I don’t know what it is, but I wouldn’t want my finger stuck in it
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Big boys crave big toys
Getting to the bottom of things
Starry-eyed surprise
Once I was all set the lightning began. I was absolutely delighted to find such an amazing setting: the band of rain beneath the storm clouds, several bolts of brilliant lightning arcing from the ground, clouds aloft lit by cloud-to-cloud lightning, starry sky above the storm, and a celestial alignment of Venus, Jupiter, and the Pleiades ahead of its advance. That’s a packed photo!
What a blessing to have such a great vantage point for this storm. Despite going an hour early to the movie, we still had to sit in the absolute front row (albeit in the center). That wasn’t really bad seating, but certainly not optimal. Our view of this storm, however, couldn’t be finer.
It’s a good thing I took Friday off from work, because this storm was worth watching (and photographing) until after four in the morning. Some shots turned out better than others, but this one is pretty close to perfect. I’m so thankful we went out that night, and we had no idea we’d be treated to such an amazing spectacle.
Dark Knight Rises, A Tale of Two Cities, and a welcome coincidence
According to this interview on comingsoon.net, the screenplay for TDKR was begun right after the previous Dark Knight movie hit the screens. A distinct allusion to Charles’ Dickens work “A Tale of Two Cities” was present from the get-go.
As luck would have it, or by coincidence if you aren’t a detective, I recently began re-reading the Dickens work with fervor. I’ve been taking my time to really get into the characters and the setting of revolution-era France, and I have found it profoundly more stirring than in times past. Because of my newfound intimacy with this story I was easily able to see its influence on TDKR, particularly with regard to Gotham City…or what Bane, the villain, causes it to become.
I would love to outline a few of the direct comparisons between the two, but I can’t risk letting any spoilers fly. All I have to say is that reading A Tale of Two Cities, no small task at that, prior to watching Dark Knight Rises will give you a better feel for the film and the blight that strikes Gotham City. I’ll leave it at that.
By the way, what happens to “the rich” is not glorified in this movie, as much as the American left loves to champion disdain for successful people under the leadership of the modern Democrat party and the current occupant of the White House. Believe me, if there was such a slant in this movie I’d perceive it. I did not. With so much liberal activism in Hollywood these days, it’s not out of line for us to expect it, but you have nothing to worry about here. Enjoy the show.
Love tractor
A curious and somewhat protective owl landed just above me on an old threshing machine as its young screeched in a nearby tree. I used my 6-D-cell “Louisville Slugger” style Maglite to do some “light painting” on the tractor once I was set up in place. I got the tractor, the Northern Lights, and the Big Dipper in the shot, lit to my liking after many attempts. Evenly lighting something in the dark by waving a flashlight at it isn’t as easy as it may sound.
If you’d like to see what such a beast looked like in its heyday, check out this video of a restored 1921 model:
Photoshop play gone viral
The next thing I know, my Facebook metrics are on the uptick: in almost no time at all I’d had thousands of people “talking about” the graphic – this means sharing, commenting, liking, whatever. At the moment it’s at 7,288 with 2,385 direct shares. I guess I struck a chord somewhere.
There’s plenty of material out there…the next time I’m trying to avoid tidying up my home office I’ll probably brainstorm a couple more.
Morning alignment
This is actually an even better catch than is readily apparent; right before I snapped it, the clouds were covering Venus. Right after, the auroras faded from the northeastern sky. A sliver of moon appeared above the horizon as well, but only at the expense of the Pleiades fading from sight as sunrise approached. All in all, it was a matter of delicate timing.
No, I didn’t really sleep last night. Yes, I did get Northern Lights photos. More on that later.
Humidity, thou art mine adversary
The nice, cool camera, having been chilled to perfection in my home, now met the hot, moist air. You can see what happened after that: it fogged up. The filter, the lens elements, the mirror, the prism, the viewfinder, and (presumably) the sensor. I took one shot last night, and this was it.
This has happened to me twice before…once at sunset, and once at last year’s Buggies & Blues. Third time’s the charm, I hope, and that I will have learned to let my camera gear acclimatize to the outside temperature before attempting to use it. Don’t be like me and lose a great shot due to a lack of foresight! Make sure your camera is matched to the conditions before you get ready to click that shutter. Have a good weekend!
Smile if you’ve got a spare three-meter dish you’re not using any more
I love creative little stuff like this along rural roads, so I stopped to take a photo. I’d just finished stowing my camera back in its bag while standing next to my motorcycle when the owner drove by in his tractor, turning into his driveway. In good ol’ North Dakota fashion, he made a hand signal from the cab to ask, “is everything ok?” I made a gesture with my hands to illustrate that I’d just got done snapping a photo, he nodded and smiled, and we parted with a wave. I love North Dakotans.