Category Archives: Monthly Photo Recap

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Revisited – April 2013


April 2013 was an odd month weather-wise.  I am glad that old man winter has finally released us from his grasp.  The last bit of the wintry-like weather (in May!) was not pleasant at all.  Welcome Spring.  I look forward to milder weather and plenty of sunshine.

Here are a few of my favorite shots converted to black & white with a couple color photos mixed in.  There is quite a variety.  Roaming around Western MN, South Dakota and North Dakota, wildlife, Peyton (2 yrs old – share a birthday with Cyndie), one of the cutest 2 year olds there is and sites of St. Paul.

Pelican @ Colvill Park in Red Wing
Red Wing FD
Audrey
rail cars – SD
Old Car – ND
Calendar – SD
abandoned house – SD
Peyton
Peyton – love that smile
Peyton – twwwooo
wintry creek – ND
St. Paul
St. Paul
Sand hill Crane – WI
Sand hill Crane – WI
Sand Hill Crane
Whitetail @ backyard
Cardinal @ backyard
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July 2012 Revisited


It just seems like it was the other day that I was asking where June went.  Poof, now July has gone by as well.  July was a busy and fun month with lots of shooting; almost shooting every other day.  Kayaking the Cannon, Mississippi and Kettle rivers provided some wonderful shooting time as did wandering around in the backyard garden.

Here are my favorite shots of the month converted to black & white, along with a couple that were previously published in black & white; now as color.

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June 2012 Revisited


Wheeew…it’s that time already.  Where did June go?  It was a great month for photography; there was beautiful weather, unlike the current situation of 90-100 heat with 70+ dew points.

This crazy-hot weather has given me a bit of a reprieve from the seemingly never-ending backyard garden construction though :-)  The light is brighter at the end of the tunnel still – Cyndie and I accomplished a lot this month and the to do list is getting smaller.  Pergola is almost complete, two pathways to do and a couple of stone retaining walls are all that remain.  Can’t wait.

Over half of these were not posted yet as they were part of different projects or I hadn’t gotten around to it yet.  Here is my June recap with black and white conversions.  I think the bull and the gas station are my favorites.

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May 2012 Revisited


Another month gone; a slow photography month at that.  Only two outings this month and a couple of sunrise/sunset opps.

June is looking better and the backyard overhaul will hopefully soon be complete.  Here is a quick peak – not quite done yet.  This has been under construction since 3/12/2012.

Here are my favorite May images converted to black & white with Silver Efex Pro 2.

There was just something about this rolling hill and the clouds – lots of texture and contrast.

Here again, the textures and contrast set off the barn in the pasture with trees and clouds as a great natural backdrop.

This was one of those shots that I spotted at about 40 mph, backed up and captured.  The way the light was coming in and shinning on those windows in the back of an old Hamms beer truck was captivating; not to mention the variety of textures – tarp, glass, metal, straw and wood all mashed up together.

The lighting was harsh, but still workable on our outing with Martin.  He is an interesting fellow with a unique photographic approach to capturing images.

The rusty bucket and log just married up two of my favorite elements to photograph.

I’ve been commuting from Red Wing to St. Paul for ten years now; I’ve only just noticed this building top in the last year.  I’ll blame my lack of observation on not being fully caffeinated still at this point in my route.

Old wood – love it.  All these disheveled places we run into either have doors or windows or both stacked up in some area or room.  The crescent moon sun spot on the far wall caught my eye.

I really enjoyed the lighting in this scene.  The profound highlights in the tree tops and tin roof; the lingering shadows around the base and right side of the building just brought this all together for me.  That single, curious little window facing me just begged the question of what kind of light was pouring into the interior of that building.  Had it been a more remote location I have been able to investigate :-)

There you have it – short and sweet – May 2012 revisited.

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April 2012 Revisited


Another month well past and a review of photos long overdue.  Such is the Spring time when there is so much to see and do.  With the onset of this colorful blooming time of year I have done an all black and white review to showcase some of the wonderful detail in these images that the Spring colors can sometimes masks.  Here are my favorites from April.

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March 2012 Revisited


I am glad to report that March was much more photo-filled than February.  It was still a relatively slow month with three weekend outings and a late night shot at Northern Lights.  The trips to Preston/Lanesboro, Alexandria and Rice Lake were all equally great and more than made up for the lack of quantity with their quality.

This last month I focused a lot on cupolas.  Cupol-what?  Yes, I just finally learned the term for those thingy’s that sit on top of barns.  As it turns out, cupolas are both ornamental and functional structures placed on top of a dome or roof to provide ventilation and in some cases even allow access from the inside of the building to the outside.  The early history of the cupola is that of a pseudo-tower.  It has served many purposes throughout history – covering a light source, adding ventilation and also as a statement of style.  In the past I have glanced over these cupolas and haven’t paid them much attention.  I have now take a special interest in them and look for their ornate and often times quite detailed features.  The ones I have captured thus far have been mostly metal…glorious rusty metal.  Every once in a while I see a wooden cupola, but they do not seem to be as fancy as their metal counterparts.

The following are my favorite shots of March.  As per usual I have done black and white conversions on the original renditions and vice versa.

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February 2012 Revisited


What can i say…other than February was a slow photography month.  One shoot total for the month.  My favorite shot of that outing:

These ladies where all dressed in fur and smiles.  The horse was absolutely gorgeous.

It was a very busy month otherwise; all good things and all settled once again.  I am looking forward to this weekend and the rest of March.  Heading to the “Masters of the Sky” program on Saturday 3/3/12 at the Carpenter St. Croix Valley Nature Center.  Afterward, it’s off to shoot somewhere with my sweetie…a surprise of sorts – can’t wait.

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January 2012 Revisted


The first month of the new year I had a solid dozen outings.  That’s a good month for the Wintertime.   The fairer-than-normal weather we have had in the upper Midwest is no doubt the reason.  January was a great month to shoot and I have so many favorites it was hard to narrow things down.

Sleepy Hallow Road – This was an easy pick.  It is such a great place to shoot and that particular day everything  was just spectacular, including the light coming through the trees.

Connected -  This one was shot out of my office window in St. Paul.  The sunrises that I see most every day pull at me constantly.  It’s hard not to go outside and start shooting.  I’ve always found these power poles to be interesting because their frames resemble hearts.

Tattered – This old house was so very interesting.  This was what fell into frame as soon as I walked up on it.  An instant favorite.  The torn screen and texture of the wood really caught my eye.

Weathered – The rich tones and texture in the grain of old wood…need I say more?

Big Dipper - This was shot at Covill Park on the night of the Wolf Moon.  Love this shot.  Just after the exposure completed a shooting star shot right through the dipper.

Stars in the Night - Another shot from Covill Park, two day’s after the Wolf Moon.  This was a magical scene for so many reasons.

As I was looking through all of my January shots some of the most memorably and interesting to me were taken while in observation of other photographers.  There is just something about shooting a shooter.  This particular shot popped immediately upon review in post processing.  The intensity and focus of her gaze is very evident.  I don’t recall what she had in her line of  sight, but It was certainly dialed in.

Getting low and capturing an alternate point of view is what it is all about.

And last, but certainly not least, a flurry of shutter clicks brought the Evolution of a Smile all together.  From smirk to grin to smile, it will brighten your day.  It does for me every time.

I can’t wait to see what February will bring.  Happy shooting all.

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December 2011 Revisited


I like to go back and review the previous months shots and pull out the ones that especially caught my eye as they fell into frame.  Some of these have been previously published here in color or B&W and I’ve switched them up or just left them as is.  A few have not been previously posted at all.  Seven outings total; 13 images.  December was a wonderful month in photography.  Thank you all for continuing to stop by and view the art of my eyes.

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November 2011 Revisited


Goodbye November; hello December.  I spent the entire month of November dabbling in black and white conversions with Silver Effects Pro (Nik Software).  I love black and white – especially with the predominate subject matter [barns and distressed building] of the last month.  In reviewing November, I found some shots that I wanted to explore more in color and post process in Color Effects Pro (also Nik Software).  It is very easy to get lost in post processing; I like to look at images in a variety of ways that it isn’t long and the day has gotten away from you.

Here are my favorite shots from November.  I believe most made it into prior post as a black and white conversion.