RP - Archive

Nov 15 , 2004 - Mon

Well, it has been a long time since I've posted anything here. After daylight savings went off after the end of October, it is dark by the time I'm done with work. I started to experiment with 'after dark' pictures. The following one was taken when it was completely dark, but the street and house lights give enough illumination to make it 'look' like daytime. The lights from St Cloud in the background light up the sky. In another week all the Christmas lights will be out. That will give me a chance to try a lot of night time pictures.

Oct 31 , 2004 - Sun

It has been another rainy and overcast week. The sun only poked out a few times and there haven't been any good times for outdoor photos. Daylight savings time ended last night. In four more days, on Nov 4th, sunset will be at 5 PM. The next day that sunset will be later than 5 PM will be next year on Jan 17th. So it looks likes we will be looking for something other than sunset photos during the week.

Oct 23 , 2004 - Sat

It has been cold and rainy all week. I haven't seen the sun for days. So I decided it was time to get out and see if I could get any decent photos on rainy cloudy days.

This was taken at Quarry Park. Many of the trees still have a lot of color, but the oaks are a little duller. This shot by one of the quarries turned out fairly well I thought. Kind of a gloomy fall day picture.

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This is a shot over the prairie area at Quarry Park. I would like to get back here on a nice sunny day and see how this shot turns out.

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I stopped at Heims Mill back on Oct 10th. This duck wanted to stand up and have his picture taken.

Leaves floating on the river.

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Oct 16 , 2004 - Sat

My Mother is a Saint. You can ask anyone. It's true. She loves her garden and all her beautiful flowers. And she loves watching the birds at her many bird feeders. She puts a lot of work into having all the right kinds of bird food, and jelly and nectar for the hummingbirds and orioles. Looking out her picture window onto the deck is a truly idyllic and peaceful sight. But the following photo shows what even a saintly person can do if you are a sneaky thieving racoon and you come and eat all of her bird food and ruin her feeders.....

It's a dreary and cold Saturday morning. The temp is 36F and it's cold and wet outside. I was hoping for a little sunshine this weekend, but I guess winter is coming. I do have a little color to share, here is one last picture that Mom took of her flowers. They really look nice.

Oct 11 , 2004 - Mon

Tom and Janet are into a big remodeling project on their lake home. Following are a couple of shots that Tom sent me. The trees by the lake really look nice.

This looks more like a lot of work:

Oct 10 , 2004 - Sun

I made a trip out to the St Johns area and then to Lake Maria State Park. It was a beautiful day again today. The following shot was taken at the 'turtle crossing' at Lake Maria.

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This is a shot near St Johns University. Very nice colors and right along the road.

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This old farm house had some nice trees in the yard.

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Oct 10 , 2004 - Sun

Yesterday was Troy and Sandy's wedding. It was a very nice day and a wonderful wedding. I had a blast taking photos and am looking forward to seeing what the bride and groom think of them. I'll post just one here, I don't think Sandy will mind.

Oct 2 , 2004 - Sat

While I was looking at the photos I took today, I couldn't help but do a little thinking about photography and what it means to me. I'm sure not everyone would find photography as interesting as I do now. But I can't get over how it makes a person see things they have never seen before. As I have been out looking for 'fall color' photos, I have realized that this is the first autumn of my life that I actually am seeing what is going on in nature. Is it using that camera that makes a person really 'look' at things, or is it just being out in general that makes a person 'see' what is going on?

On my way to Lake Maria State Park I toured the St Johns - Rockville area again. Following are a couple of shots by a small pond right off the road.

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I went over to Lake Maria State Park this afternoon. A few of the maples are brilliant, but most of the leaves have not really started turning yet. There is a brilliant red maple right next to the park office at the entrance to the park. Here is one shot I took:

Sep 27, 2004 - Mon

I had so much fun trying to take fall color shots this weekend, I had to go out again this evening. Here is a shot taken near St Johns University.

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And this is a different view of it after I was goofing around in Photoshop Elements with some of the built in effects. The idea of this is only to leave the center of the photo in color.

Here is one other shot from tonight. It is a full moon tomorrow so I was practicing a little. Was able to get the moon and a little fall color also. For those of you in the know, I did a little Photoshop work here.

Sep 26, 2004 - Sun

When I was out trying to take fall color shots this weekend, I stopped at Steve L's place near Luck, WI. He is getting finished with his new house. (I know it looks like a barn, but it's really a house.)

And, if you don't believe it, here's proof. Architect, designer and builder all rolled into one:

Just in case you think that Steve has always lived in a barn, here is a picture of his cabin (which is right next door). He has to move out in October so he has a lot of finishing up work to do.

Sep 25, 2004 - Sat

I went over to St Croix State Park on Saturday. I was hoping to get some fall tree color photos, but I didn't really have too much luck. On the way over, I saw four guys with paraplanes. Here is one photo.

I took this shot at Banning State Park. It was the best of the 'fall color' shots in my opinion. Is fall over?

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This is Big Spring Falls at Banning State Park. It isn't a very high falls, only about a 6 foot drop, but it would probably ruin your day if you went over it in a canoe.

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Sep 23, 2004 - Thu

For family and friends: Jenny has been in the hospital since last Monday. They moved her out of intensive care last night and things seem to be going well. As of today, she expects to be out by Sunday (9/27). She can now take calls directly in her room if you would want to say hi. Give me a call or email me if you want her number.

Sep 18, 2004 - Sat

I went out to Mississippi River Co Park this afternoon. It is still very green (and not very photographically interesting) in the woods. But the sumac on the prairie is bright red and lots of prairie wildflowers are blooming. Here is a shot of one of the flowers with some red sumac in the background.

I also took a shot of these berries. I don't know what kind they are (except I know they are not what we call blueberries).

Sep 11, 2004 - Sat

20 guys went out on a golf outing for Troy's bachelor party. An excellent time was had by all. It was the first time I had been out for a few years, I should have done a little practice first. :-) I thought I would put a few shots up here.

You can tell it was a serious competition. Here is Troy with his 'game face':

It was a fairly hot day and everyone was happy when the 'pop' cart came around. I don't know why it seemed to take so long to get back to golfing whenever she stopped.

Putter hitting the ball. Not too interesting, but I get a kick out of the kind of pictures you can take with this camera.

Tyrone did a lot of work organizing this outing. Here he is coming into #18 at the end of the day.

Sep 06, 2004 - Mon

I went out to Sand Prairie this afternoon. And I found some frogs. It must be the time of year for frogs. :-) Check out the following shots.

This little guy is only about 1/2" long, and he was nice enough to hang around while I took this shot.

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This guy is bigger. One of the regular little frogs you see hop around and kids catch. He is about 1 1/2" long. But he sure looks bigger and meaner in this shot:

Sep 04, 2004 - Sat

I was out a few times this week, but I still can't seem to find good things to take photos of during the middle of the summer. I can't wait for the leaves to change and for fall to come. Here is a shot of a monarch butterfly which isn't too bad I guess.

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This is a flower I saw at Kathio State Park near Mille Lacs Lake. I don't know what it is, but it looks like an orchid to me. But it was growing on a three foot high bushy plant. If you know what this is, let me know. (Note: after posting this, and also uploading the picture to the Weather Underground site, three people send me back emails helping to identify the flower. I very much was surprised and happy to get their help. See my additional notes below the picture.)

The following note was from birdyboo at WU. You can see her photos here.

Quote: "This is jewel weed (Impatiens capensis) also known as touch-me-not. The seed pods - at just the right time - will explode at your touch. I remember them fondly from childhood and just revisited upstate NY and put a picture up on WU (but was too lazy at the time to label it correctly).

Thanks for encouraging me to look it up. And since you don't seem to be familiar with the plant from when you were a child - go back if you can and look for some mature seeds pods. The effect is fun at any age."

Following is part of the reply sent by Caroline who lives in the UK:

Quote: "

"..... your Mystery Plant looks very much like a Jewel Weed Impatiens capensis (Balsaminaceae)
jewel-weed, touch-me-not
Dates of Bloom: June-September
Habitat: Moist woods and brook sides
Found in DC; MD; VA. (see Wikipedia: Impatiens capensisIt's also found in more places, including over here in the UK, where it's colonised many of our river, stream and lake banks after escaping from various gardens a hundred years or so ago."

And Glenn from Tennessee wrote:

Quote: " I believe the flower you thought might be an orchid, is called jewel-weed or touch-me-not (there are other common names, e.g., spotted touch-me-not), i.e. Impatiens capensis. This flower might be one of the other species of the Impatiens family; wild-flower books would be needed (or a good Botanist) to be more specific. This flower is not an orchid. GLD (in TN)."

I am somewhat amazed by how quickly people helpfully responded to me on this. They have to take the time to stop and make a note, find the references, and so on. Then they cheerfully send it to me. I appreciate it very much. But it also makes me think of how the Internet and computers has changed our world. Knowledge is just a few clicks away. Ten years ago if I had stumbled on this 'Jewel Weed'. I would have seen it and not remembered it for more than a minute or two. Now, I can take a picture with my digital camera. Put it on the Internet. Find out easily what it is. And have new knowledge that would have been impossible in the past. Amazing!

Aug 28, 2004 - Sat

I had a chance to stop by and get some beautiful shots in Mom's garden. I can't believe how many different kinds of flowers she has growing. Check out her page for more shots.

While I was on my way up north I ran into a few oddball things. I thought I was in Texas for a minute when I saw this 'Longhorn' steer. The white bull behind him is really a big old boy.

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Aug 21, 2004 - Sat

I stopped by Jim's today and found him testing out his new deer stand. It is big enough for him to have company stop by.

Aug 20, 2004 - Fri

I have still been fighting my 'photo block' mentality. Ever since I talked to the guy about taking 'art' type photos I haven't been excited to go out and shoot nature shots like I was when I first started this. But, I am going to get over it. I am starting to realize that I wouldn't know if I took a good 'art' shot or not. In all the forums I read on the internet I see photos that people gush over and go ooh and ahh and I think they are just dumb. Then I see pictures that I think are really nice and the 'experts' all comment on how it could have / should have been improved. So I think I am just going to go out and take more pictures. And for those of you who check this page out, you will have to bear with me. :-)

Troy and Sandy asked me to take their photo to use for their engagement announcement in the paper. This is my first try at a posed photo in many, many years.

Here is one shot I took by the Mississippi on Thursday. I can't wait for the leaves to start turning and see what kind of pics I can get at spots like this.

Aug 13, 2004 - Fri

It has been another very busy week at work. Finally swamped with orders. It's nice in some ways, but hectic. And I haven't found a lot of 'summer' type things to shoot for pictures. The summer clouds look so nice. I wish I could find some nice landscape spots close by to do some photos with the clouds.

I was looking through some old photos. Here is one from last April 4th that I have not posted. It is reminding me to get out and take some more night time or lightning shots.