23,000 and we’ve got another man down, Dude

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While perusing a road along Highway 3 a couple of weekends ago I spotted what I deem a tragedy: the head of an old windmill lying battered and broken in the grass. As you may have deduced by now, I have a soft spot for these old windmills…and when I see the wreckage of one I consider it a loss, both historically and photographically.

This particular windmill had company; there was plenty of old machinery and other interesting stuff lying about, and I was able to peruse much of it with my camera while staying on my side of the fence (and No Trespassing signs). Some of them are going to be a lot of fun to play with in Photoshop, so they’ll have to wait to be posted until later.

Oh, I almost forgot: the reason I mention the number 23,000 in this post’s title is because the first photo above is the 23,000th photo I’ve taken with my Canon 7D. Still less than half of what I have taken with my other camera. No worries…we’ll get there eventually, but of course by that time the other Canon will have left 57,000 in the dust as well!

I think I know why it won’t start

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I was hunting around in my photo library when I came across this shot from quite a while back, and I don’t remember sharing it before. That’s why there’s snow on the ground, so if you haven’t looked out the window recently, don’t panic.

Clearly this vehicle has sat in place for quite some time to get such a lovely arrangement of trees populating its engine compartment! I may have to look through my GPS and find its location next spring so I can see how it looks with some foliage.

Two trees of Kidder

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If you got the reference in the title of this post (the two trees part, not Kidder) then you are a MUCH bigger geek than I am; I had to look it up. I mentioned on this blog’s Facebook page and Twitter feed that I was able to wander Kidder County last weekend, and I spotted these two trees along my journey. Distinctive shapes count as interesting, and so does an attractive background.

I still don’t know if this is hay or straw for sure, but I’m going to guess that it’s straw. The hazy horizon was very noticeable last Saturday but I enjoyed otherwise clear, blue skies as I bounced along section line roads and other bumpy trails. I’ve got plenty more to share from this trip, but for now it’s just these stoic trees.

Oil patch anecdote (comes with bonus windmill)

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Because I can tie an old windmill to just about anything, here’s a shot of an old abandoned farmstead that I located just south of Watford City on Highway 85. There…I think I’ve made my rustic windmill photo quota, so here’s my interesting story about the past several weeks in Bakken Country.

We’ve all heard the horror stories about the Wild West: the crime, the traffic, the overcrowding. I don’t doubt that many of those growing pains, and many of the reports thereof, had basis in fact. Oil production in Bakken country has slowed somewhat recently for a number of reasons, and perhaps that’s why my experiences there departed slightly from the tales.

My first impression of Williston was that sure, it was crowded with heavy traffic…but their equivalent of State Street, the divided Highway 85 that runs north out of town to Highway 2, was completely closed down on the southbound side for resurfacing. Of course it would be crowded with half the roadway available. In fact, I was able to get served faster at McDonald’s in Williston than I have been in Bismarck lately. While working with the security manager at the facility I was in, he gave the following advice: “Oh, sure…it’s not so bad here. But you should see Watford City!”

The very next day I found myself working in Watford City. I needed some accessories to build some 50 amp power cables, so I stopped in at the RV store located at the busiest intersection Watford City has. I noticed that I had no problem getting in/out of his parking lot onto Highway 85, despite a lot of traffic. It just wasn’t as bad as I’d been told. “Oh sure,” said the owner. “…it’s not so bad here. But you should see Williston!”

Now just a doggone minute here. The person I spoke to in each town thought the other one was the madhouse. In neither case did I see the kind of problems that I’ve heard so much about. Of course I’m sure traffic gets insane when there’s a blockage on the road…but I have spent dozens of hours on the road in northwestern North Dakota and never experienced any such issues. I’m not saying they don’t exist, I’m saying they’re not a 24/7 phenomenon.

I know that the medical system and first responders are overwhelmed in the area. I acknowledge that many aspects of life have seen great upheaval since the boom took hold. What I suspect happens, however, is what I call “REO Speedwagon Syndrome”: the tales grow taller on down the line.

By the way, if infrastructure is so far behind, and they can’t afford to catch up, then why in the world is Williston breaking ground on a $70 million recreation center? Is that the greatest need, or do they simply have a fetish akin to the Bismarck City Commission’s? I think it hurts their cause when they claim they can’t keep up with critical needs but they certainly have more money than you or I will ever see to start building indoor pools.

Of course my limited time up there didn’t give me the chance to see the whole picture. Again, I acknowledge the upheaval northwestern North Dakota has experienced. I also acknowledge that we can’t believe everything we hear about the Bakken boom without experiencing at least a little bit of it for ourselves.

Couple of capitol closeups

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I didn’t get to take part in the Bismarck-Mandan part of the Worldwide Photo Walk event last weekend due to an emergency, but I was able to head over there a few days earlier for a “Photo a Day” project in which I’m taking part sporadically. The theme was “something close-up”, which explains the alliterative title of this post.

The shot above is actually quite pleasing because it was unattainable by the general public all summer long; the scaffolding and surrounding safety fence were only removed from the capitol over the first weekend in October. This is my first close-up shot of the capitol with its newly scrubbed limestone exterior.

This is Becky (I had to give her a name), the statue near the veterans’ memorial south of the state library and heritage center. I tried a close-up of the dude, but his ear was full of spider webs. Creepy.

My friend Jo got a shot at the capitol that really baked my noodle, so i had to drive to the capitol today and poke around trying to figure out how she got it. I finally figured it out, but not until AFTER leaving the capitol grounds and the possibility of trying it to see if I was correct. I drove there over my lunch hour so perhaps I’ll have to take another crack at it before the weather goes completely medieval on us.

Broken connection #7

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These short little utility poles, or what’s left of them, occupy an overgrown field near the site of a long-gone farmstead in Kidder County. I found myself wandering the section lines, shore lines, and gravel roads on and around a friend’s property after my plans to visit Cavalier Air Force Station fell through at the last minute.

This was a weekend of worry, answered prayer, joy, and some much needed roaming. I had an extremely fruitful photo trip on Saturday, allowing me to clear my head and stuff some nice images into my camera. I’ll be posting them here over the next few days. Here’s to a glorious week!

Oh, and belated Happy Birthdays to Sammy Hagar and former KFYR-TV meteorologist Mike McVay!

Fox Island Friday. Feedback?

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y gracious wife didn’t mind if I took “the scenic route” home from work last night, which was a real blessing. It’s been a LONG time since I’ve been able to do my trademark “just drive around and find stuff to photograph” thing that I love so much, and every little bit helps. I took a couple of interesting shots for the subject “close up” as part of a “Photo a Day” activity that I’m doing, then found myself at Fox Island.

The combination of dramatic clouds overhead and a perfectly calm Missouri River made for ample photographic opportunity. The river, smooth as glass on this rare occasion, made for a great reflection of the clouds overhead. But I’m a stickler for an interesting foreground object, so I worked the scene a little more.

The little dock near the boat ramp served as an interesting feature, jutting into the shot from the left. Its location was pretty good for my purposes but I still couldn’t find a good way to compose my shot with it where I wanted it while still getting the clouds and their atery reflection.

My solution for this was my solution for a lot of things in the 80s and 90s: go vertical. Since I couldn’t get close enough to the dock to keep it more prominent, it loses a little…but that’s why we take multiple exposures I guess.

I started out with my favorite shot being the vertical because I was able to fit in everything I wanted, especially the reflection. Arranging them for this post, however, I actually began liking the second one the best. Again, it comes down to an interesting foreground object. The dock just isn’t prominent enough in the vertical shot since I couldn’t get closer to it. Maybe if I cropped it differently to retain more of the reflections instead of the clouds:

You know, this just doesn’t do it for me either. There’s something about the propertions that just doesn’t seem harmonious to me. I think I’m going to have to focus less on the reflections, regardless of how great a catch they were, and stick by my choice of photo number two. As always, I welcome any feedback. Have a good weekend!

Tuesday night rays

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I took my little fellas out for a short trip tonight, and the last thing we did before bolting home for a late dinner was to catch some rays. Thankfully we had some clouds to oblige. As the sun found a couple of windows in the advancing clouds, I was there for the few fleeting seconds to catch the rays traversing the sky.

The rays came and went quickly, and so did we. In fact, if we had stayed another couple of minutes I could add some red and purple sunset photos to this batch. Satisfied with the rays, however, and ready to make my two famished boys’ respective favorites for dinner and story time, I bolted home for some special time as Daddy.

Oh yes…today’s Sunset Song of the Day is “The Reflection of You” by Bear in Heaven (iTunes link).

Democrat campaign signs on US Govt. property? Maybe the Army Corps of Engineers is a fan

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As I drove past this building over the weekend, I spotted something interesting. The building itself, by the way, sits on 12th Street in south Bismarck. It’s signed as an office for the Army Corps of Engineers, hardly a favorite government agency up here in former Flood Country. After all, an email trail seemed to indicate that they were warned in advance of 2011’s devastating Missouri River flood but failed to act. But I digress…there was one strange feature of this federal facility that seemed a little odd to me.

This United States government property seems to be home to one of the largest Heidi Heitkamp campaign banners I’ve ever seen. Isn’t that a strange feature for a government building? I’m no expert on campaign law, but that seems a little fishy to me.

Don’t worry, the entire Class Envy Trifecta is there: the sign also boasts a Taylor for Governor sign and a Gulleson for Senate as well. Apparently the Democrat candidates are popular with the Army Corps of Engineers?

The very same fence, surrounding the lot for the building pictured at the top of this post, also has some other signs on it – and they look like this one. This fence is United States Government Property. That means if you or I were messing around on it, we’d face a stiff penalty and probably criminal prosecution. So why is it being used to promote Democrat candidates for political office? If there’s a valid explanation for that, I’d love to hear it.

Here you go: all the signs arrayed on the same section of fence. Don’t trespass, but DO vote Democrat. That is apparently the message one is supposed to retain after passing by the United States Army Corp of Engineers office in south Bismarck. In the background on the right is the Army Corps of Engineers sign.

Of course, being Democrats, they can’t help but play North Dakota’s own version of the race card. Heidi for Indian Country…as though she’s the only one who’ll represent them. YAWN. I suppose it comes with the territory of being a Democrat. By the way, where does she stand on Abortion? The last I heard, that was NOT “the Indian way.” Heidi seems to be completely silent on that issue – not a mention of it at all on her website’s “Issues” section. Note the US Government work trucks in the background.

Another look at this building’s sign shows a blank panel. Does that mean there are two offices available in this space? Perhaps the Democrats have a campaign center here. Did Harry Reid or some other influential Democrat down in Washington DC set them up with a location inside United States Government property? After all, that’s how it is signed.

So is the United States government providing inappropriate campaign support to Democrat candidates? I’m pretty sure there’s a law somewhere that indicates that federal government property can NOT be used to campaign purposes. In the photos above, it’s obvious that the property is being simultaneously declared US Government property and hosting campaign banners for the state’s three most prominent Democrat candidates. The whole thing looks a little questionable, and I think we North Dakotans could all use some answers.

These are now a precious commodity

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One thing a cold snap will do: instantly remind me that it wasn’t too long ago when I was taking golden summer/autumn sunset photos! This one is actually quite recent. Weather changes quickly in North Dakota this time of year, and it can be quite shocking not only due to temperatures but also as a reminder that the photographic game has just changed for another season.