Away Awhile...

Looks like I'll be away for a bit. With the holidays coming up, things have been a bit crazy. We're heading out of town for the holidays too, and I'll be bringing my camera with me for the trip.

My next post here may be in January of 2009! We'll have to see how things go the next couple of weeks. With mandatory vacation time here at work (40 hours around the holidays, plus we are required to take an additional 40 hours, even if it means going into negative vacation balances), I'll hopefully be out shooting, or entertaining Madeline.

I've been picking up county maps though, and am planning on taking many trips to go shoot, when the weather permits. It's up to 10 degrees above zero today, so it's actually warm compared to yesterday, when it didn't even get warmer than -1 or -2. But, we pick the places we live. If I really wanted to move out, I would have long ago.

Still here.

Well, we got our first significant snowfall this week. Madeline loves it. Me, I'm not crazy about it. Bad drivers, accidents, and cold. Just not my thing most of the time. But, before you know it, it will be spring, and things will green up and be warm.

Haven't been out shooting much again. Too cold, really. I have been planning, planning, and planning about where to go and what to shoot. I've got several county maps of different counties in Minnesota, and am scouting out locations and figuring out what time of year would be best to go.

Hopefully I'll be out shooting some places this weekend. Shawn and I are planning on hitting up a couple spots on Sunday, so we'll see how that goes.

More Opportunities

Still working on the photography leads. Trying to figure out where and when I can have pictures hung up. I'll definitely be hanging more artwork in the future, but for now, I've got some pictures at the Dunn Bros. in White Bear Lake. I need to follow up on a couple of ideas, and see where it goes too.

Other news: we were in Jackson for Thanksgiving. We came back Saturday so we had a day to recuperate. We all have colds, so it isn't any fun to travel while sick. But, I did get out on Friday for a couple of hours and drove around Jackson County. I had a county map in one hand, and my camera in the other. It was pretty fun; now, I need to get county maps of about 20 other counties, and I'll be all set. I'll then be able to mark the maps with different locations of where I've shot, and where to explore, and I'll have plenty of places to go shoot.

My friend, Shawn, bought a digital SLR camera. He ended up getting a Nikon D80, which is a great camera for what he wants to shoot. When he wants to upgrade, it will make it that much easier to move into a higher-end DLSR, if he wishes to. But the D80 is pretty nice. Played with it a bit, mucked around some of the features, and it's similar enough to my D300 that it wouldn't be hard for me to tinker through it and figure it out. but he's got his entry into digital photography now, so I'll have someone more consistent to go shooting with.

What a weekend!

So, the weekend started early for me. I took off about 10:30am from work, as I already had over 40 hours in for the week. Woo hoo!

So, I run around and take some pictures. All is good. Get home, check my emails, and my Flickr stuff, of course. And hey! New comments on my pictures!

So, I check them out. And I've got a new comment from Southern Minnesota magazine! Seems that they want to use one of my pictures in an upcoming issue! Woo hoo! Published! The image they are going to use is the one below- the wind turbines in southern Minnesota.



Then, on Saturday, I get up early to go shoot some pictures of C, a little guy whose Mom works with Becky's friend, Sarah. I wake up to a great morning - sunshine, and decent temperatures. I headed to their home, and started taking pictures. After it was all said and done, I took over 800 pictures of the little guy! We had a blast - pumpkin patch, the park, and playing with leaves in his front yard.

Sunday was the "relaxing" day. We took it easy, and I finished processing the pictures I took from Saturday, and generated the online gallery for the family to check out. It was a blast to shoot this little guy - he loved playing and running all over the place, and didn't mind to get his picture taken so much!

Shoot! Shoot! Shoot!

Shooting. I picked up the Nikon Nikkor 50mm 1.8 lens on Monday afternoon. Why? I was asked by a co-worker, who is part owner of Senor Wong's in St. Paul, to take some pictures of food for him. He was really looking for the shallow DoF, which I can get somewhat with the 18-200, but I wanted it to be REALLY noticeable. So I went to National Camera, and picked it up. The pictures turned out pretty well, mostly because of the lens. I didn't even put any other lens on the camera - just kept the 50mm on, and it worked out beautifully. I have 5 pictures on my Flickr stream, and I think they turned out pretty nice. And I even got to keep the food!

It will also come in handy this weekend, when I shoot pictures of the toddler C. C is the son of a woman who works with one of Becky's friends. She saw some of the pictures I took at a "Welcome Home" party that was at their house, and liked how they turned out. So, I get to take some fall pictures of her son in different places this Saturday morning. So, I'm hoping that it will pay itself off in the long run. And as it wasn't that expensive of a lens in the first place, I'm really hoping it won't take long.

Another weekend...

In the bag. I was supposed to go out shooting the hot air balloons at Aamodt's Apple Farm in Stillwater with Kellie and Kyle, but the weather didn't cooperate, so we moved onto other places.

We stopped at the waterfalls that I wanted to go to, but Kellie decided she didn't feel like climbing.

So, we moved to Arcola Mills. Unfortunately, they had the gate closed and padlocked. Bummer.

At that point, I decided to bring them to the "secret" bridge location. I've been talking to the woman who owns the property the bridge is on, and we get along great. She told me last time I was there that I "could bring anyone I wanted to there". So, we went.

We ended up heading back up to Arcola Mills again, to check if they opened up yet, but they did not. We went to Joseph's for breakfast, and MK met us there.

I'm itching to get out and shoot the fall colors. I've been checking the MN DNR site to see where the colors are, and what percentage they are turned. It is a pretty cool site. I've got a location in particular I want to shoot at, so I'm waiting for the map to be updated for that area, and I'm heading out.

Has it been a week already?

Wow. Time sure does fly by lately.

On the photo front, I did take a bunch of pictures this weekend. Posted most of them on Flickr. Upon checking my Flickr stats this morning, I found a website that linked an image of mine to a blog they have. While I usually wouldn't have a problem with this, asking me about it first is something that people need to do. Flickr isn't just a "free" photo site, especially when I have all of my photos marked "all rights reserved". Simply asking me about it first would have prevented me from downloading the hi-res version, and replacing it with the same picture, so the image now shows up as "this image is not currently available" on their site.

Going to be shooting some this weekend too. We'll see how that turns out. Also going to meet up with a bunch of people I used to hang out with BITD on Friday night. Should be interesting, as I haven't seen most of them for over 15 years.

Another Update

I've been having issues with shooting lately. I can't seem to get the one lens I have wide enough to fit whatever I'm shooting into the frame without getting a bunch of stuff in the frame with it. the lens I have is the 18-200mm VR, and for some of the stuff I've shot recently (Stella Maris Chapel and the old bridge) ,I really wanted to get in closer, but couldn't, because of the lens limitations. Researching online, I realized I needed a wider-angle lens. Checking my options, I decided on saving up for the 10-20mm Sigma 4-5.6 lens. I can use it for funky close-ups, and use it to fit in scenes that I want to capture still. I was going to save up for it, and I did - I had $300 towards it within a couple weeks (sold some prints, sold some skateboard stuff that was collecting dust). Digging around on Flickr, I came across a "for sale" posting in the Nikon D300 group. And of course, someone in Chicago had the exact lens I was looking for, used for a short time, for about $100 less than a new one would go for.

So I jumped on it. It arrived yesterday. I haven't had much of a chance to play with it, but from what I've seen so far, it's going to be a fun little lens.

I've also been shooting the old bridge. I can't say much about it, as I told the person who currently owns it (it is on her property) that I wouldn't talk much about it. But, it's an amazing bridge that she is trying to get restored to the original state. The problem is, local kids seem hell bent on destroying it. They trespass on her land, and try to kick some of the limestone blocks off of it, and even place M-80s in parts of the arch to try to blow it up. Yes, kids will be kids, but you'd think that even after a talking to the parents, they'd stop. And the more traffic the bridge gets, the more she fears it will be damaged and unrepairable. So I've been very quiet as to where it actually is, but have taken a bunch of pictures of it.

New Lens!

I've finally broke down and decided I needed a second lens. There have been too many shots that I cannot seem to get as I can't get the lens I have (18-200) wide enough.

I was going to buy a brand new Sigma 10-20mm. I've been looking at the camera porn sites all week.

Checking Flickr, in the D300 or the D200/300 usergroups, there is a posting of stuff for sale. A guy in Chicago has the exact lens for sale, for $100 less than the online stores. I thought about it and thought about it. Since I emailed someone on Craigslist yesterday in MN about one, and he sold his already, and it was the same price, I decided to pull the trigger.

It will ship out UPS on Monday, and should be here by weeks' end for sure, as it is only coming from Chicago. Woo hoo! Can't wait to play with this one.

Some Answers, No Pictures

I didn't take one picture this weekend. Not one. I did get out and hit the range with Shawn and then played 9 holes at the executive course at Oak Glen. Didn't to the best, but not the worst either. Sort of what I expected after my third time at the range this year. Not really feeling the golf thing this year either - while it was fun to get out and catch up with Shawn, golfing wasn't that exciting. Not sure what's going on with that, as I use to play a bunch every year.

We are going to go to Door County in Wisconsin this coming up weekend for a short vacation. We are planning on taking Becky's car, but Bill and Vicki came up this past weekend and mentioned that we could take their van instead. Something to think about, but it would mean them coming up Friday night so we can leave Saturday morning for the trip. We'd have more room, and Madeline loves that van, as it has a built-in DVD player she likes to use. Hopefully I'll be able to take a bunch of pictures this weekend to make up for the lack of pictures this past weekend.

We also got an email last night from MK, who took Madeline's 3-year pictures for us. The rest of our proofs were ready, and we could check them out online. MK is an incredible photographer, and has a great way with kids. Madeline takes a while to warm up to people, but she did much faster with MK than anyone else. The hard part now is to figure out what pictures we want, which I leave up to my ever-wonderful wife. As long as there is one for my desk, I'm fine with whatever she picks out.

What a Weekend!

Had a busy weekend that started one day early.

Friday morning, MK came over to take Madeline's pictures. She showed up at 9 a.m., and stayed until 1 p.m. MK also has a Flickr site, with lots of more great photos. She's posted up a couple of the shots for us to check out, and Becky and I are both excited about how they are turning out. MK has a great eye for a shot and processing. We can't wait for the rest of them!

Also on Friday, we went to Back to the 50's at the State Fairgrounds. Every year, thousands of vintage cars are brought to the Minnesota State Fairgrounds for display and good times. Becky and I sort of figured it out - it's almost like the State Fair, but with cool cars and less people. Oh, don't get me wrong - there were tons of people there, but the crowds were much smaller than the average State Fair outing. Plus, you could get your Sweet Martha's cookies, and then go have some cheese curds. Most of the food booths were open for business.

Another Crazy Weekend

We packed up the car and headed down to Story City, Iowa this past weekend. Becky's sister lives there with her new husband, Ryan. We were going to go down on Saturday, but we packed everything up on Friday and took off. Drive down was pretty uneventful.

I was digging around online, trying to see what was around Story City. Seems that we just happened to be going down during their Scandinavian Days celebration. We went to the parade on Saturday morning, where Madeline scored big time with the candy. It also helped that Kristie knew some of the people in the parade, and she just gave them a little wave, and they tossed a ton of candy our way. I've got a couple of pictures up from the parade on my Flickr site.

I ended up heading out to shoot some when Madeline and Becky went down for a nap. I found the old carousel, which was built in 1913. Took a bunch of shots of that, but only liked a couple.

Decided to then go across Broad Street, and check out the swing bridge they have over the Skunk River. It flooded pretty badly there a few days prior, but the river was going down, and it was only a little muddy to get to the actual swing bridge.

It stormed pretty badly Saturday night/Sunday morning. We got up, and packed our stuff up, and left before 1 p.m. Once we got to Broad Street, which connects Story City to the interstate, we saw the results from the previous night's storm. Water, several inches high, was rushing across Broad Street. The bridge I took pictures of the day before was now under water. The golf course was completely flooded - you could see the flagsticks sticking out of the greens, through several feet of water. One flagstick only stuck up about a foot and a half.

Another Year Older...

Yes, it happened. Again. I'm another year older.

Didn't want much hullabaloo about it at work, but they still got an ice cream cake and a card for me, and everybody sang.

Went out to dinner with Becky and Madeline to Ruby Tuesday, and had the steak and crab cakes. Was decent, but I should have stuck to my original idea, which was one of their prime burgers. Those things are soooo good!

Also looks like we'll be spending a good part of the weekend in Story City, IA, visiting the newlyweds Kristie and Ryan. Story City is having their "Scandinavian Days" this weekend, so it should be a good time.

Super Sunday!

What a day.

Woke up early, and saw it was foggy out. Becky asked me if I was going to go out and shoot. I mumbled something about getting more sleep, and rolled over and fell back asleep.

Woke up again about 45 minutes later. Still foggy. Decided to head to the lift bridge and shoot some pictures.

What a scene! Fog, with the sun popping in, and a boat of fishermen floating in the river. How lucky could I be? I'd soon find out...

Met up with Paul and Karen for a trip to an abandoned river crossing. Rumors that I heard were that it was going to be torn down this summer, so I wanted to get some shots of it and generally check the place out. Turned out pretty nice.

We then headed up to Marine on the St. Croix. I wasn't happy with any of my shots there, but was glad to be out taking pictures. We headed back towards Stillwater, so I could check in with Becky to see how it was going with Madeine - I'd been away for a couple hours, and in Marine, you don't get reception on your cell phone, so I didn't know if I missed a call.

Got back home, and Becky said "Go back out and have fun." So, I headed back out with Karen and Paul. We were talking about heading downtown Stillwater, and I turned to head to my car, and I saw a waver of a hot air balloon over one of the barns at Aamodt's. I freaked. We grabbed our gear, and headed over, just in time to see the first balloon in the air, and we could walk up to the other two. Simply amazing - I finally had not one, but two witnesses about the balloons launching across the street.

So, we headed downtown after many "thank yous" to the balloon crew. Very nice people.

We arrive in downtown Stillwater. Start walking around near the lift bridge, and head down towards the Dock Cafe, to see the paddle boats, which were docked at the time. I notice that the gondola is also docked by the paddle boats. I actually emailed Paul earlier in the week a link to his site. I turn around and look up towards the side road, and lo-and-behold, there is the gondolier, walking towards the docks. What luck! He's waiting for a couple to show up at 7:30 for a ride.

After that, I was ready to throw the camera in the river. What a lucky day! Some great shots, some great company. I left Karen and Paul at the entrance to Brine's restaurant, and headed home to see the family.

One weekend is over, one to come...

What a weekend. Had a Flickrwalk on Saturday night at Harriet Island in St. Paul. There were about 20 people who ended up showing up. Slowly posting some pictures on my Flickrsite.

Becky has even more pictures on her Flickrsite too. Madeline wanted her water table out, so we brought it up to the deck for her to play with. She got completely soaked, but it was expected, since she loves to play in the water.

This coming weekend is Kristie and Ryan's wedding. I'm not the photographer for it (as I don't have the lighting equipment or know-how for shooting a wedding), but I'll be wandering around with my camera and Madeline, as Becky is in the wedding. It's going to be an exciting weekend, but I'll be happy once it is over so things can start returning to "normal" around home.

Today's Update

I went out and shot with TBoard this morning. We met near the Robert Street bridge, and walked around for about 45 minutes. There is so much to shoot down there!

Becky also updated her Flickr photos. You can see them here. Madeline is getting so big! And she talks about EVERYTHING. She's been a lot of fun and a happy kid.

Flickrwalks

I've been going on Flickrwalks lately to take pictures of areas I usually wouldn't travel to for pictures.

What exactly is a Flickrwalk, you say? Well, let me explain it to you.

I'm on the photo sharing site called Flickr. You can find a link to my pictures in my "links" section. Within the Flickr site, you can join different "groups", There are groups for the Twin Cities, Stillwater, The Beauty of St. Paul, and more. The most active one that I'm on is probably the Twin Cities group.

This group gets together at different locations across the Twin Cities, and we all walk around that subject and take pictures. The first one I was on was the Landmark Center in downtown St. Paul. I've been to the Lake Harriet walk, The Mill City Ruins/Stone Arch Bridge walk, and most recently, the Hennepin Avenue bridge walk.

They do get pretty interesting, especially when you get a large group together, like the last one was. I think there were over 25 people, which was the largest one I've been on. I ended up walking around by myself, only because I had my own agenda as to what I wanted to shoot.

I ended up posting up to Flickr 9 of the shots that I took that night. I think I shot just over 200 pictures. I usually pick out what I think is the best, then let Becky check them out, and we narrow it down even more. I thought 9 was pretty good, for having a new camera and running around near the river.

New to this...

Well, I finally decided to break down and start my own blog, with content from my photography hobby/business and family.

I shoot with a Nikon D300, which is a upgrade from my Olympus E-Volt E500. The Olympus was great, but after talking to my wife, we decided that it was time to upgrade and see where this takes me.

I have my own website now, which is: www.davidaparker.com. I have contact information and general info about me on it, and some of my photos. If you are looking for a more extensive gallery, you can check out my pictures on flickr, at www.flickr.com/photos/daveaparker/.