Archive for June 2008

1

Dandilions

Some of summer's guilty pleasures.

7

Cell Phone - Lake Harriet

Can you believe this? It's like a perfect world here. It's freaking me out. What's Cell Phone Sunday all about?

1

Shooting Bridges with Matt

So how did I get those pictures of the 35W replacement bridge construction? Was I flying over the Mississippi River? Nope, there's another bridge right next to it. The city was wise enough to create a pedestrian lane on that bridge to allow gawkers like me and my friend Matt, also known as Ravsitar, the release pixie of Tips From the Top Floor Photography Podcast. Yes, that's fellow Nikonian Matt taking a shot with a Nikon 70-300mm VR — looks good on him eh? Let's all encourage this newly-minted professional engineer to reward himself with one of his own, or at least a lens I want that I can use when he's got mine. If you are interested in learning more about the bridge, I found a Minnesota DOT information sheet online.

2

St. Anthony Bridge Assembly

Here's what the St. Anthony Bridge segments look like before they install them. Note the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in the background (home of the Minnesota Twins & Vikings) behind the Valspar paint company. How would you move something this big & heavy half a mile? Check it out... Look closely, a segment is actually hanging from the Shuttle lift. Speaking of looking closely... Here's a 500mm telephoto of the side of the segments, you can see how they interlock.

6

Bridge Construction Workers

He takes a moment to rest and enjoy the view. What's he working on? Behold the business end of the St. Anthony Bridge construction. What's the view like? You tell me. Is that the coolest job or what? Technical note, remember the 500mm mirror lens I was playing with? The first two photos were taken with it's replacement, the Tamron 200-500mm f5/6.3. It's an ungodly monstrosity to work with, but I'm very happy with the images! I still have a guilty desire to go buy back the mirror lens though. In spite of the wacky bokeh, the images were really clear & the lens was light. There are some really cheap ones out there, maybe...

0

Compressed Angle of the St. Anthony Bridge Construction

This angle includes the full span-so-far of the soon-to-be mighty St. Anthony Bridge. It's difficult to capture the immensity of this project. Maybe I'll get back down there and take some shots from below. The size of everything there is impressive, big cranes, trucks & parts. Check back tomorrow to see my favorite photo of the bridge construction workers.

6

35W St. Anthony Bridge Construction

Matt and I went down to the St. Anthony Bridge construction site to take pictures on Sunday. It's amazing to see them working on this monstrosity. 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Matt heard that they took four hours off for Christmas and one and a half for New Years. I have some close-ups of the guys working on it taken with the 200-500mm Tamron that I will show you later in the week.

2

Storms over Wisconsin

Where did all that rain come from? Here's a photo of one of the big storms as it rolled by to the south.

3

Lake Delton, Wisconsin Dells

I stopped in the Wisconsin Dells on my way back across Wisconsin this weekend. As you may know, the damn broke and the whole lake washed down river last week. This photo was taken near the stream that feeds the lake. There is some water coming back in, but as you can see from the dock and the boat lying on the ground, the lake is gone. The water is only a few inches deep, just puddles caught in the sand. I walked out on the boat landing and jumped down to the lake bottom to take this picture. More Lake Delton photos tomorrow!

3

The Lagoon

Just got back from visiting my parents in Kenosha, Wisconsin. I'm running behind today, so you get to enjoy a backup photo of my lagoon. One block from my home is this lagoon between Lake Calhoun and Lake of the Isles. I think the lily pads are new this year. Stay tuned! I came back through the Wisconsin Dells area and took photos of the great missing Lake Delton; I even walked on the bottom of the lake. Last week, the damn collapsed and the whole lake washed down river leaving a mucky whole in the middle of a summer resort town — very tragic for the people and businesses there. I suggest they change the name the Delton Dry Lake, like Groom Dry Lake. It might draw a new, if interesting crowd. If you don't know where or what Groom Dry Lake is, you probably sleep at night.