Dog Show

Adjacent to the Xcel Energy Center is a large convention center type building call 'River Center'. As I was making my way to an event at the Xcel, I peered into the window and saw a dog show competition. I'd personally never been to one before and stood and watched for about five minutes. There was two or three different judging areas for the dogs and so much additional activity in the room. I know this photo has a lot in it and is incredibly busy to look at, but I did crop out quite a bit to help on the eyes.

Busy Bodies

I must have spent about 5 minutes taking photos of people walking by from above. Each one turned out differently than the next. This one has a mom pushing a baby stroller, you should be able to figure out which of the ghostly figures is the one I am referring too.

Would You, Could You

I just had to take a photo of this couple eating dinner. I was three floors above them when I took their photo of their dinner....

Red, White and Que

From a 4th of July parade in Afton, MN...the slogan on their shirts is rather funny.

Underdog

Why Underdog for the title you may be asking? Oh if only he had both arms in the air, he would match perfectly with the Underdog t-shirt he is wearing....all kidding aside, I believe his name was Captain Pottery. Could be wrong, but I cannot recall what name he was using. He is from the Afton 4th of July parade, which I've posted several photos from during this month of July.

It's A Good Look For Him

He reminds me sort of a younger Dee Snyder from Twisted Sister, but without the characteristic nose.

All Smiles

A couple of smiles from two ladies with red hats that were involved in the Afton, 4th of July parade. I captured them as they passed along the route.

Color Guard

From the city of Afton, 4th of July parade. This was the color guard to start the parade.

Theme Day: Shadow

With today being Theme Day in the City Daily Photo community, I'm taking a different approach to the theme of 'shadows'. I've decided to post a self portrait photo I took in the fall of last year as the sun was setting. It turned out quite pleasant and better than I was hoping the shot would turn out. So ummmm, hi! It's me!

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants of the 'shadow' theme.

Theme Day: Yellow

Now I'm posting today's photo very late in the day as there is less than two hours until the clock strikes midnight. However, the first of the month is 'Theme Day' in the 'City Daily Photo' community. I couldn't pass up the theme of the color yellow.

The photo I've selected is of one of the very popular Fresh French Fry stands that can be found at the Minnesota State Fair held in late August each year. It runs for two weeks, with the final day being the Labor Day holiday. As for the fry stand, most Minnesotan's who attend the fair will visit this stand year after year. They start with whole potato's, push them through a cutting system and in the vat of grease they go to cook for about three minutes. Once they are cooked, sprinkle on some salt and into a various sized cups for serving. Now you usually have to let them cool for a minute or two as they are VERY hot coming out of 450 degree bath of cooking oil.

Now I must pay respect to those who work the booth each year. The two week long fair runs during our hottest month of the year. The cooking fryers are very hot, combine that with the outside air temps and it makes for a very uncomfortable place to be in. They serve the french fries and make all of us paying customers happy while they are hot beyond belief.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants in today's Theme Day

The Lost Viking

I found him lurking around in Rice Park during the Republican National Convention held during the late summer of 2008.

Behind The Scenes Of Hockey Day Minnesota

Just a few photos of the fans, the announcers, and the view from the camera men. When the Minnesota Wild hockey games are broadcast on FS North, the TV station will host their game coverage from the Xcel Energy Center. I always love watching the people behind the announcers. The things that some of them do are priceless. I tried to get the guy leaning over making faces behind the announcers from a better angle than I was able to get. He was going on and on for three to four minutes with his creativeness. These photos were taken on Hockey Day Minnesota 2009 at the end of the Wild vs Anaheim Ducks. The game was near the end of a full day of hockey programming, including a segment from the solders in Iraq from Duluth and St Paul divisions in a game of floor hockey. That was a great idea to include those from Minnesota in such an unusual place to host a hockey game.

 

Old Seventh Street

If I recall correctly, prior to some point in the 1980's, this was 7th Street in downtown St Paul. I believe it is now called Old Seventh Street. Today, 7th Street has moved about one block to the north and has taken all of the vehicle traffic with it. At one time in this streets history, it was the place to go if you wanted to go to the theater for a night of entertainment.

City Pages Street Team

A couple of weekends ago, my wife and I went out with a few other couples for the evening. After our dinner stop in downtown Minneapolis, we made a stop at a tavern nearby called Glueck's. While we were there enjoying our favorite beverages of choice, someone from the City Pages Street Team asked if they could take our photo. Everyone in our party agreed with the teams of signing a photo waiver of some sort to release the photo for the weekly local newspaper. [The City Pages is a very popular weekly newspaper with a somewhat different take on Twin Cities news and events] While I did agree to sign the waiver, I also asked if I could take their photo to include on the Twin Cities Daily Photo. I took the verbal agreement and the 'thumbs up' in the photo as a green light. I must give credit for this photo to my wife as I posed with the City Pages Street Team member.

Snowball Fight

I captured this mother and son throwing snow at each other the other day while I was in Rice Park, downtown St Paul. It was actually fun to watch them since I had my camera in hand. They gave me about three to four minutes to capture the shot I wanted. They were really having a blast with this snowball exchange and were laughing the entire time. The expression on the boys face is pure joy.

My Daily Photo Favorites: Shanghai, China | St Barthélemy, France | Glasgow, Scotland | Ystad, Sweden | Honolulu, Hawaii

Salute To The Bride And Groom

I did want to post just one more from my Winona trip. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time for this one. When I was at Garvin Heights that overlooks Winona, there was a wedding party having a photo shoot. I hope they don't mind, but I'm going to post my best photo of them. They had just finished taking their photos and were moving along to a new location. Their delightful smiles certainly express the joys of their special day.

My Daily Photo Favorites: Château-Gontier, France | Las Vegas, Nevada | St Paul, Minnesota | Bogor, Indonesia | Cheltenham, UK | Riga, Latvia

Interesting Links Of the Day: 4500 years of global temperatures | Squirrels Obstacle Course | 27 Very Strange & Funny Signs