Bridge sunset with my lil’ photogs

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I love sharing my hobbies with my little boys. They’re now at the ages where we can start doing “guy stuff” together, and I’m reveling in it. I’ve been waiting for this since the time I blurted out, “You’re WHAT?” The time for “three dudes” activities is upon us, and I couldn’t be happier.

I’m especially happy that they like cameras, some days more than others. I think they’ve actually outgrown the picture quality of their little Fisher Price and V-tech cameras, but unfortunately they aren’t ready to handle something more fragile on a regular basis. That’s okay, there are lots of things we do together; photography is just one of them. The most important thing is that we three dudes stick together!

Soggy hawk

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It looks like I may have interrupted lunch…notice the remnants of a raptor snack on the horizontal fence post. This particular bird didn’t look to enthused to have me stopping the truck nearby, and took off shortly after this shot. He sure looked pretty scraggly with his feathers wet and matted! I think it made him look even more stern and cranky than a hawk usually looks.

It sure was a soaker last Saturday; when I’d get out of the truck in the middle of a rural Morton County gravel road, I’d leave footprints. Yes, a lot of four wheel drive was employed. I credit the cold, soggy day for the hawk’s reluctance to simply fly away as soon as I got close. Most of the other ones I saw that day were gone as soon as I began to slow down.

Rainy day redux

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Last weekend I took quite the soggy (and muddy) road trip with my cameras. While I did the majority of my shooting southwest of Mandan, I actually began north of Wilton. You may recognize this (especially if you’re a photographer) as a familiar old barn north of Wilton a few miles on Highway 83. Sadly, it has now collapsed. It was intact enough, however, to grant me this really nice shot – the streaks of falling rain are more apparent in front of the opening on the full sized version. It may not even look collapsed at all, if you’re not familiar with this structure.

Here’s how it looked just a short while ago. Notice the stone addition on its east side, which is now completely collapsed and gone. While the barn looks intact, it’s actually several feet shorter. Bummer. As you can see, it’s a very photogenic piece of work, and I’m sure it attracts lots of photographers. I for one continue to visit it from time to time and document its eventual demise. In some ways it seems to get even more photogenic with age.

It IS easy being green

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On the way into Bismarck the other night my boys and I noticed a classic car show at OK Tire (on west Main, across from the Bank of North Dakota). We pulled in just in time to catch the end of the show, inspect all the cars on display in the lot, and watch as they pulled out and went home at the end of the show. Among our favorites: this beautiful green beast.

Aside from a beautiful black Pontiac we pretty much decided the green ones were our favorites…except, of course, a purple car which the guys figured Mommy would like. This car, which we’ve seen multiple times at Buggies ‘n’ Blues, was the other extremely green car to catch the boys’ attention.

It was a pleasant surprise to wrap up the end of our day. The little guys stood by the exit of OK Tire and waved to all the classics as they rolled away, shouting an enthusiastic “Hi!” to each and every driver who went by. Once they had brought some smiles to a bunch of faces it was time for home, some wrestling on the trampoline with Daddy, and a quick trip to bed.

Rainy day road trip

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We were blessed with a steady soaker this weekend, with some places seeing up to two inches of rain. I had a really strong need to roam, so I threw my gear in the truck and headed out on some soggy, spongy dirt roads and trails. I saw some really cool stuff, grabbed a few satisfying photos, caught up on a few podcasts, and managed not to get stuck. In other words, a success.

The rain let up briefly when I grabbed this shot of a rough-looking windmill. The valley in the background is still slightly obscured by the rain, and just after I snapped this shot it picked up again. Thankfully I have lens hoods to keep the front element dry when I poke it out the window of the truck! Yes, I did get out and hoof it in the rain a bit as well.

What you don’t know can hurt you (Public Service Announcement)

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For years I, like many others, have taken sunset photos from this lovely vantage point: the fence post at the northern edge of the Double Ditch historic site. It’s just off the corner of the road as you enter the site area, it has a great view, and its elevation affords a wonderful view of the river, the sunset, and the Square Buttes to the northwest. I’ve taken photos from here as recently as Sunday night, as shown above. What I didn’t know was how risky that’s become.

Last night I wanted to take a sunset photo from a more unique perspective so I hiked down to the river at the south end of the Double Ditch road and worked my way up the shore to the north end again. I didn’t quite get the angle I wanted – the sun sets further south now than it does midsummer – but I did make an amazing discovery. As you can see above, there isn’t much left beneath that familiar fence post!

Walking along the shore I found several places where huge chunks of the cliff had let go and are now piled at the bottom along the river shore. I hiked over them on the way to the north end, and even near the pole I could see where the cliff had recently tumbled down. Now it seems that post’s days are numbered, and I would not want to be hanging out up there with my cameras when it lets go.

I’ve had a great relationship with that spot; I’ve captured sunrises, sunsets, storms, International Space Station flyovers, and more while standing next to it. Sadly, I won’t be going back. That type of soil is too unpredictable, and it looks like the erosion is now threatening to swallow up one of my all time favorite photo spots.

Please be careful when you’re out at Double Ditch! There’s more to those picturesque cliffs than meets the eye.

Sandbar sunset (with song)

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Ah, the feeling of warm sand beneath my toes and the lapping of water against the shore…this is a sweet time of year because the sun sets early enough that I can enjoy it with my little boys. Midsummer I can’t do this without risking a couple of little grouches the next day, which of course wouldn’t be fair to Mommy.

We roamed around down by the rocks beneath the Northern Pacific bridge, watched a train cross overhead, threw a couple of rocks in the water, watched some boats go by, and then headed home for their bedtime. They love the sunset just like their Daddy…I only wish we’d remembered the frisbee!

The Sunset Song of the Day for this photo is “Down by the Sea” by Men at Work. It’s a nice, calm, meandering tune that captured the feeling of slowly padding along the shore…enjoying the golden reflection of the setting sun across the water and the brilliant blue of the overhead sky as the sunset colors waned. You can investigate the song on iTunes by clicking here.

Double Ditch, triple dudes, and 21,000

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We reached a milestone this week when I passed the 21,000 photo mark on my newest camera. Above is photo #21,000…a shot of us “three dudes” enjoying Double Ditch at sunset. It was also a mission as we were taking a photo to use in making an anniversary card for Mommy, which she thoroughly enjoyed (along with the flowers).

My boys and I really enjoy those “three dudes” times, and being Daddy is an honorable pursuit. I’m glad that my little guys are becoming old enough to share a lot of the things I like to do, and we can give Mommy a break by going out and roaming (my favorite pastime). Their little cameras are in the truck and ready to be deployed, so between the three of us we’re always ready to get the shot.

You’d be angry too if someone grabbed you by the eyeballs

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My four year old has a knack for catching bugs…any kind of bugs. Recently he proved that he can catch a fly, and this afternoon he proved that he can catch a dragonfly too. I’ve chased these things with my cameras enough to know that they can be skittish, but this one proved no match for my little guy. He isn’t afraid to grab even the creepiest, crawliest bug, either…even to hold them by the eyes sometimes, like this one. Naturally it was beating its wings like a hummingbird with indignation.

So I suppose it was predictable that when little J modified his grip on the dragonfly to the tail that it would say, “Hey, cut it out!” in the only way available to it: with a bite. That got my boy’s attention in a hurry, he let the dragonfly go to resume catching mosquitoes in our back yard, and I had to chuckle because (of course) I had a camera to document the entire encounter.

Tuesday night sunset – and Sunset Song of the Day (new)

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As I’ve posted before here on the ol’ Blog, I have certain specialized playlists in my iPod for certain things like stargazing, sunrises, and sunsets. I’ve shared my Sunny Day playlist (click here) and will probably put my Stargazing list up here sometime down the road. In the mean time I thought I’d start a new feature: attaching a song to certain photos that match the mood of the song.

Today’s song is “Narwhal Aerobics” by The Nightgowns. You can check it out on iTunes by clicking here. I think it picks up the mood of this sunset, which was photographed next to a little lake along Highway 25 west of Mandan.