Day 59...Emerald City

EMERALD CITY

I said I was going to get a shot of the "Emerald City" at night, and tonight was  a great night for it.  This one was a longer exposure, so as you can see in the background, the steam coming from the stacks gave this an eerie look from the long exposure and motion.

I don't even know if I like this photo or not.  I still think I want to try another shot at this location on a night when there's not a bunch of snow where I can get  a good angle over the highway and get some light streaks from head and taillights.  I guess overall, it's kind of a cool photo.

But I will admit, I'm a little burned out on trying to get creative with this hideous winter.

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Day 58...RR X-ing

RR X-ing

Working in St. Paul, it would be easy for me to post a lot of photos of trains, train tracks, and other train-related things.  And now every time I see train-related things, I automatically think of my dear friend Burdette.  Each time I post a RR photo, it's dedicated to her and her hard-working train man.

This one was taken at the Union Depot in St. Paul which is really a great place, and I can't wait to take photos (street photography) down there when the place gets going in full swing with the new light rail.  

I know I'm pushing the boundaries of my "theme" by shooting from the inside to the outside, but I'm seriously taxed with this subzero winter we're having.

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Day 57...Waiting for a Ride

WAITING FOR A RIDE

I don't know what it is that drew my eye to the bus stop.  Maybe it was the geometric patterns that the housing is made of, or the light coming from the top, or just knowing that waiting feeling for your ride home.

I don't think this is particularly a fabulous piece of art you'd hang on your wall, but street shots are always something that tell some sort of story.  I think you can look into the bus shelter and wonder what each separate person is up to and what their story is.

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Day 56 ... CHEERS

CHEERS

A drink overlooking the park.  The snow and the cold are teasing me into thinking about summers on the deck.

A friend (Barb Voto) posted a pic similar to this one where it's a wine glass capturing an image of the sunset.  I was surprised when I saw the park portrayed perefectly miniature inside the glass and it reminded me of that photo.   

This photo is again taken with my iPhone due to time constraints in the day, but, again, cool pic nonetheless.

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Day 55...Inside OUT

INSIDE OUT

This post is entirely out of the norm for me.  This is not something I would normally ever take a photograph of.  But when I saw this, it struck me at the moment as really cool and I took a photo.  I never intended for this to be my photo of the day.  In fact, I took it with my iPhone camera because I was walking through the skyway for my lunch hour exercise and I didn't bring my regular camera along.  The day later got completely away from me and I ended up not really having time to intentionally go out and shoot, but when I uploaded this photo, it turns out that I actually love it.

I know many people who like abstract things and architectural patterns in photography.  This is not my favorite nor is it by any means my forte.  But that's one thing that pushed me to do the 365 instead of something less taxing because it pushes me to go outside of my own comfort zone when I run out of things to photograph. 

I realize I was not "outside" while taking this shot, however, it is a photo of the "outside" so I count it as working for the project theme for sure.  

Regardless of my feeling about photographing buildings, this one I love because of the pattern of the skylight contrasting with opposing patterns on the outside buildings, as well as a color blocked effect with the sqaure buildings with their colors and patterns combined with the blue sky and the green girders of the skylight.

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Day 54...Share the Road

SHARE THE ROAD

Though I swear I've seen so many more winter bikers this year, nobody's sharing this road.  I'm longing to get my bike out more than ever before.  

I don't even know if this shot is interesting but I couldn't resist the monochrome with the bright yellow sign.  This is another shot where all I did was add a little contrast and crop slightly.  This winter has sucked the color out of the landscape completely so no need to convert to black and white, but it sure made for a fun shot on this day.

I'm hoping my inspiration can continue, because I'm starting to go bat crazy with all this snow and cold.

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Day 53...Illuminated Architecture

ILLUMINATED ARCHITECTURE

Cathedral and Capitol...all lit up and asking for attention.  

Tonight I was on my way home from a night out, and I actually hadn't planned my photo for the day and was wondering how I was going to deal with it.  And as I went to check for traffic before I made my turn, I saw this!  The Cathedral was all lit up for the Crashed Ice event.  So I made a quick change in plans and decided to photograph it.

After I took a few shots, I set out on my way home, and then I saw this.....

Beautiful buildings all lit up and helped me avoid missing a day of my project!  

Day 52...White Out ( with EXTRAS)

WHITE OUT

I know I'm not alone in my dislike for this enduring winter weather.  And last night's snow is nearly enough to send me over the edge, BUT..I knew it would be a beautiful morning with that much accumulation, and the result for me is....BONUS photos!!!

One vision I love in a Minnesota winter in evergreens with tons of snow weighing down the branches.  So obviously, the above shot was irresistable! But then....

I headed into work early this morning leaving myself time for the hideous commute that would take place.  I think a lot of people decided to stay home because I made it to work quite quickly.  And it left me lots of time to stray off course and take photos of the gorgeous snowfall.  I headed down to the river and that's what I got above, and the one below here.

And then as I was getting out of my car in the parking lot, the shot below is what I saw!  Gorgeous vision of the Cathedral with snow on the dome!  It's such an amazing building.

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Day 51...ENOUGH SNOW

ENOUGH SNOW

Yeah.  I'm sick of the snow.  But might as well take advantage of the photographic opportunity it presents.  

Walking through the park after work, I just thought this was such a classic Minnesota scene.  It's the beginning of an old-fashioned blizzard.

I tried this shot in black and white too, and I liked that almost as much, but without planning, there happened to be a yellow truck parked in the background and I liked how the color of that and the stop sign in the middle of the shot stands out.

Now, seriously though, enough snow.  But... here's a bonus photo for those who read my blog....

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Day 50...Watercolored Sky

WATERCOLORED SKY

I can't believe I've been doing this for 50 Days already.  Wow, how the time has flown by.

Tonight, I chased the sunset.  I watched the clouds all the way home thinking it was shaping up to be a good night for it.  Here's a problem for me though...living in Blaine, there's not a lot of interesting skylines and landscapes to use as backdrops for the sunet without driving real far out of my way.  So I set out for a great sunset, and it didn't really happen.  I mean, I got photots that I thought were going to be pretty great, but of course when I uploaded....Ugh.

But the funny thing is...this shot did occur tonight.  After I went and tried to chase down my sunset, I decided to stop at Cub and get myself something to grill to celebrate the puddles forming from a warm day teasing us that spring may in fact come.  And as I drove into the parking lot, I looked to the west and this is what I saw!!!  The sun had obviously already dipped below the horizon, and it was that moment in time where the pink, purple, orange, yellow, and blue sort of all layer out.

I was actually mostly drawn to this vision from the sihouhettes of the trees.  But I'm not going to deny also that it cracks me up that I can stand in a busy grocery store parking lot and get a shot like this!

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Day 49...Capital City Night

CAPITAL CITY NIGHT

When this project ends, I think I'll have to separate out all my shots of St. Paul, and make a little coffee table book of the special sites I took of our fine little city.  Does this one look familiar?  It's taken from the same location as Sunday's Shot, but with the obvious difference of the time of day, and a slight crop.  I zoomed in a little closer to get more buildiing and light detail.

I am still planning to take one more night shot from this spot because I see people do the traffic trails, and this spot is perfect for shooting 35E going north and east.  I just didn't have the time tonight to get it set up and wait for long exposures.

For several reasons, I think this might be one of my more favored shots.  

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Day 48...Down on the Farm

DOWN ON THE FARM

The snow falling is always a reason for a photographer to grab the gear and go.  Since I'm a government employee and am lucky enough to have President's Day off, it resulted in a double prize for me with the day off AND snow fall.

So I headed up to the farm with the intention of capturing a typical wintery Minnesota morning.  I love it when I have a shot in mind, and I come home with something totally different.  Today's blog gets bonus shots again because I was just pleased with the country sights.

I'm not much of a farm girl or country girl at heart.  Anyone who knows me well knows I'd rather spend a day in the city.  But the country and farm can be a place of peace.  And on this snowy morning, that sure proved to be the case.  

I loved how the colors of the hay and the wagon popped out at me among the white snow and dull gray trees.

An abandoned old-fashioned car also added some color to the landscape.

But I also couldn't resist the contrast between the yellow hay rolls and the soft silohettes of the tree line in the distance.

And for good measure, I just had to have the typical Minnesota Country scene.  When I think Minnesota, this is exactly what comes to mind.

Day 47...The City Awakes

THE CITY AWAKES

From the center of the city of St. Paul, a view to the north.  I couldn't resist the snow-covered roofs as the sun began to bring the city back to life for the day.  I think I will try this shot (as I've said about others as well) at another time, specifically evening as I know it will render great results on a traffic-filled evening.  

You can see the State Capitol building off to the northwest, but probably my favorite building is the church to the east in the middle right of the photo.  

Compared to cities like Chicago, Atlanta, obviously New York, this town really isn't spectacular to photograph, but it is a quaint little city and fun to photograph nonetheless.

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Day 46...Ugly Beauty

UGLY BEAUTY

My Daughter calls it Emerald City.  It's the refinery in Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota.  When you drive by, it is always an interesting sight.  At night, it's lit up and draws your attention immediately.  During the day, there is always steam pouring into the sky.

The whole structure of the place is just pillars of metal.  It's just plain industrial.  But there's something so entrancing about the image it makes.  

In this particular shot I took, I didn't do any color correction whatsoever.  It looks like I shot it in black and white, but I didn't.  This is just exactly the kind of day it was, and it rendered the scene rather eery in a way.

Like many of the other shots in this project, this one may appear again.  This is the exchange point for me to drop my daughter off for her time with her dad.  So I'm sure I can catch this beast at night when it's all aglow.  

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Day 45... Cattails Aglow

CATTAILS AGLOW

I feel like I'm losing my inspiration.  But it won't be lost forever.  Life's just been hectic.  I love my project and I wish I had at least a full hour or more to dedicate to producing a high quality beautiful photo every single day.

I just don't.  And I'll admit, this photo was not taken today.  The moon was out again in serious beautious glory.  But I simply was not going to repeat a photo that I took yesterday, and the moments from when I got off the bus until I got to my home were the only moments I really had to do my photo today.

So this one was taken a few days ago.  I actually love the way cattails are bursting in the winter and the sun catches their "fur."  But the particular day I took this one, another photo won out for photo of the day, so luckily, I have some things to fall back on for days like today.

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Day 44...The Moon Rising

THE MOON RISING

The resolution on this one isn't as great as I would like it to be, but it's still a pretty cool shot.  I'm always a little astonished how much detail can come out on the moon when you take a photo even with a fairly basic lens!  The moon is such a cool object to photograph and stare at.

I saw this when I was on my way home from work after I got off the bus.  I nearly drove off the road a couple times trying to get a good look at the dang thing!  I am quite pleased with the moon craters that you can see.  One day, I vow I'm going to get one of those really golden harvest moons that are just coming up.  I've never been a huge night photographer, but that's one fun thing about this project is that I get to look for things I've not done before.  I actually have a series from years ago where I did capture the lunar eclipse and I have a couple fairly decent plain moon shots.  I think having the tree in the foreground adds a little interest to the composition.

Well, I feel the warm weather starting to rev up, so things should start getting good!

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Day 43...Trying to Shine

TRYING TO SHINE

A gloomy day, trying desperately to turn into a sunny day.  And it made the sky look so mysterious.  This shot is as is.  No filters, no edits.  It was taken about an hour before sunset.  I love how it turned out exactly how it looked when I was there.  

I really don't know what else can be said about it.

My project is going well and there's warm weather in the future, so hopefully it brings tons more great things for me to shoot.

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Day 42...The Window to Her Soul

THE WINDOWS TO HER SOUL

To some, this might seem like an odd post for the day.  But the year couldn't go by without me posting these beautiful eyes.  They belong to my daughter.  This post doesn't have much to do with OUTSIDE.  However, it was taken outside!  And the light obviously helped significantly to highlight how beautiful the human eye is!

I think it's most interesting that sometimes, she has the most sky blue color in her eyes, at times they're gray, and sometimes with flecks of green, but no matter how you see them, they're piercing and beautiful.

As my project progresses and the weather warms, you will likely see more photos of people replacing just the landscapes and skies.  Like I said, the only rule I had for myself was it had to do with outside or be taken outside!  These eyes are irresistable enough that you will see them again.

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Day 41...Snow Family

SNOW FAMILY

This shot kind of seemed like a bit of a no-brainer to me.  I went out for a brief walk while I was waiting for Tiana to finish soccer.  The sun was starting to sink.  I really, really did not want another sunset photo.  I love the sunsets, but I just don't want to over do it.

So I started walking down this path in our neighborhood, and what do you know?  There was this adorable family on the edge of the lake!  The crazy thing is that I DID NOT highlight the snow people.  The sun was shining in such a way that the people were lit up and stood in contrast to all the snow around!  This shot turned out PERFECT!

I love them!

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Day 40...Winter in the Woods (plus BONUS shots)

WINTER IN THE WOODS

I had a lot of work to do today for my "career" job.  But I needed a little break, and right before I knew the sun would be setting and casting great shadows on the snow, I hopped in the car for a quick drive.  I knew if I hit Bunker Hills Regional Park, I'd surely find something intersting to photograph, and indeed, I did.

I wanted to try to get away from solely a sunset shot again, and sometimes it seems like I just wish for things to happen and then they just do.  I'm lucky that way.  So I drove in, and this was one of the first shots of the outing, and I knew it would work.  I am very drawn to logs and trees because of my father.  Since my early adulthood, I have a vision of my dad chopping wood and sawing down trees.  He was a tree trimmer for many of the past years. The loss of his ability to be able to chop and stack wood because of his cancer is one of his greatest disappointments.  So I was immediately drawn to this shot, and it looks exactly how I would have wanted it to, and it's going to forever remind me of my dad.

My car adventure in Bunker turned out to be the best break from work I could have hoped for and I saw some peaceful and relaxing sites.  So for a bonus, I'm posting this shot which I'll call "Dreaming of a Picnic."

The empty picnic tables all over the park were covered in snow, and made me think how much I long for the summer days between these tall trees in the warmth of summer.

And then as I was leaving the park and ready to go home, there was one last photo that was another one of those unexpected moments.  I was taking some shots of the sunset, because, of course, it's one of my all time favorite subjects!  And as I got back into the car to leave, this shot came in the side mirror of the car.  I couldn't resist.  I'll call it, "See You later, Sun."

I just couldn't pick between the three tonight for my favorite, so BONUS!!!

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Day 39...On a Country Road

ON A COUNTRY ROAD

I started off my day in a bad mood about my project.  I went outside.  It was cold, cloudy, wintery gray, and just gloomy.  But I was determined to come up with something creative before the sun went down.  I set out on a short walk through my neighborhood which is surrounded by ponds and treesthinking that I surely could find something in the natural environment that I could photograph in an interesting way.  But honestly, it didn't happen.

So I took a quick photo of my daughter's gorgeous eyes before I headed out for the evening thinking that at the very least, I could post a photo of her pretty eyes (since I did take it OUTSIDE!).  

But then...on the way to the soccer game tonight, I swear it's like the sky was calling out to me.  The sun was starting to go down, and as I got close to the game, I realized that we were just on the fringe of a rural area that had some very country roads and even some small farms sprinkled in.  So after I dropped Tiana off a half hour before her game, I took those 30 minutes to drive around nearby and see what I could come up with...and this was the shot.  

I absolutely love this shot, and I think it's going to rank in the top as one of my favorites.  I wanted to try to stray away from landscape shots of the sun going down, but the shadows of the trees cast by the setting sun on the snow in the foreground was simply too good to pass up.

I hope you love it too.

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Day 38...Portrait of a Horse

PORTRAIT OF A HORSE

Photos of animal is not my strong point.   I don't do it often.  But I find horses to be so beautiful and when I visited Bunker Stables, they were out in the field grazing all together.  This beauty came over to see what I was up to, so I got a great shot of her checking me out.  

The winter didn't seem to bother any of the horses.  I'm frankly over frozen.  

Hopefull I have time this weekend to go out of my comfort zone even more and capture something  beautiful yet out of the ordinary.

Day 37...Sleepy City

SLEEPY CITY

Driving home from work...LATE.  I've seen this skyline so many times driving down the road, but never figured how I was going to shoot it, and I'm always in a hurry to get home.  But today, I just decided to go for it and stop even though I was late getting home.  

It's not REALLY the shot I wanted.  Right before I got to this location, the sun was setting behind the city and it was all aglow.  But by the time I got positioned, the sun had gone down pretty far and there was only a slight pink tint to the sky.  I still like the colorig of the sky, but I've come to the conclusion that if you're not really in the right spot, the Twin Cities do not have the most appealling skylines.  They're my cities, so I love them anyway, but it's not quite like the bigger cities of Chicago, Atlanta, New York, you know?

I guess today, I felt like this is another one of those "settled for it" shots.  But sometimes, I just don't have time, and I've come up with some pretty good stuff at the last minute, so I never give up trying.  

This morning, there was a sun halo right when I got to work.  I didn't have the right lens with me for my camera to capture the whole thing, but that would have been great!

Hopefull I'll come up with something really good this weekend.  My goal is to do at least one or two shots in the next week involving PEOPLE.

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Day 36...Frosty

FROSTY

I am not a macro photographer.  When I came in to work today, the windows were painted with the work of 'ol Jack Frost.  It was so beautiful and fascinating.  I did what I could to catpure the intricacy and beauty of it without having a macro lens. 

There were straight lines, curly lines, a mixture of lines and textures.  I haven't seen this kind of frost in a long while.  It really reminded me of my childhood for a reason I can't explain. 

There is something similar about this image as yesterday's, though the images are SOOOO very different, and that is that I did very little editing to the image.  It looks black and white but is not.  

I can tell you that I'm so tired of winter that I could scream, but there are these little miracles of nature that sometimes make you stop and say WOW!

Day 35...Up and at 'em

UP AND AT 'EM

I'm known to be a sunset chaser, a sunset lover, to a fault really.  But anyone who know me knows I'm not much of a morning person.  Every now and again, I rise before the sun or near the rising.  And I see the gorgeous colors of the morning and wish I could have coffee before I awake so I can pop out of bed and be ready for that every day!  Still, at this age, I'm not a morning person.

But this was one of those mornings I happened to be on the road as the sun was making her appearance known to me.  If you commute from Blaine/Circle Pines, you might have seen me.  I'm the one that randomly pulls off the side of the road and jumps out of my vehicle, camera in hand.  Sometimes I just roll the window down.  I did both of those this morning.

This shot was taken over the golf course, Tournament Players (I clearly don't follow golf), I belive it's called, in Blaine.  NO FILTER, no editing other than slight cropping.  The creamy sky is the thing that really gets me!  In my retirment, I surely shall have to live on an island or a penninsula so I can get the sunrise AND the sunset!

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Day 34...A Winter Day in the Country

A WINTER DAY IN THE COUNTRY

This shot was taken yesterday, just before dusk.  I was going to try to stay true to posting only images I took on THE day, however, the past two days images were not taken the exact day.  Yesterday, I set out on an adventure in the country, but when I got home, I felt strongly about the portrait of my dad and decided to post that one instead.  That one was taken the day before, but it kept coming back to mind, so I bumped this image yesterday and posted Dad.  

So I actually did take some shots of the river today but figured I've already got enough St. Paul landscapes for the time being.  This shot seems a little minimalist.  But this is what Minnesota Winter is just like sometimes.  I think sometimes a black and white image of the country winter is a good classic shot.  However, I really like how the birch trees stand out against the gold tree tops in this shot, and I just couldn't settle on black and white.  And frankly, this scene gives me a more peaceful and settled feeling than something shot in the city.

I really need to find something new to shoot besides winter landscapes though regardless of whether it's a city or the country.  This winter is getting to me!

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Day 33...A Special Portrait

A SPECIAL PORTRAIT

When I started my project, I contempated my "theme."  I love doing portraits of people, and in the summer and fall, I do a lot of them.  So I really thought I might endeavor on a portrait project.  However, I felt it would be very difficult to do an interesting 365 of entirley portraits, and I wanted to spend more than 52 days doing this, so I opted out of that plan.

But..since the only limit I put on myself was to post one photo a day that occured OUTSIDE or was of the OUTSIDE, that does not limit me from doing portraits, and I knew there would be some throughout the year that would surely appear here.

And of course, why not start off the portrait posting with a very special one.  DAD!  

A portrait of any dad is special.  But since my dad was diagnosed with Stage 4 adenocarcinoma and is beating the odds the doctor gave him by several months now, I feel especially thrilled to be able to be taking portraits of my father.  It is nearly ten months since his diagnosis and for sure five months after the latest time they gave him to be alive so it seems a miracle.  And as you can see from this portrait, the man is a hell of a fighter because he looks handsome and he DOES NOT look like a cancer patient.

I'm glad for the opportunity to post this of him and change from landscapes too.

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Day 32...Sunset Over the Lake

SUNSET OVER THE LAKE

I've said it before, and many know this about me, I'd chase the sun and watch it set every day if I could.  Tonight I had already taken my photo of the day, but as I set off for an outing for the evening, the sun caught my attention on the way to my destination.  I chased her down.

I do this kind of thing often.  I drive and drive until I find a safe spot to stop and get out of my car or stick my camera out the window.  I'm sure lots of photographers do this!  And tonight was frustrating because the sunset was completely phenomenal, and I just could manage to position myself in a place to capture its complete magnificence.  

I do think this photo ended up pretty good though.  The lake was frozen and blanketed with a fluffy white and it was just an typical Minnesota winter sunset and pretty as ever.

I know some people could care less about a sunset, and some people think they just get old after a while.  For me, I just can't seem to get enough of them.

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