I took off work a little early today and roamed Morton County for a bit. I have to say that Morton County is one of the most beautiful parts of North Dakota (or, as I like to say, “Best Dakota”) due to its variety. But with all the smoke in the sky, however, it was not a really great photography day. Nevertheless, I found a few good shots…I will share them over time.
Here’s the first – the haze actually worked in my favor with this one. I figured I had to seek out a subject that would benefit from a drab grayish sky, and thankfully this red roof fit the bill.
As for the post title, that comes from the song that my iPod appropriately served up via its shuffle feature (as it’s wont to do). A perfect, dreamy tune for the drive back to town under such dreary canopy, since I’d been craving some color in the sky all along. I think part of the feels I got from this song had to do with the realization that this part of Morton County was overrun by terrorists last year. Gonna be a while until that memory fades.
I hope the fires in Montana relent soon, not just for the sake of those in danger but also for everybody downwind. The smoke is a health hazard as well as a nuisance to photographers. But I do yearn for those clear skies once again.
If you find yourself in the post office / federal building on 3rd and Rosser, you’ll be greeted with this wall upon entering the building. It has the building directory, these large official seal plaques, and up until recently a photo of the President of the United States and his vice president.
Above the building directory a photo of the nation’s top executives has hung for as long as I can remember. As I recall, it took a little while for the photos of The Preezy and Joe Biden to come down after the inauguration of our current president, but it’s taking even longer for the replacement photos to arrive.
“Insert president here” apparently. All we have are hooks, no photos. It’s easy to make pithy comments about the speed of federal bureaucracy, but really…seven months to hang a pair of photos? That’s pretty slow.
update: I should point out that the building is operated by the GSA, and the Post Office is merely a tenant – just like the federal courts et al.
For the past few months, Highway 1806 has pulled different duty than usual. If you don’t live south of Mandan or have things to do at Huff Hills or Fort Lincoln, you probably haven’t been down this road in a long time. Oh, unless you’re in law enforcement, that is.
This pallet is a nice way for someone to Back the Blue on that road, as plenty of law enforcement would go by over the period of several months. I’ve seen a lot of things done with pallets, but this one has got to be my favorite! I’m all for showing our community’s appreciation for our law enforcement heroes.
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!
It’s been a while since I’ve posted…well, anything, but especially about a local business standing up for Christianity. Well, here’s a reason to top off your tank or get your morning coffee at I-94 Exxon, the one on the north side of the Centennial overpass along I-94.
In case you’re a firebreathing fundamentalist and the first sign was a little too milquetoast for you, here’s the other side. Right on.
The last I recall is Dairy Queen in Mandan declaring “Christ is Risen” on Easter weekend. Awesome. Clearly these businesses understand their customers, not nationally driven agendas funded by minute groups of activists.
Along those same lines, you may have seen this local ad run during the Christmas season for the past few years:
With so many national businesses trying to eschew the Christian faith while championing those who wish to attack it, I’m thankful to see local businesses who aren’t so out-of-touch and are willing to make a declaration for their customers. Thank you, I-94 Exxon and Dvorak Motors, for adding your voices to the Christmas season.
PS: Try the White Chocolate Caramel cappuccino. Just sayin’.
I was roaming some of my favorite Morton County back roads, searching for blue flax fields and whatever else I might find, when I noticed this. Actually, I noticed three of them…all in a line, spaced evenly about a mile and a half apart. That was weird…short little guy-wired towers springing up like that. So what’s the deal?
I asked around a broadcast engineering group I belong to, and they gave me the scoop: they’re temporary anemometers. After I found that out, I was able to verify it on my next trip past that area when I actually got close enough for this shot:
As you can see, there are multiple anemometers on this tower. Well, there’s only one reason why you’d want to measure wind in an area like that. Yes, you guessed it: more stupid wind turbines, among the most expensive types of power to produce.
These subsidy grabbing, bird killing eyesores are the bane of anyone who loves photographing North Dakota. Sadly, they’re encroaching on some of the more scenic areas surrounding Bismarck-Mandan. As I type this, work is in progress on a wind farm south of Hebron as well. Sad.
If you want to get any scenic photos around Morton County, especially at sunset, you’d better do it before those ugly structures ruin the skyline.
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.
I had an equine audience for a second as I roamed my favorite area of rural Morton County – let’s face it, most of it is rural – last weekend with a friend who was in town from Philly. I only had a second or two to try to get this shot, because they obviously figured I had food. Right after I took this photo they began working their way down the long hill toward the truck, obviously hoping for some goodies. Maybe I’ll have to take a bag of apples with me next time!
As you probably know, I have a soft spot for rural North Dakota, particularly around Bismarck-Mandan. I love roaming the back roads and section lines, trying to find picturesque views and document remnants from the pioneer past (which, in many areas, isn’t all that long ago). I’m a “city kid” who actually spent his childhood in the Rocky Mountains despite being a native NoDak, so I feel like somewhat an interloper in that regard…but I love the natural beauty of North Dakota and the spirit of the people here.
That’s one reason why I love taking photos like this one from Saturday. There is no other side of this gate; the adjacent quarter is open where this approach enters. The open fields of brilliant green were offset by a lovely morning blue sky, devoid of clouds for a change. The drab, colorless post was a perfect contrast to the beautiful natural hues in the background.
I discovered something which I feel is very sad nearby…but I have to get ready for work now, so that’s going to have to be in another post in a day or two.
I took off work a little early today and roamed Morton County for a bit. I have to say that Morton County is one of the most beautiful parts of North Dakota (or, as I like to say, “Best Dakota”) due to its variety. But with all the smoke in the sky, however, it was not a really great photography day. Nevertheless, I found a few good shots…I will share them over time.
Here’s the first – the haze actually worked in my favor with this one. I figured I had to seek out a subject that would benefit from a drab grayish sky, and thankfully this red roof fit the bill.
