What you don’t know can hurt you (Public Service Announcement)

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For years I, like many others, have taken sunset photos from this lovely vantage point: the fence post at the northern edge of the Double Ditch historic site. It’s just off the corner of the road as you enter the site area, it has a great view, and its elevation affords a wonderful view of the river, the sunset, and the Square Buttes to the northwest. I’ve taken photos from here as recently as Sunday night, as shown above. What I didn’t know was how risky that’s become.

Last night I wanted to take a sunset photo from a more unique perspective so I hiked down to the river at the south end of the Double Ditch road and worked my way up the shore to the north end again. I didn’t quite get the angle I wanted – the sun sets further south now than it does midsummer – but I did make an amazing discovery. As you can see above, there isn’t much left beneath that familiar fence post!

Walking along the shore I found several places where huge chunks of the cliff had let go and are now piled at the bottom along the river shore. I hiked over them on the way to the north end, and even near the pole I could see where the cliff had recently tumbled down. Now it seems that post’s days are numbered, and I would not want to be hanging out up there with my cameras when it lets go.

I’ve had a great relationship with that spot; I’ve captured sunrises, sunsets, storms, International Space Station flyovers, and more while standing next to it. Sadly, I won’t be going back. That type of soil is too unpredictable, and it looks like the erosion is now threatening to swallow up one of my all time favorite photo spots.

Please be careful when you’re out at Double Ditch! There’s more to those picturesque cliffs than meets the eye.

Sandbar sunset (with song)

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Ah, the feeling of warm sand beneath my toes and the lapping of water against the shore…this is a sweet time of year because the sun sets early enough that I can enjoy it with my little boys. Midsummer I can’t do this without risking a couple of little grouches the next day, which of course wouldn’t be fair to Mommy.

We roamed around down by the rocks beneath the Northern Pacific bridge, watched a train cross overhead, threw a couple of rocks in the water, watched some boats go by, and then headed home for their bedtime. They love the sunset just like their Daddy…I only wish we’d remembered the frisbee!

The Sunset Song of the Day for this photo is “Down by the Sea” by Men at Work. It’s a nice, calm, meandering tune that captured the feeling of slowly padding along the shore…enjoying the golden reflection of the setting sun across the water and the brilliant blue of the overhead sky as the sunset colors waned. You can investigate the song on iTunes by clicking here.

Double Ditch, triple dudes, and 21,000

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We reached a milestone this week when I passed the 21,000 photo mark on my newest camera. Above is photo #21,000…a shot of us “three dudes” enjoying Double Ditch at sunset. It was also a mission as we were taking a photo to use in making an anniversary card for Mommy, which she thoroughly enjoyed (along with the flowers).

My boys and I really enjoy those “three dudes” times, and being Daddy is an honorable pursuit. I’m glad that my little guys are becoming old enough to share a lot of the things I like to do, and we can give Mommy a break by going out and roaming (my favorite pastime). Their little cameras are in the truck and ready to be deployed, so between the three of us we’re always ready to get the shot.

You’d be angry too if someone grabbed you by the eyeballs

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My four year old has a knack for catching bugs…any kind of bugs. Recently he proved that he can catch a fly, and this afternoon he proved that he can catch a dragonfly too. I’ve chased these things with my cameras enough to know that they can be skittish, but this one proved no match for my little guy. He isn’t afraid to grab even the creepiest, crawliest bug, either…even to hold them by the eyes sometimes, like this one. Naturally it was beating its wings like a hummingbird with indignation.

So I suppose it was predictable that when little J modified his grip on the dragonfly to the tail that it would say, “Hey, cut it out!” in the only way available to it: with a bite. That got my boy’s attention in a hurry, he let the dragonfly go to resume catching mosquitoes in our back yard, and I had to chuckle because (of course) I had a camera to document the entire encounter.

Tuesday night sunset – and Sunset Song of the Day (new)

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As I’ve posted before here on the ol’ Blog, I have certain specialized playlists in my iPod for certain things like stargazing, sunrises, and sunsets. I’ve shared my Sunny Day playlist (click here) and will probably put my Stargazing list up here sometime down the road. In the mean time I thought I’d start a new feature: attaching a song to certain photos that match the mood of the song.

Today’s song is “Narwhal Aerobics” by The Nightgowns. You can check it out on iTunes by clicking here. I think it picks up the mood of this sunset, which was photographed next to a little lake along Highway 25 west of Mandan.

I don’t know what it is, but I wouldn’t want my finger stuck in it

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North Dakota has some characteristic features dotted across its varied landscape, and aside from my favorite windmills and wellheads I have to admit I have a soft spot for old farm equipment. This particular piece looks pretty wild, with chains and gears and levers and pullies and stuff like that. Note the absence of safety guards on everything… that was a different era. Nowadays there are plenty of people who wouldn’t go near something like this without a tetanus shot!

Big boys crave big toys

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Sometimes the ol’ Fisher-Price just isn’t enough. That’s what my little fellas quickly discovered last summer when taking pictures of the tailrace turmoil at Garrison Dam. While they can play games and do fun stuff on their little VTech and Fisher-Price cameras, their enthusiasm for getting the shot can only be satisfied by the resounding click of a shutter. I had to chuckle while beaming with pride as I snapped this shot of them really getting into it with one of my “big cameras.”

Getting to the bottom of things

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I’ve take a LOT of windmill photos since I got into this photography thang a few years ago. I don’t think I’d call it an obsession, but then again I’d be the last to notice. Although they make a really nice addition to scenic North Dakota landscape photos, I’ve started to explore them a little more closely.

This old pump still remains at the base of an otherwise unremarkable remnant of an old windmill. The blades that would turn this old pump are long gone, yet the heart of it remains. I enjoy getting landowner permission to poke around and photograph things like this and imagine what they were like when they were new. I’ve even come across windmills like this which are still operating faithfully, which is an even better find.

Starry-eyed surprise

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After attending the midKnight showing of THE DARK KNIGHT RISES my friend and I meandered out west of town near the Crown Butte area to see what was going on in the sky. As I looked back toward Bismarck-Mandan I noticed a compact thunderstorm bearing down on the cities. There was a distinct band of rain falling from the amber clouds, so we decided to head for high ground and dig out the camera.

Once I was all set the lightning began. I was absolutely delighted to find such an amazing setting: the band of rain beneath the storm clouds, several bolts of brilliant lightning arcing from the ground, clouds aloft lit by cloud-to-cloud lightning, starry sky above the storm, and a celestial alignment of Venus, Jupiter, and the Pleiades ahead of its advance. That’s a packed photo!

What a blessing to have such a great vantage point for this storm. Despite going an hour early to the movie, we still had to sit in the absolute front row (albeit in the center). That wasn’t really bad seating, but certainly not optimal. Our view of this storm, however, couldn’t be finer.

It’s a good thing I took Friday off from work, because this storm was worth watching (and photographing) until after four in the morning. Some shots turned out better than others, but this one is pretty close to perfect. I’m so thankful we went out that night, and we had no idea we’d be treated to such an amazing spectacle.

Dark Knight Rises, A Tale of Two Cities, and a welcome coincidence

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When I first started seeing trailers and footage from the new Batman movie, “The Dark Knight Rises,” my eye drew comparisons between the war on “the rich” portrayed therein and the “Occupy Wall Street” campaign in which compassionate, loving liberals defecated, raped, murdered, and vandalized their way into the hearts and minds of America. I’m pleased to report that no such comparison was intended, and none was conveyed. I saw it at the midknight showing last night at the Grand.

According to this interview on comingsoon.net, the screenplay for TDKR was begun right after the previous Dark Knight movie hit the screens. A distinct allusion to Charles’ Dickens work “A Tale of Two Cities” was present from the get-go.

As luck would have it, or by coincidence if you aren’t a detective, I recently began re-reading the Dickens work with fervor. I’ve been taking my time to really get into the characters and the setting of revolution-era France, and I have found it profoundly more stirring than in times past. Because of my newfound intimacy with this story I was easily able to see its influence on TDKR, particularly with regard to Gotham City…or what Bane, the villain, causes it to become.

I would love to outline a few of the direct comparisons between the two, but I can’t risk letting any spoilers fly. All I have to say is that reading A Tale of Two Cities, no small task at that, prior to watching Dark Knight Rises will give you a better feel for the film and the blight that strikes Gotham City. I’ll leave it at that.

By the way, what happens to “the rich” is not glorified in this movie, as much as the American left loves to champion disdain for successful people under the leadership of the modern Democrat party and the current occupant of the White House. Believe me, if there was such a slant in this movie I’d perceive it. I did not. With so much liberal activism in Hollywood these days, it’s not out of line for us to expect it, but you have nothing to worry about here. Enjoy the show.