October 18, 2006
Lake Nokomis
A couple of months ago I was supposed to go and listen to an up and coming singer in downtown Minneapolis, but plans fell through. Since I was sitting at work, in Bloomington, waiting for plans to form, I was close to Lake Nokomis. After I realized that I wasn't going to be getting a call from the friend I was supposed to see the show with, I left work to find myself upon the beginnings of a beautiful sunset. I cruised up to Lake Nokomis, set up the tripod, and snapped a few photos. It was definitely one of those situations where, "when one door of opportunity closes, another door opens." I ended up with a couple of nice shots that I've been planning to post for months.
October 15, 2006
Lincoln Memorial: Double Reflection
Photo Notes:
The "Double Reflection" comes from the two different sources. The lowest reflection is from an accessory pool at the back of the WWII Memorial. The middle reflection is from the Reflecting Pool.
October 11, 2006
Washington Monument: Waving Flag
This was shot from the front of the National World War II Memorial. It is, of course, of the Washington Monument. It was beautiful night to be out relaxing, taking pictures, and taking in the awesome monuments. I just wished I had more time to take photos and see more monuments. Both of the two nights we got out to the monuments at around 9pm or 9:30pm and had to be back at the station by midnight to catch the final train back. But it was thousands of times better than sitting in my hotel room, doing nothing.
Photo Notes:
I thought the flag motion was pretty unique. I also like how the monument becomes a co-element versus being THE main element. Just something a little bit different.
October 07, 2006
Washington Monument: Framing Arch
WOW!!! I just realized it's been over 2 months since I lasted posted any real pictures... I guess it's due to the fact that I'm both busy and lazy. Hopefully I'll remedy that soon.
So last week I was out in Washington, D.C. for the MAPLD 2006 International Conference. I can 100% guarantee that none of my readers know anything about this, nor do they care. It's basically a bunch of electrical engineers getting together to talk about computer chips that go into space or into planes. The highlight of the week was an evening at the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum with a special presentation by Apollo 13 astronaut Fred Haise. As I put it, "There's nothing like a bunch of space geeks at a space museum!"
Nevertheless, I was able to get out and take some photos a couple of my nights there.... My D.C. shots will be put up over the next few posts.
Photo Notes:
The Washington Memorial viewed under the Wilson Memorial Arch. My coworker and I had just hopped off of the metro train at the Smithsonian station. This the first view I had of the Memorial and I liked how the arch framed it, so of course I set up the tripod and got a few shots.
The other thing I like about this photo is that usually when you are shooting you make sure there is a clear foreground, middleground, and background in the shot. Typically the foreground object is on the bottom of the picture, but here it lies on the top - the stones of the bridge.
September 20, 2006
Handicapped??
So today I was leaving a comment on a friend's blog. After typing in my words of wisdom, I went to submit my comment. To do so, you must first enter in the "word verification" code - a large, bold-faced set of a dozen, or so, English characters (see the pic below). Not a problem. As I did, I noticed that there was the unmistakable person in a wheelchair "handicap" logo next to the text box where I had just entered my code. Being the curious person I am, I moved mouse cursor atop the logo. A pop-up message box with "listen and type the numbers you hear" came up. It really made me think about the point of this function. I honestly couldn't think of ANY reason for it. If you can't read or type in the obnoxiously huge "verification word", then you sure as hell won't be able to read or type in the small text into the comment box. Nor would you be likely to even see the tiny handicapped logo. It's just one of life's illogicalities that I may never be understand. Let me know if any of you have a clue...
September 12, 2006
Bon Voyage
It's always tough when a friend moves away. You begin to regret the times when you couldn't make it out to meet them at the bar and feel bad about not making it to aerobic boxing class that they invited you to numerous times. You begin to think, "Man, I wish we had gone to more movies or done anything just to have spent more time together." You realize there just never seems to be enough time to spend with good company. You begin to miss them before they are gone and try to sneak in as many moments as you can before that last hug.
On the other side, you smile as you sit and think of all of the good times that you had with them while they were here. All of the laughs and interesting talks that made your day. And with that, you think, "At least I have those memories to hold me over until we see each other again."
You hope for the best for them in thier future endeavors and pray that time and distance aren't too much of a barrier for your friendship. You move on with the glimmer of hope that you will, once again, be graced with their presence.
To my little Belgium explorer, I wish you the best in your adventure. I hope that grad school is fun and that those you meet are as kind-hearted as you. Keep in touch and let me know if you need anything. I hope to see ya again soon.
