My “stranded on a deserted island” album is Joshua Tree, which you can now get on vinyl again at Walmart. Strange. Every time I see a tree like this, half yucca and half bonsai in its appearance, I think of the imagery of Joshua Tree National Park. Of course, we have our own species of flora and not a whole lot of desert, and this shot throws in a hay bale for good measure to give the photo that North Dakota flavor.
I didn’t realize that flax blooms for such a short time! Thankfully I happened upon this field at the right time. A couple of days later all the blue was gone. Apparently the flowers only last for a day. Even though each flax plant makes many flowers, I guess these fields are only visible for a fleeting moment each season.
I’ve alluded recently on social media that I was working on a little rig to help me with the type of photography I do. Case in point: the photo above. The sun was setting to the right of this photo, leaving the rest of the car in the dark. I wanted to fill with light rather than try to Photoshop it later, but that takes a lot of light. After trudging back to the van twice for more lights and stands, I figured there had to be a better way to get multiple flash units in one place. That was the inspiration for Frankenrig.
I’ll admit: it doesn’t look like much. It’s more an assembly of parts bought online with only one piece of my own handiwork. I messed with different lengths of 1/4″ thick aluminum until I found the right one, cut it, drilled it, tapped threads into it, and attached the various things I needed in order to hang three flashes from one lightweight portable stand. Once I found the right length, it was off to the powder coater to get a durable finish applied.
To each of those pegs I attached a pivoting light bracket. Each bracket can swivel on its post, while each bracket can articulate back and forth. Why use such tall pegs, you ask? Because I want to be able to operate the knurled knobs on the bottom of the pivoting brackets, even with winter gloves on, so I need the clearance.
In each pivoting bracket I attached a cold shoe so I could easily slide a Speedlite on and off. I have spare pegs in case I want to use a studio strobe, but that’s not why I built Frankenrig.
Here are the three radio controlled Speedlites attached. I tried different lengths of aluminum because I wanted Frankenrig to be as compact as possible, yet allow enough room between brackets to allow manipulation with winter gloves on.
It’s a very flexible rig. The posts allow a number of things to be hung on this bracket in a variety of ways. Each flash, in addition to its own pivoting head, can pivot by rotating the cold shoe’s peg in its bracket. The bracket can pivot using its hinge, and it can swivel on its peg. The 1/4″ x 1″ aluminum isn’t going to bend and everything is clinging together with 3/8″ threads and Loctite, so it’ll handle anything I opt to hang on it.
So here I have a compact little rig which attaches to any universal light stand, including the lightweight ones I use for my type of photo trips. It’s a simple device, but allows me to bring a lot of light to a location with very little work. It’s a pretty specific tool, though; it’s most suitable for my type of photo trip. I want something lightweight and portable, not studio strobes. I need to be able to set up in uneven terrain, so the stands I have do that. I need to be able to adjust it, even in the cold with thick gloves on. And I want it to be overbuilt in the strength department, because that’s how my dad taught me.
I look forward to taking Frankenrig into the field and throwing a lot of light at something! Then I can sing its praises when I have cool, well-lit photos to share here.
In 2009 I posted this example of the fact that Native American imagery is a matter of respecting someone’s heritage in North Dakota, not a “Hostile and Abusive” offense like the NCAA wants everyone to believe. Native American imagery is on the side of the State Patrol’s vehicles, on our highway signs…it’s an honor, not a dishonor.
That’s why I was surprised this week to find the same sign inconspicuously changed to just the shape of North Dakota. No Hostile and Abuse™ silhouettes to get any pointy-headed liberals’ pantaloons firmly entwisted. How was this decision reached, and who made it? I’d love to find out.
So, let’s see here…we’ve thrown the Fighting Sioux Logo back in the faces of those who gifted it to UND decades ago, we’ve quietly removed Native American imagery from the state highway signs…it’s almost as if North Dakota is ashamed of the culture and heritage of the indigenous peoples who reside here!
Political correctness is tyranny. North Dakota has a long history of honoring the Native American people who live here. It was remarked by a tribal elder that “We went to a hockey game, and they talked about the courage and integrity of the Sioux people. We looked at each other like, ‘Wow, we don’t even honor our Sioux warriors or veterans like this on the reservation.’ ”. To banish all mention of these people for the sake of placating a bunch of liberal busybodies does more disrespect to the native people than any logo could ever do!
How long do you suppose it’ll be until the State Patrol is forced to spend tens of thousands of dollars hiring some out-of-state company to design them a new logo?
I took my little family to our favorite secluded sandbar spot tonight, and it was a win on all counts. Wading in the river cooled us off in the warm early evening, a bonfire allowed for heat as dark approached and provided opportunity for lessons in fire safety while letting the boys poke sticks into the fire, and we got to watch the die-hards in the area continue to light off expensive fireworks.
One of the best parts was dancing with my wife. After a while one of the boys came up and pointed out that we were making a circle with our feet, which was pretty cool too.
I have fond memories of going to the sandbar under the Memorial Bridge in the 80s, especially in the evening after various practices would get over and we’d get a group of guys assembled for some frisbee. We’d have some fusion jazz going on a big boom box and hang out at sunset until we couldn’t see the frisbee anymore, then jet up the hill and eat insane amounts of A&W food. So to be able to share the music, the sunset, the frisbee and football with my sweetie and my little guys brings back old memories even as we forge new ones.
That’s right: I didn’t say “July 4th” – it’s Independence Day. I was hoping to walk in the parade today, but my knee said otherwise. So it was painkillers, Ace bandage, and sidelines. But I did get to spend the time with my oldest boy and some friends in town from Idaho, so that’s a plus. Here are some photos of things I found interesting:
The colors. It was nice to see people rise and salute the flag, hands over their hearts, without anyone having to tell them.
Bismarck High School football carrying Old Glory. The parade’s in Mandan, but we’re one big happy Bis-Man community.
Serving and Protecting. Morton County is going back to silver vehicles again, which is too bad – I like the way their white and blue ones look. Especially the reflective blue stripe.
Since the liberals are fighting pipelines and now oil by train, this is how Bakken crude is going to make it to market.
Because it’s in North Dakota, the parade requires a Zamboni. The folks accompanying this parade entry were on roller blades. Cool, but probably spooky if one gets horse poo on those wheels.
I can’t see this without thinking about this song by They Might Be Giants. It’s a beast like this which helped assemble that giant weather vane construction crane at St. Alexius.
My friend and karate training buddy Nathan Toman, who I believe is running for reelection to represent Morton County. Please give him your vote.
One of the most colorful entries every year from ACE towing. I did happen to notice something on the side of this tow truck I hadn’t seen before, though:
A little tribute to the law enforcement officers we lost a few years back.
There’s only one way to heaven, and that’s through being born again by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Good to see a church proclaiming it!
This was one of the coolest entries I saw: pedal powered! Plenty of people shared the responsibility of propulsion duty.
The pedals turned a shaft which went to a gearbox and turned the rear wheels. I never did see how the front wheels steer, though.
Any event which has a bubble machine is a fun time in my book. This float actually had two, but it was the other components of the entry that caught our eye:
I’m going to resist any puns here. This looks like it was a lot of fun to drive. Note the wheelie bar. I never saw that part put to use. But that’s not all…
Rub a dub dub! This tub gizmo, along with the motorized toilet and outhouse trailer show a commitment to putting on a good display for this year’s parade.
One participant to keep an eye on every year is Butcher Block Meats. They always do what I wish more Mandan parade entries would do: make an actual FLOAT. They always motorize something, too – and this was no exception:
Here’s one of the Touchstone Energy logo folks out representin’.
And finally, the Bowdon Meats folks decided to do a little Beverly Hillbillies thing. Although they’re not necessarily in a part of North Dakota where the ground is “a-bubblin’ crude”.
At this point the heat was getting to my little guy, even though we had shade nearby for an occasional respite, so I honored his wishes and packed up for home. Looking down the line I could see that the next several entries were mostly vehicles, not actual floats. Although I have no doubt there were some occasional gems in there, nothing within view caught my eye, so it was easy to pry myself away. In future parades it would be cool to see more bona fide floats of clever design rather than vehicles with logos plastered on them. But for the time we spent today, the photos prove that we saw plenty of cool stuff on parade for Independence Day.
I was originally going to title this post, “I finally found a Fallen Farm I didn’t like”…but darn it, the place actually has a lot of character. The old camper is certainly retro cool, and the boat lying in the grass could come in handy if that pond overflows. While originally I just thought this was a junky mess, I now think it’s more of a funky one.
Normally it’d be impolite to point outs omething like that, but in this case I don’t think my subject will mind. This barn has fascinated me for a long time, but I’ve never tracked down the owners to ask if I can approach it more closely. The land it’s on is posted, and as you know I have a general rule about obeying other people’s property rights. Thankfully it’s photogenic from the road, too!
I spotted this attachment along the road near Fish Creek Dam last weekend and had to stop for a shot. My hope was to catch the butte in the background along with the beautiful blue sky, and I did accomplish that. Not really sure what I think about the fence posts, though. I scooted back and forth and couldn’t quite get things to line up the way I wanted. If I moved so the front post wasn’t in front of the attachment, I lost the butte. If I moved back, I lost the perspective. So I decided to just center the post on the equipment and shoot it this way. I think it turned out pretty well considering it wasn’t my original vision.
We were treated to quite a show here in Bismarck-Mandan tonight. I was on the east end of Bismarck when I spotted this building cloud to the west. The sun had just moved behind it, making that “silver lining” glow like a bolt of lightning. And oh, the rays!
My little boy thought it looked like God was playing hide and seek behind the cloud, and I couldn’t argue that assessment.
Before long it was in full bloom and moving overhead, so I grabbed my camera from the back of the truck (the previous photos were from my iPod) and snapped one more shot before the cloud dissipated even more.
Wow, what a beautiful sky tonight, eh?
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