Week 17 - The Brothers Mayo

The spring blooms on the Mayo Clinic campus have been at or near peak for a couple of weeks. Until you see it for yourself, it's hard to describe.

This past week, my wife told me I need to go downtown and photograph the beautiful flowers in front of the Gonda building. The sun was shining bright, the flowers were in full bloom, it was a sight to see. Thankfully, it was windy too. I tried shooting the flowers but the kept moving. Statues. Statues don't move in the wind.

This first picture is my submission for the 52 week challenge. The two gentlemen you see are the brothers William and Charles Mayo, M.D. They are the founders of the Mayo Clinic.Two very inspiring men.

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My first runner up was this shot. I just loved the reflections in the windows above them. The deep blue of the sky. It would be nice though if I could get this shot without someone driving through.

This is just a closer shot. In terms of composition, this is one of my least favorites.

I was enjoying the challenge of getting the background. This was the angle I was trying before the top one. I just wasn't able to get the words placed just right without including way too much road.

The Mayo Clinic was created in cooperation between the Sisters of St. Francis and the Mayo brothers. This statue is in the park with the brothers Mayo. I had fun composing this one although several of the people I asked to help me narrow down the shots thought that the sister looked like was posing in an unpleasant manner. Actually, this was probably close to my second favorite shot. The interplay of the lines was really fun.

Lastly, some flowers. They were the reason I was in this park. My biggest problem with shooting them was it was just to dang windy. Every time I was close to composing my shot, the wind would blow something unexpected into the view. My buddy Mark thought this should be the one. To me, the pink flower was just too distracting.

If you haven't already, be sure to check out my other photos from this years 52 week challenge at my Flickr site!

Week 16 - Around the grounds of St. Marys

How about a big round of applause?

4 WEEKS IN A ROW!
Go Me!

I guess, in the grand scheme of the universe, there are probably much greater accomplishments, but I'll take what I can get. I have no idea how Jim Brandenburg did Chased By The Light: A 90-Day Journey. (You really should look into Jim Brandenburg, very inspiring)

This is the shot I choose for week 16. Today was the only day I had a camera in my hand that didn't have iPhone on the back. I suppose I could use that one of these weeks as a challenge, but really, I'm holding out for the next iPhone to get into that.

I found this view walking into work this morning. It's actually very close to Week 1's "Caution Icy" sign. As you can probably guess, I really liked the lines. I thought the dancing light, shadows and steam made for an interesting composition.

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Not sure about this shot. I've been fascinated by this retaining wall near the chapel. I love the lines, but I just can't figure out to make it more interesting. Ideas?

This is the Chapel at St. Mary's. This old building has so many interesting shots that need exploring. I've shot here before.

This power plant needs more time. Here's another angle. It's attached to the building on top of this post. So many lines. So little time. Getting here during dawn and dusk might just be worth it.

Week 15 - Cheers! & Underwater World

It's week 15 of 2010. I really had high hopes for this week. I was heading to the Mall of America with the family for a wedding reception. Plenty of opportunities for shooting photos.

Well, I made a huge rookie mistake. Ugh. So frustrating.

My last outing, I had put the circular polarizer on the 17-85 lens I use as my walking around lens. You guessed it, I forgot all about and struggled with exposures all night. Most of the night, I just convinced myself that it the rooms were deceptively dark. No biggie, I'd just compensate.

Well, these are the shots that weren't completely noisy or so full of motion blur as to be unpalatable.

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This photo was my runner-up. I really liked the lighting, I just really wish I hadn't shot it on ISO HI. Damn circular polarizer.

The tunnels under the take are just cool.

Sharks rock.

The beauty of walking inside the fish tank. You really need to see it to experience it.

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As usual, if you want to see more pictures, check out my flickr site!

Week 14 - Hi!

I took a lot of photos of the kids in the last week, again. My 10 year old is getting really skiddish about having her pictures on the Internet, in fact, she continually asks me not to share them.

In some ways, this photo was her idea. All the kids were climbing this tree in my parents yard. Man, I remember when this tree was just a little twig. Crap. That means I'm getting old.

I plan on bringing my camera to work with me for the next few weeks at least a couple of days a week. The campus of the hospital I work at is just breath taking this time of year. It's spring and the blooms are plentiful!

Happy Easter! Happy Spring!

By the way, before I forget to remind you, I've been playing around a little bit with Flickr. Some cool stuff there. You can find me there at http://www.flickr.com/photos/oh_captain/ - be sure to say hi and look around!

Week 13 - Buffalo

Wow, week 13 already? Seems like I just missed a week :)

We've been hitting life pretty hard in this house. Not anything bad, we've just been busy like beavers getting ready for summer, and smelling the roses along the way. Unfortunately, most of my photos have been less about photography and more about scrapbooking. I'm sure things will turn around soon.

This picture was from last weekend. I took the kids out to Oxbow park to watch them make maple syrup. That was so fascinating I totally zoned out on taking photos when I should have. That program was just fascinating.

Of all the pics I took, this one seemed to be the least over exposed. I have no idea how I did it, but I totally over exposed most of the shots of the animals and the kids. D'oh!