Tunnel Of Lights

This photo was taken a year ago in Stillwater, with the iconic Stillwater Lift Bridge in the background. The light display was a beautiful addition to the street leading up to the bridge. Currently, the street is under construction and will soon undergo changes. Hopefully, the plan is to reimagine the area and make it more useful for the community.

Rice Park On A Cool Evening

The shine on the brick laid streets is ready for a Hollywood movie.

It's So Bright

Nighttime photography is so much easier when there is snow everywhere. 

Spiral Brewery On Tap

We love hanging out at Spiral Brewery in Hastings. Cozy atmosphere, local feel, great brews and they have a board where you can buy a beer for a friend. Their Townie is amazing and a local favorite. My personal favorite is LeDuc Red, which they have been out of for a while. Their seltzer's according to my wife are outstanding!

Ride The Lightning

 

Is it just me, or does it look like a horse is running out of the lightning? I took well over one hundred shots with my Samsung Galaxy S20+ to get one semi decent lightning capture. Didn't have a tripod with me, so I was standing on my lawn snapping away. About three minutes of photo taking, a lower bank of clouds rolled in and the lightning show was over. At least I got one shot!

Just Outside My Window

We stayed two nights at a hotel on 7th Street in downtown St Paul last winter because we were attending a Minnesota Wild hockey game. That's not something we normally do since we live only 22 minutes away from the stadium. What a fun experience and highly recommended if you've never done that before. When we were in our hotel room, we were treated with this amazing view of the State Capital building. 

Painting With Style Revisit

I thought I was taking a photo of the Valspar Building. As I'm typing, I realized they refreshed the paint job on the building. I had captured the same building back in 2006, which you can see here with the original paint. Today, it is now the Sherwin Williams Building. It makes sense they refreshed the paint job, and I wouldn't have looked closer if they hadn't. Nice to see they kept the familiar feel to the building as well. 

Independence Day 2022

I'm out, enjoying the 4th of July weekend celebration.

Street Side Patios

One of the best things that has come out of the COVID-19 pandemic was the extra outdoor seating from places that never intended to have outdoor seating. In this downtown block in Hastings, there are four business that have constructed patios out in the street. Genius!

Duluth Lift Bridge At Night

We came back to the Duluth Lift Bridge the next night. A lot less wind, about 35 F degrees, and calmer waters.

International Bazaar

There is so much to see in the Bazaar, but my photos were limited in here as it just started raining.

Friday Night Football

Our local high school football team, Park of Cottage Grove, is ahead at the half by a score of 34-12.

1st Bank Roof Top

From the rooftop of the 1st National Bank Building in St Paul. I found this wonderful shot from Dan Anderson on his flickr photostream and asked him if I could share his photo here. St Paul is my favorite city to photograph, I have never seen a shot from the rooftop before and absolutely love this photo.

Please visit Dan Anderson's flickr photostream for more amazing photography work. He has some great work posted. Thank you Dan for allowing the use of your photo!

"The First National Bank building was constructed in 1931 and at 417ft it was the tallest building in Saint Paul Minnesota for over 55 years. Although 3rd tallest today, it's still the most recognizable building in town because of it's cool art deco architecture and this big red neon '1st' sign on the roof. The '1st' sign is a local icon that can bee seen from 75 miles away at night and 20 miles away on a clear day. It has 3 sides, is 50ft or over four stories tall, made up of 4,000ft feet of neon tubing, and when it blinks 'on' everything round it glows red.

I’ve had a few questions about this . . . and sadly no, the First Bank roof is not open to the public."

Dan Anderson. (2011, July 06). St. Paul MN - 1st Bank Roof Sign, [digital image]. Flicker. Retrieved from http://www.flickr.com/photos/stonebridgedapper/5948476886/

Fried Pickles

What a great logo and colors, plus the night shot gives the logo a dark backdrop.

The Rides

It's a bit dark, but I like the streaks of light. Took this one at the Minnesota State Fair.

Independence Day Fireworks

Fireworks tonight....be safe!

Neon Lights

The frozen reflection really makes this photo stand out too me. If only I could have moved all of the vehicles for this shot.

Christmas Lights Display

Took this one last year. You can tell by the amount of snow. Currently we have no snow, or what's left of a snow storm a few weeks ago.

Another From Rice Park

Bright lights everywhere inside the park.

Park Lights

From Rice Park in St Paul.