An old car kind of weekend

Posted on September 10, 2017 by Clint

A friend of mine had posted a picture of an old abandoned car recently that caught my eye not just because of the car body, but because of the unique landscape behind it. He’d been roaming and had no specific idea where he took the photo, so I thought I’d go hunting. I knew which county it was in and a general orientation, so I did some research on Google Earth and headed out. I caught a few surprises along the way, including some vehicles – which I’ll focus on here (pun intended).

This is the first shot of the morning. We had layered fog and some wild clouds, too…so the rising sun made for a pretty spectacular morning. This is actually a drone photo, as I tend to use UAS cameras for shots even as low as 18 inches if necessary.

Next was this old guy, sitting next to a garage on a parcel of land I have wanted to photograph for two years. I got the owner’s contact information in March of 2016 but was reluctant to call for permission last year because of all the NODAPL jackholes roaming Morton County last year and the increased fire danger this year. Today was a beautiful day, I called and got permission, and the rest is history.

This little guy is on that same property. I took a few different angles, but this is the one that worked out the best. Morton County is so beautiful that I have to make sure to show some of those rolling hills in the background.

This truck isn’t going anywhere, at least until someone spoons some tires onto those rims. It was fenced in with a bunch of cows anyway, and they seemed completely uninterested in the truck or me.

This is the vehicle I wanted to find. See why the background caught my eye? Very reminiscent of the Badlands.

One more, although you can imagine I shot tons of different angles. The ground had begun swalowing up this car’s frame and floorboards. With such amazing terrain on all sides it was a regular smorgasbord of photo opportunities.

I had a blast working my way around south central Best Dakota, then bolted home for tacos. What a fantastic way to spend my Saturday!

And the sound of air horns was heard by all

Posted on May 23, 2017 by Clint

Last weekend Main Street in Mandan was home to Touch a Truck, put on by the Mandan Progress Association. If you were coming into Mandan from the east and didn’t know what the heck the DOT sign flashing “TOUCH TRUCKS AHEAD” meant, your confusion probably only lasted a moment until you saw all the crane booms up ahead.

There were all kinds of trucks and various other equipment, with the cranes being the most prominent. There were road striping trucks, sanitation trucks, bucket trucks, the works.

Of course, one doesn’t have to be a piece of heavy equipment or possess hydraulics with super powers to be an awesome truck. The Bookmobile was there, too. And it looked like it was getting a lot of attention from the kids.

See the giant crane? Well, each of the four hydraulic cylinders holding it in the air is fed by a trio of the tiny little metal elbows you can see me pointing at on the left. Crazy.

My favorite thing about the cranes, how they hoist Old Glory. The colors were on display and waving in the breeze.

Tractors and other big equipment was present as well. They may not have air horns like some of the other trucks, but they have plenty of stuff to climb on and buttons to push.

Then there were the mini excavators, which were a hit. I think there was a line to see them at one point.

This is only a drill. There, I did it. You can’t stop me. My kids don’t think I’m funny either.

Balloon animals were available, or in the case of my kids balloon swords. Guess how long those lasted before popping in battle. En garde!

Another attraction that amounts to playing in the box the toy came in: These sections of conduit were a hit with the kids, who climbed in and promptly insisted their parents roll them around on the grass. Yes, I did it too…rolling, not climbing inside.

These guys are heroes every time I place an order with B&H or Amazon.com. Note the flag in the background.

I never get tired of shots like this. The weather was perfect, the skies cleared enough to give me a sunburn by the end of the day, and the breeze kept everything comfortable and the flags waving.

One time my kids saw me running camera for a monster truck show, getting closeups of giant trucks doing wheelies and burnouts. The next day my wife took them to watch me on a rooftop, shooting video and stills of a helicopter doing touch-n-go’s on a helipad. When I was tucking them in, I asked if they thought their Daddy had a pretty cool job. “Yeah,” was the reply, “But did you know that Uncle [my brother-in-law] is a mailman?” He’d subbed in our neighborhood and let them walk his route with him for a bit, totally stealing my thunder.

It’s a small crane, but the kids got to operate it…lifting and moving a small load using the tethered controller.

This gives a whole new meaning to the term “Boom town”, doesn’t it? I just made that up right now as I’m typing. Seriously.

I bet I could set off these scales nowadays…I need to bike more and shovel less food into my head. But when I keep coming up with things like blueberry ice cream float recipes, that isn’t very easy. Actually, these scales did weigh my kids, so they don’t just work for heavy things.

This was a fantastic event, with lots of fun for kids and big kids. I sure hope they do this again next year! I may bring ear plugs next time, though, because they let the kids tug the air horns in the trucks. It was a wonderful cacophony, don’t get me wrong, but they get pretty loud!

Hornets visit Bismarck-Mandan in February (updated)

Posted on February 4, 2017 by Clint

I got a tip that a group of F-18s were inbound for Bismarck yesterday, so I took a long lunch break to wait for them to arrive. I love few things as much as military aircraft, despite being afraid of flying myself.

Aren’t they breathtaking? There was a group of seven of them en route to Washington state, returning from a few weeks in Florida. A friend of mine who moved up here from Pensacola said he got to see F-18s in the air all the time. That’d be amazing, until you’re trying to take a nap with the Sound of Freedom roaring overhead.

Three of the planes stopped in Sioux Falls, but four of them were able to come to the Bizzo and tank up on fuel from Executive Air and pizza from A&B (of course). If you were only in North Dakota for an hour or two and wanted pizza, wouldn’t you pick the best too? I actually think it may have been complimentary for them. Awesome.

I watched as one truck was drained dry and another came up to finish the task. Perhaps it’s good that they weren’t trying to top off all seven!

Nice tail. Just sayin’. I’ve been told that these are F-18F Super Hornets, which are two seater models and used for electronic warfare. They’re part of VAQ-129, an Electronic Attack Squadron based out of Whidbey Island naval air station in Puget Sound, Washington.

These pods on the wings house antennae. Lots of ’em, apparently. So since it’s the navy, the wings gotta fold anyway (for carrier space limitations?) but I’m guessing they also want to protect these from damage. I forgot to ask if that’s a secondary reason why they folded ’em up when they parked.

If I was expected to fuel up visiting aircraft on a daily basis, I’d absolutely live for days when a pack of military jets roll in for some juice. I’d probably be humming the Top Gun theme, even though they flew F-14s in the movie.

Love the colors on that bubble. It takes a while to fuel four of these, which thankfully left plenty of time for conversation. A friend’s brother is one of the crew here, so we got to chat him up about the flight. They were all very nice and accommodating.

Joe gives an interview to…somebody. Since I don’t work in television anymore I have no idea who most of the reporters are. I haven’t seen any reports online, and the cameras these days are too small to slap a logo upon, so your guess is as good as mine.

Last one to get gas. Yes, they do actually have Navy credit cards they use to pay for their fuel, one per plane. How’d you like those bonus points?

Then it was time to fire ’em up. What’s cool about these is that they can start themselves; no need for an APU to power ’em up and get the engines turning. No remote starter, though, although we joked about that.

Then, with a wave it was time to roll out, one at a time. They didn’t leave close together, as you can probably tell from the open cockpit in the back. I suppose they bunched up later after everyone was in the air and headed westward.

I took a little ShakyCam™ (I haven’t trademarked that, but I should) video of the arrival and departure. Using a still photo lens not suited for video, I still got some passable results. I do enough video work with actual video cameras that I don’t care to do it with still cameras, but if I do more of this I’ll probably have to nab a stabilizer rig to have with me. Anyway, here’s the video. If you view it full screen it’ll be 1080p.

It has been a LONG time since I’ve been able to get out with my camera. This was incredibly therapeutic, even if it was dreadfully cold outside. Getting some photo time feels GREAT!

Some assembly required

Posted on September 4, 2016 by Clint

Actually, you might be shy a few parts too. This truck cab and fenders are nestled into a hillside along the river, where they enjoy a fantastic view for their retirement. No sign of the rest of it. I bet it was pretty fancy in the day – that yellow is still brilliant after what appears to be a decades-long abandonment!

Forelorn Fireball

Posted on July 19, 2016 by Clint

This is a 1950 Buick Roadmaster, a car known for its Straight Eight, or Fireball Eight, inline eight-cylinder engine. I remember hearing about this engine in the movie Rain Man, when Raymond mentions it. This one sits beside a rural road, its glory days long past.

This car is noteworthy because Buick put those ports on the side of the car to denote power, or something. It’s that distinguishing feature which helps identify the year of the car, because the placement varied from year to year.

I’m not really into classic cars, as nostalgic as I am about other things. I like technology, and hot rods really don’t have it. I can appreciate ’em, don’t get me wrong. They’re especially nice to photograph, especially on a nice, sunny day under a North Dakota prairie sky!

Studebaker sunset

Posted on May 31, 2016 by Clint

I’ve been meaning to get a shot of this old car for quite some time. It sits on my friend’s land, gazing over the prairie. It looks like some bushes have taken root and called it home. I’ve often wished it was facing north so I could do some sort of drive-in theater looking shot when the Northern Lights appear, but a sunset this weekend showed me that it’s in a perfect spot already.

One other good thing about this photo: no ticks, despite wading through the tall grass!

I got its good side

Posted on April 24, 2016 by Clint

Recently I took a trip past my favorite and nearest ghost town, Arena. I stopped to take a shot of this old vehicle propped on its side next to an old outbuilding. I have been to this site many times, but since it’s next to a scenic old abandoned church I never took the time to get a shot of this subject in the right conditions. One other thing is that I never had enough portable off-camera lighting to light the shadow side of the car. Well, that’s no longer the case, and I took the opportunity to flex a few of my new toys to get the shot I always wasnted to get but never had the time for.

Frosty four wheelin’

Posted on February 21, 2016 by Clint

Lately the temperature swings have made for some cool frost. Not the long spiky kind, unfortunately, but frost just the same. This is one knobby on the tire of my truck, and it caught my eye as I was getting ready to head out with my camera the other day. This was before the current warm stretch, of course. I hope I can start getting back out with my camera more, just like the old days…

No free rides

Posted on January 10, 2016 by Clint

I know you’ve seen them: those vinyl letters pasted on the back windows of almost any vehicle sold in Bismarck-Mandan, proclaiming the URL (website address) of the dealership which sold the vehicle. Often they’re very large, almost always they use a rather unattractive font, and they’ve been a pet peeve of mine since they started popping up.

I’d figured that when I found myself in the position of buying a new vehicle, I’d propose that the dealership either remove said decals before I take the vehicle or give me a $300 payment or credit on the vehicle in exchange for leaving the decals on the car for one year. After all, advertising has value. Dealerships pay radio and TV stations to advertise for them. But as a long time advocate of “if you want something done right, do it yourself” I decided not to do so when buying my wife a vehicle recently. Also, the sales person is a friend and I didn’t want to dump that kind of conflict in his lap.

This reminds me of the occasional “offer” I receive – and others in the creative and technical fields receive as well – of doing something either for free or for a ridiculously low fee. Invariably it comes with the promise that “you’ll get your name out there” (without actually saying where “out there” is) as a result of donating my time and work to said offer.

Right. My name is “out there” plenty, and I have more than enough side work (mostly video, sometimes photo) to keep me busy – especially when juggling kids, a new house, and (from 2013-2015) serious health issues. I think I’ll pass on such a promise.

In our photo club people who engage in photography and other pursuits for a living urge up-and-coming photographers to charge what they’re worth. I like to hammer four little words into every such conversation: Your work has value.

So does someone driving around with your website emblazoned across their car window. In fact, there are places that will pay you to put decals on your car and drive around with them. The car dealerships are well aware of what the product on their lots and in their showrooms is worth. They’re not afraid to tell you and charge you accordingly. Therefore they should not be offended if, no hard feelings, you take that new purchase home and promptly scrape off the uncompensated advertising as soon as is convenient. That’s exactly what I did. No hard feelings, but nobody rides for free.

Horribly overdue: Driven by Faith car show

Posted on August 3, 2015 by Clint

A few weeks ago my little guys and I dropped by the Driven by Faith car show in the north lot of BHS, an annual event held for the 11th time by First Lutheran Church. While cars aren’t really my thing (performance motorcycles are), there were a couple of beauties that caught my eye.

Naturally, one of them is a Corvette. What’s really cool about this emblem is that it’s actually domed glass with a “bowl” behind it. Very cool.

Then there’s this Studebaker. Looks like something out of a Pixar movie, eh? And purple…VERY purple.

So I’ve sat on these photos long enough. Now…if I can only get around to my Independence Day parade photos…

Bismarck-Mandan Blog

Photography , musings, and a love of North Dakota

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