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 it rains

It was hot and muggy out and then it rained.  This is one of the bridges in Chicago crossing the Chicago river. I had a nice time with my friend Todd walking, talking and taking photos.

Phalen Park

We have so many beautiful parks here in St. Paul.  I grabbed this shot last weekend while biking around lake Phalen.

The Wabasha Bridge at Night

I got this one early Sunday morning on Raspberry Island.  One of  the visitors to this blog likes shot details so I thought I would give him some.  This shot is processed using HDR and I used four bracketed shots.  I have no idea why I used four so don’t ask.  I have had trouble in the past using HDR with night shots so this is a break through for me.

F-Stop 9.5, ISO 200, Focal Length 12.0.  I used a wide angle lens and all of my shots are taken in Manual mode.

Bridge Closed

It has been hard to keep up with posting photos this week.  My clients are keeping me busy. I keep my camera with me and got this one after a meeting one evening. I wanted to go down to Raspberry island and take some shots  but the bridge was closed and they wouldn’t let me walk in either. I have always liked this view of the Wabasha street bridge and it was a nice night for a walk.

Robert Street Bridge & Shepard Road

The Robert street bridge is the most photogenic bridge in St. Paul. This one was taken on a day when it was very cold.  A little river steam in the background and a little early morning light on the bridge.  It was too cold to get out of the car but I did pull over to take the shot. If you live around here and see me pulled over stop honking, it won’t make me move any faster.

Riverview Library

Riverview Library, located on the west side of St. Paul.  It opened in 1917. I like the building’s rounded windows.

Raspberry Island

It usually isn’t a good idea to take a photo into the sun but this one worked because the mist rising from the ater filtered the rays nicely. It was taken at Raspberry island park on the Mississippi river in St. Paul shortly after the park was completed.  The trees are not as pretty this year but when those Maples grow up it will be spectacular in the fall.

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.

Boat and Bridge, Duluth Harbor, MN

The boat wasn’t moving very fast, the shutter speed was very slow.  Most of the time a moving object in a slow shutter speed type shot mucks things up but this one came out alright, which is a good thing becasue the sunrise that followed was kind of a non-event.