Ifff it’s the same on both sides, is it an accident?

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I noticed this sign the other day and had to do a double-take. Yep…three Fs. 50% more fffun, I suppose. Of course, I had to check the other side, and yes, it does have the same anomaly. That raises the question, is this a ploy to catch the eye, or a mistake somehow duplicated on each side of the sign?


That reminded me of this mistake, on the door of an old truck near the hiking trail along the Mandan side of the Missouri River. It isn’t a typing error when it’s hand-painted!

I don’t know why I find such sign oddities so fascinating, but it was kind of fffunny to spot this latest one.

Something cool that’ll be back to normal this Independence Day

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Sunset shots like this were a bit problematic during 2012. The reason was the assortment of stuff hanging off the side of the building. The seals around the windows needed repair and the limestone was due for a major cleaning, and crews spent a long time working evenings and weekends to make those things happen. As you can see, their gear does show up even from a distance (at least with the right lens).

Not only did it cause some consternation for photographers, but it also put a little bump in the road for the Independence Day celebration. Normally the Symphony would set up on the capitol steps, but because of the necessary safe boundary area they were forced to be down on the lawn like the rest of us.

Thankfully things are going to be back to normal this year. I’m super excited for Independence Day this year, despite some wrinkles in some long-made plans. It’s going to be a great week to be in Bismarck-Mandan, and I’m hoping I can dust the cobwebs off the cameras and capture some of it to post! After the whirlwind that has been 2013, as evidenced by the trickle of photos posted on this site, I’m long overdue for some camera time. My sweetie agrees.

Flag Day, and one other important bit of American History

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Today is Flag Day, a holiday that goes back informally to the early days of our nation’s founding. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (PDF), however, “Both President Wilson, in 1916, and President Coolidge, in 1927, issued proclamations asking for June 14 to be observed as the National Flag Day. But it wasn’t until August 3, 1949, that Congress approved the national observance, and President Harry Truman signed it into law.”

This is a photo of the flag flying proudly over the parking lot of Arrowhead Plaza in Bismarck on the morning of December 12th, 2009. I was early for a meeting nearby, so I meandered over to the lot to catch the colors for a few minutes. Shortly afterward I found myself sitting between the Attorney General and Secretary of State, drinking orange juice and taking in a very fascinating briefing.

Today, June 14th, also marks a significant even in our nation’s history. In 1954, Congress passed a joint resolution adding the words “under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance. On June 14th of that year, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the bill into law. This has at times been controversial, although only to people who tend to affiliate themselves with a particular political party (ahem).

Display the flag proudly if you have the means to do so! Governor Jack Dalrymple has put out a proclamation “encouraging North Dakotans to observe the days from Flag Day through Independence Day as a time to honor America, to celebrate our rich heritage, and to express our gratitude to those who have secured our freedoms and to those who defend them still today.” Amen to that.

On a slant

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No, it’s not at Fort Abraham Lincoln. Yes, it truly is on a slant. The remains of this farmstead are cleverly tucked beneath the boughs of this tree along Highway 1806, just south of Mandan. Who knows…maybe that mighty tree was a mere sapling while the home was built and occupied.

That’s one thing that makes these “Fallen Farms” so appealing to my eye that they merit their own category on this blog. The fact that these structures were new at one time, were home at one time, and were abandoned at one time is fascinating to ponder. Their presence dotting the landscape of rural North Dakota is both sad and charming at the same time.

Home on the Range…the High Dynamic Range, that is

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I captured this Fallen Farm on an overcast day southwest of Mandan. By snapping multiple exposures I was able to capture a bright exposure, a medium exposure, and a dark exposure of the same frame. That allowed the camera to acquire detail in the shadows of the dark house, the highlights of the sky, and everything in between. Then it was up to Photoshop to smack ’em together.

I’ve been slow to dabble in HDR (High Dynamic Range) photography because I have seen so many examples of it done badly. HDR can be used to do some really cool, artistic things if you like…but in my opinion its best use is in capturing detail throughout a wide range of shadows and highlights (thus, high dynamic range). When I find a shot that works well with HDR to do so, then I play around with it.

This technique can also be used to make some artistic but not very appealing (to me, this is subjective) images. I’m more interested in the hyper-realistic qualities of HDR imagery, and a very few, well-planned shots lend themselves well to this technique. It sure is fun, though, when you come across such an opportunity. I hope to find more of these in the future and, of course, share them here.

Nestled in the trees

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It’s painfully obvious now that this maddeningly busy year of 2013 has taken a huge toll on my photographic adventures. I got a long-needed opportunity to roam recently and, although I’ve done plenty of poking around the area with my camera, found some new features.

As usual some windmills caught my eye. Some I marked in the trusty Garmin, and others I chased down. This one was particularly attractive since it was tucked behind some rather nice trees. I grabbed a few quick shots from the section line road and moved along to grab a few others that I’ll share in due time.

Keeping my word

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While we had a busy weekend planned, I had mentioned a couple of times to my youngest little guy that I’d like to take him to Fort Lincoln. He had asked a few days ago when it wasn’t feasible, so I really wanted to make it happen.

I don’t make promises; I prefer to mean what I say. That doesn’t mean that I’m 100% dependable, but I do my best. In this case, I had an object lesson for my boys. I said that I wanted to take ’em to Fort Lincoln, and I was set on doing just that. Events Sunday evening pushed the envelope, but we loaded up their little bikes and took off anyway. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. The Bible says, “let your yea be yea, and your nay, nay” – in other words, say what you mean, mean what you say, and you don’t have to promise or swear to anything. I told them how important it was for me to keep my word to them.

Thankfully, we arrived with a good 20 minutes or so to explore and even had the blockhouses to ourselves. We got in some riding, the weather was nice, there were no mosquitoes, and we actually loaded up just a couple of minutes before the rangers headed up to close the site for the night. Awesome!

My little guys, like any little boy, love their bikes. They especially love riding them with Daddy at sunset in very scenic places. Sometimes they even weasel one of Daddy’s “black cameras” for a few shots of their own. It’s precious time, and we haven’t had a lot of it lately. I’m really hoping that this weekend is the beginning of turning things around and getting them back into the proper balance.

Fun in a bottle

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I’ve been on a novelty soda kick lately, as the above photo illustrates. The types I’ve spotted around town range from Christmas-themed to absolutely bizarre, such as the Qadaffi and Leninade sodas, and fun like Avery’s disgusting soda line. Of course we can’t forget good old Jolt Cola – sugar and caffeine, baby! By the way, many of these sodas actually use pure cane sugar instead of the high-fructose corn syrup used by the big soda companies these days.

My favorite so far is Leninade (here’s their website) – it’s the best tasting, and as a bit of a cold war buff I get a kick out of it. I bet Reagan would sip this stuff cold if he was still with us today! There are plenty of humorous bits in the label and the inside of the bottle cap as well.

These sodas are awesome – some for their novelty, some for their taste, and some for both. The best collection I’ve seen to date is at Runnings, although there are a bunch at Mac’s Hardware as well. Mac’s used to have an enormous display of these, but now they’re down to just a single refrigerated case.

If you spot these sorts of sodas around town, please let me know!

How do you put something this big in the water? Slowly

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After its hull inspection and a winter spent safely out of the water and potential ice jams, the Lewis & Clark riverboat was ready to hop back into the Big Muddy. It’s been up on blocks since the end of last season, prompting questions from my little boys as to how it got there. Well, thanks to a tip from my friend Diana, I was able to take them out to observe last weekend. Even better from a little boy’s point of view: they use a huge crane.

Since the boat lacks sufficient anchor points with which to attach crane hooks, it has to be cradled to be moved. That’s where this rig comes in. It provides a nice, wide configuration to which they can attach the necessary accoutrements for such a delicate job.

With the rig in place, it’s simply a matter of using very large straps beneath the hull to provide a cradle for the gentle lift.

The tricky part: the propellers and rudders. If the rear strap would slip and hook on those parts, it could be disastrous. Proper placement is key.

Once everything is snugged into place and checked as tension is applied, it’s time for the slow lift. I presume that the first rule of using a crane is to lift as slowly as possible and only as high as is necessary. Force equals mass times velocity, so getting a suspended load moving too quickly makes it much more dangerous.

Slow and steady. The crane had a lot of counterweight attached to allow it to extend out into the river without taking a dip. As the riverboat slowly made its way out past the shore, crews with guide lines made sure it stayed straight. Lots of eyes were on the payload and communication yelled between the guys holding the anchor lines at each end to keep it straight.

As it eased into the water, these rails kept it from nudging the rocks along the shore. They had been placed there for the lift to provide extra protection. As the waves began to lap against the bottom of the hull, it eased into the water safely along these wooden bumpers.

With the boat safely placed in the river and tension eased on the straps, it was simply a matter of letting the straps relax beneath the boat and slowly easing the rig downriver. Thankfully the straps did not get hung up on the props or rudders, or someone would have had to jump in and work ’em loose. It looks like the lift went without a hitch.

By this point it was too cold and windy for my little guys, so we headed home instead of watching the crane be dismantled. It’s always fun to see a big lift, though…even though it moves slowly, it’s a really neat spectacle to watch.

Capitol quandary

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This sign could work well as a picture metaphor of the state legislature and property tax “reform”. They’re throwing hundreds of millions of dollars in “relief” at a problem which isn’t inherently theirs.

– The state legislature doesn’t assess property values;

– The state legislature doesn’t levy property taxes;

– The state legislature doesn’t collect property taxes…

And yet they’ve managed to not only tie the noose of public anger at property taxes, but they’ve also stuck their head in the loop and tightened the knot. Meanwhile, the culprits behind high property taxes at the county level get a free pass without any accountability.

I’d expect another Measure Two type initiated measure to appear on the radar soon. In fact, while I opposed Measure Two on the last ballot I would certainly vote for the abolition of property taxes in North Dakota. I just saw the bad mechanics of the last attempt and didn’t want to put the state in a bind. If it had simply said “No governing entity may levy property taxes” I’d have voted yes. I imagine that a lot more people will be voting yes for whatever property tax measure hits the ballot, regardless.

I met one of my representatives for coffee back when Governor Hoeven got this ill-fated “reform” shell game started and pretty much predicted the debacle we’re facing now. I warned that the legislature will assume responsibility for the tax & spend behavior of the counties, and will be the bad guys in the eyes of voters no matter what they can and can’t do to relieve property tax burdens. Here we are.

Some days the legislature makes just about as much sense as the signs pictured above – and those signs would work even better as a descriptor of the failed transparency bills in this session, but I’m not going there…yet.