Signs of a sense of humor

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I know it’s now called Auto Value auto parts store, but it’ll always be Hedahl’s to me. When I go there for things like the absolute best floor squeegee ever, or paint supplies and gaffer’s tape, I always end up in the paint section.

When you go to the paint section of the store, you go through this doorway. What is cool about it, and I noticed this a long time ago but don’t remember blogging about it, is the sign hanging at the top of the doorway.

I suppose you have to be a King of the Hill fan to get this, but if you do…it’s hilarious. I got quite a chuckle out of it, but my kids had no idea what I found so funny. Inside jokes are the best jokes.

Naturally, you’d wonder what the sign will say on the way back out of the paint section. Well, you wouldn’t be disappointed.

Who doesn’t appreciate a good Christopher Walken reference? Now I’m going to have visions of him dancing in the video for Weapon of Choice, or perhaps even the hilarious Talkin’ Walkin podcast done by Kevin Pollack, I presume as an homage.

It’s great to see that folks around town have a sense of humor and a penchant for inside jokes!

Topless at sunset

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I spotted this old barn a long, long time ago, but had never really spent any time with it. I had to fly some drone batteries down to 50% for storage (LiPo batteries do not like to be stored at 100% charge) and took the opportunity to investigate. While the wooden top of the barn is gone, the concrete base is well intact.

It wasn’t long before the colors in the sky began to change, as I’d arrived while the sun was getting real low (obvious Incredible Hulk / Avengers reference here). While this presented some interesting challenges due to shadows, it also gave me a broad spectrum of sky to work with.

As the sun vanished beyond the horizon, I got one last splash of purple. And that was that. All batteries were discharged to the proper range, I was out of usable light, and it was time to head home.

Weekend at Brady’s

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I made it to Mandan briefly this weekend for a family affair, and accomplished something I’ve wanted to do for a long, long time: take a photo of the Brady’s Used Auto Parts building. It’s still shocking to see it in this state, as Brady’s has been a landmark for so many decades. Gee, I feel old.

The land is posted, so I had to take these photos through the fence. Thankfully I had some nice conditions to work with, and my hands fit through the rectangles in the fence just enough to work my phone camera!

One last pano to fit it all in. End of an era…

My fondest memory of Brady’s was when I pancaked the two driver’s-side rims on the $25 car I was driving at the time (long story) and he helped me pick out two replacements for ten bucks a piece. That seems like a lifetime ago, too. Man, I gotta knock off this reminiscing!

Caught out of position

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I haven’t had much time to get out with my cameras for a few months, but I tried to take a brief pause from my work day today to catch the B-52 flyby. I had been clued in about the flight path a little earlier, and wanted to shoot from the south, but I couldn’t find an angle I liked. I ran out of time and punted, shooting instead from the north.

Hoodie

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One of these trucks has gone full-blown Mater, with no hood at all. The other one has its beak wide-open. Thankfully, I had a nice telephoto lens with me; they’re a short distance from the road, and on the day when I took this photo the ground was getting pretty soft (and muddy) already!

I saw the sign

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If you’re like me, you’ve been wondering when the plastic would be removed from the new sign at the south end of the capitol mall. Well, that day was yesterday. It looks pretty grand.

I got permission to go within the fence surrounding the area (there’s still some landscaping and cleanup to do) and get a close look at it. It should be pretty cool when everything is finished! Of course, weather has been – and is – a factor.

When the weather gets nice and it’s able to get a nice rinse, we’ll be in business. Now I understand what’s been going on underneath that plastic all this time!

The state seal of Best Dakota. You can’t tell in these photos, but it was awfully windy when I took them. For this one, the monument (it feels like a more appropriate word than “sign”) was a welcome windbreak. Brrrrr!

Homage to the old one: This is my favorite photo of the previous sign. But I didn’t take it. My wife did, with her cell phone. Remember what I’ve said about being in the right place at the right time? Thankfully, since we’re married, this photo is considered “community property.”

If you’re in the area, you can check out the new sign for yourself (but don’t go inside the fence!) as long as you practice social distancing!

Nailed it

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Well, I went back to the capitol tonight…and got my breeze. I threw up some flash units and went to town, and got the photo I was looking for!

Special thanks go to Wayne Stenehjem for the inspiration. I’m just shamelessly ripping off this idea from a photo he posted on Wednesday night. I’m a little jealous I didn’t think of this composition on my own!

No wind? Really?

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I was inspired by Wayne Stenehjem’s photo, similar to this, with the North Dakota flag unfurled in the middle of the heart displayed via the capitol tower’s windows. So I ventured out to do something similar with my own touch.

I got there, and the breeze immediately died. I hung around for quite a while, thinking that certainly the breeze had to come back. After all, don’t we live in “The Saudi Arabia of Wind?”

Well, sadly, it was not to be so. I finally gave up and came home, so I hopefully won’t be too much of a zombie at work Friday. We’ll see.

Winter home

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I’d seen this house from afar before, but hadn’t actually taken the opportunity to investigate. In fact, I’d forgotten about it. I hadn’t even marked a waypoint for it in my GPS, something I do for all kinds of prospective photo spots. Well, a little while ago I was nearby and caught a glimpse of it again. I had just enough time to fly over and check it out.

This looks like a grand old house, and it has a perfect place out on the prairie. It didn’t hurt that we had a fantastic sky that day.

Speaking of the sky: I must admit, one thing I love about photography this time of year (and I’ve written about this previously) is that the sky can be so dramatically different just by changing the angle a bit.

This trip served multiple purposes: for one, I hadn’t been out with my cameras in an awfully long time. I also needed to exercise my drone and its batteries. Lastly, I’d purchased a new (to me) truck and wanted to take it on a shakedown cruise. I’m happy to say that the trip was a total success by all measures.

Missing some tin

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I spotted this little building a long time ago while out on my dirt bike. I recently decided to check it out, and I’m glad I did. It was a perfect day for photography, and I had found a wonderful subject.

One trick about this time of year is the light: the sun is low in the sky, making the light quite directional. So it’s tough to get a decent shot of multiple angles. I managed to pull it off, plus bracketing exposures helps me overcome those harsh winter shadows.

One cool side effect of that is the variety of shots I can get from a single point in time and a slightly different perspective. The skies were definitely more dramatic in one direction than the others, and the shadows more of a nuisance on one side than the others. So I worked it the best I could, and I think the results are quite satisfactory.