Travelogue: Hawaii #1

When Jan and I vacationed in Hawaii in 2011, we had no idea what amazing sights awaited us. One of our most memorable experiences was hiking the Waimea Canyon on Kauai. Every time we thought we'd seen the most beautiful view possible, we'd go around a curve in the trail and we'd get an even more spectacular view. This image is one of those in the middle of the hike. That means, you realize, it got even better from here...

Crop Art: Study #1

This is the first in a series I'm calling "Crop Art", which is a play on words. It has nothing to do with works of art made from seeds, as all MN State Fair-goers will surely be familiar with. Rather, these photographs were severely cropped from the way the image originally appeared in the camera. I find this to be a good "rescue" technique. Sometimes if an image I shoot has poor composition or simply isn't that interesting the way I grabbed it, I can rescue the image by cropping way down and taking just a portion of the image.

You may have to stare at this one for a moment or two. It appears to be an abstract, and then your eye will catch something that changes your perspective of what is shown. Enjoy!

Minnesota Views: Keller Lake

This picture is from a couple years ago. Ice had formed on Keller Lake, and a group of geese were huddled together. I was experimenting with a lens adapter, allowing me to use some of my old lenses from my Olympus OM1-n with my new Olympus digital SLR. The images were a little grainier than you might normally want, but I like the effect. This is an excerpt showing just one of the geese, reflected in the ice. I like the abstract nature of the image. We get so accustomed to cameras presenting us with blunt realism. I like using a camera to produce something more like a painting.

Travelogue: Norway #1

I'm resurrecting this blog after a long absence. I've decided to feature photos of my travels.

This is one of many favorite photos from our recent trip to Norway. This is on the Sognefjord, at Balestrand. Jan and I stayed at a little family-run hotel here. There is much more to this fjord than we were able to see on our short stay there. This is on the list of places to go back to someday.

I'll have more Norway pictures later. I'm going to mix things up a bit with photos from all over.

Just Plain Playing

With the pressures of work and career on my mind all the time, I'm trying to remember to play. Hence, I've been playing around with different homemade photo developers. There's an avid community of film photographers who use "caffenol" to develop black and white film (made from coffee, vitamin C, and washing soda). So, I did a little research into this, and found out what chemistry is at play here, then decided it was time to get a little crazy.

My experimentation has been paying off, perhaps less in terms of the quality of the images I'm getting (although I'm not disappointed), but definitely in terms of the fun-factor. So, above you see examples of the following "home-brewed" developers, from the top on down:

1. A view of my backyard, developed with a "tea" of chopped basil leaves.
2. Blueberry Pomegranate juice, frozen concentrate
3. A macro of a rose, developed with O'Doul's Premium beer
4. Cranberry Blend frozen concentrate
5. Folger's dark roast coffee
6. A tea made from German Tettnang hops

I've got a few more things to try, then I'll have to refine the recipes of my favorites, but I'm having a ball messing around. I may never buy commercial developer again!

Playing with Fire!

Ok, it's bad form for the safety professional to advocate playing with fire, but spending time at the Hot Air Affair in Hudson last weekend has me thinking differently. Mostly, we think of fire's destructive nature, but for balloonists, fire is light, warmth, and the power to rise. So, coming off the sadness of Sam's death, I feel it's time to play with a little fire. I'm reading a book called, The Little Black Book of Innovation, by Scott Anthony. I'm also exploring Tom Matzen's concept of Quantum Business Golf. Each of these is a little bit like playing with fire for someone like me who normally plays things so conservatively, but I'm keeping the images of the balloons and burners in mind over the next few months. Can't wait to feel that first burner blast and rise up into the air!

For Scott's book:
http://www.innosight.com/little-black-book/index.cfm

For Tom Matzen:
http://www.quantumbusinessgolf.com/

Sadness

I lost an old friend today. Sam died this afternoon, after several weeks of illness. That dog was the source of a lot of laughs and countless stories. He probably had something to do with Andrew's victory over cancer, too. I haven't been able to see or pet Sam since 2007, but the news hit me hard anyway. The top photo is from a few months ago, courtesy of my son Ben, a fabulous portrait. The bottom photo I took years ago.

Take care, Pooch...