Tom
I have been meaning to take this
photo for years. The locals will recognize it as
Wisconsin Highway 35 (northbound), just outside the
Red Wing Airport. This stretch of road is in rough
shape and road crews have aggressively patched most
of the cracks.
Who is Tom? Is this a cry for recognition? An epithet
for a lost friend? Or maybe it was the last day of
seasonal labor?
Ode to Tom.
Future home of Red Wing College of Interesting Knowledge?
Or maybe; future of home of Red
Wing Research Park?
This is a city owned building, which was originally
the Red Wing City Hospital. It will soon be
vacant.
The vernal equinox (+1 month)
This is my favorite time of year.
The vernal equinox season (+/- 1 month) provides some
of the most exciting light for a photographer. The
early evenings, the long light and the brilliant
colors are amazing. The challenge for a photographer
is to capture this essence and almost all efforts
fall flat. There is no substitute for the real deal.
The above photos were taken from the 'baldy' of
Maiden Rock. This is the exposed rock at the bluff
top that is very obvious when looking up from the
ground. The leaf colors were at full peak and my
intention was to collect some seasonal stock photos.
I went just before sunset (6:24pm on 10-16-2008) and
started shooting. I wasn't really capturing anything
inspired (above left) and soon I lost all my light
(note to self: bring a flashlight next time).
Then it dawned on me to try some long-exposure shots.
The shot on the right was taken at 6:54pm and in
about 5 minutes it was too dark to focus. It took
about 20 shots before I captured the effect I wanted.
This shot was captured at 100 iso, a 30 second
exposure at f7.1 and a -1 ev exposure. The light blur
in the lake is The Port of Lake City paddlewheel boat
on its way home.
I think I actually missed one of the best photo
opportunities. As soon as I completely lost my light
I headed back to my truck about 1.5 miles away. it
was pitch black and I was using the silhouette of a
tree as a homing beacon. When I finally got back to
my truck I noticed a full moon had risen and an
entirely different light, mood and shadow was
available. I didn't feel like falling off a cliff, so
I summed it up to a learned lesson.