Medora, North Dakota.
For this week’s “Inspiration” challenge by Tina Schell, I am putting a bit of a historical twist in play. You can read Tina’s post here.
Regular readers of this humble blog know of my love for North Dakota. It was the home of my birth, and though I spent my formative years in other states, in the late 1970’s I was drawn back to the state by the opportunity of a new career. Finding a lifelong home in Fargo, I retired from that career in support of education.
Cass County, North Dakota.
North Dakota is a small state, just over 760,000 residents estimated in 2019. Much of the land in the state is devoted to agriculture, and most people know the reputation of North Dakota winters. That fact proves the phrase, “Make hay while the sun shines.” A drive through Rural North Dakota yields many colorful fields in mid-summer. Canola fields glow in bright yellow, wheat goes from green to those “Amber waves of grain” that “America the Beautiful” reminds us. The most spectacular commodity, though, is the sunflower. Perched atop a strong stalk, a bright yellow flower mimicking the sun welcomes the day facing our nearest star, and each head turns as the day goes on, flower facing west at the end of the day… until it gets large enough that its head can no longer turn. Continue reading
Fargo, North Dakota.
Last week I posted a dronie view of the Red River from Orchard Glen Park. While we were at the park to use the drone, I grabbed some cellphone pics as well. Shot on the same day, here’s a more “up close and personal” view of the lake from the shoreline. This day found the river a beautiful blue color. All of the other shots captured earlier in the season featured the usual muddy brown river. It was so calm there was nary a ripple on the surface giving a great reflection of the trees and sky. Continue reading
For this week’s Lens-Artists challenge, Amy asks us to think negative, er, ah, negatively speaking, er, I mean, consider negative space. (OK, time to get serious.)
Amy writes in part, “Negative space is the area around the main subject of your photograph. This space is empty or unoccupied.” You can read Amy’s entire challenge post here. Continue reading
Fargo, North Dakota.
It’s been over a year since I purchased the Mavic Air drone. For private pilots like myself, it is very easy to add the FAA license for Part 107 (commercial drone operations) to my rating, and the North Dakota Wing of the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) is one of the leaders in drone operations for CAP. I wanted to be involved but had never flown a drone before. Knowing that a drone would add to my camera collection and provide a fresh perspective to my photoshoots, I decided to buy my own for both training and photography purposes. I haven’t used it nearly as much as I expected, but some of that lack of use can be attributed to the pandemic. In any case, after a year’s operational experience, I thought it might be time to share (and reshare) some of the images captured both during training and on my travels. The opening photo was captured during a late afternoon practice flight. The long shadows and golden tones give away the late afternoon time frame. Continue reading
Fargo, North Dakota.
Orchard Glen Park in south Fargo is my new favorite park. I finally got the opportunity to get some aerial views from this park of many apple trees. Finding a clear spot overhead would be a challenge, I thought. When I got there, I realized I’d forgotten that there is a paved road that loops around the majority of the apple trees. The road is wide enough to support a vertical ascent without having to worry about getting tangled in the trees. Continue reading
This week, guest contributor Rusha Sams hosts a challenge in honor of Labor Day which is held on the first Monday in September. She writes, “This week’s Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #113 recognizes people around the globe who have gone the distance or created something that impacts life in a meaningful way. From our travels, here are some memorable labors of love. ” You can read her entire challenge post here. Continue reading
Rollag, Minnesota.
Last weekend, Labor Day Weekend 2020, the last hurrah of summer for many, saw annual activities canceled due to the ongoing pandemic. One such casualty is the Western Minnesota Steam Threshers Reunion. The event started by western Minnesota farmers in 1940 became an attraction in 1954 when it was open to the public. The steam thresher was the first mechanized device that separated seeds from stalks. It did so by simply beating the harvested crop until the seeds fell away. Continue reading
Casselton, North Dakota.
On a recent trip to Casselton where the North Dakota Wing Civil Air Patrol (CAP) homes their glider, in the distance, I heard train whistles blowing the warning at road intersections as the engine drew closer. Normally, when the train passes the airport just yards from the airport border, it’s usually a Burlington Northern freight train. This time, I was surprised to see Red River Valley and Western livery on the two engines that were headed southerly. (Livery in this context means an insignia or symbol that identifies the object as it relates to an individual or corporation.) Continue reading
This week, Ann-Christine reminds us of a challenge series that is no longer hosted. She’s bringing us a revival to that Pick a Word challenge. The object is to select images of your choosing that illustrate the word in question. You can read her entire challenge post here.
Tangled
The opening photo features a bull rider that tangled with the wrong bull who took him for a short (less than 8 seconds) ride. Getting tangled in the ropes didn’t help give the rider a soft landing, either. Continue reading
