I’m clawing my way back – so bring on the windmills

It’s no secret that the photos have been fewer and farther between for quite some time now.  First I and every single member of our family had major health issues to deal with.  Then after we circled the wagons and worked on treatment and healing we took on building a new house, and still have lots of thing in bins and a new Garage Majal to get whipped into shape.  Additionally, my little kids have grown up to a point where they want more Dad time (not as much “Daddy”) and I’ve had a hectic freelance schedule.  Whew.

Well, I decided to knock off a little early on Friday and actually head out with my camera and some new gear I purchased with some of the aforementioned freelance money.  I didn’t want to make a major voyage out of it, but just work the outskirts of town and let the stress of the week melt away.  What better way to get back into the game than to go with my trademark: windmills!  I found a trio of ’em.

 

windmill_36601I have photographed these before, but they do change over time.  This one has lost more than half of the blades but is still standing tall.  I chose not to remove the power lines in the background this time.

 

windmill_36608A wider shot may have portrayed this windmill standing alone in a vacant prairie better, but in reality there was a pole just out of the frame on the left where power comes in…presumably some sort of stock tank heater or something.  The lettering on the vane (yes, that’s what it’s called) says “R. R. HOWELL CO MINNEAPOLIS”.  It’s an interesting Google search if you have time on your hands.

 

sunset_windmill_36661Sunset came quickly, and I once again cashed in on the real Secret of My Success when it comes to photography: being in the right place at the right time, often due to absolute blind luck.  I had a couple of minutes to wait for the sun to set in the silhouette of the water tank next to this windmill, adjusting my tripod to the side periodically to track the sun as it slid down and to the right of the frame.  The way it reflected off the wispy clouds above added to the feel of the shot.

It felt SO good to be out roaming again.  I didn’t even have a potential target when I set out; I just settled on windmills after coming upon the first one.  It was simply therepeutic to get out and start clicking photos again.  All the while I had a Nick Lowe song repeating in the back of my head:

 

I am determined for my own sanity to get out with my cameras more.  Maybe not as much as in the old days, because I want to be a good husband and dad.  Bringing the kids with on my photo trips will help, and maybe even kindle in them a love of roaming photography.  Meanwhile I hope to have more to share than simply political rants, which don’t take much road time at all.  Back to my love of North Dakota and sharing it online.  Maybe the next song going through my head will be Back in the Saddle Again!

Challenge accepted

windmill_29450This goes out to my online pal Jason, who challenged me a while back to deliver a) a windmill photo, and b) a broken-down farm building photo.  What I haven’t posted, due to things being a little busy around here, are my responses – acquired on May 26th, 2014.

First, I’d like to present the windmill above.  This is one of my favorite windmills, but I didn’t just dart out to it in order to satisfy a request.  This was actually on the return leg of the previously posted trip with my little boys, when I had my youngest out southwest of Mandan.  In fact, I have already posted an additional windmill photo from that trip, the one with the damaged fins…but I’ve been meaning to share this one just because the colors were so dynamic.

 

fallen_farm_29299Next is this old house and the remains of its garage, which sit along the road to Fish Creek Dam.  That’s where I took my little guy to show him the bench out on the lookout point – if you don’t know about it, I’ll have to post a little explanation later.  I’ve wanted to approach this house for a while, and the land isn’t posted, but there are currently cattle on the land.  I guess I’ll have to wait, and let this shot from the road suffice for a while.

I’m on the mend now, and while I act as a recliner pilot and nurse the wounds from my most recent DaVinci robot attack, I’m going to try to dig back through the hard drive for shots like these.  I have dozens of photos I’ve taken with every intention of sharing here, but have somehow neglected or forgotten over time.  I think I’ll find some gems in there, and for the next few weeks I’ll have plenty of time on my hands to work with ’em.

Stay tuned!

Some days, I know how he feels

windmill_29451This Morton County windmill has seen better days.  I spotted it in this condition while driving by with my littlest boy.  He wanted to go home after a good afternoon of photo hunting, so I didn’t take the time to get any closer for a shot.  I switched to a 300mm lens and snapped this from the road, then took off for home (and dinner).

I’ve actually got this particular item marked in my GPS from before, and it seems to be deteriorating more rapidly than I remember.  I’ll have to make it back sometime soon, perhaps for a nice sunrise shot!  That is, after I get some of my things resolved…

Brrrrrrrr… but I still got windmills

windmill_winter_28812Yes, it’s been pretty darn cold.  Even many of my fellow North Dakotans are starting to whine instead of brag.  I did manage to get out for a brief photo trip the other day, and of course I had to go to an old standby: my favorite windmill.

 

windmill_28816I haven’t been able to do much in the way of photography, which means long stretches in between blog posts and nothing but regurgitated political stuff on Facebook.  Sorry ’bout that.  I am hoping to stretch my legs more photographically here in the near future.  In the mean time, however, here’s some cold metal.

 

winter_tree_28795And some cold wood, I suppose.  Although, in order to maintain my self-deprecating joke about always photographing windmilss, I did manage to sneak one into the background.

Think Spring!

This one may always be my favorite

windmill_20696One of my favorite subjects in this ongoing photographic adventure has always been the old windmill.  I’ve got some old standbys that I can visit if the sky is looking dramatic.  Some of them have even vanished, such as the one that was along Apple Creek Road across from the old Farmers’ Livestock Market.

This one is not likely to vanish anytime soon.  What’s better is that it’s on a slight hill, with easy access right near the road, and it’s short.  Why would that matter, you ask?  Perspective.  It’s possible to get a variety of really cool angles on this windmill while including the prettiest parts of the sky – and even the horizon at times – due to its position and diminutive stature.

I haven’t been able to get out with my cameras in a while; in fact, I’m not exactly sure where all of them are!  2013 has been that kind of year.  I hope to get out some more, especially since I’ve missed autumn, but for now I still have a few unused photos that I really like, “in the holster” for posting and sharing.  With the weekend only a couple of days away, maybe a photo trip is in my near future!

Wispy windmill weather

sunset_windmill_hdr_27339-41One thing we’ve been short of lately is photogenic clouds. Ironically, those dry, hot August days haven’t been really conducive for great summer sunsets. In order for the sun to really provide a dramatic sunset, it needs some clouds to bounce its light, create shadows, and fill the sky with color. The other night we got just that kind of clouds.

windmill_clouds_27372-4_hdrThe wispy tendrils of these clouds were of a type I haven’t seen in a while, so I was excited to bolt out to one of my frequent photo haunts to put them into perspective.  Of course I used one of my favorite foreground features: an old windmill.

clouds_27387-9_hdrNow we have too many clouds to do much of a sunset photo at all, but the light rain is also a welcome sight.  I didn’t get to chase sunsets much at all for most of this summer, and plan to do a lot more now that I’ve got the opportunity, so when the rainy days pass by I’m sure more shots like this will appear.

Windmill test

windmill_26255I was out at my favorite windmill location for a number of reasons, but one was to test the sharpness on a lens that I’m considering selling.  I’m pleased to report that it performed admirably.  Next was to look for some tracks from a midnight critter encounter I’d had in this location recently, but the rain had obliterated any chance of that.  Also was to simply take the camera out of the bag, something that hasn’t happened a lot lately and is obvious in the decreased volume of posts here on the ol’ Blog.  That was a success.

I have a couple of photographic targets in mind for the near future, and with a little luck I’ll have the time and means by which to pursue them and, of course, post the results here.

Nestled in the trees

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.

Windmill with a half twist

I’ve alluded to the frustrating fact that I haven’t been able to get out with my cameras in quite a while. It shows; I’m always eager to share cool North Dakota photos with y’all, even daily if I get them. This photo came from a much needed and overdue photo trip with my little boy. He has a good eye and steady hand, too. We stopped to take a shot of this windmill (as I’m wont to do) and noticed that only half its blades were still intact. Good conversation, good snacks, four wheel drive, and Daddy-son time were a great way to break the cameras out of the bag and do some roamin’.