Show of support

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community-support-decalsWe North Dakotans, residents of Bismarck-Mandan in particular, love our law enforcement personnel.  The last eight months haven’t just been trying on them, but on the community as a whole, and as a result I think the bond between citizens and LEOs has been forged even stronger.  You’ve probably noticed many cars sporting the above decals, which I believe are still available at Signs and Wonders along with other places.

 

Cx_FrCLUUAAeT-3.jpg largeUnderstanding that relationship, I put together this quick meme early on in the conflict. It may seem prescient now, but I really just understand the fact that our community respects those who put it all on the line to keep our community safe and uphold the law.

 

backtheblue_flag_44573And we ain’t done yet.  Back the Blue billboards have sprung up around town, events are in the works to celebrate the law enforcement community, and there’s even legislation in the works to honor them.

 

capitol_backtheblue_mockup_44339Yes, that’s right.  Senate Concurrent Resolution 4015 (PDF) will not only designate a special day as Peace Officers Memorial Day to honor fallen law enforcement officers, but it also calls for a blue light display to adorn the capitol on an annual basis.  I made this hasty mock-up as an example of what I can envision the capitol looking like each May.  (Yeah, without the snow.  I discovered that I haven’t actually taken any night time photos of the capitol unless the windows are all lit up with something, so I had to do some heavy-handed Photoshop on the easiest shot I had available.  Cut me some slack.)

The resolution has been in the House awaiting a floor vote since March 20th.  If you feel motivated, let your legislators know how important it is that SCR 4015 gets passed.

So yeah, we support our law enforcement.  I sure hope that their tough jobs are made a little easier by knowing that they’ve got the appreciation of North Dakotans that respect them, pray for them, and acknowledge that (while nobody’s perfect) they protect our communities with dedication and professionalism.

Got another man down, Dude

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windmill_down_DJI_0041-5_hdrOne more windmill in the casualty category.  This one actually isn’t too far from my property.  I took off a little early on Friday and roamed for an hour or so before finding this shot.  I’d played around in the river bottoms a bit, but didn’t find the inspiration I was looking for.  Thankfully I came upon this shot, although it’s too bad that the windmill is so badly damaged.

Going places

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I’m primarily a video guy, but not when it comes to drone work. Yeah, I can do it, but there would have to be a really unique subject or conditions for me to want to do video seriously with an aerial camera. Drones (I hate that word) are kind of a one trick pony in a way, and to get remarkable drone (I used it again) video one has to do a lot of planning or live in an area that’s breathtaking without drones (dangit).

fox_island_DJI_0452-6So what do I like to do, you ask?  Use the unique ability of being able to position a high quality camera anywhere I want.  Sometimes that may be up in the sky, but normally it’s at an altitude just slightly different from anything you could get without a really tall ladder.  Typically I try to keep the effect very subtle, so that the angle catches the subconscious eye as unusual but without making it obvious that I’m shooting from an aerial camera.  Or, in this case, out over the ice that would never support my weight if I tried conventional photo work.  It may not look like it, but I was only about a foot or two above the ice.

 

river_ice_DJI_0462-6_hdrI was hoping for a sunset, and that never really materialized in the typical sense, but there was still some scattered color in the sky to the south.  So I worked the area, snapped away a few times, and caught what color there was in the fleeting moments before all went dim.  And the best part is, I kept my shoes dry.

Pause for effect

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arena_car_DJI_0334-8_hdrI love HDR (High Dynamic Range) photography when done judiciously.  It’s the kind of thing that can bring out all kinds of delicious detail in both the highlights and shadows of a photo, and that’s what I like to go for.  That hyper-realistic look really pleases my eye.  Unfortunately, HDR processing techniques are often done in such a heavy-handed fashion that they end up looking like grainy, over-saturated paintings.  Those I do not like one bit.

I opted to go a little further toward the artistic side with this particular photo, just because I liked the effect in this particular case.  It’s pushed a little past hyper-realistic detail into a more stylized realm, but in this case I think that works.  Not too keen on some of the blooming where dark areas meet light, but much of that is actually because of the way the sky was that day.

How about you?  Do you like extra realism, or surreal style?

Backing the Blue on the road less traveled

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back_blue_pallet_60d_15054-6_hdrFor the past few months, Highway 1806 has pulled different duty than usual.  If you don’t live south of Mandan or have things to do at Huff Hills or Fort Lincoln, you probably haven’t been down this road in a long time.  Oh, unless you’re in law enforcement, that is.

This pallet is a nice way for someone to Back the Blue on that road, as plenty of law enforcement would go by over the period of several months.  I’ve seen a lot of things done with pallets, but this one has got to be my favorite!  I’m all for showing our community’s appreciation for our law enforcement heroes.

Drifted in

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fallen_farm_DJI_0266-8_hdrThis is a wild looking old barn.  It has a long overhang on one side, which seems will inevitably collapse.  But it was a great place for a snowdrift this winter.  What a uniquely shaped structure, I wonder how it must be configured inside!  Sadly, I doubt I’ll ever know.

Still standing

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arena_church_DJI_0289-93_hdrProps to B-Man for recognizing yesterday’s elevators!  I took a quick trip to one of my favorite ghost towns, Arena, to check on this church.  The road to it still had chest-deep snow, so I hiked around the back way.  Although the foundation has caved in on both sides, the supports in the basement are holding strong and the church looks no worse for wear than it did last year.  It’s sagging slightly in the middle, but aren’t we all!

Elevator from elevation

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arena_elevator_DJI_0351-5_tonemappedI’d photographed this elevator a number of times before, but never from up in the air.  Today was conducive for sUAS flight, so I took advantage of it.  I’m recovering from the flu and wisdom tooth surgery, so I was getting cabin fever and figured fresh air would do me good.  So did coming home with some nice photos.

Long shadow

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fallen_farm_DJI_0130-4One of the challenges of photography during a North Dakota winter is the shadows.  The sun is low in the sky, and that makes for some very hard shadows that travel with the sun throughout the day.  It also doesn’t seem like we get many partly cloudy days in which one can find a window of diffused sunlight, either.  But sometimes those shadows can work to one’s advantage, as in the photo above.