Wild Fire Smoke Filled Sky

I do believe, the redish glow from this sunset capture the other evening was partly contributed by the annual California wild fires. Seriously, this has become a yearly over hyped media event from the West Coast. Why do these wild fires get more TV coverage than the levy that broke in Iowa and flooded the entire town? Where is the media coverage? Where are the celebrities asking for help to relocate the folks of Iowa? Even George Bush isn't getting blamed for the recent flooding.

Interesting Read Of The Day: California Wildfires “business as usual” for nature

Woooo, Ahhhh, Woooo,

This is my third 4th of July celebration since I've started the Twin Cities Daily Photo. This is the first time I've captured photos during the fireworks display. One year, I simply forgot to bring my camera to Kingston Park in Cottage Grove where the community gathers for the local event. Last year, I intentionally didn't bring my camera as I had unfortunately cracked my LCD screen and couldn't set up my camera to take any nighttime photos. The camera was pretty worthless at the time, but I've since repaired it. Third times a charm. I was finally set, working camera, working batteries and I brought the camera to the park. All in all, I took around 50 photos, my favorite being the sparkler photo [scroll down to yesterday to see it]. The wind was a bit tough on some of the photos, the fireworks were drifting into a smear on many of the photos. I did manage to get a few good captures on the night.
  

Symphony Of Light

My kids performed the sparkler symphony while we were waiting on the nights fireworks display in Cottage Grove. I'm not sure who enjoyed this performance the most, my kids with the sparklers or me with the camera....

Good Night BWCA

We say good night to the BWCA photos, or at least for a while. One final shot from Ima Lake in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, taken from our base camp on the camp sight before you enter Alworth Lake.

Dancing In The Moonlight

Another photo from the Boundary Waters Canoe Area set. I've featured the BWCA for a good portion of this week. This one is a 6 second photo capture and was taken well after the sun had set for the evening.

BWCA Trip 2008

I've made my 11th or 12th trip into the BWCA [Boundary Waters Canoe Area] last week. Thanks to Blogger for adding scheduling posts, my site updated successfully while I was away! So bare with me for a couple days as I post some of my favorite trip photos. This is a night time photo from our camp site. The light reflection in the water is the moonlight. Camera settings: 15 seconds, ISO 80, f/2.8. I used my Joby flexable Tripod, was perfect for the rocky and uneven surface.

Theme Day: Numbers

First of the month is Theme Day in the City Daily Photo community. This theme is a bit different, the challenge is to take photo of 'numbers' in your city. Well, I can only think of one number in the city I grew up in. This grand daddy of the numeral 1 is high a top the First National Bank Building, downtown, St Paul.

Please make a stop at other cities participating in the numbers theme that are listed below today's photo. Keep in mind the time zone differences for everyone to post their photos.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

Albuquerque (NM) American Fork (UT) Arradon, France Aspen (CO) Athens, Greece Auckland, New Zealand Austin (TX) Avignon, France Barrow-in-Furness, UK Barton (VT) Belgrade, SerbiaBellefonte (PA) Bicheno, Australia Bogor, Indonesia Boston (MA) Boston (MA) Bucharest, Romania Budapest, Hungary Buenos Aires, Argentina Busan, Korea South Canterbury, UKChandler (AZ) Chateaubriant, France Cheltenham, UK Chesapeake (VA) Chicago (IL)Christchurch, New Zealand Clearwater (FL) Clearwater Beach (FL) Cleveland (OH) Cologne, Germany Concordia Sagittaria, Italy Coral Gables (FL) Corsicana (TX) Dallas (TX) Darmstadt, Germany Dunedin (FL) Durban, South Africa East Gwillimbury, Canada Evry, France Forks (WA) Geneva (IL) Glasgow, Scotland Greenville (SC) Gun Barrel City (TX) Hamilton, New Zealand Hampton (VA) Helsinki, Finland Hobart, Australia Hong Kong, Hong Kong Hyde, UKInverness (IL) Ioannina, Greece Jackson (MS) Jefferson City (MO) Jogjakarta, Indonesia Joplin (MO) Katonah (NY) Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Kyoto, Japan Larchmont (NY) Las Vegas (NV) Le Guilvinec, France Lisbon, Portugal Lisbon, Portugal Lodz, Poland London, UK London, UK Mainz, Germany Malaga, Spain Manila, Philippines Maple Ridge, Canada Marseille, France Medan, Indonesia Melbourne, Australia Melbourne, Australia Memphis (TN) Menton, France Mexico City, Mexico Mexico City, Mexico Minneapolis (MN) Minneapolis (MN) Minsk, Belarus Misawa, Japan Monrovia (CA) Monte Carlo, Monaco Monterrey, Mexico Montpellier, France Moscow, Russia Mumbai, India Mumbai, India Nancy, France Nashville (TN) Nelson, New Zealand New Orleans (LA) New York City (NY) New York City (NY) Newport News (VA) Norfolk (VA) North Hampton (NH) Norwich, UK Nottingham, UK Ocean Township (NJ) Omsk, Russia Orlando (FL)Oslo, Norway Owasso (OK) Paderborn, Germany Paris, France Pasadena (CA) Pasadena (CA)Penang, Malaysia Perth, Australia Phoenix (AZ) Pilisvörösvár, Hungary Port Angeles (WA) Port Elizabeth, South Africa Port Townsend (WA) Port Vila, Vanuatu Portsmouth (VA) Prague, Czech Republic Quincy (MA) Rabaul, Papua New Guinea Ramsey, Isle of Man Riga, Latvia Rollag, Norway Rotterdam, Netherlands Saarbrücken, Germany Saigon, Vietnam Saint Paul (MN)Salem (OR) Salt Lake City (UT) Salt Lake City (UT) San Diego (CA) San Diego (CA) San Francisco (CA) San Francisco (CA) Seattle (WA) Seattle (WA) Selma (AL) Seoul, South KoreaSesimbra, Portugal Setúbal, Portugal Sharon (CT) Singapore, Singapore Sofia, Bulgaria St Francis, South Africa Stanwood (WA) Stavanger, Norway Stayton (OR) Stockholm, SwedenStouffville, Canada Subang Jaya, Malaysia Suffolk (VA) Sunshine Coast, Australia Sydney, Australia Székesfehérvár, Hungary Tacloban City, Philippines Tel-Aviv, Israel Terrell (TX)Terrell (TX) Tokyo, Japan Torun, Poland Torun, Poland Toulouse, France Turin, Italy Tuzla, Bosnia Twin Cities (MN) Vichy, France Victoria, Canada Vienna, Austria Virginia Beach (VA)Wailea (HI) Washington (DC) Wassenaar, Netherlands West Paris (ME) West Sacramento (CA)Weston (FL) Williamsburg (VA) Willits (CA) Yardley (PA)

Two Years Of Twin Cities Daily Photo

I'm a day late, but the Twin Cities Daily Photo has been active for two full years now. What started as a way to learn about my new digital camera has completed it's second year. Honestly my starting date had slipped my mind and I don't really have any special montage of my photos, but the photo I've chosen for this occasion is still one of my favorite photos I've taken so far. I am standing in Mounds Park in East St Paul overlooking downtown St Paul. There was a storm rolling in to the right of the frame at the time of the photo. This was also my first attempt at nighttime photography.

I Took Me Four Attempts

Looking at yesterday's photo again, I must tell a quick story. The night I shot both today's and yesterday's photo, it took me four attempts before I timed the big "1" to be lit up as it is today. It's a three sided neon lighted sign and each bank is lit up one at a time to save energy and the cost to run all three sides at once. Getting the timing down to take a photo of it proved to be a challenge in the cold temperatures. In the end, I actually preferred the unlit photo better. It's a capture of this tower at night that I had never seen before. Plus the neon lights were very bright in the photo, but being as it was very cold out, I didn't want to tweak my camera settings any longer.

Which do you prefer?

My Daily Photo Favorites: returning soon

Night Shot Of The First National Bank

Nighttime capture of the First National Bank Building in downtown St Paul. I am at the corner of Kellogg Avenue and Wabasha Street.

My Daily Photo Favorites: returning soon....

My Favorite Part Of Town

I've featured this area quite often. It's a personal favorite location in the Twin Cities of mine. You have the Mississippi River, the road is Sheppard Road, the bridge in the distance is called the High Bridge [it was also my the same bridge myself and Kate [Visual St Paul] posted for the bridge theme day]. On the left is Harriot Island with a couple of, decorated in lights, paddle fords that have stuck around for the frozen winter months.

My Daily Photo Favorites: Washington, DC | Naples, Florida | Buenos Aires, Argentina

One More From The Historic Library

This is from the same location as yesterday's photo of the downtown St Paul Public Library. I wanted to show the front area of the entry way into the library and all of the work that went into the design.

My Daily Photo Favorites: Terrell, Texas | Vienna, Austria | Mazatlan, Mexico | Monte Carlo, Monaco | Greenville, South Carolina

James J Hill Library

Named after successful business man, James J Hill, the downtown St Paul library has been around since 1921. An early settler in St Paul, James J Hill is well known for his success in the railroad industry. The library is located at 80 West 4th Street.

The view of the library is on the north east corner of the building.

There Are Good Things About Winter

Despite my latest trend in posting for the past couple of days, wishing for the Spring season to start, winter does have it's good points.

No Yard Work - Working in the yard is not an option. I cannot mow the lawn, water flowers, pull weeds, working on landscaping projects, trim the trees, rake leaves, and many more. It just can't be done. The frozen ground plus a lack of seeing the ground while it is covered in a layer of snow prevents this fabulous chore.

Fireplace - Only in the cold winter months do I light up my fireplace. We have a wood burning fireplace that keeps the family room oh so warm and toasty on the frigid and blustery winter nights. While the summer heat is enjoyable to me, staying warm via the fireplace is a delight in itself.

Family Time - In this fast paced world we live in, the cold weather forces us to stay indoors more this time of the year and enjoy each others company. Playing board games, watching a movie, getting to know each other.

Snow Days - Who doesn't enjoy calling in to work because the snow and/or ice is making it impossible to get yourself to work. I enjoyed them as a child, I still enjoy them as an adult.

Winter Beauty - While taking photos in the winter can be quite a challenge, you can also get some outstanding captures that can only be taking this time of the year. Not dressing warm enough is the major factor. The winter elements can give you one of those outstanding photos to an area that you're familiar with, yet it looks entirely different in a winter scene.

Total Lunar Eclipse Of The Heart

[Title Note: Someone at my work was adding words to the old 80's hit by Bonnie Tyler, "Total Eclipse Of the Heart", if you could have only heard them sing it]

Here is my photo attempt of the lunar eclipse that has come and gone. I read for best results on taking lunar eclipse photos it's best to have a clear sky [duh], away from lights [I was not], have a 3X lens for your camera [I did not have]. Well, I stood about five feet outside my front door, shot across a street light and used only the zoom on my camera. My results are okay, but not fantastic.

Did I mention the temperature was -3 F at the time of photo taking, I was wearing my sweatshirt, jeans and my slippers! The one thing in my favor was the lack of wind, there wasn't any, thus I got my shots taken in under five minutes of being in the cool temperatures. Honestly, with the lack of wind, it wasn't that bad for the few minutes I was outside. Throw in some wind, I would have taken one shot and called it a night, it took about a dozen in all.

The bottom left corner dot is the planet Saturn. The top, almost directly above the moon is Regulus, the brightest star in the Leo constellation. It is also about 77.5 light years from our solar system.

 
More Daily Photo Lunar Eclipse Photos: Detroit, Michigan | Port Elizabeth, South Africa | Port Angeles, Washington | Weston, Florida | Chicago, Illinois | Minneapolis, Minnesota | River Falls, Wisconsin | Forks, Washington | Larchmont, New York | Washington DC | Regina, Canada | San Diego, California | Stayton, Oregon | Maple Ridge, Canada

Tiny Daggers

Looking out my window one evening, I noticed the street light shinning through the ice cycles that were hanging from the roof of my home.

My Daily Photo Favorites: Greenville, South Carolina | Vienna, Austria | Kuala Lumpure, Malaysia | Ioannina, Greece | Monte Carlo, Monaco

Looking Into Rice Park

The view into Rice Park located downtown St Paul. This photo was taken during the St Paul Winter Carnival. You can see the ice sculptures, but my target for this photo was all of the lights in the trees.

My Daily Photo Favorites: Bangalor, India | Flagstaff, Arizona | Sesimbra, Portugal | Sitka, Alaska | Oslo, Norway | Ystad, Sweden

The Saint Paul Hotel

Night time view of the Saint Paul Hotel building. It is the building with the lights around the edge of the roof line and all of the lights on in the penthouse level.
 

My Daily Photo Favorites: New York, New York | Cape Town, South Africa | Minneapolis, Minnesota | Larchmont, New York

Frosting Covered Branches

One of the beauties of winter is the collection of snow on things, nature, bicycles, lawn chairs, anything out in the open is fair game for the snow falling. This tree is a very good example. One thing of note, the snow that has collected on the trees had fallen about 36 hours prior to taking this photo. Yeah, you ask? Well, the sun did come out, there was very little wind, to my surprise, there is this much snow still left on the branches. Typically if you don't get outdoors and take your photos shortly after the storm has passed, you've missed your opportunity.

My Daily Photo Favorites: Munich, Germany | Memphis, Tennessee | Saratoga Springs, New York | Minneapolis, Minnesota | Chicago, Illinois

The River Ice Is Alive

Once a month us city photo bloggers have a theme day, back in December 2007, our theme day was bridges. I posted a photo of the high bridge that crosses the Mississippi River from the West Side neighborhood into the West End Neighborhood. That was not my first choice of the bridge I wanted to take a photo of. Today's photo was what I had in mind for the December theme day, but it was so darn windy and cold that night, that the cold temperatures got the best of me. Yes, I was a tad under dressed for the night air.

I've posted several photos from this area, but this is my first while standing on the downtown St Paul side of things, plus at night. The house you see is the Minnesota Boat Club. It is located on Raspberry Island. The bridge you see, is the Wabasha Street Bridge looking south towards the West Side Neighborhood. I do really like how the ice appears to be creeping down the flowing river waters. Trust me, it was well froze over and not moving to my eye.
Camera Settings: ISO 80, f/2.8, 1.6 sec

My Daily Photo Favorites: Little Rock, Arkansas | New York, New York | Budapest, Hungary | Paris, France | Juneau, Alaska | Stockholm, Sweden | Austin, Texas | New Orleans, Louisiana | Guelph, Canada | Naples, Florida

Ice Melts Above 32 Degrees Fahrenheit

As I mentioned earlier in the week in regards to this weeks ice carvings I've been posting, the day after they carved the blocks of ice, it warmed above the freezing point for about 36 hours. This caused havoc with the spectacular creations as you can see in the two photos I've posted today. You can sort of make out what some of the carvings are. All of the details are gone and pieces have fallen to the ground. Yet there are a couple ice carvings that I have no idea what it could have been. Despite the melting that has taken place, I really like the way these photos turned out with all of the lights on the trees, the colors the ice blocks are with the lights reflecting. Next year I'll try to get out there on the first night just in case there are warm temperatures once again.

Frosty The Ice Man

Another frozen delight from the St Paul Winter Carnival ice carvings in Rice Park.

Frozen Fish

This aquatic vertebrae gives new meaning to the cold blooded spices. This frozen wonder is on the right side of yesterday's grand ice carving display which can be seen in Rice Park during the St Paul Winter Carnival.

My Daily Photo Favorites: Terrell, Texas | Montego Bay, Jamaica | Maple Ridge, Canada | Sesimbra, Portugal | Prague, Czech Republic | Delta, Colorado

Saint Paul Winter Carnival

One of my personal favorite times of the winter season is the two weeks of the Saint Paul Winter Carnival held each year for the past 122 years. Last week I posted a few photos from the Snow Sculpture contest. This week will be some of the creations made from blocks of ice. I only have a few of them because the day after the blocks of ice were carved, the temperatures soared above the freezing point for about 36 hours. There was a lot of melting during this period and by the time I was able to make it to the carvings of ice, they were not that recognizable. My guess is the event organizers had to recreate this welcome to the winter carnival creation. You'll know what I mean later in the week when I posted a photo of the half melted ice creations.

My Daily Photo Favorites: Naples, Florida | Boston, Massachusetts | Terrell, Texas | Wroclaw, Poland | Pasadena, California

Theme Day: When People Think Of My city, They Think Of

Surprisingly, the theme for the month of February was a challenge for me. I'm currently living in Cottage Grove, it just wasn't going to work for the theme day. Unless I posted a photo of the Cottage View Drive In theater, but I've posted many photos of it already. Instead I selected the city I was born in, grew up in, and know like the back of my hand, the Capital City of Minnesota: Saint Paul. While this photo is no where near as creative as I like to be for the theme day, I was out and about in temperatures of about 5 F degrees above.

What you are looking at is the State Capital building of Minnesota take from the walkway to the front side of the building. I felt it was a fitting photo for the theme day as it is often said that St Paul is the Capital City of Minnesota.

There are many more cities participating in today's theme day photo. Please stop by their photo sites and say hello. Let them know that Slinger from Twin Cities Daily Photo sent you. Do give everyone around the world a chance for their timezones differences to see all of the city photos.


Portland (OR), USA - Menton, France - Monte Carlo, Monaco - Memphis (Tennessee), USA - Manila, Philippines - San Diego (CA), USA - Anderson (SC), USA - New York City (NY), USA - San Diego (CA), USA - Mexico City, Mexico - San Francisco (CA), USA - Mumbai (Maharashtra), India - Mainz, Germany - Weston (FL), USA - Minneapolis (MN), USA - Turin, Italy - Las Vegas (NV), USA - Hobart (Tasmania), Australia - Bicheno, Australia - Durban, South Africa - Joplin (MO), USA - Nashville (TN), USA - Stockholm, Sweden - Kyoto, Japan - Tokyo, Japan - Brussels, Belgium - Chicago (IL), USA - Montpellier, France - Seattle (WA), USA - Mazatlan, Mexico - Saint Paul (MN), USA - Sharon (CT), USA - Sesimbra, Portugal - Toulouse, France - Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina - Susanville (CA), USA - Maple Ridge (BC), Canada - Saint Louis (MO), USA - Prague, Czech Republic - Helsinki, Finland - Pilisvörösvár, Hungary - Lisbon, Portugal - Mexico (DF), Mexico - Trujillo, Peru - Dunedin (FL), USA - Albuquerque (NM), USA - Port Angeles (WA), USA - Cottage Grove (MN), USA - Saint-Petersburg, Russian Federation - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - London, UK - Baziège, France - Jefferson City (MO), USA - Greenville (SC), USA - Selma (AL), USA - Mumbai, India - Naples (FL), USA - Norwich (Norfolk), UK - Silver Spring (MD), USA - Setúbal, Portugal - Stayton (OR), USA - Bellefonte (PA), USA - Sofia, Bulgaria - Arradon, France - Montego Bay, Jamaica - Athens, Greece - Austin (TX), USA - Singapore, Singapore - West Sacramento (CA), USA - Jackson (MS), USA - Wassenaar (ZH), Netherlands - Budapest, Hungary - Rotterdam, Netherlands - St Malo, France - Chandler (AZ), USA - Melbourne, Australia - Port Vila, Vanuatu - Cleveland (OH), USA - Nottingham, UK - Kansas City (MO), USA - The Hague, Netherlands - Crystal Lake (IL), USA - Wrocław, Poland - Chateaubriant, France - Cheltenham, UK - Moscow, Russia - Monrovia (CA), USA - Saigon, Vietnam - Toruń, Poland - Grenoble, France - Lisbon, Portugal - New Orleans (LA), USA - Sydney, Australia - Boston (MA), USA - American Fork (UT), USA - Boston (MA), USA - Montréal (QC), Canada -