From point A to point B

The idea that a plant can grow from a tiny seed, into a large fruit-bearing plant in a matter of months has always amazed me. This is our 4th year of working the soil in our garden, which was initially a large patch of rock-solid clay. For the past 4 seasons, we’ve tilled-in compost, peat, and mulch. We now have rich, dark soil. Our garden has really been growing strong this year. The plentiful rain this year has certainly played a part as well. All of our plants are producing large volumes for harvest.

This morning, there was a thick coat of dew across the entire region. These photos are details from some of the plants in our garden.

Just a select few frames from the many that I took at the Air Show this afternoon. A great show as always.

There’s a local auto-restoration company who had this beauty parked out in front of their business. There’s really no better advertising for their services than to show the fruits of their labor. The sleek lines and curves, and the color are truly amazing.

We took a little family road trip to the Laura Ingalls Wilder Pageant in De Smet Friday night. If you haven’t been, it’s a good old-fashioned, low-tech family fun event. Volunteer actors audition for the roles of Pa, Ma, Laura, Mary, and the whole cast of Little House on the Prairie characters. Right after we rode the horse-drawn wagon, the girls got to pet the horses.

We have been fortunate this summer so far. Normally it is 90-100 degrees, and drier than a tumbleweed. But we’ve had a good amount of rain and the temperatures have been hot, but cool off over night and in the early morning. The flowers, grass and trees are in full bloom in our yard. I found this little guy happily collecting nectar in the flower garden.

I was out and about today, scouting for new outdoor locations for high school senior portraits. I stumbled across a group of kids taking it easy on the lake in kayaks. I like the various bright colors of the kayaks and the vivid colors of the sky and greenery.

Had a lunch meeting today, and on my way back to my car, I passed by this set of chairs on the patio area of the restaurant I was at. The negative space aspect of this photo intrigues me. Instead of seeing the actual subject matter (people at a table) you only see their shadows.

Walking downtown on Phillips Avenue today, taking in all of the activities and set-up preparations for Hot Summer Nights this weekend. The streets will be filled with Corvettes Harley-Davidsons, and people. While walking along, I glanced over and noticed this cool reflection in the window of an office building. I like the distorted imagery in the glass, and the way the reflective colors appear in the glass.

On our last night at Cedar Shore Resort, I found this moon over the boats at the dock inspiring.

On the river, we hooked up with friends Jack and Joelle who have a house boat. It took a little coaxing, and seeing dad do it, but finally the girls put on their Brave Faces and jumped off the top deck of the house boat. It’s about a 15 foot drop, and was even a little intimidating for dad at first. These 3 shots are a sequence of one of Gracie’s many jumps. View Post

The day started out a little gray and gloomy, but at least we didn’t encounter any rain. As the afternoon progressed, we finally saw the sun! We had a great few hours on the boat with our friends Dave and Stacy. This photo is of Maddie and Gracie on the tube behind the boat. View Post

We stayed at Cedar Shore Resort in Chamberlain, SD for the Independence Day holiday weekend. We drove there Friday morning, hoping for a day of fun and sun on the boat. Instead we had a gloomy, rainy day. This photo of Gracie looking out the window of our room at the wet, dreary day says it all. View Post

This is a shot looking down the 3rd base line as a girl makes a hit, at my oldest daughter’s softball game. View Post

Goodbye all my friends at HenkinSchultz. I will miss you. We had some great times over the past 7 years.

The Fire Department was called out last night to help with storm spotting. We watched for tornados for about an hour and a half. After an exciting night of storms and tornado warnings, we were in the clear. The storm split-up and moved to the south. This is a few frames from the tail end of the storm as it moves south.

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I’m still in the mood to keep it simple.

Words cannot describe how sad losing a 10-day old baby must be. To my friend, we are praying for you. The sunset today made me stop and think for a good long time. I hope and pray that God be with you, and that your little girl be with Him in heaven.

Gracie reading in the living room. Practicing my HDR skills.

Here’s some shots of the Main Street carnival blended together into one panoramic shot. This view is a nearly 180 degree view. The Police Station on the left, and the Body Shop on the right are on opposite sides of the street from each other.

The Great Thomas Midway on Main Street during Tea Pot Days 2009

Scenes from the Tea Pot Days tractor and truck pull Friday night.

Last night’s sunset was affected by severe thumderstorms north of us, near Brookings. The colors and cloud formations are pretty impressive.

In the main entry area of the Sioux Falls Convention Center is a piece of art by Dick Termes. It’s a large sphere, with illustrative renderings of well-known Sioux Falls landmarks. I was out at the Convention Center this afternoon photographically documenting some other areas of the facility. This angle really caught my eye as I passed by it. The second shot is looking down at a round mirror that lies on the floor below the sphere.

Two days ago, I posted the photo of the cows looking at the camera, as if they were waiting to have their portrait done. I was re-visiting the raw images that I snapped on Sunday, and noticed this one. I love the “expression” on this cow’s face. It compliments the story idea that the cows noticed their portrait on my blog, and came back to make a statement. It looks like he wasn’t too happy about the previous image. Interesting how something taken out of content can be so funny.

Civil War cannon at the South Dakota National Guard Museum in Pierre, SD.

On my way home from Rapid City, I stopped for fuel and a quick break in Chamberlain, SD. These guys were standing in a pasture right behind the gas station. I barely gave them a second thought, as I was in a hurry to get home. But as I was pumping gas, they kept staring at me as though they knew I had a camera in the car, and were begging to have their picture taken. Fine guys. Here you go. You are on the web. The next time you’re surfing the web, stop by this blog and let me know what you think.

This is a view looking down from the 8th floor of the Holiday Inn Rapid City. I was out there for State Fire School this past weekend. I like the geometry and repeating pattern of the floor from this angle.

I’ve been experimenting with different lighting schemes the past month or so. Back in April, I found some success using hand-held flashlights, multiple exposures, and compositing. A couple nights ago I went back to the fire house after dark, and took new shots of our Ladder truck and Rescue truck. This is a collage I put together of the two trucks. The flag and flames are stock images. The phoenix logo I designed a couple years ago. This piece will be used as part of a framed collage of portraits of all the firefighters’ on the department. This portion will be at the bottom of the frame, with 35 cut-out holes in rows above for each firefighter’s portrait.

We tried 3 times to catch the fireworks show at Magic Kindgom, over Cinderella’s castle. Our girls were too tired to stay the first time, and we were rained out the second time. Finally, on our last night at Dinsey World, we were able to catch the show. It was well-worth the wait. We have memories we’ll never forget.

Disney doesn’t waste a single opportunity to immerse visitors in an experience. this metallic statue of Goofy sits right out side of Tony’s Italian Ristorante, where Lady and the Tramp have their famous spaghetti encounter.