Category Archives: Photography

That’s my boy

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jonathan_sunset_57900The sky only allowed us a few minutes, and it was cold and breezy outside, but there was a pretty good sunset the other day.  I had my littlest guy with me and handed him one of my cameras so he could accompany me in style on a brief photo jaunt between errands.  I looked on the camera’s card yesterday and found this shot.  Pretty darn good for a young boy with no training!  I didn’t have to level it or crop it. I added a touch of saturation because my old 20D is set to produce very neutral photos, but that’s it.

Photography and time with my boy.  Can’t get much better than that!

I’m not a smart man, Jenny…but I know this trick

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capitol_2015_32539Last night was a little ugly for photography. It was cold. It was windy. I was preoccupied with taking my little guys to Mandan to light a few dollars’ worth of fireworks, then bringing them home for story time with Rush Revere.  I checked the weather on and off through the night, but the wind and cold kept me indoors.  That’s okay; I had another plan, anyway.

 

capitol_2015_32537One problem I had right off the bat when doing photos of the capitol with the windows lit was the dark surroundings; the lit windows looked like dots floating in the dark.  I realized that I needed a brighter background if I wanted the photo to look better, so I started chasing my capitol photos just before dawn.

 

capitol_2015_32546Showing up a little before dawn gives one the flexibility to let the light you want come to you.  It’s a delicate balance between having things too dark and too bright, because you want the “2015” to stand out.

 

capitol_2015_32551Of course, it’s half part luck. If this morning had been sunny, I’d have been sunk.  The cloudy sky, however, diffused the waxing light of the sunrise just enough to give me what I needed.  The snow and capitol were lit, as was the sky in the background, but not enough to blow out the numbers in the windows.

 

capitol_2015_32555It’s a just-perfect set of circumstances that will allow you to get a shot like this, where it looks like daylight but the windows are still visible.  I didn’t do any Photoshop or Lightroom trickery to make any of these shots happen.  It’s all by trying to glean an understanding of the light, being in the right place at the right time, and having the good fortune of the weather conditions required.  I was out of bed, done with my photos, and back home before my first bleary-eyed little boy wandered out of his bedroom to say good morning to Daddy.

Happy New Year!

 

 

World Wide Photowalk, Part 3 (help me rate ’em)

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federal_building_31945I have a couple of stragglers from the photo walk, such as this photo of the crown of the federal building on 3rd and Broadway.  I hope by now you’ve made a selection, but I’ dbe interested in how you like these.

 

fall_foliage_31973These trees are on the east end of the parking lot at the Peacock Alley.  It’s a parking lot now, but is apparently going to be an ice skating rink next year – because downtown Bismarck has way too much parking space right now.

That’s it!  I was happy with the shots I brought back.  I could have roamed more, but I had a nice morning walk and maximized the amount of time I had available.  My new lens performed admirably, and I had good company.

Thanks for looking through my photos!

World Wide Photowalk, Part 2 (help me rate ’em)

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Here’s another set of photos from our local group’s participation in the Worldwide Photo Walk.  I’m trying to decide which photo to submit.

counterweight_31935This is the counterweight for a fire escape in downtown Bismarck.  I love the sky in the background combined with my vignette.

 

lion_chain_31953Remember Gary Miller?  If I remember the walk correctly, and I don’t know why I shouldn’t, this is one of the chains holding up the overhang at the entrance of Gary’s Gallery.  I believe this gallery will be closing in the near future, as his wife had announced something about it a while back.

 

no_smoking_31971I love this sign.  It’s attached to the freight elevator in the Anderson Building, which I hope to own some day.  This elevator is no longer available to the public.  I remember hearing a news report in the late 80s or early 90s about a young girl getting her arm pinned and amputated by this elevator.  That’d do it.

I’ll shoot myself in the foot by saying that these three are my favorite of the bunch.  I do have a couple more, but they don’t mean as much to me as these.  I’ll post the other ones soon and hopefully receive your feedback in time to upload my selection to the Photowalk website.

World Wide Photowalk, Part 1 (help me rate ’em)

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Our photo club took part in the Worldwide Photo Walk this past weekend, and it was a blast.  I didn’t stay for the entire window of time because of other errands, but I did walk around downtown Bismarck for two hours with a couple of photo pals.  Each member of each local photo walk submits one photo to the group.  The group them forwards one photo on to the worldwide walk, and so on.  I got a few shots that I like with my brand new lens, and I need some feedback as to which I should submit before the deadline.

 

belle_bricks_31933This was right at our starting point in front of the historic Belle Mehus Civic Auditorium.  I tried to go for sort of an optical illusion effect.

 

hebron_brick_31957On the other end of downtown, I found this little nook in the back of the Anderson Building…a building I one day hope to own.  The frame gave it a nice splash of color.

 

hebron_brick_31959Made in North Dakota.  These are the bricks which sealed shut the window in the last photo.  Good ol’ bricks and mortar, compliments of Hebron.

I did take photos of more than bricks, but I thought I’d share these first three together due to the similar subject matter.  The ones I really like will be posted next.  Shoot me an email or post a comment when you find your favorite!

Always pack a backup piece

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dead_battery_57896Little boy loaded in the truck: check.  Camera bag and tripod: check. Sandbar with grit getting everywhere: check.  Battery…battery?  Oh, seriously.  I even have a dual battery grip on my 7D, so how in the world did I get Munsoned out in the middle of nowhere?  Well, as you can see I still had something capable of taking photos with me: another Canon DSLR in its bag, which I’d forgotten to remove from my truck yesterday.

 

sunset_57878Fortunately, I realized this just in the nick of time, and was able to catch the sun just as it was about to disappear over the horizon.  I was in the best spot I could think of on short notice, and I think it paid off nicely.  Then we came home to watch Courageous with the rest of our little family while I stuck batteries into the charger.

A Googled gaggle, a fox that baled, and a pause for reflection

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I bolted to Sweet Briar with my best friend tonight to see if I could catch a red sunset.  There’s a lot of particulate matter in the sky right now, making for some very red suns, and I wanted to get in on the action.  There were a few things in the way of that plan, however:

road_geese_30196First is this gaggle of geese. I had to double-check my terminology to make sure that I was right, and apparently a “gaggle” is at least five geese.  This bunch easily meets the requirements and, although they were plopped down as if they owned the road, I was able to convince them quite quickly that it was time to move.

 

fox_bale_30194Just prior to that, I’d spotted an unusual sight: a fox laying on top of a hay bale.  He had his front paws out in front of him and was just lounging around as we passed.  I grabbed a telephoto lens and a camera and circled back, but this time he must have seen the lens or something…and scampered away.  Shot missed.

 

sweet_briar_30213The sky played a cruel one on me today: the clouds moved in, obscuring the sun and the horizon.  That’s okay, I had a Plan B: catch some nice reflections in the calm water of the lake.  That worked.

Because of the advancing clouds and haze of the sky, it got dark quickly and it was time to head for home.  It wasn’t the result I was looking for, but it was a good night nonetheless.

Somebody else wants in on the action

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pj_29213On Memorial Day I was able to take not one photo trip, but two.  Each time I took a different boy with me, and I was able to see their photography talents emerging.  They did great, and we had some fun “two dudes” time as father and son.  Well, my young gentlemen now understand what a Website is, and at their behest I’ve agreed to post some of their work for the world to see.  Here are a few shots from my oldest boy:

 

pjs_57809This was one turtle who didn’t dart into the water right away as we approached.  He was patient enough to let us put a 300mm lens on my boy’s camera and snap away for a while.

 

pjs_57793These geese didn’t like us much.  They swam over to the far shore and got out to walk away.  The funny thing is, they came to the end of the land and had to plop back into the water anyway.

 

pjs_57779Then there’s this guy.  He posed for us briefly before taking off.  He had a pretty nice perch until we came along and made him uncomfortable with all the cameras pointed his way.

 

jon_29276Then I took another boy for a trip in the opposite direction!   We didn’t approach any water at all, but we did find plenty of scenery.

 

jons_57827He didn’t have a wide enough lens to get the whole church in Almont into the frame, but he did frame a nice level shot.  I didn’t have to crop it or anything!  There are plenty of grown-up would-be photographers who can’t frame a level shot.

 

jons_57864One of his favorite subjects:  Daddy.  This is that old piece of farm equipment I posted recently.  This one was taken from the truck, as it was getting late and we were running out of snacks.

 

jons_57832We ventured out to Fish Creek Dam, where we were a trio of kayaks and this fishing boat.  You can see from the background how the clouds were pretty spotty.  There were long periods of shade as enormous clouds passed over.

I was so happy to get out with my camera not once, but twice.  I was even more happy to do it as a father-son trip, also twice.  I haven’t been able to use my cameras for a while, so to get back into the swing of things for now has been very therapeutic.

 

Back in the saddle a bit

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auroras_28783After dozing off early in my recliner tonight I woke up to a text from a friend who was out on patrol tonight.  He noticed that the Northern Lights were in full swing.  I grabbed a good friend, hopped in the truck, and took off.  We were not disappointed.

 

auroras_28789As I mentioned recently, I’ve had some health issues and other things that have just plain sidelined me as far as photography and blogging.  This was a great way to get back in the saddle for a bit as much as my pain would allow, and happens to have been one of the better aurora borealis nights in a long time.  Just because I’ve been in my recliner doesn’t mean I haven’t been watching what the sun and skies are up to.

auroras_28793

We appear to have arrived along one of my favorite rural roads just in time to see some very spectacular lights.  We saw spikes, we saw ripples, and we saw a lot of them.  I worked the area the best I could within the time allowed, and we pointed the truck back toward the Bizzo once things began to taper off.

I can’t speculate on the frequency with which I ease back into my beloved photo hobby, but hopefully this is a harbinger of good things to come.  With the weather changing in our favor and another spring and summer on the way, things are looking pretty good.  I hope to be on the mend in time for mountain bike and volleyball season, too!

This one may always be my favorite

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windmill_20696One of my favorite subjects in this ongoing photographic adventure has always been the old windmill.  I’ve got some old standbys that I can visit if the sky is looking dramatic.  Some of them have even vanished, such as the one that was along Apple Creek Road across from the old Farmers’ Livestock Market.

This one is not likely to vanish anytime soon.  What’s better is that it’s on a slight hill, with easy access right near the road, and it’s short.  Why would that matter, you ask?  Perspective.  It’s possible to get a variety of really cool angles on this windmill while including the prettiest parts of the sky – and even the horizon at times – due to its position and diminutive stature.

I haven’t been able to get out with my cameras in a while; in fact, I’m not exactly sure where all of them are!  2013 has been that kind of year.  I hope to get out some more, especially since I’ve missed autumn, but for now I still have a few unused photos that I really like, “in the holster” for posting and sharing.  With the weekend only a couple of days away, maybe a photo trip is in my near future!