Vacuum Sealed Freshness

Today is "play a joke on your co-worker" day. I bet you didn't know that day existed did you? Okay, it doesn't exisit, but that didn't stop a couple of internet-addicted, potential wedgie victims, from shrink wrapping an entire Dodge Neon. Yes, it was decided on Monday, one of their co-workers from the department they work in, would get their vehicle wrapped entirely in plastic. I didn't see the unwrapping, but my guess is, it took less time to unwrap, than it did to wrap the entire car. Though I would have liked to have seen more detail wrapping, like on the tires, mirror, antenna, wipers, etc. Something that would have made it more of a challenge during the unwrapping phase. It was all in good fun.

How Was Your Morning Commute?

For those of you who have no morning commute, I am jealous. For those who commute in the Twin Cities Metro Area, Tuesday was a joy. My 23 mile venture to work today was a bit different after yesterday's snowfall and this mornings wake up temperature of -14 F. Only took me an extra 30 minutes, but I have a few alternate routes I can take once I am over the river bridge. The first five miles of my commute took me about 40 minutes, the last 18 miles was much quicker. After passing four cars in the ditch in the first four miles of my trip I decided to get my camera out for some photos as I was expecting more. I personally saw 13 cars in the ditch today, three of them were over turned. Most of these are poor quality shots, but I had to drive a bit more cautious today with the slippery conditions.

From the news reports, there was 360 accidents reported today. I'm guessing that number includes the spin outs and cars in the ditch too? That is a very high number, even with the snow. The sudden drop in below zero temperatures really forced people to slow down, or at least those who realized it before it was too late.

  
  

Frozen Parking Lot

Current temperature for this photo was around 3 degrees Fahrenheit. Freshly fallen snow covers the parking lot half filled with cars on a Sunday evening in Cottage Grove. The sun had recently set and the sky was oh so colorful tonight. The frozen cars, waiting for their owners to finish up their Christmas shopping so they can return home. Was I out Christmas shopping this evening you may be thinking. Nope, not a chance, I had to pick up some fish food from the pet supply store.

I'm Gonna Break My Rusty Cage And Run

Found this very rusty tow truck located in Eagan, just off the beaten path of Highway 13. Makes me wonder if Mark's Towing is still in business.

My Daily Photo Favorites: Portland, Maine | Evry, France | Sunshine Coast, Australia | St Paul, Minnesota - on Hiatus!

Clean Up In Isle Four

From the September 1 racing night I attended with my family, I was following our company sponsored car, the number 31 car. I was just about take a photo while it was coming out of turn number four at Elko Speedway, when all of a sudden, the tires squealed, a car spun out, a minor fender bender occurred shortly after this shot. It really was a lucky shot. I was planning on a different photo, but ended up capturing this in action pre-accident. The red and orange cars directly behind it would eventually crash into the car that is not headed in the proper direction in the photo.

My 3 Daily Photo Favorites:
Naples, Florida
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Detroit, Michigan

Mini Car Display

Every time I look at this photo, it looks like these are tiny model cars. In actuality, these cars are the real thing. I made it to Elko Speedway back in August, but the race was canceled due to rain. I was given race rain checks for two dates in September. I made it to the first one on September 2nd over Labor Day weekend. It was difficult to take photos of fast moving cars in the dark. So much blur, so much movement, but I was able to get one photo that I absolutely love, today's photo. I was panning with the cars as they moved around the track. I was focusing in on the car my work sponsors, the number 31 car, driven by Mike Hanson of Turn-Key Racing. During the nights race, Mike started in the 4th position, but ended up in 6th by races end. He is in the white car in front of the pack, he was able to hold back the majority of the cars behind him during the entire race.

I'm also posting a couple of the failed, terrible pan shots I attempted trying to get one decent shot. The next race I go to, I'm going to try a few more camera settings and experiment a bit more with night, action shots. I will say, the failed photos have a uniqueness about them and they do make for an interesting shot.
 

My 3 Daily Photo Favorites:
St Paul, Minnesota - Carol's final daily photo post
Chandler, Arizona
Selma, Alabama

Up Close On Car 31

We had a first hand look at the race car we sponsor. The car is a Chevy Caprice, 355 engine. I was amazed at home much fabrication goes into preparing the car to meet the specs for the type of race it's involved in. The outer shell is original [except for a few crash repairs], but virtually everything else must be removed down to the frame. The less weight, the better. Much of the car is self created to make everything that is left in the car working with each other. There is the obvious safety equipment needed to keep the driver safe, but beyond that, there are no luxuries.

This is my favorite shot of the day. The low angle, the soft focus, and I was under the safety of tarp to keep the rain off of my camera.

My 3 Daily Photo Favorites:
Greenville, South Carolina
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Paderborn, Germany

So Long Old Friend

This week I said goodbye to my vehicle. It's been almost two weeks now that I was struck from behind while on my way to work. I had stopped for a vehicle turning left, I heard tires screech and then realized it was me who had been hit. It was a multi car crash, a van hit a car and then hit my car that was stopped. Looking at the photo, it doesn't look that bad. However what you cannot see is the frame on the left side of the car is badly damaged. Too much in repair cost, so the insurance has decided to total my car unfortunately. I'm still working on a vehicle replacement, but I'm sad to see this car go.

My 4 Daily Photo Favorites:
Trujillo, Peru
Toronto, Canada
Prague, Czech Republic
Nelson, New Zealand

Cause I Drink Alone, Yeah With Nobody Else

Yeah, the other night I lay sleepin'
And I woke from a terrible dream
So I called up my pal Jack Daniels
And his partner Jimmy Beam

My son and I were heading back home one Saturday and we pass this Jim Beam sponsored racing car driving on the streets of Cottage Grove. He squealed the tires a bit as he turned the corner. I had to see where it was going. I did a u-turn and the next available spot and went on a chase. I saw the parking lot it drove into and read the sign that said the car was on tour at a new local liquor store, how ironic. Interesting way to advertise I though. My son asked if I had the camera because he wanted to take a photo for this website. So this is his first photo he took for the Twin Cities Daily Photo. The car was only there from 4:00 to 6:00 and it was 6:07 at the time of this photo. They actually were rolling the car onto the trailer for the day, otherwise he would have gotten a better shot from outside the car.

My Top 3 Daily Photo Favorites
Mainz, Germany
New York, New York
Antigua, Guatemala