Category: interiors

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Photographers take over St. Paul Como Conservatory

The Camera and Artist Event at Marjorie McNeely Conservatory, St. Paul Minnesota - every few months the Conservatory opens early on Sunday and allows photographers to bring their tripods in. I felt so out of place, I decided to leave the tripod at home and just enjoy my time there. It was such a sunny morning, the tripod seemed unnecessary. If I wanted to use a tight aperture I could have brought the tripod, but if you are familiar with my style, you'll notice I really enjoy the shallow DOF of a big lens.

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Tiny Hallway

The new f/1.4 does quite a number on the hallway in my building.

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IDS Crystal Court Escalator

I like an escalator because an escalator can never break, it can only become stairs. There would never be an 'escalator temporarily out of order' sign, only an 'Escalator temporarily stairs. Sorry for the convenience.' - Mitch Hedberg

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Saturday Moment of Zen & Richard Rock

This sculpture is titled "Your Dog" by Yoshitomo Nara and is in the new wing of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. I was there Thursday evening for the opening for artist Richard Rock. To compliment the show, Richard hired Mitch Rossow Design, Inc. (the parent corporation of this blog) to design a website for him. It has images of all his work and information about the artist. You can see the website for Fine Artist & Oil Painter, Richard Rock here. Several events are scheduled with the artist at the MIA, you can learn about it at the MIA page about the Richard Rock Show.

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Hennepin County Government Center

Today's your last day for free cookies and punch at the Hennepin County Government Center. That big building that goes over 6th? This is their atrium. I was there this past weekend with the gang from Tips from the Top Floor. Fourteen photographers wandering the skyway looking for interesting things. Turns out most security guards don't want you photographing the interiors of the buildings. This is a government building and it was ok; we stood right by the security desk and he didn't mind. I took most of the color out of this image because the abstract shapes were much more powerful in B&W. It's a great space when it's empty and quiet. A very bright, cheery place actually. This was the first time I was there when I wasn't doing paperwork that I didn't want to. It's a very different experience. Go take pictures or just hang out at the DMV, you might like it.

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Saturday Moment of Zen

Be careful with your composition, you never know when a pleasant sitting room could become an angry clown. This photo was taken at the Northern Aire Resort I photographed a couple weeks ago. The other posts from there were: Magestic Pine Northern Morning, Cold North Lake and Night Time in Wisconsin.

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Gaviidae Shopping Center Lights

Here is the place where yesterday's photo was taken. Gaviidae is a shopping center in the heart of downtown Minneapolis. Greg and I were there last week taking pictures. The word Gaviidae is the Latin name for Loons — the Minnesota State Bird. This was taken with the new lens, the Tamron 11-18mm Ultra-wide. Still loving it. When I'm out shooting and switching between the lenses, it reminds me of the way movies are shot. The Ultra-wide is great for "Establishing Shots" and the telephoto shows the details. Next time you are out shooting at a location, try taking a wide shot that will give an overview of the area. The Wikipedia article that I linked to above gives a great example: the show Seinfeld gives a quick shot of the outside of the restaurant before the scene inside. You know right away where they are. It's good to look to other mediums to learn techniques. While studing landscape oil painting with Joe Paquet, I've learned a lot about how light behaves as it travels through the air. It has helped me see what is really going on and how to show depth in an image. Currently I am working with a filmmaker who I will talk about in the future as our project finishes and is no longer classified. Working with these two artists is a great experience — they both see the world very differently. Photography, painting and filmmaking are very different art forms, but they are still about how we perceive our world. And if we're really lucky, tell a story. Stay tuned, the medium of blogging continues, same bat time, same bat URL.