Midnight vigil – from a different angle

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Since I picked up this photography hobby a few years ago, I’ve taken countless photos of the capitol tower…especially over various holidays. I spent most of this Christmas sleeping off a cold/flu bug, but found myself back on my feet late on Christmas Eve. The family was tucked all snug in their beds (I have no confirmation of sugarplum dreams, however) so I decided to head out with my cameras for a little bit.

The sky was perfect, the weather fantastic, and Bismarck appeared to have drifted into a sleepy calm which is sadly uncommon these days. I roamed around for a couple of hours, and even found a new perspective on the capitol’s Christmas attire. Hiking along the walking path to the north, I decided to venture off into the snow a little bit and was rewarded with this shot.

I’m still on the mend from this nasty bug. I don’t think it’s influenza, but whatever it is I don’t recommend trying it. It deprived me of most of my Christmas vacation this year, but it couldn’t take it all.

I wish you a continued Merry Christmas, good health, and a Happy New Year!

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s tenuous North Dakota holiday connection

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I’ve been down for the count the past few days, sick and staying in bed with my Netbook and iPod. I happened to come across something extremely painful: an Arnold Schwarzenegger-hosted segment of a “Very Special Christmas” special from 1988. Don’t bother watching it…in fact, I only got through the first thirty seconds of it. What I did see, however, was apparently a champion granny bowler from North Dakota! If you’re a glutton for punishment, you can view the video here:

Notice the misspelling of granny’s town? Sigh. It seems that even when they get North Dakota identified correctly, some sort of other typographical error slips in.

I make no apologies if you watched after the mention of the bowler from “Wanpeton”…you were warned. I’m starting to feel a little better, so rest assured I’ll try to find something more genuinely Christmas-like and far less horrifying than Arnold’s demented television disaster.

The ubiquitous leaf, revisited

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Logo design follows interesting trends. A while back the “swoosh” was the predominant feature of way too many logos, and another overused feature was the leaf. Case in point: the photo above.

There are three leaf logos in this photo, but there’s also a leaf on the Applebee’s sign obscured in the background…and Kirkwood Bank was just to my right as I took this photo. That’s five leaves within a one block radius, a new record in my book.

Liked it, found it, put my own twist on it

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“Originality is simply a pair of fresh eyes.” – Thomas Wentworth Higginson

A friend from our photo club posted a picture earlier this year that caught my eye. Not only was it very aesthetically pleasing, but it also drove me nuts wondering where it was. I knew that the venue of the photo walk that weekend was the capitol grounds, an area with which I’m intimately familiar. That’s what was so maddening. Where was it?

I finally recognized it as the scrolls of the capital of the pillars of the Liberty Memorial building, the home of the state library. I simply could not figure out the perspective of the original photo, however. No matter which angle I tried, it just didn’t work. That’s when I realized it wasn’t the outer scrolls I was looking at – it was the inner ones, facing the building rather than the capitol mall. Well, that was a game changer.

Due to growth of a few small branches over the summer, I wasn’t able to get a completely unobstructed shot; however, with the frost and snow we’ve experienced over the past couple of days, I think those pesky branches provide an excellent visual garnish to the photo. They make achieving the perspective of the original photo impossible, however.

While I will never be able to duplicate the original photo, that wasn’t my intent; rather, it was to figure out how that original photo was achieved. I consider that question answered, and was able to capture and present my own take on a brilliantly concieved photo.

One of the things about photography that appeals to me is the sensation of being in the right place at the right time. That’s how the original photo came about, and that’s how I was able to capture this one as well. The sun had started to poke through the haze enough to provide sufficient light, but had not begun to melt the snow and frost off the branches. Thus my photo is as unique as the original. How I found it is a matter of inspiration and even derivation, but from there I think I was able to take the idea and make it my own.

Cherry Monday

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Good morning! I was able to sneak out just early enough this weekend to capture some frosty branches before the sun melted the white coating away. Then it was off to our photography club’s “Coffee and Cameras” meeting before returning to more mundane duties.

When I first got into photography I was doubtful that a North Dakota winter could provide many opportunities for the camera. I was quickly proven wrong. I have some other ideas in the works too, as time allows. I’ve just pulled through an extremely busy period (intact, I might add) and am eager to simply enjoy the remainder of the Christmas season.

Beacon of Christmas spirit, 24,000, and a map reminder

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I’ve been so busy lately, this is the only time I’ve had my cameras out of the bag in recent memory. Work, family, and freelance have kept me hopping, which is why the posting here has been pretty light. I need to be careful or the Christmas season will pass me by! Don’t let the same happen to you if you can help it. This photo happens to be a milestone: it’s photo number 24,000 through my newest camera.

I love the fact that the capitol windows on the north and south sides are decorated with colored shades to celebrate the holiday season. Even better is the fact that we now have enough snow on the ground to technically enjoy a White Christmas! It just wouldn’t be the same without it.

Another reminder: I’ve resurrected last year’s Google Map of Bismarck-Mandan Christmas Lights for this year. I haven’t had a chance to update it, sadly…but hopefully most of the sites on it are still participating. Obviously the Chmielewski House takes the cake.

The link is easy to remember:
www.tinyurl.com/bismarck-mandanchristmaslights.

I wrap up this week with a big live production and some studio time, then hopefully I’ll get a chance to load up the family and go out to investigate the Christmas displays as well!

Could this be the last real Christmas tree in the North Dakota state capitol?

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I arrived at Monday’s tree lighting ceremony just in time for the lights to be turned on – it was almost as if my seat was wired. My family was waiting for me and my youngest boy exclaimed, “You’re just in time, Daddy!” It’s a special event for us, and I’m glad I was able to break away from work just in time to catch the big moment. In speaking with the governor and Mrs. Dalrymple later, though, I caught an interesting tidbit: this may be the last real Christmas tree in the capitol. Say it isn’t so!

Apparently fire code, which I believe is a city issue, is prompting the pressure on the capitol to abandon the idea of a real (i.e., flammable) tree in the Memorial Hall of the state capitol. Personally, I couldn’t be more dismayed by the thought. As I stood in the Hall last night photographing the tree, it occurred to me even as I unpacked my gear how the smell of a REAL tree is so special. Memorial Hall has that nostalgic waft of evergreen, and it would be a shame to abandon it forever.

I don’t know if a final determination has been made yet, but I sure hope that someone at the capitol puts their foot down and insists on keeping the authentic Christmas tree as part of the capitol’s Christmas celebration. The tree is well maintained; it’s under observation; it doesn’t have any lights on it, being lit by spotlights from a distance; and gets plenty of water. I don’t think it presents the hazard some may think it does. Please, say it isn’t so…North Dakota needs to continue with a real Christmas tree!

How they get that enormous Christmas tree into the Capitol each year

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Each Christmas one can see a beautifully adorned and rather huge Christmas tree standing in the Great Hall of the state capitol building. It’s lit at night so that people driving past the front of the building can see it, and the display is readily available for you to visit from around 7:30 am until 5:30 pm each weekday. One can’t help but wonder: how does such a large tree find its way into the capitol building in the first place?

Of course, the direct approach is the most effective. Rather than trying to thread any hallways or turn any corners with the cumbersome tree, it comes right up the front steps and through the revolving doors. Conveniently, the panels these doors are able to collapse and slide out of the way to allow a wide berth for anyone wishing to wrestle a formidably sized conifer through the doorway.

These doors were actually designed to do this; while bringing anything larger than a briefcase through the revolving doors might pose a challenge, these doors are designed to pivot completely out of the way and provide an even wider opening than most conventional doorways.

The tree arrives on a flatbed trailer in the morning. There are some preparations that need to be done before it enters the building: a slice needs to be trimmed from the bottom of the trunk, so that it can take on water; and branches need to be trimmed from the bottom to provide around sixteen inches of clear trunk to fit the stand. After that it’s a question of manpower.

Dudes from the facilities crew grab an armful of tree and march it up the steps, wrangling through the doorway with plenty of clearance. After that it’s simply a short left turn and a matter of bolting the tree stand to the bottom of the tree’s trunk.

A rope is used to move the tree into position, first by tugging the top into line while the adjusters in the stand are tightened or loosened to make sure that the tree is standing straight. Once that is completed, the rope is pulled down from the top of the tree and wrapped around the stand’s base, which is then pulled into position at the center of the windows of the Great Hall.

After a bit of sweeping and other cleanup, the binding wrapped around the tree is removed and the branches allowed to relax. The stand’s remote water tank is filled to provide the tree with ample hydration. Later in the week, the tree will be decorated with items made and/or donated by North Dakotans, through the ND Council on the Arts. I hope to submit one for next year, because i ran out of time this year. The tree now sits as you see it above until it gets decorated on Thursday and Friday. The official Tree Lighting Ceremony is next Monday.

So, there you go…one more geeky question answered by yours truly, a geek who chases down the answers to queetions which haunt the most neurotic among us.

I wonder if their aware of this embarassing error in they’re TV commercial

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When it comes to local television commercial production, you often get what you pay for. I say this because often the production is simply a giveaway in order to secure the airtime buy. Purchase a rotation from station X, and they’ll produce your ad for nothing. Perhaps that’s what happened here (thanks to my friend Mike for the catch and the photo). In any case, I’d be pretty ticked if I was Fleck’s Furniture and my television ad made it look like I had a limited grasp of the English language. In case you’re wondering, I don’t know which TV station aired this ad.

One reason posting has been light this week is that I’ve been pretty tied up with a 3D animation job that requires what little spare time I’ve had available. Modeling, lighting, and animating are fun challenges but very time consuming. Even now, at 2:44am, I’m typing this as I watch the animation build frame by frame. Good thing I took a combat nap earlier in the evening.

One more thought on the subject of grammar: when consoling a grammar freak, say “There, their, they’re…”