Goose Bumps

Reflections

In between the rain showers, I managed to snap a few shots at a Cottage Grove pond. I don't believe this body of water qualifies as a lake.

The Doors Of Steel

In May of 2007, I had stopped by the Lock and Dam Number 2 in Hastings, wanting to get some shots of what the insides of the locks look like. I was greeted with a big fence and a warning sign stating that this was as closes as you'll get to the dam. It became protected after the Twin Towers attack on September 11. If you'd like to read the sign, I have a photo of it here.

This afternoon, another co-worker of mine, Dave J, forwarded me a photo of him traveling inside of the lock and damn while on his boat. The photo was taken with the camera on his cell phone. I've been inside of the locks a couple of times and it is a strange feeling when the lock doors close and your encased in steel walls, while holding onto a rope to keep your boat next to the side of the wall. The water rises or lowers slowly, and before you know it, you venture on your way. Thank you for the contribution.

The Ledge

A co-worker of mine, Dave J, sent me this photo a couple of weeks ago from his fishing trip. I like how it shows the calm water level to the left, then a mini rapids as the water rushes over the rocks to a lower part of the lake.

All Tied Up

On the banks of the Mississippi....

Orchestra Hall Park

Just outside the door of Orchestra Hall, located in downtown Minneapolis is a park with plenty of water, pools, waterfalls, and artwork with water flowing out of them. It's quite the scene. Unfortunately, not everything was operational as the weather is a tad on the cool side this spring. There was however, a few things that had water running, this small, man made falls was one of them. I used a manual setting, shutter speed of 1/8, f2.8, no additional lenses. The best part was, I did not have my tripod with me and used my hand as the tripod hoping for the best. I was pleased with the result.

Site Of The Day: Big Ding Dong

Three Year Mile Stone

April 23, 2006 was day one of the Twin Cities Daily Photo blog. [Take a peek back at the first post here] The photo I've chosen for today's photo is one that was taken back in the first couple of months of the blog, while driving along Interstate 94, crossing the Minnesota River, looking north into downtown Minneapolis. Spring was in full bloom at this point, sunny as can be and warm enough to wear shorts and a t-shirt.

Thank you to all who stop by on a regular basis. Looking at the stats for the website, I can tell there is quite a bit of regular traffic during the work week.

More From Willie's Hidden Harbor

Yesterday I showed you the opening that leads out to the Mississippi River from Willie's Hidden Harbor. Today I'm showing the front portion of the harbor where boats will soon be once the waters and air temps warm to the typical summer time.

I'm Melting

A view of Willie's Hidden Harbor in Saint Paul Park. It's been nearly 70 degrees the last couple of days, I would doubt there would be much of this ice remaining in the harbor, if any at all. At the time of this photo, it was mid March and nearly the first day of spring.

Warm Weather Returns

Been a bit pre-occupied the past few days with my Final Four web site, but now that the bulk of what I need to do to get it up and running is over, I can concentrate here once again.

I can't say it's as warm out and as green as it is in the photo contribution by swc, but it's getting closer as each day passes. The water falls in the photo can be found in Hastings off of Highway 61 as you cross the Vermillion River.

Soon, Very Soon

Very soon, these mallard ducks will return to the open waters in the Twin Cities. Though, tomorrow morning I will be shoveling the snow from my driveway. Hello spring....

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.

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?

The Ends Of The Earth

This is one of those shots I should really flip over so the tree is upright and see if anyone figures out the photo is upside down. Since starting this photo blog, I never look at puddles the same. It's amazing what kind of photo one can get looking into a puddle about the size of a cowboy hat.

Koi In Conservatory

If you saw yesterday's photo, you saw a couple of kids playing in the water. With a topside view, it's revealed what they were playing with in the water. Could you resist playing with the Koi fish if you were a young child? These Koi are quite interesting as they poke their heads out of water and you're able to see their mouths appear to breath the air. As long as I can recall, the Conservatory at Como Park has always kept Koi in this water tank.

Playing With Fishy

One of the ponds in the Conservatory at Como Park. Where there is water, you'll often find kids playing in it. Today was no exception.

Calm

A photo to help us all keep calm after a crazy week in the Stock Market, the financial institutions, Wall Street and the US Government.

Boundary Waters

I wanted to answer Dusty Lens of the North Metro Minneapolis Photo Blog, his question was what lakes do we travel to. We usually enter the BWCAW around the city of Ely. The access lake we enter is Snowbank, then into Disappointment Lake. Once through these two lakes, which are the longest two lakes we have to paddle, the rest are fairly small. Adventure, Jitterbug, Cantyman, Asaub, Jordan, and we either end up on Ima or Alworth Lake. We like to make a base camp and then take day trips from there. We like to stay on Ima to fish for Lake Trout, plus we caught some Northern Pike in the range of 40-43 inches on this lake in the past. It's lowest point is 140 feet and typically has a 40 foot average depth about 20 feet from shore.

Theme Day: Water

The Theme Day for April is 'water'. The photo I've selected was a fun one to take. That is my son jumping into the water. He was jumping off of a rock into one of the lakes in the BWCA. The height from the rock to the water was about three to four feet. This gave me a great vantage point to take this shot. I believe this was my sixth attempt to get the capture I was looking for. My son was more than willing to jump into the water, wouldn't you if you were nine years old?

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.


Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

theme day id=13

Adelaide, Australia, Albuquerque (NM), USA, American Fork (UT), USA, Anderson (SC), USA, Ararat, Australia, Arradon, France, Ashton under Lyne, UK, Athens, Greece, Auckland, New Zealand, Austin (TX), USA, Bandung, Indonesia, Barton (VT), USA, Belgrade, Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia, Bellefonte (PA), USA, Bicheno, Australia, Bogor, Indonesia, Boston (MA), USA, Boston (MA), USA, Boston (MA), USA, Brighton, UK, Brookville (OH), USA, Budapest, Hungary, Budapest, Hungary, Canterbury, UK, Cape Town, South Africa, Chandler (AZ), USA, Chateaubriant, France, Cheltenham, UK, Chicago (IL), USA, Christchurch, New Zealand, Clearwater (FL), USA, Clearwater Beach (FL), USA, Cleveland (OH), USA, Coral Gables (FL), USA, Cypress (TX), USA, Dallas/Fort Worth (TX), USA, Dunedin (FL), USA, Durban, South Africa, East Gwillimbury, Canada, Evry, France, Glasgow, Scotland, Greenville (SC), USA, Grenoble, France, Guelph, Canada, Gun Barrel City (TX), USA, Hamilton, New Zealand, Hampton (VA), USA, Haninge, Sweden, Helsinki, Finland, Hobart, Australia, Hyde, UK, Inverness (IL), USA, Jackson (MS), USA, Jakarta, Indonesia, Jefferson City (MO), USA, Jogjakarta, Indonesia, Joplin (MO), USA, Juneau (AK), USA, Katonah (NY), USA, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Kyoto, Japan, Lake Forest Park (WA), USA, Larchmont (NY), USA, Las Vegas (NV), USA, Lisbon, Portugal, Lisbon, Portugal, Lodz, Poland, London, UK, London, UK, Mainz, Germany, Maple Ridge, Canada, Marseille, France, Mazatlan, Mexico, Melbourne, Australia, Melbourne, Australia, Memphis (TN), USA, Menton, France, Mexico City, Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico, Minneapolis (MN), USA, Minneapolis (MN), USA, Minsk, Belarus, Monrovia (CA), USA, Monte Carlo, Monaco, Montego Bay, Jamaica, Monterrey, Mexico, Moscow, Russia, Mumbai, India, Mumbai, India, Mumbai, India, Nancy, France, Naples (FL), USA, Nashville (TN), USA, Nelson, New Zealand, New Orleans (LA), USA, New York City (NY), USA, Niamey, Niger, Norfolk (VA), USA, Norman (OK), USA, Norwich, UK, Nottingham, UK, Odense, Denmark, Omsk, Russia, Orlando (FL), USA, Oslo, Norway, Paderborn, Germany, Paris, France, Paris, France, Pasadena (CA), USA, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia, Pilisvörösvár, Hungary, Pont-à-Mousson, France, Port Angeles (WA), USA, Port Elizabeth, South Africa, Port Townsend (WA), USA, Port Vila, Vanuatu, Portland (OR), USA, Portland (ME), USA, Portsmouth (VA), USA, Prague, Czech Republic, Quincy (MA), USA, Riga, Latvia, Rotterdam, Netherlands, Saarbrücken, Germany, Saigon, Vietnam, Saint Louis (MO), USA, Saint Paul (MN), USA, Salem (OR), USA, Salt Lake City (UT), USA, Salt Lake City (UT), USA, San Diego (CA), USA, San Francisco (CA), USA, Seattle (WA), USA, Seattle (WA), USA, Seguin (TX), USA, Selma (AL), USA, Sequim (WA), USA, Sesimbra, Portugal, Setúbal, Portugal, Shanghai, China, Sharon (CT), USA, Singapore, Singapore, Sofia, Bulgaria, St Francis, South Africa, Stavanger, Norway, Stayton (OR), USA, Stockholm, Sweden, Stouffville, Canada, Subang Jaya, Malaysia, Suffolk (VA), USA, Sunshine Coast, Australia, Sydney, Australia, Sydney, Australia, Székesfehérvár, Hungary, Tacloban City, Philippines, Terrell (TX), USA, Terrell (TX), USA, The Hague, Netherlands, Tokyo, Japan, Toruń, Poland, Toulouse, France, Turin, Italy, Tuzla, Bosnia, Twin Cities (MN), USA, Victoria, Canada, Vienna, Austria, Virginia Beach (VA), USA, Wailea (HI), USA, Washington (DC), USA, Wassenaar, Netherlands, Wellington, New Zealand, West Paris (ME), USA, West Sacramento (CA), USA, Weston (FL), USA, Williamsburg (VA), USA, Willits (CA), USA, Yardley (PA), USA

Twice As Nice

Tomorrow is my Theme Day photo in the Daily Photo Community. Water is the theme for the month of April. While this is not my selection for tomorrow's theme, this would be my second choice. I went out a little over a week ago with this shot in mind to use for the theme day. I found the location I wanted and I'm very happy with the results of the photo. I used a photo technique that Chris from Minneapolis Daily Photo often used in his shots.

So if this is my second choice for the theme day of 'Water', what is my first choice? Well, you'll have to stop back tomorrow and find out. It was a bit more of a challenging photo to take than today's photo is.

My Daily Photo Favorites: London, United Kingdom | Torino, Italy | Buenos Aires, Argentina | Grenoble, France | Minneapolis, Minnesota

Roadside Reflections

Today's photo was taken by my wife while we were driving down the highway at 60+ miles per hour. I was driving, she was taking photos. It was taken on highway 61, just south of Red Wing.

My Daily Photo Favorites: Santa Fe, New Mexico | Greenville, South Carolina | Terrell, Texas

Interesting Links Of the Day: Joby Gorilla Pod | Pictures Taken From The Sky | How Well Do You Know Your World

Minnesota? Yes. Twin Cities? No.

Being as it's a long holiday weekend, I'm going to venture away from the Twin Cities to one of my favorite scenic places outside of the Twin Cities. Well, at least within a two hour drive. I showed you yesterday's spectacular drive by view along the Mississippi River on Highway 61. Today I've made it to Winona, which was our destination for the day. Our first stop was to Garvin Heights on the bluff overlooking the city of Winona. Across to the other side is Wisconsin. Oddly enough, the height of the bluffs on the other side is exactly the same as the side I am standing on taking this photo. The road at the bottom of the photo is Highway 61, the body of water on the left is called, West Lake Winona, the body of water on the right is East Lake Winona. The road splitting the two lakes is called Main Street. One street over to the right of Main Street has a bridge that crosses over the Mississippi River to Wisconsin. On the far right of the photo and just above the lake there is a football stadium where the fans had just ran onto the field. It's probably very hard to make out exactly what I'm talking about. The band was playing and the people where cheering loudly enough to be heard from where I was. The buildings around the stadium with the orange/reddish roofs is the Winona State Campus.

The view from here is incredible any time of the year. On clear days, one can see for 30 miles along the Mississippi Valley. 20 miles to the left and 10 miles to the right. From where I am standing, the direction I am facing is North, with the river flowing from the West to the East.

My 3 Daily Photo Favorites: St Louis, Missouri
Kyoto, Japan
Miami, Florida

Casual Saturday Up The River

Made a quick trip along the bank of the Mississippi River to catch this empty barge cruising up the river to it's destination. It's easy to tell that the barge is empty because if you look closely at the paint above the surface, you can see rust lines of where it usually sits in the water. I would estimate there is about 8 to 10 feet above the water line that is now visible in comparison to the open doors on the tugboat.

My 3 Daily Photo Favorites:
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Cleveland, Ohio
Truxillo, Peru

Quick Way To Cool Off

Hot summer days, cool water. Why prolong getting your whole body wet? Just jump right in and get it over with. This is my son jumping into a Minnesota lake, we have 14,000+ lakes in our state. Heck, there is a group of Minnesotans who take a jump in the lake on New Years Day to start the new year off right....if you know our winters, we have snow, ice, and bitter cold. It is on my list of things to do once in my lifetime.

My 5 Daily Photo Favorites:
Toronto, Canada
Little Rock, Arkansas
Wellington, New Zealand
Crystal Lake, Illinois
Ystad, Sweden

Build It And They Will Come

The Mississippi River shipping season is open to barge traffic now as of March 28. Almost a month later, the river is starting to warm a bit, but the small boat docks sit empty. Soon they will be filled with boats of all flavors and variety.