Long time, no posts

Been a crazy summer.

I've done a few photo shoots of kids this summer. I did a few last year, but more this year. The kids are always fun and interested in the camera, so it ends up being fun for everyone.

Still have images up at Shane's on Main in downtown Stillwater. Shane has been cool about keeping the stuff up, as he is having problems finding a new artist to take the main spot in the restaurant. Which works out great for me, as I have 12 photos at the main door at his restaurant.

Which brings me to the next installation. I installed 8 photos at New Beginnings Spa on Snelling and Grand Avenue in St. Paul. They are about a block and a half east down Grand, and have several artists' work installed upstairs. I have a wall in the yoga room.

I'll be taking down 8 of my images that are at Shane's this week, or early next week. I'll be installing September 2nd at The Women's Center at Lakeview Hospital in Stillwater. I had some images up there last year, and was asked to return. Always a good feeling to be asked back again. The sad part is that I've had my images at Shane's for so long, and it's been a great place to have them displayed. I should be able to have four images up there still, but we'll see what Shane wants to do. He's got plenty of existing art in the restaurant, but fresh art is always welcome.

After the images at New Beginnings come down, which is 45 days after installation, I'll be installing at Dunn Bros. Coffee Shop in Stillwater. They mentioned the first of September, but I won't be able to take my art down at the spa until the 4th, so I'll have to clear that up with Dunn Bros. before I install. I'm sure the current artist won't mind a couple of extra days. Plus, I need to check out the space there and see what I can hang, and where.

So, I haven't been able to get out and take much of the "creative" shots I like to shoot. I've got a few places I'd like to go soon, and when fall rolls around, even more spots to go shoot.

And I need to hook up with fellow photographer Chad, to find a barn so he can shoot a car at.

Summertime Blues

Well, not really. But just busy, busy, and more busy. Madeline is turning 4 soon, and Evan is 2 months old soon. Kids are keeping me busy, but I'm getting out to shoot too.

Did a photo shoot with a family last Saturday at Como Park. Had a great time. The boy was very fun and excited about everything, which made my job that much easier - no coaxing out a smile!

Been taking a bunch of pictures out and about with the family. We went to Mankato on Sunday to meet Becky's Mom and Grandma, and we played at a park there - Sibley Park, I think it was. Petting zoo, lots of playground equipment. Took some shots of the flowers around the park, and lots of our kids.

No new camera gear...yet. Been thinking about some f2.8 lenses, and getting rid of a couple of lenses and my flash. But nothing concrete yet.

Still have my work on display at Shane's on Main in downtown Stillwater. My work was supposed to be moved towards the back of the restaurant next week, but the artist who was going to come in and take the front spot postponed, so my work is still up. Woo hoo! And it will be there during Lumberjack Days, which is also coming up soon. I did sell another print there; the Balloon Eclipse. Very cool that people like what I'm doing. I always have to re-fill my business cards when I go in there every week, so I know that people are interested.

Summertime

Here it is, summertime. Still have not got out too much to shoot due to the expanded family. Witgh the 4th of July coming up this weekend, I'm hoping to get out and try to shoot some fireworks for the first time.

More gear arrived for me since I posted last. I picked up a used Nikon N50 film body for $14, and completed my tripod with a Giottos ball head. Pretty happy with the ball head and leg combo that I assembled, but we'll have the ultimate test when I try longer exposures and see how it holds up.

I have a shoot scheduled for July 11th. I'll be taking pictures of one of my wife's friends co-workers' son. Long connection, but it works. We're meeting at a very kid-friendly place, and hopefully will get some great shots of him for his 3rd birthday.

I also still have my work up at Shane's on Main in downtown Stillwater. With the tourist season getting busy down there, hopefully I'll sell a few more images.

Back Home

I'm back! We brought a baby boy into the world on May 19th. Things are a bit up in the air at home, but we'll sort it all out and get back into a routine.

As for shooting, I've been able to get out a bit here and there. Updates are on Flickr.

What is it about summer that ramps up the entries for competitions and such? The Washington County Fair fine arts registration is coming up; I'm going to be entering a photo into the competition. Also, the Minnesota State Fair fine arts competition is taking applications, as of which I'll also be entering. Phipps Center for the Arts in Hudson is also holding their annual call for artists, which I'm working on getting my submission together for that.

Not sure if I mentioned it, but I sold a copy of my "Sunrise on the Corn Crib" shot at Shane's On Main in Stillwater. I replaced it with a shot from my trip to The Badlands, and found out on Monday that that particular image has also sold, and will be picked up on Saturday. Nice start to the summer; let's hope I can keep it up! I've already got the image to replace it; the image that I thought it was originally.

I'll be helping out a fellow photographer early Saturday morning down by Northfield. He's got a paid car shoot, and I'll be driving his car so he can shoot out of the back of the hatch and get some rolling shots.

The hot air balloons have been launching across the street again this summer. Every time they launch, I seem to be busy with something else to go over. Hopefully I'll be able to get over there again and get some more shots of the balloons. I keep on trying to get one specific shot, but I can't get it. I'll just have to keep trying. :-)

Out for a while...

If you didn't know, my wife and I had our second child last week. Evan was born Tuesday, weighing in at 8 pounds and 21 inches long. So, I'm off work for a total of two weeks, and most likely will not be updating my blog too much within those two weeks.

I'm still planning on shooting a lot this summer, but need to focus on the family for a bit first. Thanks!

Weekend Outing

I was able to get out a bit on Saturday and go shoot. I actually organized a group of people from the PhotoMN forum to go out and shoot a few different places. Most of the guys that went along are car photographers, although I think that JP does a lot of wedding stuff, and Stephanie does a lot of nature stuff too.

It was a good time. Chad, Michael and Stephanie showed up at my place right before 2 p.m. JP and Matt called; they were riding together, and would be about 25 minutes late. We decided to just meet up at the first location, which happened to be the farthest out; Cascade Falls in Osceola, Wisconsin.

The falls are VERY accessible. You can actually walk right up to them, and if you wanted to, have the water pour on your head. You can also, to a point, walk behind them. We ended up staying there about an hour and a half, which was longer than I thought we would. Being that I am on borrowed time (wife is due with baby #2, and she's 38 weeks into it, with a 3 1/2 year old at home), I figured we better get a run out to the next location: the old bridge.

The old bridge is the oldest standing bridge in Minnesota. It's also on private property, but I've got to know the landowner quite well, and I can come and go as I please, and bring whomever I want to. It was a good time: I had remembered to pack my wading boots, so a few people switched in and out of them to walk in the creek and get some good angles.

Before I knew it, it was 5:30pm; time to head home and make sure everything was okay. Stephanie and Michael came with me: Chad, JP and Matt went to find a field they had passed on the way back to shoot it.

Overall, it went well. I think everyone was happy with the locations, and felt that they were good spots to find. I do wish that we had more time, as I wanted to check out a barn or two also, but we made good with the time we had.

To The Badlands, and Back

I left with a group of three other photographers last Thursday morning to head to The Badlands of South Dakota. My only experience with this area was when we packed up Vicki's van and headed the family to see Kristie in Montana. We had what? 7 people, including a baby, in the van? I think that's right. My only memories of it was that I'd been to Wall Drug, and actually didn't remember much else of the area.

I got the new minivan ready and packed on Wednesday night, with what I could pack up. Thursday morning, I got up about 4:30 a.m., and got ready. I was on the road by 5, after saying a hard "goodbye" to my wife. I always have a hard time saying goodbye to her.

I hit the road, and picked up Wayne at his home, in Eagan. The plans had already changed; Bob, who was supposed to meet us at a church in Apple Valley on Johnny Cake Ridge Road, had his wife drop him off at Wayne's place. Cool! One less stop. We loaded up the van with their stuff, and we headed to Barry's place, about 10-15 minutes across Eagan.

We got on the road quickly. When it usually takes me about 3 1/2 hours to get to Jackson, we were there by 8:30 a.m., when we left at 6 a.m. The South Dakota border wasn't far away either; before I knew it, we passed Sioux Falls too. We did stop at a few places; mainly to get gas in the van and stretch out a bit.

Our first main stop was at a rest stop on the Missouri River. Barry and I ended up walking around a bit and took some pictures of the rail bridge and the tee pee at the rest area. Seems that many of South Dakota's fine rest stops have the tall, concrete tee pees at them. We ate sandwiches that we brought along, and all had a good stretch and a break from the road.

On the road again, we came across Oakaton. The road signs advertise that they have a gas station, but like most of Oakaton, it was closed. The town is pretty much a ghost town; and at one point, they tried to market towards that fact. There is a building that even says "Ghost Town Merchandising Company", that was boarded up too. We spent a good amount of time shooting the old grain elevator, abandoned homes and a few vehicles that were lying around in fields. I even ended up getting sunburned there, as my hat and any short sleeved shirts were packed in my bag in the back of the van. It got up to 90 degrees out on Thursday.

We eventually rolled into Wall, South Dakota. As most of you know, Wall is known for one thing: Wall Drug. Very overly-marketed Wall Drug. I considered on counting the Wall Drug signs we saw on the way out, but I don't think I could count that high.

We checked into our hotel; the Best Western Plains. Very nice staff, very nice and clean rooms. We did not check out the indoor pool, even though it had one. Rooms smelled clean and fresh, even though they were not laid out the best. No big deal; our plans were to be in them only when we needed to sleep. We were here to shoot!

After about an hour of rest, we re-loaded up the van and headed into The Badlands National Park. A mere $15 entrance fee, you have access to the park for a week, 24 hours a day. Not a bad deal!

We drove maybe 4 miles into the park, and stopped. We all jumped out at one of the overlooks, and started shooting. What an incredible place! I couldn't believe all of the colors and textures. And it got better! A cold front started rolling in, and gave us some great clouds. After several hundred shots, and a few more stops, including the town of Interior, we packed up back into the van and headed back to the hotel. They have free wi-fi, so I was able to log on, process some images, and upload them to Flickr.

We woke up Friday morning to cold weather. We ate breakfast at Wall Drug; they have a decent breakfast menu for a good price. I had scrambled eggs, bacon and toast for $6. The skies were not as forgiving with the "good light", but I still took a ton of photos, with more exploring around the area. I'm glad I brought several layers of clothes, as it didn't get above 37 degrees out on Friday. Wayne was a bit disappointed; he wanted better skies, but the sky was not cooperating.

We hiked up a trail; Saddle Pass Trail. The map said it was "strenuous", but only .25 of a mile long. What it doesn't tell you is that it is up a side of one of the hills. I got to the top, walked around a bit, and decided I needed to get back down. My legs were sore, I was out of breath, and just felt that I was a bit too high up. So, I looked around, and everyone else was gone. I headed back down by myself, and made it to the bottom.

The story I heard after Barry, Wayne and Bob came back down was they thought I may have fallen down one of the many cliffs. Barry and Wayne both saw someone who looked like me (black jacket, khaki pants), walking off in the opposite direction. Apparently, they called after the other guy, and started walking after him, trying to figure out where I went.

I ended up seeing Bob at the top, and he called down to me. Funny thing; you can hear people talking at the tops of the hills when you're at the bottom. I waved back to Bob, and he called Barry on his cell phone to say he found me. I wasn't exactly lost; I just needed to get to the bottom of the hills. I ended up resting for a while, and I called my wife on the phone. We had a good chat; she helped calm me down a bit and I started feeling better.

More shooting, more driving around. We hit up a place called The Cactus Bar and Grill in town, and I had a decent dinner: cheeseburger and fries. Headed back to the hotel room, and processed more photos.

Saturday we woke up to 2+ inches of snow. Snow! Amazing. We headed into the Badlands again, and found some fun shots with the snow before it all melted away. Being an overcast day again, with no good light, we decided to head to Mount Rushmore.

I've never been to Mount Rushmore. I've of course, seen photos, but never made the trip. After about an hour and a half, we pulled into the parking lot at the National Monument. There was a good number of people there still, even though it was only about 40 degrees out. Unfortunately, the walking trails around the monument were all closed, so we couldn't get any closer to it than the band shell below. I ended up finding Becky a shirt there, and Barry and I started shooting the entrance; with the state flags and the tall granite posts. As soon as we started shooting, the whole area cleared out, except for one guy. This guy was really, really cool; he realized what we were doing, and voluntarily got out of the way of the shots. I couldn't believe our luck! We had the whole granite entryway to ourselves, without any people to interfere with the shot.

We packed up into the van, and headed back to Wall, after stopping at Arbys for lunch. I keep on forgetting that their food isn't that great, and I should make some better decisions about what I eat.

We went back to The Cactus for dinner again, but didn't travel out to take any photos. Before dinner, I found Wayne and Bob down in the lobby on the shared computers. Wayne was showing the ladies who worked at the hotel my shots from Friday that I posted up. They loved them! One of them actually ordered a print, so I'm excited about that. The three ladies were talking to each other after we left, and the one who ordered a print said "I wonder if he'd trade a night for a print." Of course, Wayne and everyone else took it as a "night with her", instead of a "room for a night", which is what she meant. We all had a good laugh about it in the end.

We woke up Sunday, with the plan that if it was not sunny out, we'd pack up the van and head back home. And, like the previous two days, it was not sunny, but probably grayer than the previous two days. We hit Wall Drug one last time for breakfast (breakfast buffet!), and checked out of the hotel room. No big stops for photos, we ended up getting back into town about 4, and after I dropped everyone off at their homes, I got home about 5:30 p.m.

It was a fun trip, and I'd do it all again. the driving got to be a bit much, but I never complained or had someone else drive, and all three of the other guys volunteered to drive at different times, and I turned them down.

Short Week

Looks like it's going to be a short week for me. I'm working until Wednesday, and then heading out to The Badlands with three other photographers for a few days of shooting. I'm driving, even though another guy has a mini van also. I'm the furthest from the meeting place for us to all get together and carpool out there, so it just made sense.

The only hard part is trying to plan out everything. I've got my hiking boots, a flashlight (as it will be a new moon this weekend), a hat, and various clothing items ready to go. It's supposed to be warm Thursday and Friday, with a light chance of rain on Saturday, but cooler.

This is my first "real" photo trip; a trip planned to just go somewhere and take pictures. I've got my camera gear all charged up, my phone will be charged, and hopefully everything else will be planned out perfectly. My next posting will be after I get back, so check Flickr for new photos next week!

Another Weekend in the Country

I was fortunate to be able to get out and shoot this past weekend. We spent the holiday at my in-laws, in southwestern Minnesota. I've posted 8 of my shots from this weekend so far, and will be posting more as I get them processed. Had some good light on Saturday evening, so we'll have to see how those work out.

Less than two weeks until the Badlands trip! Going to be a good time, and lots of hiking. Hopefully everything will be good at home and on the trip, as I always worry whenever we go out on a trip like this, or I leave the Wife, and the Pre-schooler at home. Luckily, my mother-in-law will be up to help out at home.

Did I mention I picked up a new lens? I don't remember, and I'm too lazy to check back and see. It's a Sigma 28-80mm with a macro switch. I've posted up some shots of the flowers I tried it out with on Flickr a bit back. Fun lens, and much less than the cost of the filters I was looking at getting to do the same thing.

It's Over!

Saturday came up very quickly. The event at Shane's on Main was a blast. Lots of people came out just to see me! Thank you to everyone who showed up, and thanks to Shane at Shane's on Main for hosting the event. I had a good time talking to everyone, and before I knew it, it was over.

We ended up going to Bachman's on Saturday morning for their spring opening. My daughter loves everything about it; the flowers, the "plant your own flower", the baby animals. And it helped take my mind off of the afternoon event, so it worked out. I did bring my camera, and took a bunch of macro shots with my Sigma 28-80mm lens that I just picked up. There are several of them posted up on Flickr now.

On other topics, it looks like I'll be heading to the Badlands at the end of the month. A co-Flickr-ite asked me a while back about going, and after this weekend, my wife gave me the hall pass to go.

And I need to get a handful of photos together, and write an artists' statement for another possible adventure. It keeps on growing!

Couple of Days Left Until...

The big opening at Shane's on Main in Stillwater. Like I've probably said before, I've got a dozen images up on the walls in Shane's restaurant. From 3-7pm on Saturday, come down to downtown Stillwater and hang out with some great people, great food and great photography!

Need to get out and shoot more. The weather hasn't been co-operating at all; in fact, it snowed this morning, and is pretty dreary out right now. Plus, two times I did not have my camera, I've seen Bald Eagles flying around. One was right by the US Bank in Stillwater near Cub. The other was on 244 by Mahtomedi, on one of the ponds. It was eating some sort of creature; I couldn't tell if it was a fish or an animal. Either way, I could have filled up the viewfinder with the bird if I had the camera along with me. I'll just have to remember to bring it with me everywhere, for the shots that just happen along for me.

I'm actually just hoping that the weather finally co-operates, and things can get warm again. Otherwise, I'll have to break down and take pictures of the psycho robin that keeps on trying to get into my neighbor's front door. It's been there for about 3 days now - flying at the door, not hitting it, but then back to the tree, or the sidewalk. And up again, and back again. It does take a break for a drink now and then, but it goes right back at it.

Preparing

I'm still in prep mode for the opening at Shane's on Main on April 4th. Working on getting some new business cards, printing out order forms, and I created and dropped off a pile of fliers for the event with Shane on Tuesday. Still nervous, but excited, about the whole thing. Hope all goes well; I'm hoping for the best!

Haven't got out too much to shoot lately. I've been planning and preparing for the opening, and between work and home life, I haven't had much of a chance to get out. Maybe I'll get out this weekend; I've got a list again of places I want to shoot more of, or visit for the first time. With the snow almost gone, all sorts of places open up now.

Friday Already?

Jeesh. What happened to this week? It's already Friday.

Good news. Along with the 12 images I have on display at Shane's on Main in downtown Stillwater, Shane wants to have a showing/opening for me. Right now, it looks like it will be April 4th, which is a Saturday. Nervous as all get out, but we'll see how it goes. Can't find out unless I try, so I'm going to see what happens. Hopefully, we'll have a full house, and it will draw attention to my photography, and bring business to Shane's place. I'm looking for a win-win on this, and with the date coming up fast, I need to start planning on getting an invite out and figuring out what times to be there.

Been trying to get out and shoot more. Really, I have. Spring seems to be just around the corner, then gets pushed away with more snow. I'm hoping to get out and shoot more when it warms up, as it isn't fun to lug around 20+ pounds of camera gear and a thick winter jacket, with gloves, a scarf, and a hat. And if it is cold enough, hand and foot warmers too. I need to hit up the old bridge again, and see how the thaw is going after this weekend. I'd ideally have a layer of snow still around it, with the water running down the creek, but we'll see what happens. The owner has always been really cool about allowing me access to the bridge, so it's been fun to get out there and shoot it in all sorts of weather.

I keep on looking at new lenses. I'm eyeing a 200-500mm Tamron right now. It isn't the fastest lens (I think it is F4.0/5.6, but I'm not 100% sure), but it is less than most of the "primes" that are out there, which are around a F2.8, and $5k for a price tag. I keep on hoping for that Nikon/Tamron/Sigma sponsorship, but I don't even know where to start with that, if such a thing even exists.

Been listening to a lot of the old 80's music I used to listen to. The Cure, Depeche Mode, The Replacements, Porcelain Boys. The old 80's new wave/punk stuff. Lots of Clash lately too. As for reading, I just finished re-reading the last Harry Potter book - book 7, the Deadly Hallows. I'm a geek, yes. But they're well written, and I like the storyline. I've moved onto 1984 now, buy George Orwell. I don't recall reading it ever for any high-school course, so I'm going to check it out.

I also got my first DVD about strobist shots, and doing portrait work. It's supposed to be a fairly educational disk set, once it is finished. I haven't had a chance to watch much of the first disk yet, but we'll see what happens this weekend.

March Already?

I went out and shot some around St. Paul. Finally made it to the Seventh Street Improvement Arches. Construction on them started in 1883, and finished in 1884. They have this cool helicoidal design, which makes the bricks that it is made out of spiral around. I wanted to go exploring around the trails a bit more, but would rather do it in a group. Maybe that's a good Flickrwalk idea -the arches and then the following trails around them.

Putting up my work at Shane's on Main has been delayed. I called Shane last night, to confirm that I was to come out, and he forgot he had to pick up his sister and her husband from the airport. So we re-scheduled for tonight. I'm going to try to remember to take some pictures again.

That's about all I've got so far for this week. We'll have to see how the week goes and maybe blog more later.

New Places to Check Out My Work.

Couple of new things popped up recently.

One of the guys on photomn.com started up a local artists site. It is called MN Pixels, and I have a photo up there. Check it out - it's a pretty cool site. And if you're a local artist, join up!

The other new thing that is happening is Shane's on Main in downtown Stillwater. I met with Shane, the owner, this past week. After talking to him about my photography, and checking out his restaurant, he said that he would like to display some of my work at his place. Sweet! So, I ordered some prints, and need to get some framing done, but it looks like there will be about 10-12 photos of mine on display there. There is another "opportunity", involving Shane, but I'll blog about that when that time comes around. I'm hoping it works out, because this "other" thing could be cool in several different ways.

Went out and shot with Shawn this past weekend. We wandered around Hudson, and ended up finding a large group of Trumpeter Swans "pairing up" for the season, floating in the St. Croix. There were a couple of other photographers there; one had a Canon, the other had a Nikon D300 like mine. They had some HUGE lenses on their cameras though, with the whole "camo" kit on them. Pretty sure they were pro nature/wildlife photographers, but we didn't talk, so we'll never find out. I'm going to guess that the lenses they had on their cameras were 300 or 400mm F2.8-ish, which would work out great for the swans. I only had my 18-200mm, which did work good, but a longer, faster lens would be nice. Too bad they are so expensive, or I'd pick one up. :D