Archive for November 2009

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St. Paul Cathedral from the Foshay

I went up to the Foshay Observatory on Saturday to get a better look at our fair city. It's funny how hard it is to see around all the buildings from what was at one time the tallest building in the Northwest. As the sun was setting, we snapped up the surrounding landscape. This angle is interesting in that there is so much St. Paul compressed in a small area, you can see the concrete company off Cretin Ave, the Menard's on University, the big apartment building off Lexington at 94, the AT&T building downtown and the Cathedral.

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Reflecting on the Grain Belt Sign

There was just enough ripple to the river to make it clear that it was a reflection, but not so much as to ruin the reflection. Moments later, the wind picked up and the image was scrambled. The comments on the sign this week were really great, thanks for the information! Hopefully the sign will come back to life. Speaking of life and water, check it out, the moon is actually wet!

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Grafitti - Took a Cab From Burnsville

Under a railroad bridge, down by the river. Only way to get there from Burnsville is to take a cab.

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Grain Belt Beer Sign Details

Remember the sign from yesterday? That was a 28mm shot, this one is 500mm — a little more detailed. Speaking of details, I took this shot while walking around the river area with my fellow blogger Dusty Lens. He's posted another photo of this Minneapolis Icon and filled in a few details about it's future. Turns out, you can buy this baby, 'cause she's up for sale! The heirs of the William Eastman family are looking for a buyer willing restore the neon lights. Not sure why Grain Belt isn't jumping at the opportunity with a "save the sign" campaign; raffling off riverboat rides and getting tons of free publicity. I know a few photobloggers who would help for the cost of beer. Maybe one of the local tech schools could do it and build an promotional campaign around it — how cool would a video mix of the lit sign, inspirational stories and students working glass be? A couple old-timers watching on with a teary eyes... Anyhow, here's some actual journalism about it: Historic Grain Belt Beer sign up for sale | Minnesota Public Radio NewsQ.

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Bright Colors in a Brown World

The iconic Grain Belt Beer sign sits just across the Mississippi from downtown Minneapolis next to the Hennepin Ave Bridge. The sign used to be lit up at night, I wish they still kept it lit, that would be so much fun to shoot at night.

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Blue Water's Edge

Autumn colors fall from the canopy, revealing the blue sky above.

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Saint Paul Pioneer Press writes about Blogs

Mitchster made the big time, featuring prominently on Page six of the Sunday Life section of today's Pioneer Press. My photo from Oct 28th is top-center of the page and also on the TwinCities.com website (here). Thanks to Alleen Brown (author of the article in the Pioneer Press) for introducing her readers to my fellow bloggers! Here are all the other blogs that they excerpt from, both online and in print: My fellow photographer who's photo is at the top of the twincities.com page: Dusty Lens • St. Paul Real Estate Blog • Debbie Does Duluth • Homes MSP Real Estate Blog.com • Mitchster • Painted Fish Studio • Cheleblog • Pearl, Why You Little... • Anti-Supermom • Strong Towns Blog • Voix de Michèle • What Would Dad Say • Simplicity in the Suburbs • Weapons of Mass Distraction • AncienTrails • Norwegianity • A Heathen's Day • Twin Cities Naturalist • Sweven Volant • Is That All You've Got? • Day in the Life of an Idiot • MN Progressive Project • Café Cyan by Cafe Cyan • One Year of Beauty • Minneapolis Metblogs • You Are dumb • The Deets • Stray Hawkeye • I Was Told There Would Be Bacon • Powderhorn365 • Hockey Wilderness

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Colors Fade, Waters Run Deep

Sunlight dances across Nine Mile Creek and through the thistles as the Minnesota landscape prepares for winter's cover.

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Monochromatic Oak

This leafless red oak and my friend Sam are having a bad hair day.

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Red Oak Leaves in the Sun

A sure sign of fall, the vibrant red oaks show their color down in the valley of nine mile creek, Bloomington, MN (just south of Minneapolis, home of the Mall of America). Did you know that leaves only turn yellow in Europe? I found this out at Riga Daily Photo (see his yellow-leaf photo). A recent discovery has lead scientists to speculate that the red coloring is a defense mechanism. When the green chlorophyll in leaves disappears in fall, the yellow color that was always there becomes visible. The trees that turn red actually go out of their way to do so. It seems that they do it to ward off insects. In Europe, the combination of Ice ages and the barrier of the Alps managed to kill off all the insects that would threaten the trees, so they don't need to make the effort. For the full explanation, read this article I found At Science Daily: Why More Autumn Leaves Are Red In America And Yellow In Europe: New Theory