Photo walk results

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Well, the gang all met up last weekend for the Bismarck-Mandan portion of the Worldwide Photo Walk, and a grand time was had by all I talked to. Followed up by a brief gathering at Mocha & More, the walk consisted of meeting at the historic Depot and then wandering around on foot for two hours. Here’s an eclectic mix of the things I found that morning:

I found this really neat antique stroller in front of a little antique shop on Main Street. I applied a little bit of a vintage treatment to the photo.

This aging cross sits atop a church near downtown, I think a Presbyterian congregation if I remember correctly.

The aforementioned antique shop had a stack of picture frames outside on the sidewalk, so I grabbed one and took a quick photo of the Mandan Depot.

I call this one “Rural Amalgamation” – only in a small midwestern state will you find the American flag, a pristine John Deere tractor, and a mystical wall painting all in the same spot.

I found this really cool droopy tree just a couple of blocks north of Main Street. I parked myself on my back under the tree with a very wide angle lens to get the shot.

The way the tendrils of the tree drooped toward the ground was very eye catching from afar, but the best angle to capture then was directly underneath them.

Mandan’s historic downtown buildings have some interesting features, many of which are better viewed up close.

Something a little more modern, this six-pack of windows formed a nice geometric progression.

Next year we’ll do it again, I’m sure. Last year’s walk was in July, we’ll see what we come up with for 2012. It’s interesting to walk around your own town and try to come up with something unique that may be interesting to others around the world. We grow so accustomed to our own surroundings that forcing yourself to see it is unique and interesting is a very worthwhile exercise.

Watermark revisited

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Here’s another angle at the historic Northern Pacific bridge along our receding Missouri River. This has been one of my favorite indicators of the river’s rise and decline.

As you can see, that’s a pretty tall watermark. The river is currently at under seven feet, after a height of approximately twenty. I don’t know how much longer this watermark will remain, but for now it’s a stark reminder of how the Big Muddy behaved in 2011.

They’re back! The Northern Lights, that is

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Thanks to my network of spies, my cell phone vibrated my pillow tonight and set a great sequence of events in motion. My wife heard the phone, answered the text, woke me up, and I was on my way to catch the auroras before they faded! Naturally I headed out of town as quickly as I could after picking up my best friend.

Taking great photos of the sky ironically requires a good foreground object to put things into the proper perspective. In this case I found one of my favorite old windmills. I love these trademark North Dakota artifacts, but they do come with one caveat:

They don’t always point in the direction you’d prefer. This shot had some great aurora activity in the background, but the head of the windmill isn’t really facing in a photogenic direction. Sure, I could Photoshop it, but that’s not how I roll.

That’s more like it. I had to stumble around in the dark for a bit and try different angles around the area to see which one presented the best angle. Of course, once I moved in a certain direction, the auroras flared up in the other. I’m so accustomed to this taunting by the sky that I’ve actually developed a little bit of patience!

As auroras go, tonight’s weren’t even that dramatic. I’m told there was a lot more “spike” activity before I dragged my tired butt out into position. I don’t care, though…it’s literally been YEARS since I’ve been able to take decent Northern Lights photos due to the solar minimum. I’ve often joked that I single-handedly extinguished the auroras by buying digital cameras with the intent of photographing them! Now it seems that a frustratingly dormant period of solar inactivity is coming to a close, and I’ll be ready to capitalize on it.

Three can play at this game

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What happens when you’re having a “guys’ night out” with the fellas and our cameras? Well, of course the Proud Daddy Instinct™ kicks in, and I start taking pictures of my boys taking pictures! Well, apparently three can play at that game…

Taking pictures of Daddy taking pictures of the boys taking pictures! Whoa, we’re lucky we didn’t get caught in some sort of infinite loop there!

Of course, I did avail myself of the opportunity to get a little artsy with the windmill we were photographing. Then it was dark, past our bedtime, we were on a muddy road that required a little four wheel drive, and there was a Winnie the Pooh story waiting to be read before bed. Needless to say, mission accomplished.

A tale of two ditches, revisited

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Three months ago I visited Double Ditch to assess the impact of Missouri River flooding on the view. It was astounding; any trace of sandbars had vanished beneath a wide expanse of water. Now that access to the site is no longer prohibited, I was a little curious about what it looked like:

As you can see, we now have plenty of sandbar. In fact, there are plenty of other places along the Missouri that now have plenty of sand. Welcome to the new normal!

One other thing that’s noteworthy, and hard to discern from these photos because they’re framed so differently, is how much farther south the sun sets in mid-September compared to June. On the longest day of the year, just four days after the top photo was taken, the sun sets much farther north. As winter creeps closer and the days grow shorter, however, the sun’s track moves southward and peaks lower in the southern sky during midday. It may be interesting to return to Double Ditch on the shortest day of the year and see where it intersects the horizon; if I do so, you’ll see it here.

Boys love flying machines

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Boys love machines, period…it doesn’t matter how old. Airplanes and helicopters are particularly cool, which is why I’ve always taken the time to give my little fellas plenty of exposure to aircraft. In fact, we may be taking them to the skies for a joyride this week… and Daddy is planning a video gig with plenty of helicopter work! Doesn’t that all sound fun?

It’s easy not being green

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This little cluster of nonconformists stands out now, but leaves are starting to change color all over the place. Fall’s right around the corner, and photographers like myself try to make the best of it. Last year the leaves didn’t bother with color; they simply fell off the trees, and the snow fell. Let’s hope we get to at least enjoy a typical autumn this year!

9/11 Ceremony at the state capitol grounds

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I spent the afternoon at the commemorative ceremony at the capitol Sunday. It was an appropriate memorial of the terrorist attack on our nation (not just a “tragic event” as some say) and focused on honoring our nation as well as those who have died in its service. Here’s a brief photo narrative of the day:


Governor Jack Dalrymple and his wife Betsy hosted the event.
 


The Mandan High School Concert Choir provided stirring music, with my friend Becca at the piano.
 


US Senator John Hoeven gave his remarks.
 


US Congressman Rick Berg also spoke.
 


Bismarck City Commissioner Mike Seminary represented the City of Bismarck.
 


Mandan City Commissioner Dennis Rohr. Of course, I’ll always know him as Chief.
 


The Governor and First Lady stand with Senator Hoeven during the presentation of a wreath to commemorate the day. Lt. Governor Drew Wrigley is looking on in the foreground.
 


Bismarck Police Chief Keith Witt spoke on behalf of first responders.
 


Lincoln Police Officer Marcel Sim gave an account of that day,
when he was working at Ground Zero for the NYPD.
 


Maj. General Spry has thousands of soldiers fighting not only the Global War on Terrorism
but also natural disasters here at home.
 


Lt. Colonel Dean Eckmann described going to battle stations and flying CAP sorties
over Washington DC that day with the NDNG Happy Hooligans.
 


Jenette Nelson spoke of the loss of her daughter and how her memory lives on.
 


Paul Goodiron gave perhaps the most stirring speech of the day, honoring not only those who serve but also the families who serve with them and endure their loss.
 


The Patriot Guard Riders had a presentation of their own to the office of the Governor.
 


First responders from fire, ambulance, and local law enforcement were in attendance to commemorate the day as well. I got to hang out with one of my favorite law enforcement friends and take photos.
 


One popular part of the day was a Blackhawk helicopter on the capitol mall, available for all to see.  Its crew were on hand to answer questions and explain the operation of the aircraft.
 


Then it was time to go home, tribute given and memories shared.

Memento

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This diminutive little figurine, a Statue of Liberty, stands just shorter than the diameter of a dime (1.8cm). In this photo it stands in front of a postcard of the Manhattan Bridge in New York City. Both were given to me in 2001 by Jody Kerzman, my friend and coworker at the time, after her trip to the wreckage of the World Trade Center towers on assignment from KFYR-TV.

I have a box of souvenirs, tapes, and other stuff from my job at the TV station, including the newspaper clipping of the Help Wanted ad I answered when I applied for the job I held for almost fourteen years. Of all the items in that box, this little statue (with its accompanying postcard) ranks among the most meaningful.

Late visit to the National 9/11 flag

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Back in mid-August the National 9/11 Flag made a stop in North Dakota as part of the organization’s mission to visit all fifty states. There was a ceremony and even the opportunity for folks to nominate someone in advance for stitching the flag. I made an appeal for folks to nominate Sgt. Steve Kenner with the PD choosing representatives on his behalf. Apparently some of you did, because that’s precisely what happened. I received an email from the organization saying that they received a lot of nominations on his behalf.

Sadly, I had to work and wasn’t able to see the ceremony, but I did get a chance to visit the flag (and put in a stitch of my own) prior to its departure. Here are a few quick photos for those of you who weren’t able to attend.

Patches from the other states who the flag has already visited are marked by standing cards giving a little bit of information about the state’s participation.

Here’s the area where North Dakota’s patch is located and where the stitches were applied.

One stitch at a time, they say. This is actually the top edge of the flag. I believe the patches come from retired flags which have flown in North Dakota.

One patch in particular goes almost unnoticed, but someone from the organization pointed it out to me as “the Lincoln patch.” It’s hard to see from the edge of the flag, but thanks to a 300mm lens, I can give you a closer look:

If I recall correctly, this is a patch from the flag which was draped over the casket of President Abraham Lincoln when he was buried. How’s that for a piece of history?

I suppose it’s somewhat appropriate timing to finally post this on the weekend of the tenth anniversary of that fateful day. It wasn’t my intention, I’m just late as usual. You can find out more about the national 9/11 flag by clicking here. You can read the program from the ceremony in Word format by clicking here (maybe I can convert it to PDF later).