Freedom Fest Fireworks

I made the 2 1/2 hour drive up to Duluth so that I could photograph their Fourth of July fireworks show, which was being advertised as the biggest fireworks display in the state. So, 2 1/2 hour drive there, 20 minutes of fireworks, 2 1/2 hour drive home. These better be some pretty good fireworks, right? Here are some of the photos I came away with. Clicking on each photo will give you a bigger view of that image.








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White Tiger Lily

This is a photo of a White Tiger Lily that I shot at the Como Zoo Conservatory.




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The Destruction of the Great Blue Heron Rookery

There is an island rookery on the Mississippi river just a short walk from my house that is, ok... was home to over 200 Great Blue Herons. A tornado recently hit Minneapolis and the island rookery took a direct hit from the tornado. Most of the island was destroyed. All of the nests were destroyed. All of the eggs that had been laid were lost.

The next two photos will show how the island looked before the tornado, and how it looks now. You can click on either photo to see a full sized version of it.

Before the Tornado:


After the Tornado:


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The good news is the herons are adapting and rebuilding nests. I'm not sure how many of them will stay at this rookery, but these magnificent birds have already built nests about 2 miles south of the rookery, AND about 2 miles north of the rookery.

Minneapolis at Dusk

I took this photo of the Minneapolis skyline on April 30th while standing on the Dinkytown Bridge. The photo features the beautiful Minneapolis skyline, the 10th St. Bridge, the 35W bridge bathed in its blue light, the Mississippi river, and the Stone Arch Bridge.

To view a larger version of this photo, just click on it.



You can see more of my Minneapolis photos in my Minneapolis Gallery.

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Expedition Everest

I took this photo of Expedition Everest in December of 2008. Expedition Everest is a roller coaster ride at Walt Disney World's Animal Kingdom Theme Park.

You can view a larger version of this photo by clicking on it.



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Great Blue Herons

There is a rookery on the Mississippi river about a mile from my house that is home to over 70 Great Blue Herons. Below are a few of the photos of these Great Blue Herons that I took on April 8th of this year. You can view a larger version of any of the photos by clicking on it.







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Lighting the Split Rock Lighthouse II

On October 1st of 2010, I made it back up to the Split Rock Lighthouse at a time when they would be lighting it again. I wish they would light it more often as I love photographing it. I was in a different spot this time than I was last time, and I tried a couple of new techniques while photographing it. Well, at least they are new techniques to me. You can click on either photo to see it in a larger size.

This first one, I took trying to capture both the lit up lighthouse, AND the stars in the sky. It's a breathtaking photo, but I hope I can improve on it's quality the next time.




You can see more photos from my Minnesota gallery here.

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Fall Colors in Minnesota

These are a series of photos that I took in Northern Minnesota last fall. I was at the Jay Cooke State Park, and for the first time since I've started taking photos, I finally made the trip up there while the colors were at peak color. You can click on any of these photos to view them in a larger size.







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Methods of Mayhem - Louder

I've always been a fan of Tommy Lee's music.  Well, let me clarify, as a whole, his albums are pretty mediocre.  But they usually have 3-4 songs that I always love listening to.  Late in 2010 he released a new album with his band Methods of Mayhem.  This album contains a song called "Louder", and this song has fast become one of my all time favorite songs.  And with saying that, you can check out the song by pushing play on the video below.

The Lighting of the Split Rock Lighthouse

During the summer of 2010, the state of Minnesota celebrated the 100th birthday of the Split Rock Lighthouse by lighting it on the first Friday of each month, plus a few other days scattered through the season.  Ever since I purchased my camera, I have relished going up to the beautiful state park to photograph it, but I have never seen it lit up.  My first trip up to see it ended in futility.  The fog was so think, all you could see was the light.  The good news is the lighthouse did its job that day, but it was not something that would produce good photos.  On my 2nd trip, I managed to get a few spectacular photos of this lighthouse as it was lit.  Those photos from this September 9th, 2010 trip are posted below. 

Sunlit Lighthouse on a Cloudy Day. As I was setting up my gear, the sun finally popped out from behind the clouds and acted like a spot light on the lighthouse.
Click on any photo to see a larger size.

Sunset at Split Rock Lighthouse.  Shortly before the light came on, the setting sun cast a beautiful orange glow on the clouds that gave this photo a wonderful color.

 
Purple Sky, Minnesota Lighthouse.  This one is by far my favorite photo from this trip.  After the sun set, and the lighthouse lit up, the purple and pink hues of the dusk sky to the west lit up the clouds behind the lighthouse.  It was a breathtaking event being there for this, and I'm ecstatic I got it photographed.