Fargo, North Dakota.
I don’t do much experimentation with still life images, but regular readers may recall this image from my review of the Samsung S20 Ultra cell phone. The image was the result of a test of low-light capabilities of the camera. A couple of books, two wine glasses filled with water, and an old pair of glasses were the only props. Continue reading
Fort Peck, Montana.
The Fort Peck Dam is on the Missouri River in northeastern Montana. The dam is the largest manmade hydraulic dam in the world. Constructed during the great depression in the 1930s, it began generating electricity in 1943. A celebration of life for a family member brought us here on the Independence Day weekend. As we drove along one of the several lakefront roads, a view of an approaching storm brought dramatic skies. In less than an hour after the photo was taken, this area was hit by 60 mph winds, heavy rain, and hail. Continue reading
Moorhead, Minnesota.
The Red River of the North in the summer is calm and serene, but it can and does flood regularly in the spring and sometimes during the summer. One of the few rivers on the continent that flows north into Canada, it’s the boundary between Minnesota and North Dakota. This view of the river may look familiar to those who might have seen my mini-review of the Samsung S20U. For that review, I used the photo directly out of the camera to provide you, dear reader, with an example of what the camera will do without having to resort to post-processing tools. Continue reading
Fargo, North Dakota.
For one of my photo projects this year, I’ve been traveling to south Fargo’s Orchard Glen Park to document the park’s transition from spring through Fall, capturing photos as the landscape transits the seasons. Most of the photos have been captured with my Samsung S20U cell phone, and that’s the case with this view of wild phlox which was heavily in bloom throughout the park in early June. I hope, at some point, to include some drone images but lately, when I’ve had the time, it’s been too windy to support safe drone operations. Continue reading
Fargo, North Dakota.
Regular readers have already seen some images captured at Orchard Glen Park here in Fargo. This park, and it’s nearby Forest River Park are new discoveries to my wife, Lynn, and me. Though small, they both pack a lot of natural beauty that is complemented by the Red River of the North which meanders through the area. Indeed, the park and orchard were reclaimed from private owners who sold after a particularly devastating spring flood. The area, prone to annual flooding, was part of a community buyout. I plan to return to the park regularly throughout the summer to capture images throughout the three seasons we are in Fargo. If I’m “lucky”, I’ll be able to capture some “winter” images if we get an early snowfall or two before our annual trip to Arizona. More images to come. Continue reading
Fargo, North Dakota.
Recently my wife, Lynn, and I discovered a park that’s new to us. In a future Travel Tuesday, I’ll feature a photo story about the park and its beginnings. Over the Memorial Day Weekend, I was busy capturing images of the apple orchard that is the signature feature of the park. In late May, the trees are in bloom and the soft light of a thin overcast allowed me to capture some detail of a pod of apple blossoms. Continue reading
Fargo, North Dakota.
Spring flooding has been an issue for many years along the Red River of the North in Fargo. At Lindenwood Park in south Fargo, a pedestrian bridge has linked Lindenwood with Gooseberry Park in Moorhead Minnesota since 1978. During the summer, that bridge joined the two communities but each year during flood season, the City of Fargo would bring large cranes to the site to lift the bridge out of the water to keep the floodwaters from washing the bridge downriver. In 2013, construction was completed on a new lift bridge that features concrete abutments and a lift system that brings the bridge above the 500-year flood level.
About the photo: This image was captured on my Samsung S20U cell phone using automatic metering and exposure at f/1.8, 1/1000 sec, ISO-16. It was edited in Lightroom and Luminar 4. In most browsers, you can click on the image to get a closer look.
John Steiner
Fargo, North Dakota.
It’s mid-May as this is being written, scheduled for publication on 7 June 2020. By now, we would be looking forward to opening the season at a Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks game as they begin their 25th season. Our 13-game flex pack of tickets sits on the shelf above my desk proclaiming the opening game will be May 26 against the Lincoln Saltdogs. At this point, however, it’s not entirely sure that there will even be games this year. The league (American Association) in late April announced that the regular season has been postponed until the beginning of July, but that will depend upon the pandemic and whether or not it will be safe to have games where a large gathering of people will be allowed. Continue reading
Buckeye, Arizona.
It was Spring 2020 in the White Tank Mountains. Even on our hikes, we were social distancing, single file, group photos taken in the line we’d formed as we hiked down the trail instead of gathering around a single person to grab a “group selfie.” The cactus flowers were plentiful, the day warm and sunny and I had plenty of opportunity to capture those rarely seen flowering cactus. One family of cacti, the Cholla has several varieties. The two that I’ve found most hard to distinguish are the Staghorn and the Buckhorn. For this post, I ended up looking for a definitive source to describe the difference here. The short synopsis of the difference is that they “are sometimes hard to distinguish.” They have similar blossoms, but the most obvious distinction is in the fruit. Well there you go. I’ve never seen a fruit on either variety. Continue reading
Buckeye, Arizona.
In March of this year, the desert was awash with spring flowers near our home in Buckeye. There was no shortage of opportunity to capture the bright yellow brittlebush plants that are plentiful in the Sonoran Desert. On one of our Saturday hikes, I was still learning about the new Samsung S20U phone that replaced my personal S6 and the “work” phone that was provided to me from Civil Air Patrol (CAP). That phone, a Samsung S7, captured many images that I shared here because of my 4-year tenure as North Dakota Wing Commander in CAP. As of April 4, I would rotate out of that job and the S7 would be retired as I no longer need a CAP-provided cell phone. Continue reading
