I love the Independence Day celebration at the capitol, and hope to partake next year as well. I have something a little different in mind photographically, so we’ll see how that turns out. Have a good weekend!
When you hear about “clean coal technology” you should note that North Dakota is pretty much the epicenter of innovation. At this particular power plant, by the way, over $200 million has been spent over the past thirty years on development of environmental technology. New processes have been brainstormed here that are of interest to power generation companies all over the world!
By the way, April 22nd is called “Earth Day” by some. This day was so named in order to fight global cooling back in 1970. That should tell you right there how much credibility the global cooling warming climate change movement has. Add to the mix the fact that it falls on Lenin’s birthday and mounting evidence that the “environmentalism” movement is merely a home for displaced socialists, and it all starts to make sense. After all…no matter what manifestation of global weather crisis is used to incite panic, the ONLY purported solution has always been global socialism.
Back to the photo. The power coming from plants like this powers homes, businesses, hospitals, schools…you name it. It provides life-saving heat in the winter and cooling in the summer. It powers information technology, life support systems, manufacturing, and who knows what else. Yet there are those deranged individuals who wish to vilify the energy industry and treat such technical innovation with disdain. They’re truly detached from reality and I welcome them to relocate to a third world country if they find nobility in primitive living.
Incidentally, the Bible talks of people who worship creation rather than the Creator in Romans chapter 1. This is nothing new. Actually, the people pushing this climate agenda wouldn’t be pushing it at all if the solution wasn’t global socialism. That’s why I choose to have a Festivus of sorts, one that recognizes the value of the technology and innovation that makes this country great. I’m not the one who brainstormed this answer to Earth Day, but I am certainly on board. Happy Industrial Revolution Day and/or Romans Chapter 1 Day!
I did go out after midnight, chuckling at all the other like-minded souls roaming the capitol grounds with their cameras, but I found the experience lacking this time around. The reason for that is the clear sky; it doesn’t reflect any light on the capitol, so in order to properly expose the windows one must underexpose the building even more than I’d like. That almost gives the 2012 an appearance of floating in midair. Here’s where my “technical creativity” kicked in: I figured I’d let the sun help me out.
I packed up my gear this morning before sunrise, got into position, and waited for the sun to give me just enough scattered light in the atmosphere and on the capitol tower without competing with the 2012 in the windows. It was a fine balance, and I actually set an intervalometer to sit and take shots every 30 seconds so I could catch the right window of time, and that was that.
The shot above has the windows lit with the new year, the tower and town are visible, the sky is a nice blue, and it looks like everything worked as planned. Also important is that I think, out of all the people who photographed the building, I have a very unique photo.
Happy New Year!
I don’t believe in New Year’s resolutions; however, I do hope to make better use of my time in the future. That should allow more opportunities for what’s important: faith, family, fotography, motorcycles… 🙂
Happy New Year!
Merry (continual) Christmas, and Happy New Year!
Another house on a cul-de-sac just past the top of the hill was a home decorated with lots of characters and lights…it too sat dark this Christmas.
2011 is going to go down as a year in which a LOT of things just didn’t happen. Many people’s lives were turned upside down due to the flooding and other events this year, so I certainly don’t want to come across the wrong way by highlighting an absence of decorations. Again, these displays brought joy to a lot of people, and we miss ’em. That’s all. Hopefully new ones and old favorites like the Chmielewskis will keep all parts of Bismarck and Mandan bright with Christmas cheer next year, while proving those pesky Mayans wrong once and for all!
– My friend Jerry’s “Peanuts” display on Calgary & Montreal;
– Chmielewski’s Christmas Corner on Kennedy & 23rd Street;
– Northview Lane;
– Acres of musical lights with a Light-O-Rama show on Chestnut Lane;
– Dykshoorn Park in Mandan;
– Christmas in the Park in Bismarck;
– and a wooden cartoon menagerie on west Avenue C.
Notably absent are displays on 4th and Divide, Ridgeview lane, West View Place. I’m sorry to see those places dark, since they had such wonderful Christmas displays in the past.
It’s been an extremely busy Christmas season, with multiple live shows and lots of other videos on my plate. I haven’t had much time to go out searching for lights this year. As a result, I merely updated last year’s list the best I could. If you have any other additions that don’t appear on my map, please submit them using the “Contact Me” link on the top of the right-hand panel, or leave a comment.
I have a pass for the park, but not a key for the padlock on the gate at the bottom of the hill…so it was time to walk. The walk up the hill was exhilarating, with the brisk winter air and the workout of trudging through the shallow snow most of the way. I was amazed at how clear the sky was and how crisp and bright the stars appeared as a result! Once we got up top, the breeze picked up and the temperatures seemed to drop. We had time for a few quick shots before deciding to work our way back down to the truck.
Now I’m back at home, snug and warm, and had a couple of satisfying photos as a result. Now it’s time to snarf some Pizza Rolls in honor of Jeno Paulucci and go to bed. As I will say every day until Monday, Merry Christmas!
The tree itself is spectacular, decorated with ornaments donated by North Dakotans. You can visit it any time during the day when the capitol building is open, but I highly recommend seeing it in the late afternoon as the sun is setting. You have until 5:30…it’s worth the trip.
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