IN a post earlier this weekend I talked about the notorious shirts being sold at NDSU (not by the college, but by its supporters) and quoted the NCAA’s use of them as an example for going after the Fighting Sioux logo. Well, it didn’t take long before someone sent me a link to examples of shirts being sold in Grand Forks, too.
Having been corrected, I can no longer point the finger at NDSU when it comes to the whole Sioux controversy. It’s unfortunate that there are such idiots on both sides, actually. I’ve previously used the example of people that adorn their car window with a caricature of a kid peeing on various logos. It takes a unique breed of person, not one of admirable qualities.
Don’t get me wrong…I still think that UND should keep their nickname and logo. I think any tribe that calls themselves Sioux has no credibility in telling anyone the name is offensive. I also still stand by the university’s efforts to cater to native American students. Unfortunately, t-shirts like that hurt the credibility of anyone standing up for UND in the logo controversy.
It only takes a few jerks on either side to really aggravate the issue. An outside party looking at the t-shirts in question (too offensive to link to here) would assign UND supporters as much credibility as the tribes who call themselves Sioux but then insist that the term Sioux is hurtful and offensive.
Anyway, back to the photography posts. This isn’t an NDSU or UND blog, so if you want to feed the ol’ rivalry any further…go to the Bisonville site. They appear ready for battle.
These are some pretty brilliant birds for North Dakota! I’m so accustomed to the more common brown birds of various species, but we actually do get a lot of very colorful wildlife up here. It ain’t the tropics, but we do get our colors.
I grabbed my photo buddy Ken, whose work is showcased a lot on KFYR TV’s Sky Spies page, and we headed north to catch the sunset. Little PJ was still suffering from a cold, but on the mend. His RSV test was negative, he’d had a fun day at home with mom and afternoon with dad, so it was time to dash out and see what the sky had to present.
I drove us out in the middle of nowhere, near my favorite Northern Lights spot, and found this windmill. I haven’t actually been on this particular road in the daytime, so I never knew it was there before! We took a number of shots from a variety of angles, and this was my result. It’s amazing how different my shots look from the ones Ken took. We had different angles, resulting in a different chunk of sky, so I had none of the gold or brilliant color that he had. Instead I opted for the cool blue of the northwestern sky.
We were about to head for higher ground and set up for the sunset when my beloved wife called to tell me that PJ had spiked a nasty fever. We threw the gear in the truck, pointed it back toward town, and I came home to tend to my little man. A little bit of baby Tylenol cured the fever, and he spent the rest of the evening playing and laughing with daddy until bedtime. I saw that Kevin Lawrence used one of Ken’s windmill photos on the 10 o’clock news, so apparently the brief venture up north turned out as a photographic success for both of us.
My workplace has a handful of Star Wars fans. We don’t come to work in our stormtrooper outfits or anything, but we like the movies. We also try to deny the fact, since it’s pretty much the mark of a nerd. So, when I made a comment one time about “what, did they stick Kenny Baker in there?” I accidentally broadcast my geekdom to the whole office. Like they didn’t know anyway.
Anyway, they’re selling Star Wars stamps, I guess…and that’s the reason for this promotion. The mailbox has a web address on the side (now a dead link) where you could vote for your favorite Star Wars stamp and that sort of thing. I’m a stamp collector and a Star Wars fan, but I haven’t voted yet. Maybe after I’m done organizing my pocket protectors and trying to define Pi to 67,891 digits. If you know the significance of that number, or clicked on the Pi link to see what Wikipedia has to say about it, you really ARE a geek! Welcome to the club. Now hitch up those pants, soldier!
We don’t have a garden right now, so I’m not too concerned about bunnies. Last year’s Greg had a liking for my wife’s flower beds, but they make a rabbit repellent for that. So, until we get a garden planted, the Gregs are invited to stay. They’re so cute!
These are also territorial birds, so there are a few places I try to frequent in my quest for one of the big blue (purplish, actually) birds. It was between two such places that I spotted this lovely specimen. I actually spotted its mate, parked the truck, angled for a shot, then watched it take off and soar about a quarter mile away before landing. I was about to storm back to the truck and depart when I caught this one out of the corner of my eye!
I took a meandering path down toward the water, trying not to look over at the bird. It kept one eye trained on my as birds do when they’re really trying to focus on something, and continued to do so as I sat down on the bank about 40-50 feet away. I simply sat motionless and occasionally snapped a photo as the heron paced back in forth in the water, actually working its way closer to me. Then, after ten minutes or so, it finally took off to rejoin its friend. I was so excited!
I can now cross this off my list of subjects that I want to get photographed yet somehow never succeed. That is becoming a very short list! It’s amazing how much there is to see (and photograph) right here in Bismarck-Mandan. Communicating that fact is why I started this blog in the first place, and it becomes more real to me all the time.
I saw some work that looked familiar from the ACC art show a short while ago, and lots of other work that I’d never seen before. I am new to photography, and even newer to the whole “art” thing. Being so technically minded and creatively inhibited, I never really considered myself an artist except for the black marks I leave in 150mph corners. With that in mind, this new experience of matting, framing, and entering my photography in art shows is pretty keen. I’m learning a lot!
While I had hoped to sell a piece or two to help offset the enormous costs of a photography hobby (or buy diapers…depends on who you ask), I didn’t sell any at this show. I’ve only been in three shows so far, starting with the BAGA show last December, and was fortunate enough to have sold a major piece at two of the three. But I did have plenty of consolation, even if I have to take diaper money out of the motorcycle fund.
Thanks to everyone who voted, because a big version of the sunset bridge that graces the top of this blog won overall for photography entries as judged by the art show patrons. I was hoping for good results, but this was overwhelming! In addition, one of my Northern Lights photos won a merit ribbon and I received an individual award for my Thresher’s Row photo. It felt pretty sweet to have someone indicate that they like something I created, because I still see myself as a total n00b when it comes to this photography thing. Maybe I’m getting the hang of it finally, after over 20,000 photographs in two years. Then again, most of the photos I had entered were among the first I ever took. Uh oh…
I look forward to the 50th Annual Mandan Art Association show next year. A friend of mine, also a recent enthusiast in the field of digital photography, has started scoping out other art shows across North Dakota. This is going to be a lot of fun…with even more potential for diaper money.
The other dates go back around 1903 or so, and I’ll probably post pictures of them down the road. This happens to be one of the carvings that has survived the best, so I chose it as my example. Sandstone doesn’t handle weather extremes over the course of eighty-plus years, so many of the words scratched into the side of this rock are borderline illegible.
Isn’t North Dakota history grand? On this particular walk I saw so much cool stuff, it would take a good chunk of my morning to document it. When I’ve got the time I’ll post a full report with photos. There were geoditic markers, initials and other carvings, caves, odd geologic formations…it was a really entertaining hike. Stay tuned!
I’ve got a few pieces for sale as well, if I may stick a shameless plug in here. After all, I need to scare up some diaper money!
Maybe we’ll see you at the Mandan Community Center this weekend.