Streaking On The Overpass

Purple Sky

The colors for this one turned out rather odd. The sun had set, maybe 20 minutes ago. Cloudy sky, street lights on and freshly fallen snow. Exposure was only 1.6 seconds, but the photo turned out very bright for how dark it was at the time. Gotta love snow brightening everything up like it does....

Stairs Closed Again

Same location as yesterday's photo, but a completely different view.

Stairs Closed

Quiet Night

A quick peek into Rice Park, downtown St Paul. It looks a bit quiet around here at the time of the photo, but I believe I just hit it right for the photo to give it that appearance.

Red Rock Saloon

I've always liked this neon sign for the Red Rock Saloon and Bowling despite never paying the place a visit. Heck, I really have no idea if there is still bowling in the tavern as it appears to be quite a small place. The Red Rock Saloon is in Newport along Highway 61. With the new construction that took place in Newport removing the three stop lights in town, it's very easy to overlook the neon lights while driving at night.

An E Please

Not sure if it was the subzero weather at the time I took this photo or if the 'E' is truly on the fritz, regardless, it was a very cold night for the setup of this photo along Cliff Road in Eagan.

How Did They Do That?

When I first saw this house, I had to do a double take. Take a look at the size of the tree with the lights in it. That is a well established tree, I would estimate 60 feet tall? How they get the lights in this tree and keep power to it, is another question I would like answered....

Christmas Lights Tour

Not Quite Rockafeller Plaza

I always wonder how one gets Christmas tree lights so high up in the air like you see in this tree....after all, it is twice as tall as the house!

Painting The Night Sky

Night Time Pine

Nighttime falls on this row of pine trees at Pine Glen Park in Cottage Grove

Passing By

On the overpass of Interstate 94, near Mounds Boulevard in St Paul, traffic whizzes under my camera lens at light speed. I'm unnoticed by the drivers as they venture forth on their nightly quest.

Streaking Lights

Passing semi truck, caught on camera with downtown St Paul in the background.

Still Of The Night

At the end of the day, all that remains is the outlines of the trees.

The Show

Captured during the July 4 fireworks show in Cottage Grove at Kingston Park.

Milestone: 1000 Posts On Twin Cities Daily Photo

With today being the 1000 post for Twin Cities Daily Photo, I decided it would be fitting for today's photo to be be from one of my personal favorite subjects to photograph....the St Paul Skyline. I've actually been sitting on this photo just for this occasion, as I took this one about two weeks ago. The location for this shot is from the East Side neighborhood. I'm between 3rd Street and 7th Street on the elevated sidewalk. It allowed me to be above the treeline and a clear view of St Paul.

Sparkling Effects

It's time for some fun with sparklers....plus my kids like it when I put photos they were a part of on this photo blog.

 

Firework Show

Captured on the 4th of July during the fireworks show in Cottage Grove. The event is held each year at Kingston Park.

Into The Night

From an overpass from the EastSide neighborhood over Interstate 94. The sunset long gone. The State Capital building in the distance.

Keeping Dry

One thing I discovered while taking photos of lightning last Wednesday was be prepared for the rain. Thank goodness I was within 15 feet of my garage when the rain started falling from the sky or my camera would have gotten soaked. I'm making a mental note, if I'm out taking photos of lightning, have a plastic bag to throw over the camera handy to keep the rain drops out.

While I was watching the rain fall, I snapped a couple of photos between my vehicles parked in the driveway. I really like the effect the rain had on the street lights.

Missing Smoke Stack

I've posted a very similar shot from this location over a year ago. The difference being the smoke stack in the background. The reason for this post is, the smoke stack is no longer standing and this is one of my few night shots with the tower. Last summer, Xcel Energy Power Plant converted their coal operation into a different form of energy production. See a photo of the falling smoke stack here.

Pink Sky At Night

The sun had set on this warm summer night, the sky was oh so pink that evening....

Summer Blues

We are nearing the end of January 2009 and I'm longing for the warmth of summer. I needed to post a photo taken near the beginning of summer last year in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area on a relatively calm evening with a 5 second exposure time. Summer is almost here....hang in there....

Night Shot Experimentation

A few weeks ago, I was being adventurous, taking some night time photos while driving....gasp! Trust me, there is very little traffic where I was for this one. You never really know what you're going to get while behind the wheel taking photos. Though, I must admit, it is MUCH easier to taking photos in a moving vehicle when you are the passenger. I did like how this one turned out while driving behind a semi, fairly straight lines, streaks of lights in many colors.

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.

Nighttime On The Mississippi

I was looking through my photos and stumbled upon this one overlooking the Mississippi River. I took this on day 4 of the Republican National Convention back in September. I really had the ISO set high, thus the graininess in the photo. Believe it or not, I didn't use a tripod for this one, but I was holding it against a railing.

The Still Of The Night

The air was very calm as I drove over the Wakota Bridge yesterday evening. The bridge cross the Mississippi River from Inver Grove Heights into Newport. The plant you see in the distance is the Ashland Oil Refinery. I've been wanting to take this shot for quite some time now. The factory has a ton of lights, in the cooler months it throws steam everywhere. These long streams of lights on the river, I see from time to time. I had to turn around and find a location to shoot from. I was a bit under dressed for the sub freezing temps, so I didn't venture to far from where I parked. I am curious how the area will photograph once the river freeze over and there is snow illuminating the banks of the Mississippi River.

Unknown Lake Shot

As the sun recently had set for the young evening, I looked out my balcony window from my hotel room in Seattle, the water was calm, there was a sprinkle of rain of course. It looked right for a photo opportunity. What doesn't show in this photo, out of frame to the left is the airport, it's right there, noisy as an airport can be, yet, these few homes share valuable waterfront property. Anyone who lives on a lake can tell you they pay a heck of a lot more in property taxes than the regular homestead. I'm just curious, with the airport being in plain sight, are the property taxes still high on this body of water?

Out The Window

I took the family to Cosetta's Pizza on 7th Street in St Paul. We were lucky enough to grab a table by a window. There are only three or four large windows with tables in front of them. You can imagine they are the most popular tables in the place. The days are getting shorter this time of the year and I found myself with this fantastic dusk view of the famous Seven Corners Hardware store.

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