Category Archives: Photography

Power to the people

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I always say, if you can’t avoid ’em, use ’em. That in regard to the ubiquitous power lines that span the North Dakota prairie. I was all set up for a great sunset shot, but had to hoof it a little ways from the road because of the power lines running parallel to the road. Sometimes, however, they make a fine subject for a photograph. For instance, the shot above would probably be far less appealing to the eye without a foreground object to give it some perspective. I took this photo before hiking to the base of the tower so I could shoot northwest of it.

Thursday night moon

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I was loading the boys into the evil gas-hogging SUV tonight when I noticed an incredibly bright moon up in the blue evening sky. I couldn’t resist dashing home and grabbing the camera. While trying to find a clear shot between all those pesky trees on our property, I found a rather interesting branch next to a clearing. That’s when the idea for a neat composition popped into my head. This is the combination of two shots: one with the branch in focus, one with the moon in focus. I combined them in my beloved Photoshop and sent a copy to my friend K-Lo, who put it on KFYR-TV’s weather as part of his Sky Spies feature.

Watch as the photog stalks his prey (faux Aussie accent optional)

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There I lay, all stealthy in the grass, waiting for an opportunity to snare the great beast. I hunkered down amidst the prairie grass, armed only with my trusty camera, my 10mm ultra-wide lens, and a keen jungle sense. Opportunity was ready to knock; the sun was rising behind me…all I needed to do was wait.

Almost in an instant, the sun arrived in just the right spot…a sort of aesthetic apogee, if you will. I leaped into action; my shutter finger had not grown weary from the wait. In a fraction of a second I had captured the behemoth, seemingly unaware as it basked in the fleeting morning sun. Ah, sweet success.

My conquest secure, I retreated to my nice warm truck and cold Mountain Dew. It was time to move on; there was still a precious window of morning sun available, and who knows what adventure might wait just down the road? I was determined to find out.

50th annual Mandan Art Show

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This was the scene at the Mandan Community Center this weekend, which is where the 50th Mandan Art Show is taking place. Artwork was dropped off by adult and student artists, then hung carefully in place while all the ancillary details were handled. I climbed above the action with my 10mm wide-angle lens and captured some of the activity.

I have four pieces in this show, all are for sale. I spent hours late at night in my garage doing the mounting, matting, and framing. Thankfully I have a very glorious and enormous heated garage, complete with satellite TV and a fridge full of Dew. It still made for some long nights. That reminds me…if you ever see a photo on this blog that you really like and want to order a print, just contact me. I can make big poster-sized prints for you. Pricing details available upon request.

I guess the Mandan News has printed a history of the art show, and one of the ladies they featured (first year’s winner, I think) was a lady named Betty. I met her several years ago, last century I suppose, when my parents used to give her a ride to church. She’s passed away now. When I spent time with her on those rides to church I had no idea she was an artist, and I certainly was no photographer.

When frost obscures your view…take frost pictures

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During one of our recent cold snaps, I managed to make my way to the newly updated observation deck of the North Dakota state capitol building. As you may already know, the 18th floor was closed for months while renovations to the upper floors of the capitol building were performed. People from the affected floor would be moved up to 18 while their floor’s work was done. With the updates completed, we get our observation area back…and, in fact, areas that were previously closed up as offices are now wide open. That gives us more windows from which to peer down on Bismarck. That is, of course, when they’re not frosted over.

Frosted over is exactly how I’d describe the majority of the windows that day. Sure, I got the shot looking south that I used to open this post, but that’s such a typical view. I wanted to look out the other windows, but they hadn’t received enough sunlight during the day to rid them of their frost. I’d hiked two hundred and twenty feet for nothing? No. I took the elevator. But my GPS indicated that I went from 1805 feet at the front door of the capitol to 2025 feet on the 18th floor.

So what do you do when the windows are frosted over? As the title of this post suggests: take frost photos. I have a bunch, but don’t care to post them all. I have a little boy dozing off in here, so it’s time to make sure he gets a proper tuck-in and a good night’s sleep. I don’t know what a one year old boy dreams about, but I hope it’s about running around with Daddy and his camera once the weather gets nicer. Maybe he’ll earn himself another cameo on a Dakota Beacon cover!

Pioneer owl

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It’s amazing what one might see when one looks up now and then. That’s especially true of walking through Pioneer Park at dusk. That’s when I spotted this owl…exposed once for the sky, once for the blast from my Speedlite flash. He didn’t seem too inconvenienced, waiting several minutes before taking flight. That gave me plenty of opportunity to decide whether I wanted to photograph his silhouette or illuminate him with the flash. I chose both.

Near miss…not

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I was actually pretty surprised that this shot held up. I was in the driver’s seat of my truck with my 300mm image-stabilized Canon lens when I noticed this, so I pointed the barrel upwards and went for it. No, I was NOT driving! I was scoping out some nature with the trusty camera.

Friday night tree…day or night?

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I had a pretty good day today. First off, my employer shut down the office at 1pm and took all the employees golfing. Second, we had a pizza party afterwards and I brought little PJ with. He got pretty tired toward the end, so I threw him in the truck and drove around a bit to help him fall asleep. That’s when I spotted this tree.

I’m no stranger to the tree in these photos. It’s a lone inhabitant of a hill overlooking River Road, just north of Pioneer Park. The housing development on the hill is growing very quickly; the entire area used to be prairie, but now has paved roads cut into it. That means this tree’s cozy environment has been divided into lots, waiting for upscale homes to be built thereon. I wouldn’t be surprised if this little tree becomes a casualty of encroachment, but I’m not about to go out and hug it.

While looking at the couple of photos I took of this tree with the dramatic sky behind it I decided it might make a better night photo. Since I was already in Photoshop to resize and watermark it, I figured I might as well make a “night” version. Add some Hue/Saturation and Curves adjustment layers, and voila’! Night. So…which do you prefer?

Make $100 the easy way – but you’d better act fast!

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Winning entries to the 2007 North Dakota Governor’s Photo Contest will each win $100. In fact, a friend of mine had three winning photos last year for a mathematically predictable $300 in prize money. The deadline for the contest, however, is September 7th. That’s Friday, folks…and since they want a print copy along with a CD of the photo (if digital), that puts the pressure on anyone who wants to enter but hasn’t.

I was pretty excited about this contest and looking forward to entering, until I saw the following text in the news release announcing the contest:

North Dakota Tourism will retain exclusive ownership rights to all winning photographs for use in the 2008 North Dakota Travel Guide, Hunting and Fishing Guide and on the Tourism Division’s Web site.

What they’re doing is actually getting cheap stock photography. If a person goes to a professional stock photo site, a single photo can cost in the hundreds of dollars. Even then, the purchaser does not get ownership rights to the photo! Since there are few North Dakota photos on the stock photo sites anyway, it makes sense to try to lure North Dakotans to send in their own for a meager prize.

I don’t sell ownership rights to my photos, period. I’ve sold prints for the $250-300 range, but even those have a copyright penned on them next to my signature. These days one can’t be too careful to protect one’s intellectual property, and I keep up on the legal ins & outs of doing so since I work in this business.

If you don’t mind signing away the ownership rights to one of your photos, and can get a print done overnight at Bob’s Photo and run up to the capitol before end-of-business Friday, enter the contest! A hundred bucks is a hundred bucks, after all. But just make sure you’re aware that they intend to own exclusive rights to that photo. It’s up to you whether that’s worth it.

Chasing the red sun

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I was out and about tonight, taking my wife and boy for a walk, when I noticed the red sun. I don’t know what was in the sky that it was so hazy, but the haze diffused the sun quite nicely. Once our evening was over and the family was home, I took off to see what kind of opportunities this might present photographically. The first shot of note was the one above, the capitol silhouetted against a red sky.

My next stop was the river, where I met a couple of fellow sunset chasers and get some shots of the dramatic red orb reflecting off the mighty Missouri. I just wish I’d had the time to hike down to the shoreline, but sadly that wasn’t the case. This was taken from atop the cliffs at Double Ditch.

Sadly, the same haze that gave the sun its color and definition also prevented anything amazing with the surrounding sky. I watched it reach the horizon and the reflections disappear from the river. I packed it in for the night. Relish these sunsets now, for the winter will bring hazy, dreary skies. It’s already the middle of July…the summer flies, doesn’t it?