Touring Washington D.C.–Arriving in Arlington

October 18, 2014 Troy

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Washington D.C.? For many it is the US Capital. So of course that is where our journey started. Well, kind of. Let me go back to the previous night when we arrived. Our East Coast Adventure began after a full day of work on a Friday. After working most of a day we hurried home, gathered our luggage, and rushed to the airport for what seemed like a short flight of only a couple of hours to Reagan National Airport. We arrived as the sun was setting allowing us to look out over Washington at night. It was exciting to see the monuments all lit up from the sky signifying our arrival to this historic city and the beginning of another Monopoly Travel.

This was the most difficult portion of our board travels for me to get excited for. There are several reasons all of which include lots and lots of people. I tend to like quieter destinations with less traffic and parking issues. With such a popular area it meant that costs where going to be higher and traveling around the city and East Coast where going to be more challenging. Still, now here we where and the excitement to experience our nations capital and share that with our children for the first time had found us again.

One unrelated reason this Monopoly adventure was a little more difficult to get excited for was that we are over half way done with our board and each trip brings us closer to the end of adventures that I love and don’t want to end. It’s almost like I created this great way to share experiences with my family that is beginning to cause some sadness and resentment. Why? Because I know that after our last trip our oldest daughter will be graduating from high school and our family will be changing after that. These adventures together will be harder to continue as the children go off in their own directions and that causes some sadness. All the more reason to take in as much as I can while I still have the chance and that reminder had to surface a few times on this East Coast Adventure.

Back to arriving in Arlington. Why Arlington? That’s where our hotel was located. Just a few blocks from the Iwo Jima Memorial. While waiting for our baggage we discussed our best options to get to the hotel. We could take a taxi which would be the easiest and also the most expensive or we could take the train which had a stop a few blocks from our hotel. Let’s go for the train since using public transportation in this part of the country is highly recommended. What a better time to figure out how to use it. In case it isn’t obvious at this point, I don’t use a lot of public transit. While we waited for the luggage I went to the station to get tickets and see which train we needed. That took about 10 minutes and I was back with the rest of the family waiting for our luggage. So, we found all of our luggage and continued towards the train, getting on the right line after calling the hotel to confirm which train we needed. Easy enough.

Arriving at our stop we got off of the train and headed towards the exit taking a minute to look over a map to make sure we headed in the right direction. At the suggestion of our daughter, I took a picture of the map with my phone in case we needed to revisit it while walking to the hotel. Confident in where we needed to go we headed outside where it was completely dark and no way of knowing north, south, east, or west to get a baring of where we were. Use the phone GPS you say. Of course that would make sense. Hmm.. all of our phones are pretty much dead. Brilliant! I decided to save what little battery I had to look at the map from time to time and began to navigate the dimly lit streets of Arlington. After walking a few blocks I re-examined the map only to determine this wasn’t the correct direction. Not a good situation with a family of exhausted people hauling around all of our luggage up and down the hills of this city. Ok, back up the hill we just came down to the other side of this hill. After passing the train station again we found our way relatively quickly and got to the hotel in a few minutes more. What a relief! Bed is going to feel good tonight.

Photos, Troy's Blog

Blue Mounds Top Pics

October 11, 2014 Troy

Recently I traveled to Southwestern Minnesota to Blue Mounds State Park with two goals for the weekend. First was to get out and enjoy an unseasonably warm weekend with daytime highs of 80 degrees. Second was to practice photography and enjoy taking pictures of whatever I thought would make a good picture with the Milky Way and sunsets/sunrises the top priorities. Since I was mostly interested in nature and wildlife I wanted someplace relatively quiet and this seemed to fit what I was looking for. Both of these goals were accomplished by camping in the park and spending most of my time there with a camera hiking around different areas of the park.

Throughout the weekend there I managed to take over 700 photographs. I wanted to narrow those down and see what I thought the top 1% of those pictures would be so here they are. My decisions would probably change depending on the day and how I’m viewing these pictures but as of this day these are my top 7 photographs from Blue Mounds State Park. All of these pictures are basically unedited other than what the camera does when it converts them to the jpeg format. Taking time to process many of these photographs may alter my top choices but I just wanted to judge my picture taking ability without the post processing.

This is the sunset shortly after arriving at Blue Mounds State Park. I chose this picture of the sunset because of the arrangement of the rocks in the foreground combined with the clouds in the sky and colors throughout. The rocks and clouds direct you to the setting sun (which you can’t actually see) which is the focal point of the overall photograph.

This was the scene near my campsite a few minutes after I woke up. The colors on the horizon transitioning to the darker night sky being reflected in the calm water below are why this photograph is included. There are a few cattails in the foreground barely visible adding to the overall depth of this photograph. It provides a sense of calm reflection to begin the day.

About a half an hour later this photograph was taken. Shortly before this I heard gun shots reminding me that the Minnesota duck opener had begun. I like the position of the rising sun and the colors in the sky being reflected in the water along with the ducks moving across the sky.

Thirty minutes later I took this photograph. It was chosen because of its simplicity and contrast. Blue water surrounding this little patch of grass with dew drops on each tip. This photograph taught me that timing is really important for some subjects. Had I taken this picture later in the morning or during the afternoon the lighting would not have been good to give me this nice reflection in the water.

Minutes later I took this photograph because of the soft, warm glow from the early morning sun on this bright pink flower which was growing on the shore near the water. I debated on whether or not this should be included in the final seven photos but ultimately chose it because of the contrast between this flower and the background in addition to its arrangement within the picture with only the top portion of the flower in focus.

This was a mid-morning photograph that I liked because of the soft wave of the field beginning to change color ahead of harvesting with the tree softened in the picture from the wind accented by the wind turbines on the horizon. Can’t you just feel the prairie breeze?

I just realized that six out of the seven top pics where taken on the same day. It was really a productive day that I must have been focused on what I was doing. Ending the day which began before dawn with photographing my main objective – the Milky Way. Even out in rural areas there is still plenty of light pollution making the night sky more challenging to photograph. Regardless I still enjoyed taking these pictures and like the results. There are pictures that show less light pollution but they are also less interesting to me. One of the things that amazed me when looking out at the Milky Way was how close to the horizon you can see it. I’ve always seen it high in the sky and never really noticed how much of the night sky it can cover. This picture is a good reminder to me of the Milky Way reaching for the horizon.

I’d like to read which of these are your favorite. Please leave me a comment and let me know.

Photos, Troy's Blog

Finding More Stars

October 1, 2014 Troy

After exploring several miles of Blue Mounds State Park during the morning I wasn’t sure that I wanted to go out in search of the milky way again this night. A nice campfire seemed like a better idea on this gorgeous day and besides, how much different would it be from the same area. As the afternoon progressed there was a nearby national wildlife area close by that I wanted to check out while visiting this area. After checking out the cascading creek I stopped near the top of this Touch the Sky Prairie and gazed out at the horizon. This might actually produce better results as it was several miles west of the nearest town so the light pollution should be less.

I decided to quickly return to my campsite to get some much needed nourishment before returning to the prairie and foregoing any campfire for the rest of the evening. A quick meal and then hurrying to catch another sunset before setting the cameras to stun. I mean setting them up to capture the night sky. This sunset wasn’t as spectacular but still provided a spiritual event that I was fortunate to witness. While waiting on the stars to shine once again I was working on a second camera that has provided some troubles recently to see if there was a good solution. It’s amazing how busy you can keep by running between two cameras photographing a nearby landscape. Especially when those two cameras are from different camera makers so trying to remember where each setting is kept for each one provided a nice brain teaser.

After a short time the stars began to poke through the evening sky challenging the cameras to capture them. This time there was definitely less light on the horizon so maybe this would be the spot to get the milky way added to my increasing collection of photographs. I began testing the camera to make sure the settings and focus where correct to get the best photographs I could and I was ready to begin another evening of astrophotography.

Soon I could see the milky way over head beginning to shine. It definitely looked more brilliant than the night before providing much anticipation of what was yet to appear. As darkness grew so did my excitement at the photographs I appeared to be getting. I know that the screen on the camera does not always show the true look of each photo but taking some time to zoom in on the camera display I had a feeling that things were going well.

Eventually I could see the milky way stretching from one end of the sky to the other. I know I have seen the milky way many times in my life but I had never really looked at it and studied it to see it grace so much of the star filled sky. It was definitely worth skipping a fire to try another night of picture taking. I’m not sure what I enjoyed more – the setting sun or looking up at all these little lights scattered all around me. Finally I accomplished what I had set out to do on this weekend.

How did I find this spot you’re wondering? It took a little bit of research. First I used my Stargazer program to locate the milky way and find out if it was high enough in the northern US skies to get good photographs. After determining this is a great time to photograph it if you can find clear southern skies I started to look for good places to go with less light pollution using DarkSiteFinder.com. Northern Minnesota has some of least amount of light pollution providing for some dark skies so that is where I wanted to go however I was limited by time so distance was an issue. After looking for state parks to camp at I discovered all of the reservable camp sites were booked due to fall color seekers I re-thought where I wanted to go. Being around a lot of people was not my interest for the weekend. Solitude was my desire. Searching state parks I discovered Blue Mounds State Park had very few campsites reserved indicating fewer visitors giving me the quiet I was seeking along with relatively high ground for the possibility of unobstructed photos. Several hours were spent looking for the right place and a couple of stressful days trying to decide if this was what I wanted to do or not. In the end sometimes you just have to pack up and go for a surprise adventure. Sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn’t.

Photos, Troy's Blog

Looking for Stars

September 28, 2014 Troy 1 Comment

The rest of my family went out of town for the weekend. So many things to do and a beautiful weekend to work on my list around the house. But that would be responsible and I know I would spend more time inside than I should and miss too much of this last weekend of summer-like weather (highs in the 80’s and sunny). Camping for the weekend seemed like the perfect way to spend a weekend by myself. I’ve really been itching to get some nice photos of the milky way and light pollution is a problem in many areas near me. After a little searching, I found a state park without the fall color seeking crowds and what appeared to be a perfect place to photograph the night sky as the land was higher than the surrounding area giving me miles of horizon towards the south, where the milky way touches the horizon, without much light pollution.

Friday afternoon arrived and so did this last summery weather so I took off from work early and hurried home to pack. Soon after I was on the road for the almost 4 hour drive to Blue Mounds State Park anxious to see the setting sun from this location and look for the milky way to take over the night sky. I arrived at the park just in time to register for my campsite and get to higher ground to prepare for the sun and the stars. It didn’t’ take long for the sun to display it’s breathtaking colors as it neared the horizon prompting me to begin clicking away with the camera. In a very short time I had shot 70 pictures in an attempt to record this beautiful fading display. A few more photos of the twilight and it was time to eat a few snacks I carried with and prepare for my main subject.

Finally the first stars of the night were visible as the sky continued to darken. I took a few pictures to check the settings on the camera and make sure they were correct for astrophotography. Thankfully I did because a couple of the settings needed adjustment with the most important one being focus. The camera was still on autofocus so I switched it to manual focus and adjusted it for infinity in order to photograph the stars as clearly as possible. After changing the settings I snapped a few more pictures and decided it was set up the way I wanted for the night.

Now that I was ready and just waiting for the darkness to grow I began to realize I was all alone out in this park with all kinds of wildlife. Yes, this is where your mind begins to play with you and make you wonder if this is a good idea and jump at unfamiliar sounds looking for some wild animal to come lunging at you. Searching through the list of animals in this area that would be active at night I realized the most likely animals in this area were coyotes and they were very unlikely to cause any problems. Forcing myself to relax I continued to look upward as the sky light up with its nighttime show. Soon I was once again swinging my camera back and forth on the tripod capturing different scenes as they appeared all around me. Eventually the milky way made an appearance above me and I knew it would be a matter of time until it glowed closer to the horizon.

As the night grew darker I soon realized that the milky way would show up right were the nearby town was preventing me from getting the shots I was desperately trying to get. On top of that it was homecoming so the football stadium lights shone bright. All of that time and effort and this was the best picture I could get of near the horizon. Not very impressive however you can still see it. I knew this would be a possibility but hoped for the best. I took the pictures I could and began to vacate my star gazing rock as this part of the park was closing soon. A few photos of the milky way overhead and I was off. Besides it was getting to be a long day and I still needed to set up my tent.

After setting up my tent and sleeping quarters I decided to catch a few photos from this location to cap off my evening of looking for stars. The trees overhead brought a different and interesting composition to all of these bright stars shining down.

After a number of pictures I decided to play with my flashlight and began to highlight the trees and see how that looked against all of these stars. It was kind of interesting and something I would have played with more except I had finished my evening beverage and decided it was time to catch a few hours of sleep as I wanted to get up at dawn and photograph the prairie waking up.

I did decide to try again the next night with a little better luck. To continue on click here…

Travel Photos, Troy's Blog

Travel Photos–the comparison

September 13, 2014 Troy 1 Comment

Here are three pictures all taken in the same area, but not of the exact same thing, with each of the different types of cameras. You can judge for yourself which type of camera you want to use for your travel photos based on the positives and negatives of each one.

Phone Camera

Point and Shoot Camera

Interchangeable Lens Camera

All Three Compared Together

New York, Troy's Blog

The 9-11 Memorial

September 7, 2014 Troy

While spending some time in New York there were some key places we wanted to see. One of them was the World Trade Center where the 9-11 Memorial is along with the 9-11 Museum and the new One World Trade Center. We arrived in Manhattan on a Friday afternoon near Wall Street and of course had to go and see the Raging Bull while in the area. After a quick bite to eat we headed towards Battery Park to see Lady Liberty for the first time. With some time left before dark it was decided to visit the 9-11 Memorial. Of course the new One World Trade Center had been in our sites since arriving in New York.

Nearing the 9-11 Memorial site things suddenly became more familiar. This area which was broadcast endlessly on TV on September 11th, 2001 and for days after. We could now see these buildings and how they all relate to one another with our own eyes. Some of those memories, thoughts, and feelings returned as we began to re-live the attacks as we could imagine the twin towers standing tall where there are now reflecting pools. As discussions progressed about 9-11 it struck me that my children view this as a piece of history instead of being able to re-call living through this event. I realized that to them this is like the attacks at Pearl Harbor are for me.

While exploring this memorial site we generally took it in silently as it is an emotional place. To think of those family members and the memories they must have of the days and years that followed September 11th and what it must be like for them to visit this place now is difficult. I can’t begin to imagine. Seeing all of the names of those that died here over a decade ago and roses placed on those names who would have celebrated a birthday that day was disheartening. The pools symbolizing both towers are a beautiful place to reflect on the recent past and hope for the future as new buildings are being constructed.

After leaving the memorial plaza we began to explain to our children the events of that day forever engrained in our minds and hearts. Our oldest was too young to remember any of the attacks and our youngest was not yet born. It was almost an epiphany to realize their view on 9-11 as an item in their history books. I was a little frustrated with their lack of emotion at such a major violent event in the history of the United States at first as I tried to convey these horrific happenings in the exact places they were standing. After taking a few moments to come to terms with their different view I began to be thankful that this is just an event in history for them and not the beginning of an age of terrorism making them afraid of what may happen on any given day.

That was a far change from the fears I had after these attacks occurred. I remember wondering what kind of place my children would grow up in and feeling sorrow for their possible world. Continuing across the street from the memorial we walked by the firehouse so many became familiar with as the first firefighters to enter the World Trade Center after the first airplane smashed through the North Tower. Now we gained more perspective on the events of that day and could understand more clearly how and why people were doing the things they did and how unimaginable it had to be.

Much of those horrific attacks of September 11, 2001 are just memories now and a lot of healing has taken place as that location is being transformed, anchored by a new World Trade Tower. Currently the tallest building in the Americas, it is a beacon of hope and perseverance of a willingness to continue and recover.

Travel Photos, Troy's Blog

Travel Photos–The Camera …. part III

August 31, 2014 Troy 1 Comment

Cameras with Inter-Changeable Lenses

These types of cameras are usually considered advanced cameras but that is not always the case. Many improvements to automatic settings make them easy to use with great results. The biggest barrier of these cameras is their price and their size. Even if you want to own a camera that can use multiple lenses, their large size makes them more challenging to bring with and have a available all of the time when you want to take a picture. Even if you decide you’re willing to travel with this extra camera gear because you want to get the best photos you can, inevitably you’ll decide you don’t need to carry this camera as you’re just stepping out to get something and that’s when the photo op presents itself. And where’s your camera?

Undoubtedly these cameras capture the best photos and can give you the best final pictures when compared to phone cameras and point and shoot cameras. They are able to expose for the situation better than the others giving you fewer darker or too light pictures giving a more complete photo. In addition, the lenses are better quality and can offer more versatility for a given situation due to the interchangeable lenses. you can get a wider view or more zooming ability depending on the lens you choose and still get great pictures. In addition these cameras can shoot in a mode called RAW which gives you four times the amount of information in each picture. That becomes more important when processing these photos in an editing program.

Pictures from interchangeable lens cameras are great for just about what ever you want to use them for including enlargements and other photo gifts you may want to get. Again, wireless technology is making photo sharing easier with these cameras. For most travelers these cameras are probably overkill and too costly once you start considering all of the additional gear you may want to get for them such as lenses, tripods, carrying cases, extra batteries, etc.

I use all of these types of cameras depending on where I am and the situation and have appreciated each one in different instances. I’ve used only phone camera photos for books and smaller prints with great success all the way up to the interchangeable lens cameras for larger gifts. Just remember – the type of camera does not automatically give you better pictures. Your composition is more important in great travel photos than the camera. The type of camera just determines how you can use that photo and keep the desired results.

To see a comparison of the three different cameras click here ….

National Parks, Troy's Blog

Re-living American History–Valley Forge

August 23, 2014 Troy 1 Comment

Valley Forge was an encampment used during the American Revolutionary War for the winter of 1777-1778 just outside of Philadelphia. There was no battle here so it may seem a little unclear as to why this was turned into a national park. What’s so significant about Valley Forge? Valley Forge marked the turning point in the war because the army was able to train and learned how to fight as a unified army under General George Washington. Without the use of our National Parks Monopoly board we may have never taken the opportunity to explore Valley Forge National Historical Park and missed learning about this important place in United States history.

We were fortunate to be joined by some friends while exploring Valley Forge which provided a different way to look at the Revolutionary War as we learned about this Continental Army encampment. One of those friends is British bringing a very different point of view and a new perspective on this war. I had never thought about the war from the British view which added to the interest while learning about Valley Forge. Seeing how the soldiers lived and everything they had to endure was quite interesting.

These soldiers were only in Valley Forge for six months. In that time they had to build shelter, fortify the area from attack, and train all without adequate supplies, food, and clothing. How many Americans today would accept these conditions? If it meant freedom? I think there are a great many that would sacrifice everything they had to if it meant gaining freedom. There are many that do that in today’s military for the protection of our country and for other’s freedom. I’m humbled to think of these people and the strength of the United States even when it seems there are a great many differences separating this country.

Knowing how these soldiers were living brought the question of how were the British soldiers living? Did they have equally bad supply of food and clothing? Before Valley Forge the Continental troops were relatively untrained so the British were looking for a way to win the war quickly and likely thought it should be relatively easy. I’m sure their troops were not desiring to be in America having to continue this fighting even though there was likely a great pride being a part of the greatest military in the world at that time. I assume their living quarters consisted of buildings they had taken over and turned into housing giving them an advantage since they didn’t have to take time to construct new structures.

It was educational to see General Washington’s living quarters which were rented for the winter. They were modest but still substantially nicer than the huts built to house the troops. Most of the huts would house twelve soldiers in each one. Talk about cramped quarters. These all had to be built during the winter. Imagine all of the trees and stones needed to do this in such a short period of time. I’m sure there was very little time spent in these huts as there was food to get, security to provide, and training to complete while maintaining equipment. Each day wondering when the next battle would take place and where that would be. By the end of their stay at Valley Forge I’m sure the troops were eager to move on and engage in the next battle. You certainly cannot win a war by staying in a camp living without enough supplies.

Consitution Tour, Troy's Blog

The Constitution Tour

August 17, 2014 Troy 1 Comment

What is a constitution tour? It’s visiting all of the places that have been the capital of the United States. Since the constitution has been signed, three different cities have been the U.S. capital. Most people know of Washington D.C. but it hasn’t always been. While the buildings in Washington were being constructed, what is now called Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania served as the meeting place for the U.S. government which designated it as the capital. And briefly, Federal Hall in New York was the first U.S. Capital.

From 1789 to 1790, New York served as the United States Capital with the first presidential inauguration taking place at Federal Hall. Visiting this historic building is an experience as it is only open Monday thru Friday from 9 am to 5 pm. That in itself is not the challenging part. The challenging part is that it is located in the Financial District of Manhattan in New York. Across the street is the New York Stock Exchange so you can imagine the congestion of traffic and pedestrians surrounding the area during the open hours of Federal Hall. It is still worth the effort to visit and learn about the first U.S. Capital.

For the next ten years Philadelphia became the temporary capital from 1790 to 1800. Independence Hall housed the U.S. Government during this time becoming the second capital city. I’ve not found information as to why the capital was moved from Federal Hall in New York to Philadelphia. Possibly it was to be more centrally located among the new states or to be closer to the permanent U.S. Capital as it was being constructed. In order to tour Independence Hall you first need to go to the Independence Visitor Center to get tickets. Tickets are no charge but you do need to get there early enough during the day before they run out in the peak summer months. Before entering the hall there is a security check so arrive a few minutes early to go through.

Continuing on to the current United States Capital, Washington D.C. which became the center of the U.S. Government in 1800. When most people see a photograph of the capital building, they instantly recognize it as the U.S. Capital and have for many, many years. This is definitely a grand building housing many offices of congress members along with larger meeting areas. In order to tour the main public spaces you need to enter the visitor center underneath the Capital Plaza. There is a security check here as well. Another way to visit is to contact your congressional representatives for a tour.

No Constitution tour would be complete without a trip to the National Archives in Washington D.C. to see the actual Constitution and Bill of Rights along with the Declaration of Independence. The actual signed documents are difficult to read as they have faded over the years but it is still a nice addition to all of these historical places. During the summer months there may be a line to get in and there is security screening to pass through. If you have the time you can spend several hours looking through this museum. For us, we primarily wanted to see the Constitution, Bill of Rights, and the Declaration so that is what we focused on and then left shortly after to see other sights in Washington D.C.

Since our children were young I had a desire to take them on a Constitution Tour but I was uncertain if it would ever happen since there were so many places to see on our Monopoly travels. We were fortunate enough to be able to complete this tour in addition to stopping at four destinations on our National Parks board this summer fulfilling this idea. It was a lot as we visited seven states in ten days and it was a lot of history put into those ten days which we are still digesting and will be for several years I’m sure. While it was a lot put into a very short time, we learned a lot and saw a lot bringing history to life as the kids learn about it at school.

Photography Experiment, Troy's Blog

Photography Experiment–Cities

August 10, 2014 Troy

Cities are not as interesting for me to photograph as nature and landscapes are but from time to time they catch my attention. Getting some practice and tips will be useful at these times so this experiment is worth taking some time to perform. As luck would have it, I have a nice city to photograph relatively close by too. Some of Peter Carey’s advice includes a little bit of research to determine when and where to photograph which ever city you’re visiting. To read more of his advice about shooting cities with your favorite camera click here…

The first tip is to avoid taking pictures of a city during the middle part of the day when the sun is higher in the sky with the most light intensity reflecting off of buildings. I didn’t follow that very well taking pictures of New York this past summer. Using a polarizing filter on this particular picture may have helped even though I don’t think it turned out to bad thanks to a nicely timed cloud blocking some of that sunlight.

Here is a good example of why shooting during the middle part of the day may not work out so well because of all the reflections. In this case I did that on purpose because I liked the idea of the new World Trade Center tower appearing as the beacon of New York. It provided a sense of brightness for a city that was horrifically attacked. That is not an effect I would like to have with most cities when trying to photograph them.

This photo of Seattle was taken just before sunset providing a nice opportunity to capture the city towards the end of a day. Direction was less important because of the clouds covering the sun preventing any reflections from the glass but also prevented the warming effect of the setting sun against the buildings. Those same clouds enhance the picture with their shapes and colors though. Since this was taken from the top of the Space Needle it was difficult to put this identifying landmark in the picture.

Later that evening I had the chance to take this nice panorama of Seattle. That is probably my favorite picture of many cities – the life of a city after dark. This is also the same picture that I don’t often provide time to take.

This is taken from Pier V in downtown Baltimore. I was playing with the aperture settings in order to get the starburst effect on the lights. I think I may have gone a little too far and should have found a more intermediate setting.

My main objective that night was to catch some of the numerous strikes of lightning over Baltimore. There were very few visible bolts of lightning so I had to settle for the sky lighting up. Still, I like the picture even though it does not show the whole downtown area but a small portion of it.

One final piece I think is worthwhile to photograph are special events occurring in a city. In this case it was the Baseball All-star Game in Minneapolis this past summer. Earlier in the day I heard about a fly over of F-16’s over the stadium before the game. It wasn’t until I arrived at this park to photograph it that I was informed the fly over would be performed by the Thunderbirds. Unfortunately I could only capture this moment with video or still photographs. I chose to use video and this was one frame from that video making it a lower quality picture. Even with that being the case, I saw a picture from a different vantage point on top of one of those taller buildings in the newspaper the next morning. This picture is better than the one in the newspaper simply because of the direction of the sun. I was shooting with the sun at my back while the newspaper photographer had the sun in front of them catching the reflection on the planes washing out most of the color from the picture. I thought taking a picture from the top of a building looking down on the stadium as the Thunderbirds flew over would be great. After seeing it, the picture didn’t work out all because of the placement of the sun. A good learning experience for me in this situation. Had I decided to take still photos I may have had one of the best pictures of this event anywhere all because of the location I chose for this picture.

Gaining Life Experience

Touring Washington D.C.–Arriving in Arlington

Blue Mounds Top Pics

Finding More Stars

Looking for Stars

Travel Photos–the comparison

Phone Camera

Point and Shoot Camera

Interchangeable Lens Camera

All Three Compared Together

The 9-11 Memorial

Travel Photos–The Camera …. part III

Cameras with Inter-Changeable Lenses

Re-living American History–Valley Forge

The Constitution Tour

Photography Experiment–Cities

Your Board of Adventure