Dog days of summer

It's been a good summer to live by a lake.  My daughters are practically becoming fish, always asking us if we will take them down to the beach to swim in the lake.

I got this shot with my iPhone, using the Instagram app. It is a pretty fun camera app, one of my favorite for iPhone. My daughter and nephew jumping off the dock.

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Exposure Date: July 20, 2011

Big Dan

If you're familiar with Nordeast Minneapolis (or good beer bars in the Twin Cities in general), you are probably familiar with the Bulldog NE.  Not only do they have great food and lots of great beers on tap, but the whole front of the place is a giant east facing window.  Yep.  A great big constant light softbox you can shoot with.  Well, at least if you go there for a beer in the afternoon or evening.  It's where I got the photos of Jordan in an earlier blog post here.

Was there in July with some friends, including my friend Big Dan (he has also been on this blog in the past, complete with his giant pancake).  I had the little Panasonic GF-1 with me, along with my 40mm/1.4 Nokton for my rangefinder.  On the GF-1, it is pretty much the equivalent of an 80mm, which is a great portrait length.  I just need to work on my manual focus skills....especially close up and at f/1.4.

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EXIF:  Panasonic DMC-GF-1, Voigtlander Nokton 40mm f/1.4 SC, f/1.4, 1/250, ISO 400
Exposure Date:  July 14, 2011

Lunch at the saloon

I meet friends at least once a week at a local bar and saloon for lunch and to catch up.  Sometimes I bring the camera in, other times I leave it behind.  This woman was sitting in some great window light when I was there a few weeks ago, so I snapped a quick one of her chatting with her friend.

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EXIF:  Panasonic DMC GF-1, Voigtlander Nokton Classic 40mm f/1.4 SC (M Mount), f/1.8, 1/1000, ISO 400
Exposure Date: July 7, 2011

Architectural Photography - Christopher S Bond Bridge, Kansas City

My other career as a Structural Engineer has provided me with some pretty great opportunities to get my camera into some pretty cool places, whether it is during construction or after a project has finished up.  One of my clients hires me to shoot finished projects for their annual calendar.  This year one of the projects they selected was the Christopher S Bond Bridge in Kansas City, MO, which is a new cable stayed bridge that carries I-29, I-35 and US 71 over the Missouri River.

I spent a couple days in KC at the beginning of July, which also afforded me the opportunity to get some photos of the bridge during a fireworks display.

Here are a few of the photos I sent in for the calendar:

Canon 5D Mark II, EF 24-105 f/4L IS @ 24mm, f/8, 1 sec, ISO 400

 

Canon 5D Mark II, EF 24-105mm f/4L IS @ 24mm, f/16, 15 sec, ISO 100

Canon 5D Mark II, EF 24-105 f/4L IS @ 24mm, f/8, 1/1000, ISO 400

Canon 1D Mark III, EF 24-105mm f/4L IS @ 24mm, f/5.6, 1/40, ISO 800

Canon 5D Mark II, EF 17-40mm f/4L @ 17mm, f/8, 1/320, ISO 400

 

Canon 1D Mark III, EF 50mm f/1.4, f/1.8, 1/30, ISO 800

Canon 5D Mark II, EF 17-40mm f/4L @ 17mm, f/8, 1/160, ISO 400

Canon 5D Mark II, EF 24-105mm f/4L IS @ 55mm, f/16, 4 sec, ISO 100

Exposure Dates: July 2 and 3, 2011

Catching up - Twins vs. Brewers, Jim Thome

I was fortunate enough to be able to take in a Twins vs. Brewers game back in June, and we had rather exceptional seats.  One of the cool things about MLB games is that they let you take in any camera you like.

Since then Jim Thome has hit career home run #600.  He sure has been fun to watch the last season and a half.  He really does look like Mr. Incredible.

EXIF:  Canon 1D Mark III, EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS, f/2.8, ISO 800, 1/1600 (all 3 frames)
Exposure Date:  June 26, 2011

BWCA Fishing

I finally got out on my first paddle trip of the year, to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, in Northern MN.  I took surprisingly few photos (less than 50 on a 5 day trip), but it was a fun time with family and great friends.

We had a pretty nice campsite on Fourtown lake for 2 nights that included an excellent chunk of granite.  Perfect for sitting and fishing on:

 

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EXIF:  Canon 5D Mark II, EF 70-200mm 2.8L IS @ 95mm, f/2.8, 1/400, ISO 400

Exposure Date: August 15, 2011

Spring Photo a day - #43

I saw this pooch on the patio at Sweeney's Saloon in St. Paul while hanging out with a couple of friends.  He was pretty friendly.

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EXIF:  Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1, Panasonic Lumix G 20mm f/1.7 ASPH, f/1.7, 1/100, ISO 200
Exposure Date:  May 5, 2011