Johnathan Paddleford

How can this be?  I am running out of photos.  There are so many things to shoot this time of year. Just about everything looks better without snow and ice in it.

Before the fireworks

I took this before the July 4th fireworks began.  The high bridge is a wonderful place to take photos from and as the sun goes down I like the challenge of getting them when the “1″ is lit up.

After the fireworks

I love to photograph the Mississippi river at night.   With the colors and the reflections it never looks the same twice.  I took this one just after the July 4th fireworks in St. Paul. I like the boats and the barges.   I have a rule about shooting downtown and that is that the 1 must be lit up on the first bank building.  It blinks on and off and I delete the shot if it is off.  I did get some shots of the fireworks too but amazingly they look the same every year.

Men at work

The rig is parked just off of Harriet Island. They are removing some of the debris and trees that the flood left behind.  The water is receding but it did leave a mess behind.

Ugh the tug

I don’t know how she got her name but Ugh the tug is the little tug boat that sits near the paddle boats on the Mississippi River along Harriet island.  Ugh pushes a barges around which is what a tug boat is supposed to do.

Mississippi River

The Mississippi River continues to rise.  My favorite spots for taking photos are closed.  It is supposed to rise two more feet before it crests. I can’t seem to stay away from it but watching it rise is like watching paint dry.  Some flooding along the river in the spring is common and expected.  This flood is bigger than average.  Here is a link with information about the flooding just in case Google brought you here when you were looking for news or information.

BMW Oracle Racing 90

You were maybe thinking I was going to post another picture of a valve, maybe I will do that tomorrow.  This tall said could be seen for miles in San Diego. I thought maybe it was a sculpture of something but it turned out to be the sail of the BMW Oracle. The mast is 186 feet high.  Fun to see up close and of course this is one of many photos. The boat isn’t crooked the camera was.

Boats and Buildings

Taken from Embarcedaro Park in San Diego, CA., a week ago today and I wish I was still there.  It was a kind of working vacation except it was so beautiful that I think I did a little more vacation than work.

Tug Boat

You can’t live in St. Paul, MN without seeing boats.  I like tug boats and barges. Lake boats are pretty cool too, as are paddle boats, pontoons and canoes.  Sailboats are the most photogenic but they can be hard to catch. These boats are just kind of hanging out at the port of St. Paul and were not hard to catch.

Mississippi River

I should have put “I an an idiot” as the title for this one.  I went out when I was dead tired after an all day conference to take some night shots and more importantly to help someone else learn how.  It was very windy.  If you know anything about shooting at night especially using the slower shutter speeds, a little wind is just enough to wreck the shot. There was a lot of wind.  I did get a few shots but most were ruined.  Not just because of the wind but because I carried my camera around all day with the lens cap off and the lens was dirty.  I should know better.  The photo was taken from Harriet Island in St. Paul.  An excellent place to take photos of water, bridges, buildings, people, boats, wildflowers and probably half a dozen things I didn’t think to mention.