Week 33 - On Top of the World

A few weeks off. Summers been brutal around here. High's in the 90's and humidity that can melt paint. Everything feels wet.

Last weekend, I took some time away from home to spend with good friends and poker bloggers in downtown Minneapolis. I brought my camera with, cuz, well, that's what I do. We went to a Twins game and spent a great deal of time making sure we tried every beer available.

Not sure why, but this was favorite shot. Catching Drizz hamming it up with some of the guys lounging in the background, all of us, enjoying the rooftop. A wonderful summer night.

On top of the world

This is the first runner-up in the 52 week challenge. While contemplating the just how good Surly beer was, we played beanbag toss on the roof. I just love this view. Minneapolis is such a beautiful city.

Not sure how, but this and the photo of Drizz were both hand held at low light. Pretty sharp, I think I got lucky.

The hand light, the black roof, and the bright lights of the big city just make for an interesting view. A tripod and a trigger release might be handy. Anyone have a favorite compact travel tripod?








This last one I did with my bendy tripod. It's pretty little and it was hard to use on the roof. I really do need to get a trigger release. I try the timer approach but it takes forever to get shots set up. This is more of a close-up of the downtown. What a great view.

You can check out the rest of this set at my Flickr site. Night shots, day shots, but when ever it was, it really was a fun weekend. Enjoy what's left of summer!

Week 30 - Plummer House

I suck. I got these pictures already to go Thursday night and fell asleep getting this post up. Herein lies the rewrite of the ramblings of a sleeping man that were here before and just never quite got published. Pushing that button labeled "Publish Post" is incredibly difficult when you are snoring.

So, I missed a few weeks. It's been damn hot here and my camera has been neatly tucked away in my office. The camera on my phone has also been surprisingly quiet. Might have something to do with just being busy. Summer. Who knew.

This first picture was taken at the Plummer House here in Rochester Minnesota. I've shot here before. If you go through my archives, you should find quite a few. The Plummer House is now owned by the city and is open to anyone who wants to wonder around a shoot. Why even  the day these were taken, a girl was getting her senior pictures done.

I loved the lines in this hallway. I've tried shooting it before and just never really liked the results. A harsher midday sun seemed to give me a better shadows from the pillars. I squatted just a little as well trying to give just the right perspective. And don't...what do you think?

These next two were the runners up.
This second one, is just a fun shot of the other side of the hallway pictured above. The lighting here is strange and hard for me to balance. It's clear, bright summer's day, but there's also plenty of trees making shade.

These grounds are well kept. I think coming out here during the magic hours would make for some awesome colors.

We happened to venture here because my good friend Kat and her husband were visiting from Toronto. Rochester is a strange place. It's not a huge town and it's not particularly old, but it has some fun history to explore, with the Mayo Clinic being founded here and everything. Dr. Plummer built this magnificent place many years ago. He was one of the first doctors hired whose last name was not Mayo.

The last photo is of a tower on the grounds. It's attached above ground to the main house, and I'm not sure there's a tunnel to it, I suppose I could check into that. I've always kinda struggled shooting this up close. It's kinda big. I think this angle was kinda cool. You are somewhat controlled by the area around as to what you can do. There are several large trees near it and a rather steep drop off. Gravity can kill. Remember that.

Whew. Week 30. In the bag. Time to see if I'll get anything shot before Thursday this week. You never know. Check back and if you want to see the rest of my public stuff and more from the 52 Week Challenge, Go check out my Flickr site.