Nine Mile Reflections

2012-01-22T22:33:00.001-06:00

2011-12-09T05:57:00.002-06:00

2011-12-09T05:54:00.001-06:00

2011-12-09T05:51:00.000-06:00

2011-12-09T05:48:00.000-06:00

Tamarack Nature Preserve

2011-09-18T21:07:00.003-05:00

From March 9th, 2009.

Mississippi River Touring

2011-09-12T21:56:00.001-05:00

Looking across to Nicollet Island Park

2011-09-12T21:12:00.002-05:00

Colby Lake Park

2011-09-11T22:26:00.001-05:00

Who's on first... what's on 2nd?

2011-09-11T07:39:00.001-05:00

3rd Ave Bridge Watercolor

2011-09-10T08:02:00.002-05:00

Just Move

2011-09-09T22:01:00.002-05:00

21st Floor Diggs

2011-09-09T05:31:00.001-05:00

Stone Arch Bridge Revisited

2011-09-09T05:29:00.001-05:00

Greater Minneapolis Crisis Nursery

2011-08-15T20:12:00.003-05:00

Greater Minneapolis Crisis Nursery works to end child abuse and neglect and create strong, healthy families. The Crisis Nursery supports families in crisis 24 hours a day, 365 days a year through our free, voluntary services.

Of all the pro bono work I've done with the Firm these last two years, this has been the most gratifying.

Peavey Plaza Falls

2011-08-05T20:45:00.002-05:00

Status: The City has selected oslund.and.associates to provide landscape architecture services for the revitalization of the City-owned Peavey Plaza space. Four finalists submitted proposals in October and the firms were publicly interviewed on November 16. The 2010 Minnesota Legislature earmarked $2 million in state bond funds. The design will be developed in 2011 in collaboration with a Community Engagement Committee.
Project Scope: oslund.and.associates will be responsible for designing for the revitalization of Peavey Plaza from programming through construction administration. The City and the Minnesota Orchestra anticipate a two-phase design effort:

Phase I: Programming, concept design, and budget development. This phase will include meetings with the community engagement committee as required to gather input and develop the program. Phase 1 will not exceed $250,000.
Phase II: Schematic design through construction administration. Services in Phase 2 are subject to state and private funding availability. Total landscape architecture services of Phases 1 and 2 will not exceed 12% of the total cost of the project.
Schedule: The City and the Minnesota Orchestra anticipate an approximately 30-month project schedule with Phase I design work beginning in January 2011 and approval of the design concept complete in June 2011 with construction beginning in spring 2012. A grand opening is planned for summer 2013.

Budget: The total project cost will be finalized with the selection of a concept design at the completion of the Phase I work, but is estimated to be in a range between approximately $5-6 million.

Maxximus LNG 2000

2011-07-04T05:44:00.002-05:00

Insight: Goodbye gasoline? GM gives natural gas cars a boost.
By Edward McAllister

NEW YORK | Fri Jul 1, 2011 12:45pm EDT

(Reuters) - American automobiles have a limited diet, but gasoline's monopoly at the pump may be ending. The giant of U.S. automakers is turning to something cheaper and cleaner: natural gas.
General Motors Corp announced plans this week to develop its first natural gas-powered engine, overcoming its long aversion to alternative fuels and joining a host of smaller players working to put natural gas in car engines.

In Indianapolis, Marlon Kirby has built a new supercar that looks much like all the others - sleek, curvy, low to the ground - but which differs from its gasoline-guzzling counterparts in one major way: it runs on liquid natural gas.
The United States has more natural gas than it knows what to do with - up to 100 years of supply, experts say - thanks to a new drilling technique called hydraulic fracturing which releases huge reserves of natural gas trapped in shale rock.

Natural gas is used mainly in electricity generation and for industry, but with just 120,000 natural gas vehicles on the road and only 900 filling stations, transport remains a tiny fraction of total demand.

However, assuming production forecasts are correct, natural gas will likely remain cheap for years and could help cut U.S. reliance on oil. While crude prices soared above $110 a barrel this year due to unrest in the Middle East, U.S. natural gas prices, impervious to international influence, remained low as there was no shortage of natural gas at home.

Gunderslevholm-Næstved Municipality

2011-06-30T22:22:00.004-05:00

Canoe Rental in Suså
Bring the whole family on a canoeing holiday on Suså
Here you will find all the pleasures and the good experiences

KanoPaaSusaa offers canoe hire on an hourly basis as well as one or several days at a time at favorable prices. Rent a canoe with us and get wonderful holiday experiences while you are sailing up and down Suså through some of South and West Zealand's beautiful scenery.

Ro from delusional troupe in the north to south in Naestved or choose to begin your canoe trip somewhere on the line. Let us help you choose just the canoe trip that suits you and your family and the time you have available.
We have Suså, Tystrup Bavelse lakes, canoes, helpers and the many accommodations.
You have family or friends you can share the many vacation experiences with, as a canoeing on Suså can give you
- Whether it's spring, summer or late autumn.

Slagelse, Sjælland

2011-06-28T22:41:00.008-05:00

Karrebæksminde for lunch

2011-06-23T20:59:00.011-05:00

Herlufsholm Skole, Næstved, Denmark

2011-06-23T05:03:00.013-05:00

2011-06-04T21:42:00.000-05:00

"How long an hour can take
When you're staring into open space
When I feel I'm slipping further away
I remember that everyday
I get a little bit closer to you."

2011-06-03T22:58:00.001-05:00

"I want to shimmer
and want to shine.
I want to radiate...
I want to live and
I want to love.
I want to learn now not to hate...
Try not to hate. "

-S.M.

Mill City Museum

2011-05-31T23:05:00.003-05:00

"Originally designed by Austrian engineer William de la Barre and declared the world's largest flour mill after its completion in 1880, the structure housing Mill City Museum is a National Historic Landmark. Known as the Washburn A Mill, it was nearly destroyed by fire in 1991.
Among the new architectural features is an eight-story glass facade overlooking the Mississippi River. True-to-scale graphics of the milling machines are featured on the glass façade to give visitors an idea of how massive the milling process was. The facade forms a reflective backdrop for the weathered masonry walls that frame a 100-by-100 foot, open-air courtyard formed by the 1991 fire. Ruins of the historic mill are showcased in the courtyard through significant excavation efforts."

2011-05-30T22:14:00.000-05:00

Tennessee Williams/Guthrie Theatre

2011-05-27T20:31:00.002-05:00

2011-05-26T22:45:00.000-05:00

2011-05-25T19:17:00.000-05:00

2011-05-24T22:33:00.000-05:00

2011-05-20T22:31:00.000-05:00

2011-05-19T22:01:00.000-05:00

Two of my all time favorite baseball players.

2011-05-19T05:31:00.000-05:00

Boardrunnin

2011-05-13T20:56:00.002-05:00

Hennepin Ave Bridge Ramp

2011-05-11T19:31:00.000-05:00

2011-04-30T09:00:00.000-05:00

"Is the answer none of the above
Crouched in a hole like a mud-streaked fugitive
And everyday a different version of
Pourin it away like a water through a sieve

Hey better realize my friend
Love in the end now you can't take it well
Gotta live

If only for a second
I see a twinklin in your eye
Gotta try."

2011-04-29T20:32:00.000-05:00

"Is it possible to know
If what I'm feeling's good for me
Is it body, is it soul?
If it's all in my head, then I need help letting go
There's so much I can't get over
I just need someone to give me something more."

2011-04-28T20:11:00.003-05:00

2011-04-27T20:56:00.000-05:00

Open the pod bay doors, HAL.

2011-04-26T21:02:00.002-05:00

Shootout on the OK Bridge

2011-04-25T23:04:00.002-05:00

Justified

2011-04-22T21:01:00.003-05:00

Saved by the Bell

2011-04-16T10:29:00.002-05:00

So much for getting up early on a Saturday morning to rake the yard...

2011-04-15T21:05:00.001-05:00

2011-04-14T19:49:00.001-05:00

Gunderslevholm, Denmark

2011-04-12T21:29:00.001-05:00

2011-04-12T18:54:00.004-05:00

Late Afternoon Stroll to the Stone Arch Bridge

2011-04-11T19:12:00.003-05:00

Early April in St Paul

2011-04-03T11:51:00.003-05:00

Since starting my new job in Minneapolis almost 2yrs ago, I've neglected my old stomping grounds. The river has come down a lot from it's peak last week.

2011-04-02T13:31:00.003-05:00

Churn baby Churn

2011-03-26T08:49:00.002-05:00

Another day away from running and back with the camera… The mighty Mississippi is even more swollen and relentless than the day before. I could feel the mist from St Anthony Falls from my vantage point on the Stone Arch Bridge.

2011-03-19T13:38:00.003-05:00

Changing of the Season

2011-03-17T19:18:00.004-05:00

Run run run...

2011-03-07T20:42:00.003-06:00

A couple of inches of new snow overnight made the Heritage Trail a little sloppy today.

Scoping it Out

2011-02-23T23:11:00.003-06:00

I'll be back out running the Heritage Trail in the morning. Can't wait!

Monday Blues

2011-02-21T20:37:00.002-06:00

Stone Arch Speed Work

2011-02-18T21:29:00.004-06:00

Hennepin Ave Bridge Switchbacks

2011-02-15T21:40:00.001-06:00

Took the G6 & Gorrilapod out for a leisurely run at lunch time today. Another day of the “Great February Thaw” and it has been a welcome change. Time to make the transition from photographer to serious runner, again. I would love to get back to the big time mileage I put in last October& November. Once I get my discipline in order, it’s easy to maintain it. Rock on!

One Last Spin

2011-02-10T20:02:00.002-06:00

Slipstream

2011-02-09T21:07:00.003-06:00

Rand Flash

2011-02-08T20:29:00.002-06:00

Requim

2011-02-07T06:10:00.001-06:00

Clearing Sky

2011-02-04T20:04:00.003-06:00

Normally I'm running on that bridge at lunch time. My goal today was to scope out a new vantage point for a future night shoot. Right after I shot this set of images I ventured down the bank to get closer to the ice. The snow was knee deep but seemed to be firm. Wrong! I fell through and my left leg was in water up to med thigh. I quickly hoisted the camera & tripod to higher ground and gingerly wallowed my way to safety. I spent the afternoon at my desk in soaking wet jeans.

Revolving Door

2011-02-03T22:28:00.001-06:00

Achieving Clarity

2011-02-01T19:53:00.002-06:00

In Harm's Way

2011-01-31T20:05:00.004-06:00

"Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew Diagnosed With Esophageal Cancer
January 3, 2011 11:56 AM

Harmon Killebrew, a Hall of Famer, has been diagnosed with esophageal cancer.

Killebrew said struggle with esophageal cancer has been "perhaps the most difficult battle of my life."

The 74-year-old spent 22 years in professional baseball. He is currently being treated at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota.

Killebrew played for the Minnesota Twins for 14 years and is one of their most legendary players. He was an 11-time American League All-Star and won the AL MVP in 1969."

Stone Arch Glow

2011-01-29T08:46:00.004-06:00

"I saw a werewolf with a Chinese menu in his hand
walkin through the streets of Soho in the rain.
He was lookin for the place called Lee Ho Fooks, gonna get a big dish of beef chow mein."

-WZ

North Star Blankets

2011-01-27T20:02:00.002-06:00

bebe

2011-01-26T19:02:00.002-06:00

January Cityscapes

2011-01-21T23:01:00.004-06:00

The Foshay Tower, now the W Minneapolis – The Foshay hotel, is a skyscraper in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Modeled after the Washington Monument, the building was completed in 1929 months before the stock market crash in October of that year. It has 32 floors and stands 447 feet (136 m) high, plus an antenna mast that extends the total height of the structure to 607 feet (185 m). The building, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978, is an example of Art Deco architecture.

-Wikipedia

Enough already!

2011-01-17T17:26:00.003-06:00

Our average annual snowfall is 56in and we are already at 54in with a couple of months of Winter still in store.

Descent

2011-01-12T06:17:00.001-06:00

Transference

2011-01-10T19:39:00.002-06:00

"Transference is a phenomenon in psychoanalysis characterized by unconscious redirection of feelings from one person to another."

-Wikipedia

Skyway Visions on a Cold Winter Day

2011-01-07T20:17:00.006-06:00

After yesterday's "Belly Up To The Ice Bar" shoot, I wasn't to keen on facing the cold again today. So I wandered the fabled skyways of Minneapolis, instead.

Belly Up to the Ice Bar

2011-01-06T23:11:00.003-06:00

A very cold & difficult shoot today. To scramble from the camera/tripod to the "ice bar" in 10secs, to beat the timer, was quite a challenge.

Last Shoot of 2010

2010-12-31T18:07:00.005-06:00

Thought about running the Heritage Trail at lunch today but decided against it. Cold with freezing drizzle made for a yucky day. Happy New Years.

Exploring The Mill Ruins Ice Flow

2010-12-24T08:18:00.004-06:00

A very difficult shoot, indeed. The footing was precarious and there was a constant dripping from above.

Snow Ruins

2010-12-22T05:33:00.003-06:00

The shoot was a challenge to say the least. I found myself wading through knee deep snow to get to my vantage point. The winds were light but the temps were falling. The light was surreal and it was whisper quiet.

Cold & Snowy on the River Front

2010-12-20T22:23:00.004-06:00

This wasn't going to be my destination today but it was so cold and snowy that it's as far as I got.

Not Even Officially Winter Yet.

2010-12-11T13:41:00.003-06:00

10AM Saturday morning and we're only half way through this beast of a storm. The weather terrorists got the forecast right for once.

Only a Shell of My Former Self

2010-12-08T19:09:00.003-06:00

Here I went from running 200mi in the month of October to not even being able to workout at all. I've never fought the "crud" for this long and I wonder if the end is in sight.

Another Cold Day... another shoot on the river.

2010-12-01T22:51:00.002-06:00

Snowy Mill Ruins

2010-12-01T06:02:00.003-06:00

I braved temps in the low 20's and wind chills in the teens to get this one, today.

It Was Inevitable!

2010-11-13T12:31:00.003-06:00

I was out raking maple leafs in the dark last night in my front yard in anticipation of the storm.

More of the Heritage Trail

2010-11-13T12:25:00.007-06:00

Historic St Anthony Main & the Heritage Trail

2010-10-31T22:07:00.005-05:00

I never get tired of running the Heritage Trail, especially through the cobbled streets and paths of St Anthony Main.

Golden Groundcover

2010-10-10T19:21:00.001-05:00

Living Wall

2010-09-13T21:20:00.002-05:00

Stone Arch from the Boardwalk

2010-09-10T23:29:00.002-05:00

Third Ave Bridge Redux

2010-09-09T23:12:00.003-05:00

Work On Hold For Now...

2010-09-05T22:37:00.004-05:00

The days are getting shorter and the funds are running low. There's not a lot more I can do this Fall and in some ways that's probably just as well. I need a break.

Renewal

2010-08-15T22:18:00.002-05:00

Taking a week off did wonders for me on a number of different levels.

The End of my Staycation

2010-08-15T22:08:00.004-05:00

Back to work again tomorrow.... 'sigh'.

Impressionism

2010-08-11T23:09:00.002-05:00

"Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement that began as a loose association of Paris-based artists whose independent exhibitions brought them to prominence in the 1870s and 1880s. The name of the movement is derived from the title of a Claude Monet work, Impression, Sunrise (Impression, soleil levant), which provoked the critic Louis Leroy to coin the term in a satiric review published in Le Charivari.

Characteristics of Impressionist paintings include relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on the accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage of time), ordinary subject matter, the inclusion of movement as a crucial element of human perception and experience, and unusual visual angles. The emergence of Impressionism in the visual arts was soon followed by analogous movements in other media which became known as Impressionist music and Impressionist literature."

-Wikipedia

Suddenly Grey Tuesday

2010-08-10T12:22:00.003-05:00

I did manage to get out for a couple of hours for yard work this morning before the rains came. It's early afternoon now and I'm getting ready to tackle some indoor chores. Clean a couple of bathrooms, tidy up my desk in the den, and maybe even get in a little reading on my Kindle. I'm a third of the way through "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo". There's a Twins game on the tube tonight & the season's final for "Hells Kitchen". I need to take more vacations. This is wonderful!

Lever

2010-08-09T21:25:00.003-05:00

"In physics, a lever (from French lever, "to raise", c.f. a levant) is a rigid object that is used with an appropriate fulcrum or pivot point to multiply the mechanical force (effort) that can be applied to another object (load)."

-Wikipedia

I did manage to move the rock on the left this afternoon, but only about a foot. I'll need another live body to hold the lever whilst I rock the boulder to get it to roll.

Prelude to a Vacation

2010-08-06T19:03:00.002-05:00

Technically, this one pretty much sucks. Grin. But you know what? I don't even care. I'm on a 9day vacation from my day job (my first). Took this one on my lunch hour today. It wasn't even my primary objective in the first place. The stiching is off, the exposure in the sky isn't consistent, and I probably used too many images for the pano. I'll replace it with another shot some day I guess. Perfect day. Puffy clouds and low 80's (F). My week will be spent slaving in my backyard in the sweltering heat and humidity... working on my endless landscaping. My evenings will be devoted to finishing "The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo".

Pillsbury A Mill

2010-08-05T22:07:00.002-05:00

"In 1879, after five years of secret planning, Charles Alfred Pillsbury announced to the public that he would build the largest and most advanced mill the world had ever seen. He had traveled to mills all over the world, searching for the best technique for milling flour on a large scale. Despite the convention of the time, Pillsbury decided that he wanted his new mill to be designed by an architect in order to make the building visually appealing. An architect named LeRoy S. Buffington, with the loose advice of several engineers, carried out the design. Construction started in 1880 and was finished in 1881 under a contractor named George McMullen."

-Wikipedia

Mill Ruins from the Stone Arch Bridge

2010-08-04T05:41:00.003-05:00

Shooting at noon on a sunny day makes it especially tough to get the exposure correct. Using a polarizer helps, but only to a degree.

Mill Ruins Park

2010-08-02T20:43:00.001-05:00

"In its 19th-century heyday, this area of mills, canals, tailraces and other historic resources comprised the largest direct-drive water-powered facility in the world and was the leading international producer of flour, a commodity which was shipped both nationwide and worldwide."

Stone Arch Bridge

2010-08-01T20:45:00.003-05:00

Historic Great Northern Railroad Mississippi River Crossing
Minneapolis, MN

The Stone Arch Bridge was built in the 1880s by famous railroader tycoon James J. Hill. At the time, engineers thought that it would be impossible to build a stone arch bridge for rail traffic. They believed that vibrations from passing trains would cause the stone to crumble. Now that 125 years have passed, not only has J.J. Hill been proved right, but the Stone Arch Bridge is now the second oldest surviving bridge over the Mississippi River.
The Stone Arch Bridge served rail passengers through high times and panics, through the boom times in the 1920s and the depression of the 1930s, and through two world wars. The star of the passenger service was the Empire Builder, whose timetable was adjusted so passengers could enjoy the scenery of the mountains through space age looking vista dome cars. But the railroad could not keep up with the automobile, and the passenger rail business became unprofitable. Amtrak was formed to take over passenger rail service on May 1, 1971. Amtrak continued to operate the Empire Builder over the Stone Arch Bridge. But on March 1, 1978, Amtrak opened the new depot on Cleveland Avenue in the Midway area between Saint Paul and Minneapolis. The last train crossed the Stone Arch Bridge on that day.

The Stone Arch Bridge sat unused through the 1980s and into the 1990s. A group of private and public organizations raised $2.5-million to refurbish the bridge for pedestrian traffic. The bridge reopened in 1994 after extensive repairs and the installation of a new deck and railings. Later, a decorative lighting systems was installed, and a decade later, lighting was installed under the bridge. The result is that this landmark structure is back in use, and it offers a spectacular view of the Saint Anthony Falls.