Today, I made my first post-Covid visit to the Minnesota State Fair in St. Paul. The Minnesota State Fair is the second-largest state fair in the United States. I took these photos from 8:52 to 10:22 a.m. and used my Canon EOS R with kit lens.
My mom and I went to the first day of Chanhassen’s 40th annual Fourth of July celebration this evening. We’ve gone for the last three years now. I posted photos I took last year with my Google Pixel smartphone, which obviously limited image quality. This year, I made sure to bring my Canon EOS R. I also coordinated our time so I was able to take photos at the golden hour and the blue hour. The golden hour is the hour before sunset, and the blue hour is the hour after sunset (as an aside, it works the opposite way for sunrises). The sunset was at 9:04 p.m. tonight; these photos were taken between 7:58 and 9:25 p.m.
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Another Evening at the Arb
Less than a week ago, I visited the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Chaska, Minnesota. Unlike this prior visit, it was overcast today, which is actually a good time to photograph anything with vibrant colors.
I took these photos from 5:59 to 6:20 p.m.
Father’s Day came early for my dad this year. This morning, the Postal Service delivered the watch I ordered for my dad. Of course, I had to make an unboxing post (even though my mom thinks they’re weird).
I ordered this Seiko SNE593 from Island Watch last week, shortly after boarding an Amtrak train to take me back home to St. Paul from East Glacier Park, Montana.
Enjoy these 12 photos, dad!
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An Evening at the Arb
My mom and I visited the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Chaska, Minnesota, this evening. I took these photos from 6:24 to 6:39 p.m.
Last week, I took an Amtrak train from St. Paul to Glacier National Park to begin my seasonal job working in a kitchen at one of the lodges. I am living and working in St. Mary, Montana, in northwestern Montana, close to the Canadian border.
After getting off the train in the blackness of night last week, the first thing I noticed was the smell of pine permeating the air. I likened it to fictional F.B.I. special agent Dale Cooper from “Twin Peaks” asking about the smell after arriving in Washington State (the smell is Douglas fir, an evergreen tree). I foresee the pine smell becoming a Proustian madeleine for me. And I wouldn’t mind living in the Pacific Northwest long-term (it is simply breathtaking); I just wouldn’t want to be around bears or moose!
The first two photos were taken with my iPhone, while the last three were taken with my Canon EOS R.
Tomorrow is Memorial Day, and the weather is looking up. I will need to get used to this rainy biome, but so far I cherish it (just not the bears and moose!).
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Finally, Spring
My mom, our puggles, and I went to Rice Marsh Lake Park this evening. I took these photos from 5:59 to 6:09 p.m.
I wrote and recorded these songs in February and April of 2005 for my only album, “OG.”
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Before and After Bard College
Today, I found some photos on my 2004 Apple iBook G4, which was my first major purchase after starting work at McDonald’s. I was so transfixed at the time with Apple computers and iPods (I might’ve even been the first person in my 9th grade class to have an iPod) that I exuberantly told my parents to invest heavily in Apple. Up to that point, I had never told my parents to invest in any company. I hope they did invest in Apple (they’ve always denied it), because then I’m sure we’d all be millionaires!
Back to the subject, I hadn’t been on this computer in 5–10 years, and I couldn’t remember the password this morning. Luckily, though, the heavens eventually let me remember it. I was most delighted to find a self-portrait I took shortly before leaving home to attend Bard College in 2007–which was also my first profile picture on Facebook–and a self-portrait I took in the spring of 2010, which was in between the times I left Bard College mid-semester in the spring and fall of 2010. I never returned to Bard College after the fall of 2010.
As mentioned, these photos are self-portraits. I took the 2007 photo with a DSLR and a tripod. I took the 2010 photo by holding my DSLR over my body while lying in my yard. The 2007 photo depicts the Temple of Eck in my hometown of 30 years: Chanhassen, Minnesota. This building is on the site of the headquarters of Eckankar, a cult-like religion. I have never joined this cult-like religion, though I believe my parents and brother are members. I did, however, write an article about Eckankar for Chaska High School’s student newspaper during my junior year of high school (the spring of 2006, to be exact) and got to go on a tour of the Temple of Eck with a member of Eckankar from my high school, his mom, and another unknown member. Otherwise, no one has ever talked to me about Eckankar, much less asked me to join.
Both of the following two photos were taken straight out of camera (SOOC), meaning I did not post-process or edit them in any way.
Here is the “before” photo and some EXIF data:
DSC_8117.JPG
Date taken: 6/5/2007 7:51 PM
Dimensions: 3008 x 2000
Camera maker: NIKON CORPORATION
Camera model: NIKON D50
F-stop: f/9
Exposure time: 1/200 sec.
ISO speed: (blank)
Exposure bias: -0.7 step
Focal length: 50 mm
Metering mode: Pattern
Flash mode: No flash
Contrast: Normal
Exposure program: Aperture Priority
Saturation: High saturation
Sharpness: Normal
White balance: Manual
Here is the “after” photo and some EXIF data:
DSC_4309.JPG
Date taken: 5/21/2010 6:18 PM
Dimensions: 4288 x 2848
Camera maker: NIKON CORPORATION
Camera model: NIKON D90
F-stop: f/3.8
Exposure time: 1/160 sec.
ISO speed: ISO-200
Exposure bias: 0 step
Focal length: 24 mm
Metering mode: Pattern
Flash mode: No flash
Contrast: Normal
Exposure program: Aperture Priority
Saturation: Normal
Sharpness: Normal
White balance: Manual
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Historic Downtown Chaska in Winter
For one reason or another, I haven’t taken many photos in downtown Chaska over the years. But this says more about me than it does their historic downtown area–because it is charming.
I took these five photos today from 11:34 to 11:50 a.m.
