 7/365 ~ 2012

Nothing spectacular, nothing like last year's stellar start, but it is the fact that I started that counts! Plus, I have been so sick, all I've done is work and sleep. They will get better, because these projects have vastly improved my skills. Even if I don't finish this one, which I really hope I do, I know that I will have at least learned from the experience.

Have you started at 365 project? Share your link in the comments!

Giant Alphabet Blocks

2011-12-08T08:00:00.000-06:00

The photo below is my Flickr upload with the most views to date. At 756 at the time of this writing, it is almost 100 views ahead of the next runner-up. It is also one of my favorite photos ever, because it captures an image of my favorite graffiti art creations ever.

Giant Alphabet Blocks ~ Black & White with Color Splash

Though the photo is treated to get the black and white with a touch of color effect, the graffiti was really there and was not a photo shop trick. Loved the creative use of what was there and reinterpret into something else. Which I guess I also sort-of did when I decided to make the original below into what you see above.

Pillsbury Park Giant Alphabet Blocks

Similar to the Stone Arch Bridge study from earlier this week, this is a photo I have wanted to recreate. It is located near the bridge, so as soon as I finished taking that series of photos, I walked over to where I could find this scene. I was disappointed with what I found.

Covered Alphabet Blocks

Okay, so it was a different time of year (fall versus spring) and so of course it was overgrown compared to the last time I was there. But the art below the foliage has changed and I am less of a fan. It was bound to happen, of course, because the nature of a public canvas includes a susceptability to alteration (or even obliteration in the case of city graffiti cleanups). But it doesn't mean I have to like it!

Stone Arch Bridge Series

2011-12-06T08:00:00.000-06:00

The photo below of the Stone Arch Bridge in Minneapolis was taken on one of my very first photohikes in April of 2009. It was taken with a Kodak DC3400 Zoom, a digital camera manufactured in 2000. Needless to say, when I got my Canon Rebel XSi, there was more than one photo I wish I could retake with the new camera, including this one.

Stone Arch Bridge A

Since it is a stone bridge, of course it is still there and I've been in the area repeatedly. But since the last time I was in the spot where the photo was taken, something had happened to the stairs and they were blocked off. On repeated visits. But then one day in September when I visited, the stairway was open!

Stone Arch Bridge ~ Angle #1

The photo above was my favorite from the series.

Stone Arch Bridge ~ Angle #2

This photo most looks like the one taken in 2009.

Stone Arch Bridge ~ Angle #3

Trying to get an image of the length of the bridge here. Island was in the way of the best shot.

Stone Arch Bridge ~ Angle #4

Minneapolis prominently displayed in the background.

carbonmade

2011-12-01T11:00:00.000-06:00

After Pinterest and Scoop.It, another fun toy I have been playing with is carbonmade. Does it make it less of an online toy if it actually serves a professional purpose?

Carbonmade is an online portfolio service for photography, illustrations, video and other imagery. For free, one can make a portfolio with up to 5 projects and 35 images (but no video). For $12 a month, though, you can have up to 50 projects, 500 images and 10 videos.

For now and the foreseeable future, I have the free version. See my carbonmade photo portfolio here! But even with its limitations, it absolutely did the trick.

I had to create an online portfolio for work. I recently made a big career change from being a primarily freelance and contract copywriter to being a full-time lead copywriter at a marketing agency in the Twin Cities metro. During a team-building exercise, one of my co-workers proposed that I, being an amateur photographer with some published photos, create custom images for some of our clients. The stock service we use doesn’t always cut it.

Of course I loved the idea and went about creating an online portfolio to prove that I could do it. And 5 projects with 35 photos were more than enough to make my point. It was easy to customize my portfolio's appearance to make the images look their best. I'm a little disappointed with how the resolution looks, but that's probably because I'm using the free version.

Now it is up to me to determine how to best start this project and create an action plan for how to implement it. So yeah, the easy part is done, now comes the hard part. But I can see the value for having original imagery as part of an online content marketing plan. Everyone has the same stock photos, it’s the online marketing campaigns that create their own imagery that tend to stand out because it more closely aligns with their brand values and standards.

I'm going to help with that to the best of my ability! And probably expand my ability while I'm at it!

For the moment, my portfolio will remain as is. If I have to create another portfolio in the future for a different purpose, at least I will have a start. This served its purpose for now and isn’t needed at the moment, but one may never know when opportunities will arrive!

2011-11-30T11:00:00.000-06:00

One of my new favorite online toys for photography and inspiration is Pinterest.

Pinterest is a tool that allows users to organize and share all the beautiful images and videos they find on the web. It is like a virtual pinboard or collage to which one can continuously add.

Some of the suggestions for its use are to plan weddings, decorate a home, organize recipes or plan crafting projects.

Of course, I'm using it for my own ends. I have nine pinboards on Pinterest so far, mostly for inspiration or aspirations, including:

I've actually already made a recipe off of the "Mmm" pinboard, too! Sweet potato casserole! And it was delicious, I'll be making it again. I also have plans to create the Flower Power eggs in the future. The Dream Home will be a little harder to make, though.

Users can also browse pinboards created by other people and follow their creators so you can see how they evolve in the future. Browsing pinboards is a fun way to find images and inspiration from other people who share your interests.

It isn't yet completely open to the public. To get started, one must ask for an invite. It doesn't seem to take long for approval though, I was pinning within a few hours of my request.

For me, it is just a fun new online toy to share some of the interesting things I find on the internet. :)

Do you use a content curation tool that you particularly like? Share it in the comments.

See also: Scoop.It!

Day in the Life ~ 11-11-11

2011-11-11T23:11:00.000-06:00

I may be done with my 365 project for the year, but I'm not done taking photos. I am easing myself back into regularly taking photos again so that come January when I start 365, I'm not out of practice. My first project to this end is this post, Day in the Life ~ 11-11-11. I spent most of it at work, so its pretty standard. My personal favorite, though, is the third photo down.

Breakfast

Lunch

Stop - Hammer Time

Walk Like an Egyptian

Exit

Finally done with work! Was the last one out of the building for the first time since I started my new job.

365 Project 2011 ~ Admitting Defeat

2011-11-06T14:54:00.000-06:00

I tried, so hard, to continue my 365 project this year. I think I made it two weeks longer than 2010 as far as taking photos and uploading, but I still faltered: I started missing days, then I put off uploading, then it was a snowball effect. Because it was so hard to admit defeat, I still took random photos, knowing full well my 365 project had been broken. Now its been two weeks since I even took the camera out of the case. So as my finale and farewell to my 365 project for 2011, here are the best ones that hadn't previously uploaded since July.

Last Sunflower ~ 242/365 ~ 2011

Party Planning ~ 245/365 ~ 2011

Unhappy Child with Balloons ~ 252/365 ~ 2011

Pretty Paisley Dress ~ 261/365 ~ 2011

Cruel Summer ~ 265/365 ~ 2011

Pink Ribbon Railing ~ 276/365 ~ 2011

Monarch Butterfly ~ 285/365 ~ 2011

Thus concludes my 365 project for 2011. I will try again next year! Perhaps the third time is the charm? I certainly hope so.

Minnesota Renaissance Festival ~ 2011

2011-09-16T03:56:00.005-05:00

Haven't had a lot of time to blog or upload photos lately. Part of it is being busy with work, for which I am grateful because being a freelance writer can result in unpredictable income flow! Another part of it, though, is that the Minnesota Renaissance Festival is in full swing and I am a participant, which means my usually-productive weekends are spent in revelry throughout the day and then a pile of tired on the couch at night.

Royal Guard

For the curious, I am an alto with a madrigal choir called the Elizabethan Syngers, which is currently celebrating its 40th year as an organization and participation at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival.

Elizabethan Syngers

No, I'm not in the photo, silly. I'm behind the camera. If you want to see me perform, you'll have to come to the festival! I'll be there performing with the group on Saturday, September 17, and Sunday, September 25.

Fair Tortoise

You can't see it in this photo, but this tortoise pulls a little carriage with a little driver and a relatively big beer barrel. I just like this picture because I think tortoises have cute, contented-looking faces.

Little Fairies

Fairies like to have tea time, too!

The Fiddler

If you haven't been to the Minnesota Rennaissance Festival, I do highly recommend that you visit at least once in your life time. It is an amazing experience, filled with music, entertainment, fun and even a little naughtiness. Who knows, you could end up liking it so much, you find your own way to be a part of it, just like I did.

Minnesota Renaissance Festival 2011 Photo Set
Minnesota Renaissance Festival 2009 Photo Set

Stroll Around Downtown Minneapolis

2011-08-13T23:31:00.000-05:00

I recently visited downtown Minneapolis and snapped a few photos.

Nicollet Avenue

Three Bird Fountain
Nicollet Mall at 9th Street
Elliot Offner, 1991

Orpheum Theater

The Orpheum Theater opened in 1921, and has hosted plays, concerts, big bands, vaudeville, comedy, and screened movies. It was once owned by Bob Dylan and his brother.

Old Schmidt Music Building Mural

This mural painted on the side of what used to be the Schmidt Music building depicts Maurice Ravel's "Gaspard de la Nuit."

A Little Night Photography

2011-08-02T00:00:00.000-05:00

After the lightning post from earlier this week, it reminded me I had taken some other night time photos.

Streetlights

Well, I guess was technically from the very begnning of what is called the "blue hour," but its close enough for me because it was low light and the full moon was out.

The Tunnel at Night ~ 193/365 ~ 2011

All of these photos were shot from the Irene Hixon Whitney Bridge near the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden and Walker Art Center.

Basilica of St. Mary

The photo above was meant to be similar to the daylight photo below. After I started snapping photos, though, I realized I was missing two whole streets with potential traffic and taillight trails, so I shifted the focus a little.

Interstate 94

365 Project 2011 ~ July Update

2011-07-31T00:08:00.002-05:00

I have now officially continued my 2011 365 Project for longer than I did last year. I think I puttered out about half-way through July during 2010. Hoping to keep plugging away the rest of the year! Here are some of the more interesting photos from this month.

Widow Skimmer Dragonfly ~ 187/365 ~ 2011

Sparkler Girl ~ 190/365 ~ 2011

In Flight ~ 203/365 ~ 2011

Monarch Caterpillar ~ 204/365 ~ 2011

LOLcat ~ 205/365 ~ 2011

My 365 Project at Flickr

Shooting Lightning

2011-07-30T23:45:00.000-05:00

Tonight I made my first attempt at capturing lightning in a photo. I would say it was a success. This first photo below was literally my first try at it and it turned out to be the best one of the night!

Lightning in Minnesota #1

It was easier than I expected it to be. I experimented with the instructions on this tips page from Lightning Photography. One thing I found difficult was getting the focus right because it was so dark and lightning is so fleeting.

Lightning in Minnesota #2

Extraneous clouds also made some photos look blurry simply because the exposure time was so long and there was so much lightning to illuminate the sky, the one could see how the cloud had moved while the shutter was open.

Lightning in Minnesota #3

This was exciting. I love storms and this was an amazing light show. I don't think I would have stopped to appreciate it as much if I hadn't been waiting for a good storm like this to try lightning photos. I look forward to trying this again in a different location besides my boring backyard. Take a look at some of the amazing photos at Lightning Photography to see what I mean.

Before & After the Storm

2011-07-12T17:27:00.000-05:00

Storm Clouds

Golden Clouds

365 Project 2011 ~ June Update

2011-06-30T00:00:00.004-05:00

Yellow Center ~ 159/365 ~ 2011

Baby Sparrow ~ 162/365 ~ 2011

Pink Flowers ~ 172/365 ~ 2011

Red Flowers ~ 174/365 ~ 2011

Raspberry Sour Cream Pie ~ 176/365 ~ 2011

My 365 Project at Flickr

365 Project 2011 ~ Belated May Update

2011-06-27T23:56:00.001-05:00

May and June were mind-numbingly busy months for me. I kept taking photos, but didn't always have time to upload them or blog.

Sweet Strawberry ~ 123/365 ~ 2011

Dandelion ~ 139/365 ~ 2011

Pink Orchid ~ 142/365 ~ 2011

Fierce ~ 146/365 ~ 2011

"Like" ~ 149/365 ~ 2011

My 365 Project at Flickr

National Photography Month 2011

2011-05-09T18:11:00.004-05:00

May has been designated as National Photography Month. Who says so? No idea, can't seem to find an official source on that, though after a quick search of the web, it seems to pretty much be a consensus. Doesn't change much for me since I'm doing a 365 project, but it's a good excuse to have the camera around even more often than usual. Right? Right.

Loring Corners Alley

Of course, that's exactly what has been happening. Capturing random moments here and there. This was during a not-so-successful networking session. Notice how I'm out on the street taking photos instead of talking to people. That's because the room the event was being held in was so small and crammed with so many people, I got a little claustrophobic. I wandered around the area for a while snapping photos, including this image and those below.

Near Sunset at Irene Hixon Whitney Bridge

Another thing which has been occurring is the photos I choose to take are gaining more variety. Like this one. A year ago, I would have hated the solar flares off to the right, but I actually like it in this image. Subject matter ideas are springing to me that wouldn't have before, like the alley scene I wouldn't ordinarily have noticed if that group of people hadn't come out at this moment to take a smoke break. I've also been trying to emulate effects I've seen in other photos, like the blurring in the one below.

Interstate 94 & St. Mary's

So in honor of National Photography Month, I've already been trying some new things, but I'm also going to work towards posting more often to Sam Can Shoot. I've been doing pretty good with True to Words and making a stronger effort at being a real Minneapolis Pet News Examiner, now it's time to follow suit with this blog. Here I go!

365 Project 2011 ~ April Update

2011-04-28T23:57:00.001-05:00

This month I've been doing more photo manipulation, including photos I've taken for my 365 project.

Last Day at Porky's (Black & White with a Color Splash) ~ 93/365 ~ 2011

Abandoned Barn & Silos ~ 106/365 ~ 2011

Watercolor Silhouette ~ 109/365 ~ 2011

365 Project 2011 Flickr Set

Lesson #5 ~ Underexposed, Overexposed - Mistakes Happen!

2011-04-23T00:28:00.002-05:00

Mossy walls like this are fun to photograph because of the "landscapes" and textures they provide. I liked this spot below because of the water drip, but couldn't get the autofocus on my camera to capture just what I wanted.

Mossy Wall

Unfortunately, I sometimes forget to double-check the aperture and exposure time when I switch from auto to manual. This was one of those times! Ugh, some of the resulting photos were almost black. Big mistake. But after playing around with brightness, contrast and saturation settings, the result was actually pretty cool in appearance.

Mossy Wall ~ Underexposed

Something similar happened during my 365 project recently. I forgot entirely I had the camera set to manual and started snapping away without bothering to look at the viewfinder previews. Voila! Severely overexposed photos that ended up looking almost pure white. Again, I played with the settings, this time with an even more surreal result.

Robin Red Breast ~ 101/365 ~ 2011

The appearances of these last two photos is unique. It was fun to play with these mistakes. Had I been taking photos for anyone but myself, though, this would have been a problem. I must remember to pay closer attention when I change shooting modes.

Kinda strange that I hadn't done this sort of thing before, I guess that means previously I've been paying better attention when I switch between manual and auto, while these two times I didn't. The bird photo happened at the end of a long, exhausting walk and the moss photo troubles occurred because I was trying to maintain balance on a rocky slope - not exactly wandering around a formal affair snapping smiling faces. Still, now I know.

And knowing is half the battle.

Sunny Day at Target Field

2011-04-17T13:34:00.002-05:00

Attended a Minnesota Twins game last week. They lost, but regardless it was still a beautiful day for a ball game - and some photography!

Target Field

Before last year, I'd never had a real opinion about outdoor baseball. How could I? The only place I'd ever seen a game was at the Metrodome. Now it's like... "Metro-what?"

Circle Me Bert

Even though we were losing, you'd couldn't quiet the home team crowd. And even though it was a mid-afternoon game in the middle of the week, Target Field was pretty packed!

Beer Bottles & Peanut Shells

Inevitably, we were losing so bad the crowd did thin. We stuck around until the end, it wasn't like we were in a hurry to go anywhere. There will be other games and we will do better. GO TWINS!

View the rest of the Twins Game ~ April 13, 2011 photo set.

Blue Eyed Panda

2011-04-09T23:59:00.008-05:00

...is a beautiful dog! A Siberian husky mix, she has one blue eye and one brown. She barely sat still long enough to take these photos.

Panda #1

I had the auto-focus on because she was really moving. For some reason, all the photos ended up over-exposed. I corrected as best I could, but the backgrounds are still washed out.

Panda #2

365 Project 2011 ~ March Update

2011-03-31T23:59:00.027-05:00

I really have to start uploading my 365 photos more regularly instead of leaving them to accumulate. This month includes some pretty random stuff and even a few experiments. Plus a self-portrait, among other things, that really pushed me out of my comfort zone. You'll have to click through to the set to see all that, though.

Dice ~ 63/365 ~ 2011

Smoke ~ 67/365 ~ 2011

Paper Binding ~ 71/365 ~ 2011

Smile ~ 75/365 ~ 2011

Growing Seedlings ~ 88/365 ~ 2011

365 Project 2011 Flickr Set

Minnesota Swarm Game

2011-03-29T17:23:00.002-05:00

I attended the March 27, 2011, Minnesota Swarm game. It was the team's first nationally televised lacrosse event. It was also Minnesota Mascot Day at the Xcel Energy Center.

Introductions

I was there with Buffalo Bison Lacrosse, who had the chance to be on the field during the team's introduction because they did a fundraiser with the Swarm that helped the school get new uniforms.

Eye on the Ball

Indoor arena lacrosse is such a fun sport to watch. Like hockey, there is constant action from one end of the field to the other. Also like hockey, there is some roughhousing and tempers flare. Half the time when we thought there would be a penalty, there wasn't. It was literally as if the rules were "No blood, no foul." This is a sport I'm going to have to learn more about because I plan on attending more games in the future.

GOAL!

It was also Minnesota Mascot Day at Xcel Energy Center. Most of the major mascots were there, including T.C. Bear, Victor Viking, Nordy Wild, Goldy Gopher and Mudonna T. Pig. Crunch was noticeably absent, though I'm okay with that, I'm not much a fan of basketball.

Goldy Gopher

Because I was on the floor and in the tunnel with the Buffalo Bison Lacrosse team, I had the chance to snap some "backstage" photos of the mascots. Here, Goldy Gopher is contemplating an ingenious method by which to launch souvenir t-shirts into the stadium seats.

Victor Viking

Victor Viking, showing off the goods. Mascots are fun, I'd have a beer with this group any time.

Buzz

Couldn't finish this post without at least showing the Swarm mascot, Buzz.

Check out the rest of this photo set: Minnesota Swarm Game ~ March 27, 2011

365 Project 2011 ~ February Update

2011-02-26T23:59:00.039-06:00

I haven't forgotten my 365 project, but I'll say it hasn't been easy! Between leaving my camera at a friend's house (and having to use my cell phone for almost a week) and not having a lot of time to upload stuff, I got really far behind. Hoping it'll get a little easier as I try to fit it into my daily routine. Here are some highlights from this month. Since the last time I updated my 365...

St. Paul Winter Carnival ~ 29/365 ~ 2011

...I visited the Saint Paul Winter Carnival...

Blue Belt ~ 37/365 ~ 2011

...I graduated from purple belt to blue belt in karate...

Lovers' Sunset ~ 45/365 ~ 2011

...I saw a spectacular sunset on Valentine's day...

New Starts ~ 57/365 ~ 2011

...And I started the seeds that will become part of my container garden this summer.

My 365 Project

James J. Hill House at Night

2011-02-12T22:44:00.001-06:00

I recently took a tour of the James J. Hill House. The house was completed for Mr. Hill, who was the chief executive officer of the Great Northern Railway, in 1891. At more than 36,000 square feet, it is the largest mansion on Summit Avenue in St. Paul, Minnesota. I visited to take the Gas Light Tour, a rare offering in which visitors can view the home in the evening.

James J. Hill House at Night

Dragon Wall Sconce

Grand Hallway

Pipe Organ in the Gallery

View the rest of photos from the James J. Hill House Gas Light Tour

365 Project 2011

2011-01-20T23:51:00.002-06:00

Happy New Year, y'all! I've been a busy girl, but now I'm all caught up, in particular on the new 365 project I have started this year.

Sun Dogs ~ 1/365 ~ 2011

My first day, I was happy to snap photos of sun dogs! Yes, that meant it was pretty cold out, but it also meant I got to photograph something I've always wanted to capture. Previously, I've taken photos of a moon halo and moon dogs and pillars.

Fountain Tiles ~ 10/365 ~ 2011

Iridescent tiles in a fountain as water swirled above. This is unedited, just how it looked when I snapped the photo.

Spare Change ~ 16/365 ~ 2011

Hopefully it will be more successful than last year, though I do give myself at least a little credit for making it about 6 months.

My 365 Project 2011

Evening at the Cathedral of Saint Paul

2010-12-31T01:41:00.001-06:00

I recently attended a Minnesota Wild game in Saint Paul. They played against the Detroit Red Wings and lost handily, I don't even want to post the pictures I took there. So here's a photo of the great view I had when we returned to our car after the game.

Cathedral of Saint Paul

Snow Dogs on a Snow Day

2010-12-12T22:10:00.000-06:00

It snowed here in central Minnesota over the weekend. Perhaps that may be an understatement. We got dumped on! And boy did our dogs love the winter wonderland!

Snow Dogs Digging

Snow Dog Spirit

Snow Dog Calvin

Lesson #4 ~ To Flash or Not to Flash?

2010-12-10T20:19:00.002-06:00

More Las Vegas vacation photos have been uploaded, and it gave me the chance to observe something and report what I've learned to other beginner, amateur, or self-taught photographers out there. To flash, or not to flash?

Monte Carlo Goddess (with Flash)

Flash is an invaluable tool that brightens a dark space. At night, flash can make all the difference between seeing your intended focal point and a dark frame full of unrecognizable features. Like any other light would, a flash can help illuminate what's in front of the camera.

Monte Carlo Goddess

Flash can also obscure what's in front of the camera. Notice that you can see a lot more of the details of this goddess outside the Monte Carlo Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. That's because basic flashes are mounted on the camera and pointed straight at the subject, reducing the occurrence of shadows that would normally add depth and detail. Additionally, the intense brightness of the light washes out the whiteness of the marble on this statue.

Photography is one of the few practices where less light can actually reveal more.

Las Vegas Vacation Photo Album
Las Vegas Vacation, Part I
Las Vegas Vacation, Part II

Brightness & Saturation

2010-12-03T23:54:00.003-06:00

I'm not real big on editing my photos, for the most part I like to leave them as they are except maybe to make play with brightness. My reasoning is brightness and contrast are things that could be adjusted in a dark room. More recently, though, I've been working with color saturation, too - something else a little time in a dark room can fix. Here are two photos from my Vegas vacation and road trip that I thought didn't quite look right and needed to be fixed.

Smoke Blotted Out the Sun {Before}

Smoke Blotted Out the Sun {Fixed}

Traveling through either Arizona or Utah, a tree-covered mountain was on fire. The smoke was so thick that it blotted out the sun. The first photo was way too dark. The sun struggled through the smoke, but it was slightly brighter than that. The sort-of eerie lighting of the second photo is way more accurate.

Smoked Out {Before}

Smoked Out {Fixed}

The same with this photo, it was just a little dark and needed help. When it comes to saturation, there is a fine line between enhancing and making the coloring look fake. For both of these photos, I made the minimal adjustments to saturation, brightness, and contrast to bring out some of the details and make them look more accurate to what I remember.

See more Vegas Vacation photos at Flickr and at True to Words Friday Photography - Vegas Vacation, Part I.

Dog Days of Summer Past

2010-11-30T23:59:00.001-06:00

I can see the finish line. I have 13 folders worth of photos left to sort through and upload, then I'm all caught up! This photo of my black lab/Siberian husky, Spirit, is one of my favorite recent uploads from the tail end of summer.

Spirit at the Lake

My husband (fiancé at the time) was fishing off the dock at a friend's cabin Up North. She loves fishing, watching intently until the bobber sinks and then getting really excited as it gets reeled in. I think there was a fish getting a hook taken out of its mouth when this photo was taken. Sadistic dog!

1966 Rambler Rogue

2010-11-19T23:59:00.000-06:00

I didn't get to take as many photos of classic cars this summer as I had expected. I was quite busy and couldn't make it to any of the usual fairs where these autos can be found. But I did snap this beauty.

1966 Rambler Rogue

This 1966 Rambler Rogue was parked at a classic car dealership down the road from me for a few months. One day while out on a photo hike with the dogs, I snapped these pics.

Headlight & Front Fender

Sweet, sweet vehicle, even if I did somehow end up with the song "Little Nash Rambler" stuck in my head every time I drove by. It was worth it.

Steering Wheel & Interior

Not familiar with the song? You're in luck, YouTube has everything.

Burning Love

2010-11-12T13:01:00.000-06:00

This year, I didn't just have food in my garden. In addition to seed-producing sunflowers, I tried to grow three types of ornamental flowers. Only one survived.

Burning Love

This is burning love. Sort of. I just now found out that this is a pretty weak version of it, it's supposed to look like this. I chalk it up to a small container.

I didn't realize at the time how hyper focused this was going to be on the blooms. It almost looks copied and pasted!

2010 Growing Season Wrap-Up

2010-11-09T01:01:00.000-06:00

Well, its been cold enough to have killed my plants since just before Halloween. Documenting the progress of my potted garden fell severely by the wayside in the months leading up to that point. I was still taking photos, though, even if I wasn't posting them.

Mini Green Bell Pepper

Everything was great until August, as the hot weather we had wasn't particularly nice for the plants. It seemed during the hottest times, the garden became dormant and when it started growing again, the fruit seemed stunted. The thickness of the flesh of these peppers was unusually thin.

3 Perfect Vine-On Tomatoes

These tomatoes only grew to be about half the size they should have been, but they still made some tasty BLTs. Check out the great color! I like these tomatoes, but I think I'm going to see if there is a good heirloom style tomato I can grow in a container next summer.

Opal Basil Blooms

My herbs grew abundantly and voraciously though. And I even left my opal basil alone long enough for a few stalks to flower. The blooms really are so beautiful it was worth it. The seeds even produced a few volunteers in some of my other pots and in a patch of grass in front of my house.

Genovese Basil

One herb that for sure didn't get to bloom was this lovely basil. I made so much pesto, it was awesome. I am completely bummed that though I did get some herbs brought into the house so I can have access to them all winter long, both varieties of basil died of cold before I had time to break the plants into smaller pieces and into smaller pots.

In addition to two varies of lavender, oregano, and thyme, I also currently have 3 mini bell pepper plants in my windowsill. They're all growing pretty well, I hope it keeps up. I'd like to have fresh peppers all winter long, too!

Photo Catches Thief in Action

2010-11-01T02:31:00.001-05:00

Sorry, I haven't been very interesting, but I did find a story about a special photo that is. Remember the Perfectly Timed Photos post from earlier? Its along those lines.

A family photo snapped by a New Jersey tourist managed to capture the image of Wisconsin resident Glenn R. Lambright as he stole items from behind their back.

John Myers' family from Bloomfield, N.J., had stopped in Madison several months ago and posed for a picture in front of the Wisconsin State Capitol.

Myers set the self-timer on his camera and hustled into the frame with his wife and two children. Behind them, someone grabbed their bag that held Myers' wallet and credit cards.

After Myers discovered the bag missing, he checked his camera. The image showed Lambright taking their bag.

Lambright was sentenced to five days in jail.

Abandoned Horseshoe Saloon

2010-10-22T18:21:00.001-05:00

Spotted this towards the end of summer, somewhere along Highway 25 between Becker and Brainerd in Minnesota. Yeah, that's a lot of mileage in between, but really all the small towns tend to look the same.

Old Rusted Sign

This sign is really what made me stop. If I wouldn't have seen this sign, I wouldn't have even noticed the abandoned building it was in front of.

Abandoned Roadside Bar

Must have been abandoned for a while, there are a bunch of trees growing right up next to the foundation.

Horseshoe Saloon

Isn't this a great sign? The other side was so faded, you couldn't read the name of the bar. Grain Belt, before it was hipster!

Food

Yup, love this sign. So simple, so sun faded. The other side wasn't as faded and had more red on it, but I liked this side better.

Sam Really Can Shoot...

2010-10-16T14:29:00.002-05:00

...I have just been busy. Though my Flickr and photo blog activity dropped off in August, my photo taking did not. Part of the reason for the update freeze was it only takes a millisecond to snap a photograph, it takes hours to sort through 900 milliseconds. Or in this case, closer to 4,000. And though I had plenty of time to snap photos, I had none to sort them.

But I've finally started muddling through because my busy-ness has decreased: As I mentioned in my True to Words blog, I recently got married and had a vacation/mini-honeymoon in Las Vegas! That meant lots of preparation before, and photos galore during. I couldn't download them for a while because I have snapped and downloaded without sorting so often since July, I had filled my hard drive and reduced its memory access capacity. I couldn't even open multiple photos at a time!

I'm finding that I haven't really been that great at sorting since I bought my camera last September. In my quest to free up space, I've been going through each folder to find the ones I haven't sorted through. Some of them were "sorted" already and yet there are still redundant photos. I guess I am a packrat even in the digital world, but because I need the space, I shall be changing my ways!

On the plus side, I am noticing that I take fewer photos to get the right capture than when I first started. In the beginning, I would take ten photos hoping just one would turn out. Now I have a three takes rule! I attribute that change to gains in knowledge and confidence as a photographer. But I think three is as low as I'll go if I can help it. More often than not, all three of the photos will be completely different.

So now I shall away and reconvene my photo sorting. Expect more updates in the near future!
(These random photos are some I hadn't previously uploaded to Flickr, click through to find out more about them if you're curious :))

Perfectly Timed Photos

2010-08-10T14:14:00.001-05:00

I have been so busy, I haven't had time to do some of my extra curricular activities. Though I have been taking plenty of photos, I haven't been sorting, editing, or uploading them. Gotta start the blog up again somehow, or it could just sit languishing forever!

So I share with you Perfectly Timed Photos. This website is so much fun. I was alerted to its presence by this link, which has a handful of the best perfectly timed photos on the site.

"Told you I could beat the elevator"

"Everyone stands quietly as Susan magically hovers above the mud."

"Pew pew pew"

Such fun and unique photos! Kinda makes you want to keep your finger on the button at all times. I will certainly be checking back at this site in the future!

Baby Fruits

2010-07-16T17:05:00.001-05:00

The work and love I've been putting into my container garden are bearing fruit. Literally.

Triplet Tomatoes

Aren't they beautiful? But this mini bell pepper and all of its ilk are what I am looking forward to the most. It looks a little misshaped though.

Baby Bell

And I think they're going to be okay. I found aphids on my sunflowers, but not on a single one of my peppers. Last year, the full size bell peppers were eaten alive, but the mini bells seem not to be attracting them. Either way, I know what to look for this time and I know how to get rid of the buggers organically without burning my plants, like I did last year. Oh how I've learned! This year's growing season has been going so much better than last year by all measures.

Balloon Flowers Burst into Bloom

2010-07-15T23:48:00.006-05:00

I love balloon flowers. I had never seen them before last summer, when I noticed them growing in the garden of the Ames Florida Stork House in Rockford, MN. Aren't they beautiful?

Purple Balloon Flower

So why are they called balloon flowers? Observe what the bud looks like before it blooms.

Closed Balloon Flower

Neat huh? I love the lavender hue of these flowers. This white variation is also delicate and bright, almost like a star!

White Balloon Flower

A Pair of Hummingbirds

2010-07-10T16:24:00.005-05:00

I spotted a pair of hummingbirds in the garden of the Ames Florida Stork House today. At least I'm pretty sure they are paired. They looked so alike, the only difference was that one was brighter than the other.

Female Humming Bird #1

Female Humming Bird #2

Male Humming Bird #1

Male Humming Bird #2

These are not the most perfect photos of hummingbirds, but the pictures of the female are pretty good. If you click to view the larger size, you can see her furry little body. I think those two photos are the best I could hope for under the amateur-still-learning-my-camera circumstances. I'm okay with that, though, because I was just excited to have the chance to try to capture their image.

[Update: This has been identified as a Hummingbird clearwing moth. It is not a bird, but it's still cool! :) ]

My Photos... Out There...

2010-07-08T11:04:00.001-05:00

Some of my photos have been used recently by local news organizations which I highly respect!

First, David Brauer at MinnPost published an article entitled Sid Hartman and the Statues of Downtown Minneapolis. In the article, Brauer considers the people who are honored with statues in downtown Minneapolis. Included is a photo I took of the Joe Mauer statue outside Target Field.

Second, the new Minnesota Today section of Minnesota Public Radio includes an area that highlights photographs taken of life in the state. A photo of performers from Ballet Minnesota dancing at the Taste of Minnesota was recently featured on the site as the photo of the day. Thanks to Rob from North Metro Photo for pointing it out to me! :)

Bell Pepper Blooms

2010-07-06T10:11:00.000-05:00

The buds on my bell peppers have bloomed into flowers. Now these guys are really growing! Since I took this picture, the blooms have already fallen off and there are tiny, baby peppers starting to grow.

Bell Pepper Blooms

It seems like they're growing faster than last year. The seeds were from some miniature bell peppers, so maybe they're intended to grow more quickly.

Happy Fourth of July 2010

2010-07-04T23:59:00.000-05:00

These photos were taken on Saturday. I spent the real 4th of July safe at home in my pajamas.

Bouncing Light

Squiggly Light

Green & Red

Red Fountain

The Freshest Raspberries

2010-07-02T23:59:00.001-05:00

Saw these raspberries (and promptly ate them) at a friend's home. They were so much better than whatever you could buy at the grocery store.

Fresh Raspberries

I love fresh fruits and veggies, particularly berries. It doesn't get much more fresh than this!

Raspberry

First Bird at the Feeder

2010-06-29T23:10:00.001-05:00

This year was the first time I put out a bird feeder at the place I live currently. I was a little disappointed when for weeks the food went untouched, so I sprinkled some seed on the ground nearby. That's where the birds began to congregate, still ignoring the bird feeder. Then yesterday I saw this:

First Bird at the Feeder

After I snapped this photo I realized the little gnome that is my bird feeder was facing the fall. Just a little creepy if you ask me. I fixed it as soon as the bird left.

Wyandot County Court House

2010-06-25T23:32:00.000-05:00

I was recently on vacation in Ohio. While I was there, a bar called Shotzy's in Upper Sandusky was having an opening night. We pulled into town just as the sun was going down and parked by this, the Wyandot County Court House. Though the lighting wasn't so great, I just had to snap a few photos!

Wyandot County Court House

Justice & Liberty

Wyandot County Court House Sign

Didn't really read this sign until I got the photos home, though. That's just a little creepy.

Bell Pepper Flower Buds

2010-06-18T12:00:00.001-05:00

What's the phrase? Ask and ye shall receive? Thursday, I posted about my tomato plant blooming and wished that my pepper plants would start. Today, I spotted not one but five little buds that will someday be peppers.

Bell Pepper Flower Buds

It has begun! I am sooo excited for this growing season and harvest, you have no idea. I just love watching the plants grow and taking photos of their progress.

Bloomin' Tomato Plant

2010-06-17T00:38:00.001-05:00

My tomatoes are blooming! It makes me happy to see them doing something besides growing foliage.

Tomato Flower

This is the first time I've tried to use stakes instead of wire baskets. Because my plants are potted, the baskets seem too tall. Plus, they got knocked over by my dogs quite easily a few times last year because they were so awkwardly tall and their leashes caught on the wiring. This way they have a lot less of a chance of knocking them down.

Tomato Bud

Now if only my mini bell pepper plants would produce even a bud. Those little guys are really slow growing.

Wedding Bells Rang

2010-06-16T23:08:00.002-05:00

On June 5th, I got to photograph the wedding and reception of my dear friends Amanda and Ramsey. The ceremony was simple, the reception was epic. I had so much fun snapping photos, but that was mostly because everyone I was taking pictures of were people I knew!

You May Kiss the Bride

We Ate

The Dip

We Danced

There are about 200 more pictures, but the bride hasn't seen them yet, so I'm not going to share more until a later date. There are some really beautiful photos in this set of which I am very proud, though.

My First Wedding Shoot

2010-06-10T18:48:00.001-05:00

I took photos at my first wedding shoot on May 15, 2010. The wedding took place at the historical Ames Florida Stork House in Rockford, MN. These are my 5 favorite pictures.

The Bride - Black & White

Lilac Bouquet Centerpiece

Secret Hideaway

Flower Girl & Ring Barer

In a Tree in Dress Clothes

I am posting them now, just as I finished downloading all of the photos for the second wedding shoot I ever did, which took place June 5. Already I can see the progress I've made from the first to the second. Hopefully, I will have some photos from that wedding to post tomorrow. Hear that, impatient people? :)

A Belated 365 Project Update ~ May 2010

2010-06-09T23:26:00.000-05:00

Between work and my social life, blogging has sort of fallen off to the way-side lately. But I have been continuing with my 365 photo project! Here are a few photographs from May that I included in my project.

Deconstructed Ferris Wheel ~ 135/365

Hole ~ 141/365

Forgotten Tricycle (Black & White) ~ 147/365

Red Flowers ~ 149/365

Stunted Seedlings, 2010

2010-05-11T23:59:00.003-05:00

So it has been a while since I last wrote about the progress of my potted garden. Well it has been growing steadily in the two months since I planted my first seeds.

This Year's Potential Crop

For the most part, that is. The rainy, drizzly weather with no sunlight that we've been experiencing for the last week or so seems to have stunted the growth of my little plants.

Medium Potted Plants

From left to right, here are 2 sunflowers, 2 tomatoes, and 2 bell pepper plants. They're nice and tall, but they don't seem to have grown in the past week.

Bucket Full of Plants

The four plants in the upper left-hand corner of the blue bucket are opal basil, sage, parsley, and basil. The plants in the lower, right-hand corner are more bell pepper plants (yellow, orange, and red). The pail pink pot has cat grass planted, but it hasn't grown yet (I suspect a lack of sunlight has to do with that).

Box Full of Seedlings

In this box, though, are some extra plants and some stubborn seeds. I'm having a hard time growing lavender, which are in the 4 pots in the upper left-hand corner. I've killed many lavender seedlings in the past 2 months, but I think I might have something figured out now. And in the center 2 pots (that look like nothing is growing) are oregano and thyme, which are so tiny and fragile when they first start growing, it seems they will die if you breathe on them wrong. Mainly the trouble I'm having with the lavender, oregano, and thyme is that they like really dry soil and I have a compulsive watering problem. But I think I'm getting better at it. There are also extra basil and sage plants in the box which I will away. There are 2 daisies, too. I can't wait for the pretty flowers to grow!

French Toast with Caramelized Apples

2010-05-07T16:11:00.001-05:00

I'm trying to break out of my flower theme here on the ol' photo blog. Food is a good way to break up the monotony, especially since it has been so rainy outside this week.

French Toast with Caramelized Apples

I made these about two weeks ago. I think I'll have to make it again soon. Sooo tasty.

3 Tiny Sweet Peppers

2010-05-05T20:44:00.000-05:00

I found these tiny sweet peppers at Cub Foods. I'm not quite sure if they are bell peppers, but whatever they are, I'm in love. I've already been back to the store for more.

3 Tiny Sweet Peppers

I've eaten them in pasta, rice, couscous, stir fry, hashed browns, and eggs. I think I have a pepper problem. But they're sooo good.

Red, Orange, Yellow

I'm growing 8 bell pepper plants right now, but two of them aren't growing so well. The 6 that are growing strong will hopefully fulfill my pepper habit later this summer and fall. They're still so small right now, though, I can't wait!

365 Project Update ~ April 2010

2010-04-30T20:52:00.000-05:00

There was a little bit of sputtering this month on my 365 project, but everything turned out in the end. It has been smooth sailing this week with clouds as a theme. Some interesting pictures and formations have come of it, and there have been clouds in the sky every day. In fact, there have been an abundance of clouds and overcast days.

Ray of Light ~ 119/365

Of course the week we choose to have clouds as a theme, it would rain constantly. there have been some nice clear days, but a majority of my pics this week have had dark clouds. The one from today is my favorite, though.

Storm Rolls Out ~ 120/365

There was sun and storm clouds. Made for a much more interesting picture than just sunny or just stormy.

Red Columbines

2010-04-28T21:22:00.003-05:00

I love spring and the many flowers it brings. Red Columbines like these in particular bring back memories of my childhood. They grew wild on my grandparents' farm near Little Falls. When I was young, I would eat the nectar-filled lobes from the back of the flower. Quite tasty, as I recall.

Red Columbines

Yellow & Red Tulips

2010-04-23T23:59:00.002-05:00

Similar name as the last post, slightly different concept. More tulips have bloomed at the Ames Florida Stork House. They are definitely up there in my top 10 favorite flowers.

Yellow & Red Tulips

Yellow Tulip

Red Tulips

Red & Yellow Tulip

2010-04-16T16:57:00.002-05:00

I spotted this single tulip in the front yard of the historic Ames Florida Stork House in Rockford, Minnesota.

Red & Yellow Tulip

I also snapped a few photos of some prolifically growing lavender-colored flowers. I love spring and all of the pretty flowers it brings!

White Flowers Everywhere

2010-04-14T23:59:00.002-05:00

In the Rule of Thirds photography assignment from last week, I included a picture of some white flower buds. I thought they were just rose-like in appearance. A few days ago, I saw the same flowers and they had made a wonderful transformation!

White Flowers

White Flower Ground Cover

They are beautiful! I don't know what they're called, though. Does anyone have any ideas?

Creek Through the Park

2010-04-09T23:59:00.000-05:00

Saw this creek as I was taking a walk through my favorite park. Most of the summer and fall, this is just a ditch. It looks more like a stream this spring!

Creek Through the Park

Photography Assignment #7 ~ The Rule of Thirds

2010-04-08T23:58:00.002-05:00

This week's theme for my 365 project is the Rule of Thirds, so I thought this week would be perfect for a new photography assignment.

The Rule of Thirds is a compositional rule of thumb in visual arts of painting, photography and design. The Rule of Thirds works like this: Imaginary lines are drawn dividing the image into thirds both horizontally and vertically. You place important elements of your composition where these lines intersect. Some proponents of the technique claim that aligning a subject with these points creates more tension, energy and interest than simply placing the subject at the center.

An example from Wikipedia and the Wikimedia Commons:

The photograph to the right demonstrates the application of the rule of thirds. The horizon sits at the horizontal line dividing the lower third of the photo from the upper two-thirds. The tree sits at the intersection of two lines, sometimes called a power point. Points of interest in the photo don't have to actually touch one of these lines to take advantage of the rule of thirds. For example, the brightest part of the sky near the horizon where the sun recently set does not fall directly on one of the lines, but does fall near the intersection of two of the lines, close enough to take advantage of the rule.

With that in mind, here are two photos that I took this week using the Rule of Thirds. It was pretty easy to line up the shots because the points in my viewfinder are already set up to help me divide my image into thirds. Hopefully people who might be trying this photo assignment have as easy a time! Otherwise, cropping works if you want to try and line photos up exactly the way you want.

White Flowers ~ 94/365

Pineapple ~ 97/365

Mystic Trail

2010-04-03T23:30:00.003-05:00

In January, one of my 365 Project posts included some musings on the white balance setting on my camera and how it can affect the color clarity of a photo. Not getting the results I wanted, I made adjustments until I found what appeared to me to be the closest to the "true colors" I was seeing. In contrast, I took the following pictures specifically with the intention of not reproducing true colors.

Mystic Trail

This is what the scene looked like to my eyes at the time these photos were taken, one foggy Friday in March. The next two photos haven't been manipulated at all, the change of colors and mood are simply the results of changing the white balance settings on the camera when I snapped the shutter.

Mystic Trail (Violet)

White Balance: Fluorescent

Mystic Trail (Blue)

White Balance: Tungsten

I can't decide if I like the violet or the blue better! The violet looks dark and moody, but the blue looks more ethereal and magical.

365 Project Update ~ March 2010

2010-03-31T23:59:00.002-05:00

I'm still at it, though I did experience some hiccups along the way in March. I took a trip out of state mid-way through the month and it took me a while to get back into taking pictures and posting them and adding descriptions and such. But now it's coming along nicely.

Future Fruits & Veggies

Rough luck, then a smooth patch. Much like the plants I've been tending to for the past few weeks. They've been a good subject for this week's 365 project theme of Spring. I've had some die on me, some seeds just didn't germinate (and I read that some might not for 6 weeks!). But some of my experimental seeds are growing better than expected and if these last seedlings left can make it for a few more weeks, I'll be home free! Well, I won't have to buy any plants, at least. :)

Red Light, Green Light

2010-03-27T00:06:00.002-05:00

I spotted these fun looking traffic lights on a recent trip to Ohio. Loved 'em, needed to photograph them. Wish I had a longer lens. Or a higher, closer vantage point. C'est la vie. But I do like the perspective!

Red Light

Green Light

In the background, you can see the corner of the Historic Town Hall in Genoa, which I highlighted for Friday Photography at True to Words. Beautiful building!

Strange Green Plant

2010-03-24T23:59:00.002-05:00

Spring is in the air. It's great to see plants springing to life. I spotted this in some landscaping and I've never seen one before.

Green Plant

Does anyone know what this plant is called?

[Update: Rob from North Metro Photo has identified this unique plant as being of the hen-and-chicks species! Thanks, Rob!]

I Have Seedlings!

2010-03-20T22:39:00.004-05:00

I'm a bad blogger. I disappeared for a week without pre-publishing any blog posts. I was unexpectedly needed out-of-state with family. But the blog wasn't the only thing that I left behind without adult supervision. The very first sprout from the seeds I planted had emerged on the day that I left.

Baby Opal Basil

I was a bit concerned about what would happen if I left them behind in a dry house and I wasn't around to mist them. Plus, I've been growing them under a light because I was concerned the window ledge would be too cold. They would have to go in the window, though, because I'd be way too nervous to set a timer for those lights. I guess I didn't need to worry, though.

Seedlings Gone Wild

They grew like crazy while I was gone. You can see not everything is growing, though. Some seeds take longer to sprout. Additionally, everything in the little clay pots was planted about a week later than the first set of seedling. I'm not sure even if everything in those will grow, some of them are experiments.

There are too many growing in some pods, so I will have to cull some. Crazy, I thought I would have to plant more because some of the seeds were 2-3 years old. The ones that weren't were seeds I harvested myself, so I really wasn't sure they would grow. Almost everything you can see, though, has sprouted from seeds of fruits and veggies I grew last year. I am excited for this growing season!

Alright, time to get back to some regularly scheduled photo blogging. I'll be back soon with posts from my adventures in Ohio.

Photography Assignment #6 ~ The World in a Water Drop

2010-03-12T12:30:00.003-06:00

I've already talked about Macro photography in a previous assignment. The World in a Water Drop is a slightly more advanced version of that concept. In this assignment, the goal is to take a picture of water drops so close and with such focus, that you can see the surrounding world reflected in it. This foggy morning when I took a photo hike, I managed to find big waterdrops with which to attempt this task. I took dozens of photos and only 7 of these World in a Waterdrop pictures turned out. Here are the 3 best of those.

Note: These are very small compared to the original photo size. To truly see what these photos contain, click through the links for the larger versions.

Forest in a Dew Drop

Miniature Blue World

Water Berry

See the rest of the World in a Water Drop photos.

The Green Thumb Begins, 2010

2010-03-10T21:42:00.001-06:00

Last year I tried my hand at organic potted gardening. Yeah, not enough that it was going to be potted, I wanted it to be organic, too. I sometimes documented my progress on my True to Words blog's Friday Photography feature. At the end of the season, it was evident I didn't start my seedlings early enough. I only got 8 tomatoes and 6 peppers off of 2 plants of each. This year, I started a lot earlier!

Seedlings 2010

These are trays of different kinds of bell peppers, tomatoes, herbs, and spices. I still have a few more seeds to plant, so those will probably be posted in here too. I have a much better camera for the growing season. I am so excited to document my progress this year!

Disc Golfing in the Snow

2010-03-06T23:47:00.000-06:00

It was too beautiful outside to not spend some time enjoying the day. Today, I took a trip to a nearby park with my camera.

West Lake Pulaski Park

Josh and his brother disc golfed while the dogs and I trudged around through the snow. They seemed to be doing pretty well despite a good foot of snow still on the ground.

Tee Box?

Our feet were soaked by the time we were done. It's much easier to walk through snow when it hasn't been slowly melting for the last week.

Preparation

It didn't seem to effect their game much. They said they played a pretty good game. I barely managed to walk with the dogs, I wasn't about to start disc golfing yet. Maybe once the snow is actually gone! Or if I had snowshoes.

Ice Covered Snow

It was very interesting looking snow, though. It was like piles of tiny clumps of ice, under a hard crusty top layer of ice. It sounded like crumbling paper as our feet went through and then like tiny shards of glass clinking together as the ice-pieces scattered.

Girl Scout Cookie Time!

2010-03-04T23:59:00.000-06:00

It's that time of year again. I barely managed to snag a box or two. Now I'm on the hunt for more, but I'm pretty sure I have a lock on my next stash. I will miss these cookies after I eat them all.

Cookies & Milk ~ 63/365

365 Project Update ~ February 2010

2010-02-28T23:59:00.000-06:00

Still keeping up with my 365 project. Sinus pressure and earache finally going away, so maybe I'll get out and shoot some stuff soon. I hope so, it's starting to look really nice outside.

Lava Lamp ~ 59/365

Red glitter through glass. A strange lava lamp. The theme for this week is "Through Glass." Cheating a little here, but I'll make up for it when I'm feeling better. :)

Miniature Winter Landscape

2010-02-26T23:59:00.002-06:00

I took this photo of a snowy, sparse landscape at the beginning of the month. I loved the look of the vertical trees, the horizontal shadows, and the wind-dimpled snow.

Abstract Landscape

That was before we got hit by yet another giant snowstorm. And I kept forgetting to take a picture of what it looked like with more snow, but I snapped this next one after some of it melted. It's a different time of day and the shadows play different.

Snow-Filled Landscape

Last week, you could barely see the tips of these trees. As it is, you can't see all of the trees that were in the original picture. The saplings have been blown around in the window, creating little holes around them that didn't exist in the first photo. And do you see the footprints in the bottom right-hand corner?

Critter Hole & Tracks

What the heck was living in there? It burrowed out, and I saw footprints leaving, but it doesn't look like they came back. Hmm... It was probably a thirteen-lined ground squirrel, otherwise known as a gopher! They're everywhere around here in the summer.

Still sick, but feeling a lot better. I think I'll go sledding tomorrow. Provided I bundle up!

Colonial Warehouse

2010-02-24T22:39:00.005-06:00

I've been sick and had an ear infection. A bad enough ear infection that it gave me a touch of vertigo. Needless to say, I haven't exactly been out and about taking pictures. I've barely been holding on to my 365 project! But it has been a week since my last blog post, so I thought I should put something up.

Colonial Warehouse - Back

This is the Colonial Warehouse, located at 212 Third Avenue North in Minneapolis' Warehouse Historic District. It was originally constructed in 1885 to be the headquarters of the Minneapolis Street Railroad Company, later named Twin City Rapid Transit Company. The bottom two floors of the Romanesque Style building are part of the original design. The top two stories resulted from an addition that occurred in 1909.

Lit Hallway

Unlike many other buildings in the Warehouse District, this building wasn't originally meant to be a warehouse. At first it housed the transit company's general offices within its 161,179 square feet, as well as the paint and woodworking shops during the horse-drawn streetcar era. It later served as a powerhouse when the system changed over to a cable-car line. I couldn't find confirmation, but I believe after this, it was turned into a storage warehouse. Later it housed a paper company and grocery wholesaler at separate times.

Interact Center Art Gallery

Now it has been converted back into office space. A multitude of creative enterprises call this place home, including The Onion and the Interact Art Center and Gallery. It was a fun place to run around with my camera.

Photography Assignment #5 ~ Still Life

2010-02-18T23:59:00.004-06:00

A still life is a work of art depicting mostly inanimate subjects. Common subjects are everyday items which may be natural or man made, like food, flowers, plants, drinking glasses, books, jewelry, coins, etc., and are arranged in an artificial setting. Still life works give the artist creative license to arrange design elements within composition purposefully, unlike landscapes or portraits.

As with all photographic techniques and styles, attention to lighting is absolutely critical. When photographing still life, there is the potential for a boring image. Shadows and highlights add drama and emphasis.

Bread & Fruit

Still life art usually isn't just a bunch of inanimate objects thrown together. Still life art often contains symbolism relating to the objects depicted, often religious or allegorical. This was part of the challenge of this assignment.

Bread, in its many forms, is among the most popular foods in the world. In various cultures it is a symbol of fertility, birth, life, death, and more. It can be a peace offering and when we "Break bread," we usually are meeting someone new often over a nibble or two.

Apples appear in many folk stories and religious traditions, often as a mystical, enchanted, or forbidden fruit.

Oranges are symbols of love and marriage. Brides traditionally wear orange blossoms in their hair or carry them in their bouquet at their wedding.

Bananas, not surprisingly, are symbols of fertility, potency, and prosperity.

As a tool, a knife can be a symbol of utility. Depicted here it was used to cut the bread, and therefore was useful. Knives can also be defensive or offensive weapons. In defense, it can save lives and in the wrong hands it can take them. In this case, the blade of this knife is pointed at the food, away from the viewer as a sign of peace. Additionally, the bread is on the lighter side of the image while the knife is in the shadows on the darker side. The knife is also separated from the food, but still close-by.

A note: Because of the low light and the brightness of the bread, it took a bit of playing with the white balance to get this picture right but it was totally worth it. Many of the photos turned out too yellow, this one was perfect.

Tri-Color Pepper Couscous Transformation

2010-02-16T23:40:00.001-06:00

I've been meaning to do another lesson, assignment, and another inspirational photographer, but I've been running short on time in general lately. About the only thing photography-related that I've been absolutely sure to do is following-through with my 365 project. But I'm also trying to keep posting regularly. So the 365 project is where my photo comes from today.

Couscous & Peppers ~ 47/365

Last week, I took pictures of three bell peppers to release myself from the monotony of photographing snow. This week, I turned those peppers into cous cous. After I fluffed it with a fork, I realized its reflection on the stainless steel pot fit perfectly with this weeks' theme of "Blurred Reflection." So the colorful food photography continues!

Happy Valentine's Day

2010-02-14T14:40:00.001-06:00

Happy Valentine's Day! I hope that the singles and the paired are having a good day. I am! I had a special delivery today, and though waiting for it to arrive delayed our lunch plans, it was totally worth it.

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

After they arrived, he said he wasn't sure if it was cheesy to give a girl food for Valentine's Day. I told him chocolate is always perfectly acceptable for a woman for pretty much any holiday. And then I reminded him how much I love food.

Edible Rose Bouquet

This 1-dozen chocolate covered strawberry bouquet is from Edible Bouquets. The chocolate covered pineapple and orange slices shown below are, too. All of them are 100% delicious and I highly recommend them.

Chocolate Dipped Orange & Pineapple

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Color in a Dreary World

2010-02-13T23:59:00.003-06:00

So I'm a little sick of the winter weather theme lately. Prismatic snow, huskies in snow, even a traveling snowball over at the True to Words blog for Friday Photography - enough! I refuse to put another snow picture up this week! Here, have some beautiful, brightly colored bell peppers!

Tri-Colored Peppers

They were on sale at the grocery store, looking so delicious and summery I could not pass them up. Then I thought they would make an interesting photographic subject. Much more interesting than the snow.

Huskies Love Snow

2010-02-09T23:59:00.006-06:00

Huskies love snow. At least someone does. Usually I do, but forgive me if I'm a little grumpy with our Winter Frickin' Wonderland here in Minnesota. It has been an unusually snowy this year, but I guess after our rainy cold summer, I expected it. Give me a few days, I'll probably be a lot more excited once the roads have been semi-clear for more than 48 hours. In the meantime, I'm cheering myself up by watching these two frolic in the snow.

Calvin Leads Spirit

He is 100% Siberian husky, she is a Siberian-Labrador mix. Does that make her a designer dog like all the other mutts they sell for exorbitant amounts of money? We could call her a Sibrador or a Laberian. Either way, she's not for sale! :) Sometimes I want to sell him, though.

Snow Bounding

Really, huskies do make it easier to enjoy the snow. Watching them take such joy in changing a pristine, sculpted snow landscape into a trampled mess with their bounding and wrestling is highly amusing. It makes the cabin fever just a little bit easier to deal with. A little bit.

Non-Pointers Pointing

Winter Frickin' Wonderland

2010-02-08T22:32:00.002-06:00

Okay, I love Minnesota. And I love the snow. Really I do. But this has become ridiculous.

Prismatic Snow

It's snowing. Again. More. Still. However you want to phrase it. All of my plans for taking the camera out and about have been thwarted, if not by wicked roads than by wet, sloppy snowflakes in my camera. There is only one thing that is helping me make it through the cabin fever I'm experiencing. Well, maybe more than one thing. But right now, it's the main thing.

Coffee Beans ~ 39/365

Observant and Detail Oriented

2010-02-03T23:16:00.000-06:00

As I've become more involved in photography over the last two years and really plunging in over the last few months with the new camera, I also have become more observant. I've always been detail oriented and often notice things other people don't. Now that I'm running around with a camera looking for interesting things to shoot, it's amplified. Looking up at the moon, stars, and clouds, gazing down at the ground, or examining common things to find what makes it different, I really feel like I'm taking a slower, closer look at life these days. I feel like photography is partially responsible for that.

Snow Arc

I was trudging around in the snow trying to take footprint pictures for my 365 project last week when I came across this. The wind whipped the weed back and forth so much that it brushed an arc into the snow. Something I would have missed entirely were I not more inclined to slow down and observe what's around me.

365 Project Update ~ January 2010

2010-01-31T23:59:00.029-06:00

It is January 31, 2010, and my 365 project has been going well! I have successfully taken a picture every day this month. I even just uploaded my last picture for January. I have learned so much already! Because I'm playing with the camera every day, I feel like I'm learning the use of a new setting each time I pick it up. Today, I learned a bit more about white balance.

Krillin Light

White Balance: Auto

This week's theme for our group 365 project is Eyes. For my first picture, I was trying to snap a picture of Krillin's, but it seemed on the monitor that the green of his iris and the warm colors in his fur just weren't as vivid as they should be. He almost looked monochrome!

Krillin Medium

White Balance: Daylight

So remembering how the wrong white balance made the night sky seem blue, I played around with the light setting. Since the sun was streaming through the windows, I set it to daylight. This is better, but still not as warm.

Krillin's True Colors

White Balance: Shade

Next, I set it to Shade. These are Krillin's true colors. Comparing them all together, you can see how drastic of a difference it made. So when it came to taking the final picture for today, the coloring was perfect. I love how Krillin's Eye ~ 31/365 turned out.

Krillin's Eye ~ 31/365

My familiarity with my camera and skills in using it are growing every day with this 365 project. So glad that I chose to join in the fun!

Experiment: Shooting the Moon

2010-01-30T20:35:00.001-06:00

One morning last March, I was awake at an incredibly early hour. We were in the middle of a deep-freeze and if it weren't for the fact the dogs needed to go outside, I would have stayed warm in my blankets. But I bundled up and brought them out anyway (my kingdom for a fenced backyard! See "Wish list" on my previous post). I looked up and saw an amazing moon halo and coronas, which I would not have seen had I not been awake that early and if it weren't so cold that ice crystals were forming in the air. It was so cool, but the crappy camera I had at the time didn't quite capture the look as well as I would have liked. I vowed with the new camera to get more pictures like them.

Friday night, I saw a different kind of moon halo caused by super-thin cloud cover. Snap, snap, snap! Pictures!

Moon Halo #1

Exposure: 8

Aperture: f/22.0

Focal Length: 18 mm

Light Setting: Fluorescent Light (DOH!)

I was playing with the manual settings because the last time I took pictures of the night sky I used the Auto Focus and the results were less than stellar.

Moon Halo #2

Exposure: 6

Aperture: f/14.0

Focal Length: 18 mm

Light Setting: Fluorescent Light (DOH!)

I was trying different apertures and exposures. I took about 10 pictures at different settings before I realized that I'd had the lighting set to fluorescent. Doh!

Moon Halo #3

Exposure: 6

Aperture: f/14.0

Focal Length: 18 mm

Light Setting: Auto

So then I switched it to auto. I almost think the fluorescent setting was better because I like the blue-violet tinge to the sky. But the auto setting resulted in a more realistic look. Moon Halo #3 and #4 look slightly different because of shifts in cloud-cover.

Moon Halo #4

Exposure: 6

Aperture: f/14.0

Focal Length: 18 mm

Light Setting: Auto

I feel these turned out better than the Orion pictures. Every time I play around with the camera, I try to explore more of the manual settings. I've read the manual for my camera, but I'm really one of those people who have to learn by doing. Having this blog to really examine what I'm doing helps because putting it in writing helps me remember, too! Then there are readers like Richard at Capturing Light and Rob at North Metro Photo who occasionally send me bits of wisdom. And other words of encouragement from people like Courtney at ThisisCourtney.com and J.J.S. at Shutteria.com make my day! Totally digging this photo blogging thing! :)

I've Been Tagged! No, Not That Kind of Tagged...

2010-01-28T23:59:00.004-06:00

I’ve been tagged by Rob at North Metro Photo. A simple question answer get to know you type of tagging. Hmmm... Interesting. Okay, I'll bite! :)

8 TV shows I watch on occasions. (In no order):

1. The Big Bang Theory
2. How I Met Your Mother
3. Californication
4. House M.D.
5. The Tudors
6. The Simpsons
7. South Park
8. Mad Men

8 Favorite places to eat and drink (In no order):

1. Home – LOVE to cook
2. Cosetta's
3. Culver's
4. Buffalo Bar & Grill
5. Dave & Buster's (Chuck E. Cheese for adults!)
6. Mongos
7. Punch Pizza - Best Pizza Ever
8. Don's Cafe (Morris, MN)

8 Things I look forward to (In no order):

1. Baseball (Twins) season
2. Hockey (Wild) season
3. Photo hikes
4. "Friends' Weekend" at Cross Lake
5. Summer in general (And Winter when it's summer)
6. Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland
7. Dinner (What can I say, I love food!)
8. Finishing off my student loans

8 Things I love about winter (In no order):

1. Snow
2. It's uncomfortably cold instead of uncomfortably hot
3. Downhill skiing
4. Hot Alcoholic Drinks
5. Soups & Stews
6. Orion constellation (Doh, had to steal from Rob)
7. Moon Halos / Coronas (Want to snap more of these with the new camera)
8. Crazy Frost and Ice Formations

8 Things on my wish list (In no order):

1. A mortgage (and a house and yard to go with it)
2. A vacation exploring Great Britain
3. Another vacation in the Mediterranean
4. My own copy of the new PhotoShop
5. Own & Run a Restaurant (just for a while!)
6. A second Bachelors Degree in either poli-sci, communications or journalism
7. To be published in book form (Not a periodical)
8. A 1960sish Ford Mustang. Yeah, that's the ticket.

8 Things I am passionate about:

1. My Boyfriend
2. Our Pets (3 cats, 2 dogs, 1 parrot)
3. Our many and varied friends
4. My family
5. Writing
6. Photography
7. Justice
8. Truth / Honesty

8 Things I have learned from the past (In no order):

1. Empathy
2. Patience
3. Joy in simple things
4. Laughing is better than crying
5. Laughing until you cry is the best
6. Beauty is everywhere
7. Truly great friends are priceless
8. "Measure Twice, Cut Once."

8 Things I want/need (In no order):

1. Better Health & Dental Insurance
2. An espresso maker
3. Camera Filters & Lenses
4. A new tripod
5. External Hard Drive
6. Remote Car Starter
7. A DVR
8. A Margherita Punch Pizza

8 people I’d like to tag, in no particular order:

1. Kris - One Photo a Day
2. Mike - Twin Cities Photography
3. Courtney - This is Courtney
4. Kate - Visual St. Paul
5. slinger - Twin Cities Daily Photo
6. Diane - Just Roaming the Cities
7. Bob - Wood Stone Photography Blog
8. Norbert - Twin Cities Photo Shots

Shimmering Sea of Snow

Lesson #3 ~ Know Your Memory Card

2010-01-23T23:59:00.002-06:00

Digital camera memory is an essential piece of digital photography equipment, but it is often overlooked. I know I almost overlooked it - I was not particularly happy my camera didn't come with even a basic one. There are many types of memory and it's a good idea to consider what type of memory a camera uses when you buy one.

It's also important to make sure you have enough memory before you take pictures of on vacation or at an important event. Though memory cards are reusable, their capacity is limited. Have a larger memory card, or extra cards, to make sure you have enough space to take the pictures you need. And always check your camera before you leave to make sure you downloaded everything. I have left the house thinking I had plenty of memory only to determine I was running at about half capacity because I’d taken pictures at an event and hadn’t downloaded them.

The good thing is most digital cameras allow you to adjust the image quality, which can change how many pictures fit one a memory card. You can have a couple-hundred high quality photos on one card and sometimes thousands of low-quality pics on the same card, should you be happy snappy low grade pictures. Also, depending on what kind of light you're in and more factors I can't even imagine, individual photos will have different sizes, so sometimes you can squeak in a few more and sometimes, you end up with less.

Between camera manufacturers, memory card capacity does vary, so make sure to take this into consideration if you're buying a new digital camera. With my Canon XSi, I have two 4-gigabyte cards and they can hold about 350 high quality JPGs or about 110 RAW image files on each of them. I have a capacity for taking about 700 or 220 photos, depending on what file type or image quality I use.

I haven't tried taking pictures with RAW files yet. I wanted to this weekend so I could include one in this lesson, but it's raining in the middle of January in Minnesota, so that was out of the question. But I will be trying it out soon! In the meantime, I think this photo would have been a good one to try in RAW. You can't quite see the ripples in the clouds as well as I saw them when I was taking the photo.

Rippled Clouds

My Experiment with Orion

2010-01-16T01:17:00.002-06:00

At the beginning of the year, I started a brand new project - a 365 project. That means I'm trying to take at least one picture every day for the entire year. Thursday was my birthday and as I shuffled back home from some drinks and karaoke with friends, I realized I hadn't taken a picture yet. What could I take a picture of? Its dark, it’s late, and this week's "assignment" is the color white. As I walked up the sidewalk, I looked up and saw Orion. Eureka!

I don't really know what quite possessed me to take a picture of a constellation. Maybe it was the Chuck Norris drinks punching the back of my head. But for some reason, the Orion constellation provides some sort of comfort to me. I've been looking up at it every winter for as long as I've been able to identify it in the night sky thanks to a high school astronomy class.

Orion Constellation ~ 14/365

The first one wasn't perfect, but I played around with my camera until I got a picture with which I was happy. You can quite clearly make out Betelgeuse and Belatrix, which make out his shoulders. And Alniltak, Alnilam, and Mintaka that make up his famous belt. Salph and Rigel make up his knees. The Orion Nebula is really bright. I even managed to somehow include his bow and the top of his sword! Not bad for not being able to see through my viewfinder (my LCD screen kept lighting up when I didn’t want it to, half blinding me when I snapped the shutter). Click through to my Flickr page and read the notes to see which stars are which.

I will try this again and see how good of a picture I can get.

Photography Assignment #4 ~ Macro Photography

2010-01-13T23:59:00.019-06:00

Macro photography is close-up photography. I'm not 100% sure why it’s called macro photography, believe me I looked. You'd think it would be something more like micro-photography.

According to Wikipedia, the classical definition is that the image projected on the "film plane" (i.e., film or a digital sensor) is close to the same size as the subject. On 35 mm film (for example), the lens is typically optimized to focus sharply on a small area about the size of the film frame. Basically, it means that when you take a photograph of the subject, the object appears life-sized instead of miniaturized when the photo is printed. The term "macro" has been used in marketing materials to mean a camera is able to focus on a subject close enough so that when a 6×4 inch print is made, the image is life-size or larger.

Lenses designed for macro photography are usually at their sharpest at macro focus distances and are not quite as sharp at long focus distances. That means depth of field is an important consideration in macro photography. Good focus on the most important part of the subject is critical because anything outside the chosen depth of field will be blurry. A small aperture, or high f-number, is advisable to ensure sufficient depth of field and focus. This requires either a slow shutter speed or bright lighting for correct exposure, which brings me to lighting.

If you can't see some of the finer details, there is no way you'll capture it with your camera. Sufficient lighting is absolutely necessary if you want to see everything in the photograph. But, when getting in close, it can be difficult to allow for enough light between the camera and the subject. Some photographers use telephoto macro lenses or ring flashes which circle around the front of a camera lens. But as advertised in this blog, I am an armature! I have not these macro lenses, but maybe I'll get one of those ring flashes later.

I took these pictures today. The single pine branches and frost crystals in this picture aren't shown at a 1:1 magnification ratio, but more like a 1:4 or 1:5. The super-cold in Minnesota has been replaced by some warmth, which melted some of the snow and added moisture to the air. Then when the temperature dropped in the evening, frost began to form and then it slowly built into these long, spiky ice crystals. Shortly after I took these photos in the morning, the sun emerged from behind the clouds and melted them all.

Me and My Flickr

2010-01-07T22:36:00.008-06:00

I thought about it today and realized that just about anything pertinent you need to know about me as a person, you could pretty much find out through my Flickr.

Pomme de Terre Park

I'm a writer with photographic aspirations.

Tweak & Krillin

I love animals and could possibly be perceived as a crazy cat lady.

Wood Fungus

I respect and love nature...

Herb Garden

...Somehow this seems to translate to me having a green thumb in recent years.

Sky Parlor & Christmas Tree (Black & White)

I'm enamored with and have a deep curiosity for history.

Leaf

I can be dark at times, but I try to use it creatively.

Nuts Contain Nuts

I have an odd sense of humor, but at least I'm easily amused.

1951 Mercury Coupe

I think classic cars are sizzling HOT.

Molly, Sam & Lizz... Again!

I have great friends.

Banana Cake with Powdered Sugar

I love food! Cooking and eating! And of course, sometimes drinking.

Night Cap

Photography not only allows others to see what we see, it allows others to see who we are.

Capturing Memories ~ The Hermit Crabs

2010-01-06T21:40:00.004-06:00

I take a lot of pictures of things and places, but one of the best things cameras are great for is capturing memories. Photographs are perfect for remembering things you don't want to forget.

Squidworth #4

Last week, I gave away 2 pets I'd had for a few years. They were hermit crabs and weren't really fun pets, but they had been abandoned with me and I'm a sucker for pets of pretty much all shapes and sizes. So I took care of them, fed them, kept them hydrated, worried when they buried themselves and refused to come out. And waited for them to die. After all, they are hermit crabs, how long could they live?

Patrick #4

Turns out longer than I thought. Longer than a hamster, that's for sure. I felt sorry for them, 'cause I wasn't a great hermit crab keeper. I covered the basics. But they looked bored. With their longevity, I thought maybe it was time for them to retire to someone else's place, someone who doted on their crabs. And the sooner the better, because I kept almost forgetting to feed them.

Squidworth #5

I posted an ad on CraigsList. I had quite a few inquiries. But one stood out because she really seemed to know her stuff. So now Patrick and Squidworth are living at the hermit crab retirement home in South Minneapolis. Before I brought them to their new digs, I took some pictures. They are some very interesting looking creatures. I didn't want to forget what they looked like.

Feeler Focus

See the rest of the hermit crab photo set, including size comparison pictures. They were as big as tennis balls.

My Top Photos of 2009

2010-01-02T15:45:00.000-06:00

This blog hasn't been around for a year. In fact, it has barely been around for 3 months and only has 22 posts (as of this writing). But, I have had a Flickr account for the better part of a year, so here are my top 5 viewed photos for 2009.Now, some variations of the same basic photos showed up in my list, so I've included them together instead of separating them out. It's just more interesting that way.

5.

1957 Ford Fairlane (Wide) Black & White

One of my favorites, for sure! She was a beauty! See the rest of the 1957 Ford Fairlane set.

4.

1953 Dodge Coronet (Wagon)

I get a LOT of photo search results for Dodge Coronets. But who wouldn’t' want to see her? Just look at her shine! See the rest of the 1953 Dodge Coronet Wagon photo set.

3.

Carnival Rides

This picture was taken at the Wright County Fair. I'm not sure why it is so popular, there really isn't anything special about it. But I'm not complaining :)

2.

Giant Alphabet Blocks ~ Black & White with Color Splash

I love the Black & White with a Touch of Color group on Flickr. This picture is very popular and I'm not sure why, but this is quite easily one of my favorite photos of the year. The color version of this photo also popped up in my top 5 (4).

1.

Mustang Symbol (Squared)

This is my #1 viewed photo on Flickr and it was uploaded just in October, so it has become very popular, very fast. See the 1972 Ford Mustang Grande it was on. On a sidenote, this is the only picture I've taken with my new camera to broach the top 5. All of the rest were taken with a digital camera that was almost 10 years old.

Looking at my top 5, I think I might have a pre-occupation with classic cars. Oh, but they make such good subjects! Especially with the 365 project I've started, I am excited to see what the next year will bring for me, photographically!

Do you have a top 5 or 10 photo list for your photo blog? Leave your link in the comments so we can see!

A New Project for a New Year!

2010-01-01T19:59:00.005-06:00

This year, some friends and I will be partaking in a 365 project. We wanted to do it last year, but procrastination is the devil. So, we made sure to talk about it for a while before New Year's happened, and it has officially started. Here is my #1 365.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, from Minnesota! :)

Photography Assignment #3 ~ Portrait of a Pet

2009-12-29T23:59:00.002-06:00

The idea of taking someone's portrait can be a bit intimidating for a beginner or amateur photographer. Luckily, there are ways to practice with live subjects, provided that you aren't allergic to the furry or feathered.

Ruffio & Watts

Now I know that it isn't entirely the same as taking human portraits because you can't really "pose" a cat or a dog to help accentuate their best features. For example, pets won't cooperate if you ask them to tilt their chin at a 90-degree angle while turning their head slightly to the right to hide that double-chin. Having a moving, living, breathing subject is very different than still-life. They don't always cooperate. Sometimes they break out into wrestling.

Wrastlin' Kats

But the practice does accentuate your powers of observation with a live subject and the different dynamics that could include. How the subject interacts with its environment and how environment affects the visual mood. How a light source from the left casts a shadow on the right, adding depth and contrast. How just even slight changes in expression can entirely change the feel of the picture. Those are just a few examples, of course, but you get what I mean.

Two Kitty Paws

The best part? If session doesn't go well or if the practice portaits don't turn out, the "client" won't care. And, if your subject is your own pet, you can practice, practice, practice until you start liking the photos that you see!

Experiment: Inspired by Light

2009-12-27T23:59:00.002-06:00

So I wrote last week about how TCB is an amazing and inspiring Light Art Performance Photographer from the Twin Cities. Here are some of my own photos inspired by TCB's work.

Light Streamers

Now this isn't light art performance photography. This would probably be closer to light art. But in this case, instead of the subject moving and creating the light image, I made these pictures by moving the camera during the capture of a fixed light source.

Centripetal Light

In other words, I shook the camera in a calculated way while taking photos of my neighbors Christmas lights. Pretty cool, huh? It's amazing how another photographer's perspective and technique can add new angles and colors to your own.

Light Drizzle

Inspirational Photographers - TCB / Twin Cities Brightest

2009-12-22T23:59:00.003-06:00

I started a monthly Inspirational Photographers segment in October. Then I didn't blog at all in November. Now I am picking it back up here in December as if nothing happened! Okay, so...

hollow heart

TCB, short for Twin Cities Brightest (or Them Chernobyl Buds depending on your street cred ;) ) is a light art performance photographer in the Twin Cities. This Saint Paul native combines photography, graphic design, and performance to create unique, magical, almost supernatural images and landscapes, or "lightscapes" rather. What you see here has not been edited or manipulated. As Crack For Your Eyes put it, "What you see before you is as real as it can get. No PhotoShop, no hallucinations but straight up real art, with the world as a canvas and light as brushes." Sounds beautiful, doesn't it?

(untitled)

TCB, who's real name is Dana, is addicted to light art performance photography, or LAPP, and take one look at these photos and you'll understand why. Descended from light painting, LAPP is accomplished using one-shot long time bulb exposure, performed additionally with movement of light to create the different effects. TCB goes to great extents for his art, putting in lots of time and energy. He is also more than willing to teach others his craft.

21% oxygen

What started as trying to find the best places to skateboard turned into finding interesting places to paint graffiti. That caused a lot of drama in his life, though, so eventually the graffiti fell off and he became more of an urban explorer. With the Twin Cities' many drains, bridges, and abandoned buildings, there are innumerable unknown and out-of-the-way places to discover.

Then:

(untitled)

One day in a pitch-black tunnel, I was taking pictures, and at this point I was just documenting the expedition, and I accidentally made some light paintings by doing long exposure photographs. The flashlights we were using to see looked like paintbrushes in space, and I soon realized that you could create a composition by considering the aperture size and shutter speed along with the location.

cosmic background radiation

A week or so later I had been to every toy store in town searching for cool light up toys, and ended up spending about twenty bucks on different stuff. The results were so cool; I couldn't stop thinking about it at that point.

epitrochoids

He discovered sites like Flickr.com, drawing inspiration from groups like Light Junkies where "some people were doing some amazing things with light." He started making tools out of lights and other props like hula-hoops, poles, and wheels to create different effects. His first big breakthrough was putting lights on a wheel attached to a paint roller extension. The images created with it produce perfect "spirographs" of light. The total cost of the tool to make this picture was about $10, but just look at the results.

5/365

He is more than a light photographer, too. He really has an eye for composition. And as you can see, his love for bright, light colors transfers over to that work. Whatever style, TCB's work is truly unique and inspirational.

(untitled)

You can view more of TCB's photos at Flickr. Also a graphic designer, he has recently launched his own website, TwinCitiesBrightest.com. There are also videos and tutorials available at both locations so you can see how the magic happens.

Christmas at the Mall of America

2009-12-20T23:58:00.066-06:00

For reasons that are beyond me, a trip to the Mall of America was in order on Saturday. Super Saturday, that is, the final Saturday before Christmas, when crazed people are swarming everywhere. The place was... insane, but since I really wasn't there with much of an agenda, it was kinda fun to sit back and people-watch while I snapped pictures of the pretty decorations (Inspired by pics from the Dusty Lens (North Metro Photo Blog) and partly the reason why I conceded to this jaunt into the Labyrinth in the first place).

Wreath in Abstract

Pretty decorations. Everywhere. I love the colors of blue, white, silver, and green. The place already looks gaudy enough, having red, green, and gold splashed everywhere would have been an eyesore. Look at me critiquing Christmas decorations. :) At the mall even! I'm unqualified on so many levels.

Giant Christmas Bulbs

While I was there, a few things were happening...

First and most obviously was a Holiday Music Festival. During my visit, the Northview IB World Concert Orchestra was performing in the rotunda. You can't see it in this picture, but the female conductor was also playing an electric guitar. Very cool. At the opposite corner of the mall, the melodic voices of the Pella Community High School Madrigal Singers could be heard.

Northview IB World Concert Orchestra

Second, and probably less apparent was that there was a taping of "Mall Cops: Mall of America" happening on Saturday. Yes, there is now a reality TV show being taped at the MOA that centers on the daily work-lives of its security guards and on-site law enforcement personnel.

Mall Cops Filming

While people watching, I noticed a group of about 5 high-school age kids running up an escalator. They were quickly followed by about as many mall cops, followed by a camera and sound crew. I tried to snap a few pics but the lighting wasn't very good in the areas I saw the action happening. This badly blurred picture I took as I followed them up the escalator is one of my favorites, though, because of the ethereal look it has. You can pretty much only see the cops and the film crew and can't make anything else out.

Up the Escalator

It was a strange but fun day at the MOA. It was one of the busiest shopping days of the year and yet, I think it is the first time I've ever gone there and not left feeling like I'd stuck my finger in an electrical socket. We got our gifts, I got some fun pictures. All in all, a successful trip. Below is my favorite pic of the whole day.

Gathering Place

See the rest of the pictures taken on Super Saturday of Christmas at the Mall of America.

Victorian Christmas at the Historical Ames Florida Stork House

2009-12-17T23:24:00.007-06:00

Over the weekend, the Ames Florida Stork House museum and historical society at which I volunteer at held a turn-of-the-century style Christmas Tea. The house was decorated beautifully and the atmosphere was festive. Once everyone cleared out, I had the chance to take some pictures of the house with all of its twinkly lights.

Yes, there were strands of Christmas Lights at the turn of the last century. These aren't that kind, though, I think it would probably be a fire hazard, and we wouldn't want the Stork house to burn down. Plus, if we had light strands that old, they would be an artifact on display in the house. And that would be cool (Yeah, there's the history nerd in me).

Take a look at that beautiful fireplace. We couldn't have a real fire, so a volunteer wrapped logs in orange Christmas lights. The glow looks nice in the photos and even reflects on the wood flooring in a warm way.

You can check out the whole set of Victorian Christmas Tea 2009 photos on Flickr, including some black and white photography. Of course.