You will see some "defects".  For example, you can see reflections in the car window at times. On ocassion, the photos will be grainy or blurred in parts due to motion. Usually, I'm a bit of a perfectionist on those things, but this time, it just feels completely perfect.

I'm also experimenting with a crop ratio of 16:9 instead of my camera's default 4:6 on most of these photos.  I feel like it is so much more pleasing for a landscape. Sure would like to hear any feedback you have in the comments!

Until next time!

PJ

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Today, I've explored the physics of light; followed the process of the albumen film processing method; learned more about the art styles of pictorialism, dadaism and surrealism; learned about propaganda from the Bolsheviks and how it transformed later under Stalin; realized how the photography I adore from the Farm Security Administration is also propaganda; rediscovered the poem by Lord Alfred Tennison "Charge of the Light Brigade" after seeing a photograph taken a year later by Roger Fenton.

There were more wildflowers than I expected to see, however, I couldn't spot a Pasqueflower. With the goofy spring weather this year, I don't know if I missed them or if they are still around.  There is one spot right on the edge of the trail that I've almost always spotted a clump when I've gone looking in the past.  The plant is there, but no sign of buds, blooms or fruit.  So, I am a little mystified.

First off is the Nodding Trillium. If you aren't watching you could walk right by this bloom as it hides under the leaves.

Nodding Trillium

I almost always find Violets in the park in all shades from purples to white. Although, I find it challenging to identify specific members of the species, my best guess on this one is the Common Blue Violet

Violet

Here is another Violet, this time it is the Canadian White Violet

Canadian White Violet

Here's another flower bloom that hides under the leaves.  This is the Large-flowered Bellwort.

Large-flowered Bellwort

A little tighter shot to give you some additional detail

Large-flowered Bellwort Detail

One of the flowers I was specifically looking for was the Bloodroot. BUT, before I found that, I came across another white flower that is somewhat similar.  This is the Wood Anemone.

Wood Anemone

Many of the Bloodroot are just starting to appear.  Here is one unfolding its leaves.

BloodrootBrand new Bloodroot unfolding

Here's one fully open!

Bloodroot

Here is a really tiny bloom that is very easy to walk by. I wonder how many I missed before I spotted this Dutchman's Breeches?

Dutchman's Breeches 1

Here is one more example of a hard to find bloom, if you don't know where to look. This bloom is straight out of a science fiction movie and is found under the leaves very close to the ground. This is the Canadian Wild Ginger.

Canadian Wild Ginger

Getting down in the low wetlands in Sica Hollow, I was excited to see large swathes of Marsh Marigolds. When the light hits them trough the trees it almost glows. They can actually be quite hard to photograph properly. It usually takes me quite a few frames to photograph one that I like.

Marsh Marigold 1

Here is something else found in the damp areas.  This is Jack-in-the-pulpit. The green coloring can make this one hard to spot amongst all the other green plants low to the ground.

Jack-in-the-Pulpit

Found this next flower off the edge or the road as I travelled to the top of the hill to look for some prairie flowers. This is the Cutleaf Toothwort.

Cutleaf Toothwort

In the prairie grass, I saw a flash of pink and purple. I recognized this as something in pea family. My best gues on this one is Ground Plum. This is a macro photograph to capture the awesome details.

Ground Plum

With the sunset and a strom coming in over the hills, I decided to wrap up my search without finding the Pasqueflower. However, on the way down the trail to where I left the jeep, I saw this hanging in the brush. The evening light and its slightly decayed state kind of caught my eye, so we'll finish up this trip to Sica Hollow with something that isn't a flower, but a reminder of people passing through. 

Discarded Shoe

Hope you enjoyed the photographs.  Until next time!

PJ

I decided to put a little pressure on myself too. Shoot a photo every day of 2019. I've attempted this in the past, only to find starting in January is very challenging as the cold dark days of winter can make creativity a real hassle. I've decided to lighten up and allow the very occasional skip day.

Anyways, here is the year so far.  Some days there was difficulty in chosing a photo to represent the day as I had many. Other days were simple snapshots. Some were last minute, "hey, you have to get a shot in!" days.

January 1 - Dawson, MN

January 01, 2019 - Dawson, MN

January 2 - Sunset Reflection.  St. Anne's Hill, Watertown, SD

January 2 - St. Anne's Hill, Watertown, SD

January 3 - Muffins at the Center of the Universe.  Gather coffeeshop, Watertown, SD

January 3 - Muffins at Gather, Watertown, SD

January 4 - Watertown Regional Library - Watertown, SD

January 4 - Watertown Regional Library

January 5 - Art History Slides

January 5 - Art History Slides

January 6 - Winter Landscape near Watertown, SD

January 6 - Winter landscape

January 7 - Vase in the Studio - Lake Area Technical Institute, Watertown, SD

Jan 7

January 8 - Windchime winter sunset

January 8

January 9 - "Debra Manikan" - studio prop, Lake Area Technical Institute, Watertown, SD

January 9 "Debra Manikan"

January 10 - Classroom Windows - Lake Area Technical Institute, Watertown, SD

January 10 - Classroom Window

January 11 - Student Center Windows - Lake Area Technical Institute, Watertown, SD

January 11

January 12 - Terex Construction - Watertown, SD

January 12, 2019 - Terex Construction

January 13 - Damn Squirrels, Watertown, SD

January 13, 2019

January 14 - Winter Fog - Bramble Park - Watertown, SD

January 14, 2019 - Bramble Park

January 15 - Silver Frost - Lions Park, Watertown, SD

January 15, 2019 - Lions Park

January 16 - Bubbles in the Studio - Lake Area Technical Institute, Watertown, SD

January 16, 2019

January 17 - Dried Grass near Lake Kampeska, Watertown, SD

January 17, 2019

January 18 - Pinic Table, Off Season. Watertown, SD

January 18, 2019

January 19 - Studio Still Life - Lake Area Technical Institute, Watertown, SD

January 19, 2019

January 20 - Bootprints in Snow - Bramble Park, Watertown, SD

January 20, 2019

January 21 - House Finch at Birdfeeder - Watertown, SD

January 21, 2019 - Housefinch

January 22 - Pseudo-reflection in the Studio - Lake Area Technical Institute, Watertown, SD

January 22, 2019 ]

January 23 - Herschel Rabbit, backyard, Watertown, SD

January 23, 2019

January 24 - Fieldtrip with Students to Craig Lee Studio, Huron, SD

January 24, 2019

January 25 - Olive Place Coachhouse Move, Watertown, SD

January 25, 2019

January 26 - Winter Coneflower - Burnsville, MN

January 26, 2019

January 27 - Winter Lanscape Evening Showshower - Granite Falls, MN

January 27, 2019

January 28 - Late in the Day "Get the Shot" Rabbit Tracks - Watertown, SD

January 28, 2019

January 29 - Herschel Rabbit Snowy Face - Backyard, Watertown, SD

January 29, 2019

January 30 - Herschel Rabbit B&W - backyard, Watertown, SD

January 30, 2019

January 31 - Still Life in the Studio - Lake Area Technical Institute, Watertown, SD

January 31, 2019

February!

February 1 - First Year Instructor, Late Night, Self Portrait - Lake Area Technical Institute, Watertown, SD

February 01, 2019

February 2 - Glassware in the Studio - Lake Area Technical Institute, Watertown, SD

February 02, 2019

February 3 - Danny from the Academie Agencie, Fargo, ND

February 03, 2019 - Danny, Academie Agencie

February 4 - Ode to the Canary Keeper (my son, Tyler) -  Late Evening Tree with Sky. Watertown, SD

February 04, 2019

February 5 - Egg Rise - Studio lighting experiment - Lake Area Technical Institute, Watertown, SD

February 05, 2019

February 6 - Paint Drop - Studio lighting experiment - Lake Area Technical Institute, Watertown, SD

February 06, 2019

February 7 - Sundog Snapshot - Lake Area Technical Institute, Watertown, SD

February 07, 2019

February 8 - Old Harbor Bar Fire - the Day After - Watertown, SD

February 08, 2019

February 9 - First miss.  Dang..

February 10 - Dagbjart the Miniscule

February 10, 2019

February 11 - Colored Pencils - Watertown, SD

February 11, 2019

February 12 - 2nd Miss!  Tough Week!

February 13 - Lemon and Lime Drop - Studio Experiment - Lake Area Technical Institute, Watertown, SD

February 13, 2019

February 14 - Photo Wall Display - Late night getting this set up to show my students' work. Lake Area Technical Institute, Watertown, SD

February 14, 2019

February 15 - Bourbon Socks Snapshot - Watertown, SD

February 15, 2019

February 16 - Popcorn Kernals - Watertown, SD

February 16, 2019

February 17 - Black-capped Chickadee in Snow Shower - backyard - Watertown, SD

February 17, 2019

February 18 - Backyard Squirrel - Watertown, SD

February 18, 2019

February 19 - Granddaughter Athena with Kitchen Bowls Snapshot - Watertown, SD

February 19, 2019

February 20 - Light Fixture - Watertown Brewing Company - Watertown, SD

February 20, 2019 2

February 21 - Baricade - Watertown, SD

February 21, 2019

February 23 - Icicles - Watertown, SD

February 23, 2019

February 24 - Yashica Vintage Camera - Watertown, SD

February 24, 2019

February 25 - Oops, another miss.

February 26 - Water Drop - Studio Experiment - Lake Area Technical Institute, Watertown, SD

February 26, 2019

February 27 - Like Arteries Brining Life to the Sky - Watertown, SD

February 27, 2019-2

February 28 - Desk Chair in Abstract - Lake Area Technical Institute, Watertown, SD

February 28, 2019

March

March 1 - Lost Memory - Watertown, SD

March 01, 2019

March 2 - Musician Darian VerDouw - Watertown, SD

March 02, 2019

March 3 - Self Portrait - Watertown, SD

March 03, 2019

March 4 - Goldfish in the Studio - Lake Area Technical Institute, Watertown, SD

March 04, 2019

March 5 - Portrait Shoot - Elizabeth - Lake Area Technical Institute, Watertown, SD

March 05, 2019

March 6 - Goldfish Still in Studio - Lake Area Technical Institute, Watertown, SD

March 07, 2019

March 7 - Smoke Experiment - Watertown, SD

March 09, 2019

March 8 - Doll on Shelf - Watertown, SD

March 10, 2019

I'll probably update this a few times over the course of the year.  Until then!

This functionality was something you could do in earlier versions of Lightroom and when it disappeared, I had to figure out a work around. Based on the response to my post, so did a lot of other photographers!

However, the product has continued to develop since I originally wrote the tutorial and people were finding my original instructions had some new obstacles. Now that I am teaching photography, I came back to revisit this tutorial and discover the hiccups myself. Today, I finalized the revised version that will work on the current release of Lightroom Classic CC, version 8.0.

Hopefully, this refreshed version will continue to help photographers (and hold on for a few more releases!)  Thanks to all who have commented and offered feedback or updated information. As always, I'm always open to hear your comments and suggestions.

Use the link below to find the Refresh!

https://www.pjandersonphotography.com/blog/2013/11/slideshow-transitions-under-1-0-second-in-lightroom-5-2

Once again, I wish you happy timelapsing!

PJ Laughphoto by Lindsey Jungers

This night's game pittied the hometown Great Plains Lutheran High School Panthers vs the Webster Bearcats. It was a cool, damp evening. Pretty much the definition of football weather.

The Panther's played hard and had several exciting plays. Unfortunately, just like the Watertown High School homecoming game last week, the hometown team ended up on the losing end. Final score 54-0.

GPLHS's Nathan Bean (25) follows the block of quarterback Martin Raasch (11)

Nathan Bean - 25GPLHS's Nathan Bean (25) follows the block of quarterback Martin Raasch (11)

Webster Bearcat quarterback, Kaleb Marx sets up to pass.

Webster's Kaleb MarxWebster Bearcat quarterback, Kaleb Marx sets up to pass

Panther's quarterback Martin Raasch (11) handing off to Riley Resmen (23) protected by Dawson Woertink (70).

GPLHS's Martin Raasch (11) m Riley Resmen (23) and Dawson Woertink (70)Panther's quarterback Martin Raasch (11) handing off to Riley Resmen (23) protected by Dawson Woertink (70).

Webster's Sterling Rausch (2) tackling GPLHS's Nathan Bean (25)

Webster's Sterling Rausch (2) tackling GPLHS's Nathan Bean (25)Webster's Sterling Rausch (2) tackling GPLHS's Nathan Bean (25)

Panther's Charley Beck (5) trying to elude the tackle of the Bearcat's Jhett Prins (28).

Panther's Charley Beck (5) and Bearcat's Jhett Prins (28)Panther's Charley Beck (5) trying to elude the tackle of the Bearcat's Jhett Prins (28)

Panther's quarterback, Martin Raasch looking downfield for a receiver. Protection by Pierce Holien (21) and Charley Beck (5).

Panther's Martin Raasch (11), Charley Beck (5) and Pierce Holien (21)Panther's quarterback, Martin Raasch looking downfield for a receiver. Protection by Pierce Holien (21) and Charley Beck (5)

Panther's quarterback Martin Raasch running for the corner pursued by Webster's Kaden Lesnar (64) and Mason Peckham (44).

Panther's Martin Raasch (11), Bearcat's Mason Peckham (44) and Kaden Lesnar (64)Panther's quarterback Martin Raasch running for the corner pursued by Webster's Kaden Lesnar (64) and Mason Peckham (44)

Webster's Jayden Keller (81) being tackled by Panther's Sean Pluger (40).

Bearcat's Jayden Keller (81) and Panther's Sean Pluger (40)Webster's Jayden Keller (81) being tackled by Panther's Sean Pluger (40)

Webster's Patrick VanSipe (12) running into a wall of GPLHS players.

Webster's Patrick VanSipe (12)Webster's Patrick VanSipe (12) running into a wall of GPLHS players.

I'll probably be back next Friday with one more football game. Perhaps another post between now and then as I'm shooting quite a few things. Until then!

Here is a great example. Through excellent cooperation between the college and some of the local schools, we have been able to get on-field access to shoot various sporting events. Last evening was Watertown's homecoming game and it is certainly a big event here in our community.

I do not necessarily get to spend all my time shooting, as I want to be available as a resource to my students. Helping them pick their spots, suggesting angles and advising on settings. As much as I love shooting, it is a huge intrinsic reward for me to watch the students work and get great shots. Last evening, I loaned out my gear to a student for the first half as we are down a few pieces of equipment in the program.

However, as you know, there is no greater passion for me than actually making images. So, during the 2nd half of the game, I got my chance. It had been an exciting and competitive game, but sadly in the 2nd half the game started to slip away for the home team. The Arrows in purple suffered their first loss of the season. They played hard until to the end, which is a sign of a great team.  Here are some shots from the 2nd half of the Watertown Arrows vs the Brookings Bobcats. Final score 27-14.

(Hoover cursor over individual photos for player details.)

Watertown RB - Brett FossumCharging hard toward the end zone.

Brookings QB wrapped upJacob Schoon (11) tackled by Matthew Gines (8) and Sam Stroup (50)

Gang tackleDefenders Hunter Cordell (21), Adam Turbak (55) and Adam Dejong (5) bringing down Brookings runner.

Waiting on the BlockBrookings wide receiver Preston Helmbolt behind offensive lineman Tucker Christie

Eluding the RushWatertown quarterback, Brandon Florey (11) moving in the pocket looking for an open receiver.

Racing to the CornerBrookings wide receiver Isaac Oetken (3) trying to get to the corner.

TouchdownBrooking's wide receiver Jay Wilber catches a pass in the end zone

I know each year when winter has lost its grip when the South Dakota state flower starts blooming.  The appearance of the Pasqueflower (Pulsatilla patens) is a time of serious joy in my heart.

Sunset PasqueWatertown, South Dakota

I’m not sure if it was the late spring or just pure luck on my part, but this year I was able to photograph these wonderful early spring blooms for longer than I ever had in the past. It was a very enjoyable several weeks.

Pasque MacroWatertown, SD

Many of the Pasqueflowers I photographed this year were on St. Anne’s Hill below the hospital here in Watertown, just a few blocks from home. I’ve often wondered if people wonder what I am doing as I crawl on the ground or bend in crazy ways so I can get a low perspective on these very tiny flowers.

As they are so tiny and I am often shooting in the low evening light, the focal range is very small. I have to fight the seemingly constant wind of South Dakota waiting for the flower to stand tall and not shake. Many, many photos turn out blurry from the motion, but patience does pay off eventually.

Pasque in the windWatertown, South Dakota

While the season has moved on and I’m not photographing other wildflowers, I’ve created a gallery under recent work on my website to show off some of my favorite shots of Pasqueflowers. Hope you enjoy.

I thought that I would share a few photos of the day.  

The first flower of the day was also the dominant flower in the park this trip. The Bloodroot. Such a brilliant white flower, it really stands out in the forest. Saw these happy flowers throughout the entire park from at the bottom near the creeks all the way up to the top of the hills bordering the prairie. These flowers only bloom for a day or two before dying.

Bloodroot(Sanguinaria canadensis)

As often happens, when I slow down to photograph one thing, I'll spot something else that I might have walked past if I hadn't stopped for something else. In today's case, while I was photographing one of the first Bloodroot flowers of the day, I happened to notice a tiny plant with tiny flowers. Dutchman's Breeches. They tend to be white, but when I spot them at Sica Hollow they are often pink.

Dutchmans Breeches(Dicentra cucullaria)

Just a little further on by the running water, the Marsh Marigolds were abundant. These are brilliant yellow flowers with dark green leaves. They are so bright yellow, they are often very challenging to photograph. I decided to get in tight and shoot macro to try to get more of the detail that is hard to see.

Marsh Marigold(Caltha palustris)

As I climbed higher in the park, I mostly only continued to see Bloodroot, but I was surprised to see two small Canadian Violet flowers. Again, it would have been really easy to walk right past them. In several weeks, there will be a lot more throughout the park, but it was fun to see them today.

Canadian White Violet(Viola canadensis)

Finally after climbing all the way to the top of the park, up on the prairie, I was able to find the flower that I most expected to see. South Dakota's state flower, the Pasque. Although they just started blooming in Watertown, it appears that Sica Hollow did not have the snow cover that we did late in April. Seems that the Pasque may actually be near the end of their bloom at Sica Hollow. This clump was right on the edge of the trail. I did find some close by on the hills, but none quite as photogenic as this bunch.

Pasqueflower(Anemone patens)

I'm planning on visiting the park a couple of times a month until then end of autumn. Hopefully, I won't get interrupted too many times with summer surprises in my schedule.

Until next time!

Kamikaze Cocktail

Kamikaze Cocktail

In a way, this other release tends to pull me right back to the camera to document what I'm doing. It is natural for me to research, prep and create a cocktail in the kitchen or a bar and then rush the finished product right to a set in front of my camera. I find it just as rewarding to put a craft cocktail in front of a guest at the bar as I do sharing the photograph of the same cocktail on social media.

Clover Club

The Clover Club

As I continue to be focused on the art of photography, I know this beverage work is going to start playing into the return of my commercial photography at some point. 

I'm working on a few other projects that I'd like to bring you up to date on soon. For now, however, take a look at the recent work tab to see more cocktails that I've been working on or click here.

Until next time!

Lots of brides, models, products and events later, it is time to make a change. Just like summer has changed to autumn, it is time for me to adjust what photography means to me. My happiest moments with photography have always been when I am in the moment trying to make images that people overlook, or miss or can't see. I feel I can do that better when I am not trying to pay bills, taxes, insurance and all the other things that are involved in running a small business.

DSC_9263-Edit

I've shared this decision with some of you over the last several months, spent some time grieving,  but today I'm going to put it into writing - the business of photography has ended and the return of the artist commences. 

I believe there are many, many more photos to share with you. More learning. More observations. Maybe a few crazy ideas tossed in as well. 

Thanks for being a part of my journey. Hope you'll stick around for the next phase.

This is a good thing.

The latest shoot there began with the modeling meeting theme of "Super Heroes" and I had fun shooting a few imaginative and fantastical looks.

Catherine

Liz

Moving on from there was more of the traditional commercial portfolio work. We shoot these several times over the course of the year for new models and those doing updates to their portfolios.

Ashley Kyle

Ronnie Catherine

Mark Catherine

Ashley Ronnie

Catherine Liz

Until next time!   PJ

Yesterday, I worked my final day at the Goss. Which frees me up to pursue photography again. Sadly though, I've also given up the space. There may be future opportunity there, but for today, it was a sad goodbye. Ironic to finally have the time available when I no longer have access to the space.

As I finished sweeping, I thought I'd take a couple of snaps. This one probably should have been a self portrait, but I didn't bring my camera with me, so I was limited to my Galaxy Note 3. Sort of feels like a modern version of a toy camera, so using Lightroom and PhotoEffects I decided on a Holga B&W treatment would be best. 

A final beer in Studio 8Last day in my studio at the Goss Opera House

I'm taking a short time off to contemplate on new directions. However, spring is here and I'm sure to be out crawling in the mud soon and chasing all the light and color of the season.

Until next time - PJ

I was driving home from Estelline, SD after doing interviews and photos for an upcoming Public Opinion article. Lately, I have had little free time as I pursue lots of projects right now, but as often happens when driving, I'll spot something and think to myself that the scene would make for a great photograph. Seems like most of those occasions do not allow for me to stop as I need to get somewhere else.

Driving north yesterday on interstate 29 I started crossing the Hidewood Valley, a beautiful landscape that I always love seeing. It is named Hidewood as this is where some of the Sioux involved in the U.S - Dakota War of 1862 had fled from Minnesota and hid for a time. You can read more about the Hidewood in this article from South Dakota Magazine.

It was a foggy day and as I drove into the valley I came out of the fog. The light was great and even though the color was rather dull due to early winter with no snow cover, it still was a pretty scene. I drove up the other side of the valley and back into the fog and it crossed my mind that I may never get another chance to see the valley with fog hanging around this way ever again. This time, I had to turn back. I found the next exit and worked my way onto a secondary highway that crossed back under the interstate so that I could stop and find a place to shoot.

This is a landscape photo that really needed a panoramic presentation as the sky was just entirely too big and white. Thought I'd get this one posted and let you see a little bit about what I notice driving down the highway.

Hidewood Valley, South Dakota

I'm hoping to get some additional posts for you soon.

Wishing you a happy holiday season!

PJ

I spent most of this trip on the Trail of Spirits, which was a nice way to end I think. Most of the year, I spent deep in the park on trails that aren't used as often as the very accessible Trail of Spirits. However, this trail is where I first fell in love with the park. It is a beautiful walk, although it often frustrates me due to the ignorance and carelessness of people. Plenty of beer cans, cigarette wrappers and plastic bottles all taking away from the beauty of the forest and in places that will damage the fragile water system.

However, I tried to remain upbeat and enjoy the forest for one last trip. It was damp and there was plenty of water flowing in Roy Creek in this part of the park. A few remaining hardy green and red plants along the ground were around to break the monotony of the brown fallen leaves from the oaks and dogwoods. I couldn't find any blooms at all. Looks like I'll need to wait until spring to see the early blooms of the Pasque flowers and the Bloodroot.

I paused after driving over the hill leaving the park for a look back. The setting sun was lighting up some of the gloomy clouds and the light was sort of neat. I took this photo as I was saying goodbye for the season.

Leaving Sica Hollow 2015View back toward the setting sun

I started this year with the intention to visit the park every two weeks from snow melt to snow fall. I did reasonably well on that intention, however, other responsibilities did pull me away for a bit. I'll be summarizing my year in a longer post later. Looking to the future, I'll most like attempt to make at least the same number of trips next season. I might also pop in during the winter months to see what I see.

Until next time,

PJ

Mike VeeckMike Veeck is a nationally renowned speaker, entrepreneur, college professor, marketing, promotions and advertising expert as well as an owner of six successful minor league baseball teams.

This is Mike Veeck. 

Mike Veeck is a nationally renowned speaker, entrepreneur, college professor, marketing, promotions and advertising expert as well as an owner of six successful minor league baseball teams, including the St. Paul Saints.

If you are old enough to remember KC and the Sunshine Band, you might know of a particular promotional event that hastened the end of the disco craze. The Disco Demolition promotion, July 12th, 1979 at the Chicago White Sox vs Detroit Tigers double header.  If you aren't quite to my advanced age or need a refreser, take a quick look at this Youtube video. As interesting and memorable as this is, it certainly was the beginning of a tough stretch for Mike.

As my business and my portfolio career continue to evolve, yesterday I took my first stab at reporting for the local paper. My first assignment - cover a seminar called "Fun is Good" featuring Mr. Veeck.

Feeling pretty solid on the photography side didn't quite ease my anxiety about actually writing a story for the paper on this event, but there I was, determined to do my best.

As the event gets started, I'm working the back of the room with a long lens so that I am not distracting from the presenter - just like I would have done in the past at weddings. However, much to my alarm, Mike Veeck points back at me and says "Are you taking photos of me?"  Of course, I nod my head yes and he immediately calls me to the front of the room.  So much for being inconspicuous. As I am coming to the front, he plops down on his knees so I am taking a photo from above him to make sure his chin looks good.  Ok, this guy is funny stuff.

What followed was three great hours of Mike Veeck and his co-presenter Fran Zeuli talking about making sure there is fun in the workplace and in your career and in your life.  Even better, when the presentation was done and everyone else left, I got to sit down to talk face to face. Interview style for my big article.

I got a ton out of it, but more so for me as a creative than anything I put in the article. Tons of validation for me as I embrace the concept of portfolio career. Turns out Mike Veeck is the perfect example for making a portfolio career work.  He "gets" the challenges that a creative like me struggles with.

End of the day, I get the first step toward one more element of my portfolio career by adding "reporter", but I also got to be inspired by a guy who has overcome challenges that put some of my darkest moments to shame.  I immediately began to read his book and you can be sure I'll be trying to learn more.

Yup, a funny thing happened at work today.

PJ

Recently, an uncle mentioned that there was a nature center in Richfield, a suburb of Minneapolis, just off a ridiculously busy stretch of Interstate 35. Last week I decided to take a look. All I can say is that the city of Richfield has a glorious gem of wilderness. Although, I could never really escape the sound of the cars on the highway, the wildlife and the flowers didn't seem to mind, so neither did I.

The Wood Lake Nature Center is a 150-acre natural area dedicated to environmental education, wildlife observation, and outdoor recreation. It has three miles of trails and these are very nice trails making for easy hiking. The park has marsh, forest and even a stretch of prairie (reminders of my South Dakota home.)

Found lots of great late summer flowers as well as quite a bit of wildlife including ducks, geese, great blue herons, cranes, a muskrat and even a couple of deer. 

Purple LoosestrifeWood Lake Nature Center, Richfield, Minnesota

First wildflower I came across on the shoreline of the lake was Purple Loosestrife. Loved the wonderful purple color against the grays of the reflected sky in the water. Unfortunately, I found out later this is an invasive species that tends to crowd out the natives like cattails and other wetland plants.

.  Purple Loosestrife DiptychWood Lake Nature Center, Richfield, Minnesota

Here are two photos to show more detail of the individual blooms

Spotted Touch Me NotWood Lake Nature Center, Richfield, Minnesota

The next flower I found was one that is familar to me from the wet portions of Sica Hollow State Park in South Dakota.  The Spotted Touch Me Not. Although, the blooms here had little or no spots, unlike their cousins in South Dakota.

DuckWood Lake Nature Center, Richfield, Minnesota

The wildlife here is clearly used to people walking through their home. This duck actually swam closer to where I was on the shore to hop up on this log perch.​

American BellflowerWood Lake Nature Center, Richfield, Minnesota

Next flower along the trail was one I hadn't seen before. This is a tiny bloom, but such cool detail. This is the American Bellflower.

Wild MintWood Lake Nature Center, Richfield, Minnesota

This next flower was a new one for me as well. This is Wild Mint. The color and the blooms are very similar to the Wild Onion that I run into quite often in South Dakota, but the position of the blooms along the stem had me stumped until I could get to the field guides for identification.

Wild MintWood Lake Nature Center, Richfield, Minnesota

Here is a detail shot of two clumps of blooms on the Wild Mint. What a cool wildflower!

Spotted HorsemintWood Lake Nature Center, Richfield, Minnesota

Not far behind the Wild Mint, I found another new, but sort of similar flower as it also had clumps of blooms along the stem. Nature is nothing short of amazing! This is the Spotted Horsemint.

Spotted Horsemint DetailWood Lake Nature Center, Richfield, Minnesota

Closer detail of the blooms along the stem.

White SnakerootWood Lake Nature Center, Richfield, Minnesota

Next up was another wildflower that I've seen quite regularly on my hikes out in nature. This is the White Snakeroot. This can really be a tough flower to photograph, but the sun being low in the sky and filtering through the forest gave such a cool backlight, I really couldn't ignore this shot.

SowthistleWood Lake Nature Center, Richfield, Minnesota

It is easy to write this flower off as it looks so similar to the backyard pest Dandelion, but this is a tall flower. This is a type of Sowthistle.  The yellow was fantastic in the evening sun.

Bittersweet NightshadeWood Lake Nature Center, Richfield, Minnesota

Another flower I am very familiar with.

This is the Bittersweet Nightshade, a non-native species and while it is incredibly beautiful it can really overrun a backyard garden and choke out other plants. I first ran into this in our backyard and I really thought it was great find. However, it proceeded to kill off the honeysuckle that was next to it. It can be a persistent little bugger, but if you keep at it, you can get rid of it.

After I've said all that, it is still a really cool flower!

AsterWood Lake Nature Center, Richfield, Minnesota

A happy bunch of Aster. Always a pleasure to see these guys.

New England AsterWood Lake Nature Center, Richfield, Minnesota

Sort of embarrassed to admit that I didn't recognize these beauties out in the field. I was thrown off as most of these blooms weren't open completely, but this is another Aster, the New England Aster.

Bee on New England AsterWood Lake Nature Center, Richfield, Minnesota

The New England Aster is an important late summer bloom for the bees. Even though the summer is fading fast, there were still quite a few bees working these plants.

It is absolutely wonderful that a city like Richfield sees the importance of wilderness and makes this wonderful park available to its citizens. I enjoyed my visit and I know I'll be back to see what is blooming next spring. I'm sure it will be beautiful!

If you are in the Twin Cities area, I'd really recommend that you visit this island of wilderness in your backyard.

Until next time - PJ

I've said it many times before, I have such a great location where my workspace is located. The light is great, the space is great, the colors and textures are all fantastic. So, when I have the time to "just shoot" and a super friendly local model to work with, well, that adds up to artistic freedom. I recently had that opportunity model Keri and had a fantastic, laid back, fun shoot.

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I've had the pleasure to work with Keri on a couple of occasions and she is just a gem to work with.  Great look, great smile, super easy to work with and I'm pretty sure she can't take a bad photo

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I don't always get the chance to work with many of the models I've photographed more than once. When the opportunity arises, it is fantastic. First off, I already have a bit of an idea of how that person works. I also don't have to work through introductions and first time jitters. There is just a huge gain in time, productivity and the freedom to get right to the creativity.

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The same is true of a place you've worked in many times. Where you have a feel for how the light is going to work. Where colors are going to play well. How certain locations or angles will allow you to set a certain mood. That's the way I feel about the Goss Opera House.  It doesn't matter what time of year, or what time of day, there is always a place for me to capture a great image.

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Having this great comfort level of working with a model I've worked with before in a location that I know very well lets me let loose and see how the light impacts me.  How a different angle changes a mood. How similar or dissimilar things can blend in a composition. Pure artistic freedom.

Another fun thing to play with is taking essentially the same shot and then with post processing create a completely different feel. Like in the next two photos.

DSC_3697   DSC_3696-Edit

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All in all, a very rewarding day and a really nice change of pace. Much thanks go to Keri for being so generous with her time and her willingness to work with me in a really unstructured way.

Days like these allow me to really stretch my creative muscles and make me that much better when I am working on jobs for business clients or individuals.

If you are a business or individual that needs advertising or marketing photos that involve people, I do have access to a large pool of models and actors through my association with the Academie Agencie. Especially for my local clients, there is no reason to think that just because we live in a small community that we can't do big things with our advertising and marketing. Please give me a shout anytime.

If you are someone that has an interest in modeling (or a parent of someone interested in modeling), please feel free to let me know. I'd be glad to help you explore that. I've been involved with that industry for over 15 years and I feel confident that I can point you in the right directions.

Until next time!

PJ

#unstarvingartist

I live in a small market and I spend a bit of time educating people on how my business is different from portrait studios. Let me be the first to say, there are a ton of superb photographers in my network that totally rock weddings, seniors and babies.  If you are in the market for that type of work, I'd be glad to point you in the right direction.

I've often shared my art photography here online, so today I want to discuss the commercial side.  Commercial photography relates more to advertising, marketing, model and product photography.  I've also shared quite a bit of modeling photography through my work with the Academie Agencie in Fargo, so this time I thought I'd share product photography and specifically food photography.

I have the wonderful opportunity to work almost daily with an outstanding chef. Chef Trevor Heintzman of Charley's @the Goss has been blowing away diners with his creations since his arrival at the Goss Opera House. I recently shared how much fun it is to photograph musicians and their passion. I can tell you, it is equally as much fun to photograph Chef Trevor's amazing creations.

There are different ways to photograph food. Some are staged and use a variety of "tricks" to make the food look better. I'm sure most of you have seen the extreme of this. Look for a photo of a Whopper or a Big Mac and then compare to the one you get from the drive thru. For fun, here's a post that shows some of the different ways food can be "styled". I certainly want to show food or any product in the best possible way, but I am not a fan of gimmicks. When a customer views my photo and then comes to purchase that item, I want them to see the same thing.

Filet OscarChef Trevor Heintzman - Charley's @ the Goss

As in almost everything else I photograph, I much prefer the "real" light from the sun as opposed to studio light.

Pecan crusted troutChef Trevor Heintzman - Charley's @ the Goss

While I don't go in for gimmicks, color, texture, shadow and layout are very important to me in the composition.

RouladeChef Trevor Heintzman - Charley's @ the Goss

Much like photographing musicians, it is so much easier to photograph true passion. Chef Trevor's food is as much art as it is sustenance.

Avocado Seafood CevicheChef Trevor - Charley's @ the Goss

I believe product photography is a huge advantage in relaying information to customers. Sure, the menu at Charley's @ the Goss gives a nice description of the Avocado Seafood Ceviche, but I'm not sure most customers would be able to visualize this fantastic appetizer in their minds quite like the photo in conjuction with the the text can.

St. Louis Style RibsChef Trevor - Charley's @ the Goss

Sometimes, it isn't even specifically just about photographing the end product, but the preparation. Trust me, showing customers this photograph of Chef Trevor going the extra mile by spending all night smoking ribs for an outdoor concert event made a huge impact with his customers.

Salmon PinwheelChef Trevor - Charley's @ the Goss

One more of Chef Trevor's creations, just because it looks so darn good. If you happen to find yourself in Watertown, South Dakota, you really ought to visit Charley's @ the Goss and sample some of this fantastic food for yourself.

Irish CoffeeCrossroads Bar @ the Goss

In addition to photographing Chef Trevor's amazing creations, I also get an opportunity to photograph cocktails.  Here's one we whipped together for a promotion.

Cocktails are often as much about environment as they are about the drink. This one was fun to bring in the colors and lights of the bar into the composition.

I'd love for more businesses in my market to learn about commercial photography and how my business can help bring the pictures to their stories. Give me a shout, I'd love to talk.

Until next time!

#unstarvingartist

Without any additional preamble, let's get on to this round of models.

VictorAcademie Agencie

Victor had a great intense look that I wanted to feature. Think he nailed it here.

CiaraAcademie Agencie

Pure print commercial look by Ciara.  Excellent smile and a ton of fun to work with.

MaryAcademie Agencie

Downtown Fargo has always been a fun place to shoot, but it has changed dramatically since 1999.  Such great energy uptown with all the new things going on.  Of course now, there are a lot more challenges with more people (and tons of other photographers!)

Worked hard to find a spot that was out of the intense light and some of the congestion for this shot of Mary.

KenAcademie Agencie

I really liked the light and color of this particular location.  Played really well with, Ken.

MeganAcademie Agencie

Probably the most fun working with Academie models is when I get to work with them multiple times.  It is always rewarding to see how they've grown with experience and over time.

Been a while since I shot with Megan, she was quite a bit younger, but it was great to reconnect.  What a beautiful face!

LeslieAcademie Agencie

Loved the different looks that Leslie was able to pull off and the wardrobe and props she brought with her.  Revisited this gritty alley again, the light was fantastic.

CiaraAcademie Agencie

Here's Ciara again.  What a fantastic look.

Used some tools from OnOne Software to give this more of an old school look.

KenAcademie Agencie

Here's Ken again.  I love the completely different look the Academie gave Ken with a dramatically different hairstyle.  

This alley has completely transformed over the years. Originally it had a roof and was very seedy.  I usually took a walk through the alley to make sure it was safe before I ever brought a model here. Now, for a good chunk of the day, I was unable to shoot here as it is now outdoor seating for a restaurant.

ChelseaAcademie Agencie

The alleys near the Academie always give me a good mood for this sort of photo. I've actually shot several boxers and fighters over the years here.  Chelsea certainly fit the part. Talk about an intense look.

I used tools from OnOne Softare again for this "Holga-like" look.

LeslieAcademie Agencie

Here's Leslie again.  Completely different look from her first grunge shoot earlier in the day. Also another new look from when I first started shooting in downtown Fargo.  Back then, this was a parking lot.

The lighting in this lobby is really cool and a fun change from working outdoors.

I've got a few more blog posts lined up to send out to the interwebs over the upcoming days.  Hope you'll stop back and check them out.

Oh, and I love to hear comments.  Don't be shy.

Until then,

PJ

#unstarvingartist

As the photographer at the Goss Opera House, I have the good fortune (and awesome responsibility) to record the events that cross our stage. Recently, three of the most accomplished guitar players in the country came through on tour. Greg Koch, JD Simo and Johnny A.  

For those of you not familiar with the Goss, it was built back in 1889 (the same year as the Eiffel Tower was built and the year South Dakota became a state). The ground floor currently houses Charley's restaurant and Crossroads Bar,where I spend a lot of my evenings serving drinks to guests.  The second floor is where the opera hall itself resides.  It is really quite a large room, able to accommodate more than 500 in the audience.

Greg Koch& the ToneControlsGoss Opera House

To give you a sense of the space, here's a view from the main floor of the opera hall of the headliners, Greg Koch and the Tone Controls.

The big room brings many challenges.  Of course, it is much darker than it seems with the naked eye when you are watching a performance.  Shooting a wedding here is darker than most churches and can give photographers a real challenge. After three plus years of working in the space, I've learned a lot about how to approach photography here.

Greg KochGoss Opera House

In addition to wonderful colors throughout the building, the Goss also features amazing textures and backgrounds.  These are fun to highlight. They work particularly well when I take an image into the black and white realm.

Dark backgrounds in conjuction with sometimes very bright stage lights sometimes really lend themselves to moody black and white images.  I thought it also really suited this intense look from frontman, Greg Koch.

JD SimoGoss Opera House

Bright stage lights also give me a chance to play with colors and mood beyond black and white.  For example, JD Simo happened to be playing in a portion of the stage that was primarily being lit by a blue light.

I had to work a bit with white balance in the post production to make the skin tones work, but I love the way the blues worked in this image.

More than anything though, like I mentioned at the beginning of this post, I'm so drawn into the passion of the artists.  It guides me through the process to how I'll process an image. I want that image to have the feel of that moment when I clicked the shutter.  The mood of the song, the intensity of the player, the energy of the audience.

Johnny AGoss Opera House

This gritty shot of Johnny A is exactly what I was aiming for when I captured the image. You can see the intensity on his face.  I think the energy really comes though.

Working at the Goss and having been there for a while allows me the chance to shoot from perspectives that almost no one else gets to see.  Having the opportunity to work backstage or from the balcony or from the catwalk offstage lets me get more of what the artist experiences.  

Greg Koch and the Tone ControlsGoss Opera House, backstage

Here's a glimpse from backstage and looking into a portion of the audience. You can just make out the far right side of the balcony as well.

Johnny AGoss Opera House

Backstage also allows me to be at the same height as the performers and quite a bit closer depending on where I shoot from. Here's some more great emotion in a black and white of Johnny A shot from backstage.

JD SimoGoss Opera House

And a similar shot of JD Simo from backstage.

I am truly blessed to have these opportunities to capture and record these very special events. I've worked with some fantastic people that set me up for success.  I can never thank them enough.

I've got a few other blog posts queued up for the next few days.  My last shoot with the models at the Academie Agencie, the latest trip to Sica Hollow and the latest shoot with a fantastic local model.  So, until then!

--PJ

#unstarvingartist

The flower was probably ten feet from the sliding glass door.  I figured I  ought to shoot through the glass as opening the door would probably startle the little fella.  I shot a few frames and then popped open the door to try for a more clear shot. Unfortunately, as I expected, the critter bolted.  I knew I had at least one shot in the can and so I'd be ok with that.

Chipmunk on Sunflower

I packed up my stuff and was returning it to the bedroom with my other gear and I overheard mom and my sister-in-law say something like this: "He has a great camera and it takes great photos."   Arrgghh!  My own family said that!  I went out and told them the old comparison that photographers will use when our cameras get the credit for the images.  Do you tell a chef that "you have really great pans, they make really great food"? Of course not. While the tools certainly help us to do our best, it is still the creative making the art (photo, painting, food, song, etc.)  

So, we had a bit of a laugh about that.  However, later in the evening while I was reviewing some photographs that I had shot earlier yesterday at historic Fort Snelling in St. Paul and I started to wonder.  During this visit to the old fort, I carried a large bag with my photo equipment from the parking lot, to the visitor center and finally to the fort.  It was a bit of a trek and it was pretty hot and humid.  I'd have been better served if I wore the backpack I usually wear when I am hiking in the wilderness, but I hadn't thought that through when we left.

Civil War ReenactmentHistoric Fort Snelling, MN

The fort was having a Civil War reenactment and there was a great turnout of visitors.  There were a ton of things for me to photograph, but my bulky equipment and the tight spaces combined with a lot of people, really made it rather unpleasant.  I ended up killing about 20 minutes returning to the car with my equipment bag and dropping off everything except my camera body and one lens.

Feeling a ton lighter and more maneuverable made things a lot better and I was able to capture some photos around the fort.  I did, however, come to the conclusion that I really want to re-visit at another time when it is a little less busy and I have more freedom with my schedule.

What I did find was that I shot a lot more photos with the camera on my Galaxy Note III phone and that brings me more to the point of this blog post.  People ask me "what is the best camera?" often enough.  The answer I generally give is "the one you have with you."  Which at a deep level is really a good answer.  It is an answer that often makes those that have been doing photography for a while stop and think a little.  BUT, it is probably NOT a very satisfying answer to those just getting started.  If that is you, check out the website dpreview.com for some great resources in determining what camera works best with your skills, interests and budget.

I've been shooting more with my cell phone camera in recent months and feeling more satisfied with what I am able to capture as I learn more about what it is good at and what it struggles with.  This all hit me like a ton of bricks yesterday. There I was in a situation where my pro equipment was completely awkward and the phone in my pocket just felt like a better solution.  As a result, the better photos of the trip are the photos that I posted to Instagram from my phone (I'm @pjinsodak if you would like to follow.)

Old equipmentHistoric Fort Snelling

Old iron pot and other metal work in the blacksmith shop.

BarrelsHistoric Fort Snelling, MN

   Storage barrels

Opium BottleHistoric Fort Snelling

Bottle of Opium in the display discussing wounded Civil War soldiers and the aftermath of war.

In a sense, my cell phone camera saved the day.  It allowed me to capture meaningful photos in a way that I wouldn't have been able to easily with my professional gear. It was the "BEST" camera at the moment. Of course, I wasn't out shooting for a job or for photos that I planned on being able to deliver as wall art.  These were for fun and for my own memories.

As useful as the cell phone camera is even with their improved quality, they still can't get shots that take a little more thought and effort.  For example, the photo of the chipmunk that starts this post.  I couldn't have shot that in a million years with the cell phone.  Shooting a small, fast object in a busy background, through a window and from some distance, I would have been lucky to see anything.

It really comes down to making the best of the equipment you have with you and using what is most suited to the moment. Sometimes, for me, that means taking a step back from the very serious business of photography and allowing the joy of capturing an image come front and center.  For example, here are too very different and at the same time, very similar images.  First one for fun with the cell phone over morning coffee - the other on a trip into the wilderness to capture high quality images.  Both stand on their own for what they are.

Tiger Striped SwallowtailCell phone image

Tiger Striped SwallowtailSherburne NWR

I'm out chasing butterflies!  Until next time.

--PJ

#Unstarvingartist

I've also been thinking about a return to the world of painting as a medium to supplement or complement my photography. I mean, these days, photographers are a dime a dozen.  I ask myself, "How can I be different?"

Anyways, with both of these thoughts in the back of my mind, I happened upon a website called PBNify, which brought me WAY back to my childhood. Back then, there were lots of "paint by number" kits.  Some might say paint by numbers is cheating.  Why not go and create your own?  But, the act of actually putting paintbrush to canvas has a lot of benefit.  One does not just pick up a brush and paint a masterpiece, it comes with a lot of work and a lot of practice.  Call this part of the training.  Learning how paint hangs on a brush.  Learn how much you have to apply to the canvas.  Learn how different colors seem to need different approaches.  See those two numbers right next to each other that have nearly identical colors?  Here's where you learn about light and shadow.  If you don't really look, do you really see?

This morning I shot a photo of a water lily in the backyard with my phone.  I thought it looked sort of paint like. Maybe this might be a fun photo to PBNify and see what the results look like. So, here's the original:

Original Waterlily image

I dropped this original file into the website www.pbnify.com, which then instructs the user to click several points to set a palette of colors.  I ended up selecting 20 colors as seen here:

PBNPalette

I then let the website do its magic and it showed me what the filled in painting would look like.  Of course, you lose a lot of detail in a painting like this, but I definitely like the feel of this:

PBN WaterLily

And finally, here is the actual "paint by number" outline.

PBN Outline

I'm thinking, "pretty cool".   You should probably watch for more of this in the future as we push forward with the Fugitives project and perhaps some other community things I have been tossing around in my mind.

Until next time!

PJ

Back then I was shooting my 2nd professional DSLR, the Fuji S2 Pro.  My first two Fuji cameras were beyond compare when it came to color, but they lacked in lower light and in sharp detail.  This made them fantastic for working with models, but a little more challenging when I was out crawling in the mud.

Last evening, I connected to an older hard drive looking for an image and found this group of photos from 2003.  These are images that I would have said "There's a photo in there somewhere", but sadly, back then, I couldn't edit/process them well enough to be happy about.  Fortunately, with newer technology and a better skill set, the photos that I knew were there have arrived - a dozen years later.

These were edited in Adobe Lightroom CS and onOne Software's Pefect Photo Suite 8.

Enough talking, jump in the wayback machine with me and visit the Badlands and Black Hills as I saw them in 2003.

The prairie beside the BadlandsBadlands National Park, South Dakota

The prairie looking out of the Badlands toward Wall, SD.  The sun was low in the sky and the color was so vibrant that I'll never forget it.

Badlands Evening SkyBadlands National Park, South Dakota The amazing colors of the Badlands, the green grass, the colored sand, the bands in the mountains and the setting sun making the sky glow.

Deer in the BadlandsBadlands National Park, South Dakota Local residents.  I had no business trying to get this shot back in 2003.

Badlands Evening Sky 2Badlands National Park, South Dakota Another vista in the Badlands as the sun is getting low.

Badlands Evening Sky 3Badlands National Park, South Dakoa Looking right into the setting sun.  I'm surprised I was able to find this much detail in a photograph that was ridiculously blown out.

Spearfish Canyon FogBlack Hills of South Dakota This fog was so cool.  I was very disappointed that I just couldn't make it work back in the day.

Bridal Veil Falls, Spearfish CanyonBlack Hills of South Dakota Bridal Veil Falls, I had limited space to work with to capture the height of this waterfall in the canyon.  Probably still be a tough photo.  Time to go see it again, I think.

Roughlock Falls, Spearfish CanyonBlack Hills of South Dakota The new tools allowed me to strip away distracting elements that ruined this image for me back in 2003. This is the top of Roughlock Falls. It is a little grainy from shooting a long exposure, but for a black and white like this, it feels right.

Two morals to this story:  First, don't give up on images that you KNOW have merit.  Second, if you haven't been to the Badlands and the Black Hills, uhmmm, what are you waiting for?

Until next time,

PJ

I've learned a lot of things over the years and the miles of hiking, but there is so much variety and diversity in the wild, there is just no way for me to know the names of everything I see.  That's where field guides and the internet come into play.  Thought I'd share my "Go To" resources.  Of course, they are a little biased to my part of the world, but hopefully they could be resources to you too, or a at least a starting point.

Northern Pearly-EyePhotographed at Lake Bemidji State Park in Minnesota

Without the field guides I use, I'd have had a hard time figuring out the butterfly above was the Northern Pearly Eye (Enodia anthedon) when we spotted it in Lake Bemidji State Park in Minnesota.  The guide I have is fantastic and it appears to be the one most recommended by butterfly enthusiasts.

It's called the Kaufman Field Guide to Butterflies of North America and it is organized by groups such as Admirals, Whites, Coppers, Hairstreaks, Metalmarks, Brushfoots, etc.  The guide includes range, actual sizes, great images, helpful identification hints and quite a bit more detail.

Kaufman Field Guide to Butterflies

In addition to the field guide, I also use the website Butterflies and Moths of North America which is an excellent resource with tons of great photos. Often, I'll find what I think is correct in the field guide and then verify using photos from Butterflies and Moths of North America and Wikipedia.

For their cousins the moths, things are a little more challenging.  Maybe because they are often unseen and generally go about by nighttime, they just don't seem to be as popular.  I use the book below called Discovering Moths - Nighttime Jewels in Your Own Backyard by John Himmelman.

Discovering Moths

This is the tool I used to be able to find out that the following photograph was of the Virginia Ctenucha (Ctenucha virginica), when I happened upon several in Sica Hollow State Park in South Dakota. This one happens to be a daylight flying moth.  The Butterflies and Moths of North America website is helpful for moths too.

Virginia Ctenucha

For wildflowers, I have to use a variety resources to track them down.  It seems to be a little more challenging to identify wildflowers than butterflies. Perhaps it is because wildflowers can change so much in their lifespan or because there is such amazing variety.  I usually start with the Peterson First Guides for Wildflowers (Northeastern and North Central America).  This is a handy small size, so if I carry a book into the field with me, it's this one.  It is also organized by color which I find VERY helpful.

WildflowersGrasses and Other Plants

The second book  pictured above, that I usually go to is Wildflowers, Grasses and Other Plants of the Northern Plains and Black Hills by Van Bruggen (above)  This one has nice images and is also sorted by color.  The photos in this book generally match what I see in the field better than other books. It is in this book I found out the following wildflower is a Bracted Spiderwort and that it can be seen anywhere from pale pink to dark purple or blue.  The book goes on to explain that this may be related to the acidity or alkalinity of the soil.  SO much to learn!

Bracted Spiderwort

The third book I use is Wildflowers of the Northern Great Plains.  This book has great details and I think it is an excellent book.  It isn't quite as easy as the others for identification, however as it isn't organized by color, but by the traditional taxonomic order (I'm sure this is great for botanists, but not as helpful to this crawling in the mud photographer).

Maybe even MORE helpful than the books in this category is an online resource that I think is absolutely amazing.  The volunteer run Minnesota Wildflowers site.  So many advanced search tools to help you find that elusive wildflower ID.  If you find this site useful as I do, please consider donating to these fantastic wildflower people.

So, there you have it.  That's how I track down the things I see in my world. If you have a resource I haven't mentioned, I'd sure love to hear about it in the comments.

Until next time!

PJ

The first change I'll mention is how at the end of last year, I decided that I was getting out of the wedding photography business.  While we had wonderful couples and families to work with and along with my partner photographer, Lindsey Jungers, we shot some amazing photos, it just really wasn't where I wanted to focus. Also the time sensitivity and demands of wedding photography took away a lot of the prime time that I shoot other things.

Ever since I moved my workspace to the Goss Opera House, I've become more and more involved with the operation.  I've been fortunate to work with so many fantastic people over the years.  Last summer, in addition to website, social networking, marketing and such, I've started working behind the bar as well.  Been a lot of fun to spend one on one time with a ton of great customers.  Plus, the paycheck was helping me in the photography business model transition.

The biggest change for me, however, is that I've moved to Burnsville, Minnesota.  Probably for the entire summer to assist my mother in the care of my father who is challenged with Parkinson's disease and dementia.  It is a struggle for my family and the team at the Goss, but they have been incredibly supportive.

HOWEVER, even with all this going on, I want to assure you the photography goes on!  I've been doing commercial work all along and of course the project of documenting one of my favorite state parks, Sica Hollow continues.  I'll be working very diligently at posting photos from that project and other artistic work for you.  Thus, the title of this blog post is Ad-Interim, which in Latin means literally, for the time between.

For the near future, here is my temporary workspace at the home of my parents in Burnsville.

Temporary WorkspaceTemporary Workspace

You'll be able to spot a few important things here in the photo.  Obviously, my photo gear and my computer/editing tools. You'll see my Tenba messenger bag, my big Galaxy Note 3 (needed for my big fingers!), several field guides for wildflowers and butterflies, a photo of my kids from when they were little, my Minnesota Wild hat, my blue pillow and of course a coffee cup!

And for a sneak peek, I'll post the image I was editing in the workspace photo from my trip to Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge in Minnesota. I found a wonderful clump of Bluebells along the trail.  Such happy flowers! I'll be talking more about this trip soon!

BluebellsCluster of Bluebells at Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge in Minnesota.

Thanks for following along.  Until next time!

PJ

Last year, I had the opportunity to photograph this guy doing a comedy show at the Goss Opera House in Watertown. That's right, legendary comedian, Louie Anderson! 

Comedian Louie AndersonPerforming at the Goss Opera House

And I thought to myself, this is probably the coolest, biggest name I'll ever get a chance to photograph.  That all changed on Friday when I got to add another big name to my photography library.

I was in the audience of the commencement ceremonies for the class of 2015 at Lake Area Technical Institute as my wonderful daughter was graduating with her practical nursing degree.  The commencement speaker just happened to be the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES!  Zow, never expected that I'd be under 100 feet away from one of the most powerful people in the world.

Finding a seat was a little tricky, but we were actually quite fortunate where we ended up as I was pretty much eye level with the speakers on the stage. I had a mostly unobstructed view and I was able to capture several cool images.

Speakers for LATI Commencement

And while the President's speech was outstanding and had lots of smiles and laughs, I'm kind of partial to this serious expression in this close up.

President ObamaLake Area Technical Institute Commencement Address 2015

I suppose the moral of the story is that things like this can happen to anyone, anywhere.  So, now I wonder, who might be the next famous person that I'll have the opportunity to photograph!?   In the meantime, I'll continue to chase down the flowers and butterflies.

Oh, and as cool as it was to photograph the President, the REAL reason for me to have my camera there was to celebrate the achievement of our youngest child, Victoria.  We are very proud parents of all three of our kids!   Here's Victoria receiving her diploma from South Dakota Governor Dennis Daugaard.

Victoria receiving her diploma from South Dakota Governor Daugaard

Until next time -  PJ

This year, I decided to look for the Pasqueflower at one of my favorite state parks, Sica Hollow.  I shoot there quite often and this year I'll be very much focused on shooting there several times a month to document the changes over the course of the warm months.  (Click here to see my Flickr gallery from Sica Hollow)

Pasqueflower 1 - 2015Pulsatilla - photographed at Sica Hollow State Park

But the spring refresh goes deeper than just getting out in nature to photograph the early flowers.  This year, it is bringing to life the new vision of my business.  I've cut out the weddings and portrait work which just weren't what I am about in photography.  I'm ramping up more in the commercial photography realm to include more work with content marketing and social media consulting.  I'll also be very focused on the ART of photography.

I'm also going to do one of the other things I love to do. Teach.  This summer I'll be offering 1 on 1 photography classes.  I suppose you could compare this teaching model to guitar lessons.  We figure out where you are in your photography path and then together decide on where you want to go from there.  For as long as it is valuable to you.

So, whether you are a business that needs photography or help with advertising, marketing, website or social media; or if you are a person that wants to learn more about photography, I really hope you'll reach out to me at 605-868-8810 or pj@pjandersonphotography.com.  I'd really like to work with you!

I'll leave you with some more Pasqueflowers in tribute to the spring refresh at PJ Anderson Photography!

Pasqueflower 2 -2015Pulsatilla - shot at Sica Hollow State Park

Pasqueflower 3 - 2015Pulsatilla - Shot at Sica Hollow State Park

Pasqueflower 4 - 2015Pulsatilla - Shot at Sica Hollow State Park

Funny thing since then, there have been several opportunities to capture some sunsets.  Two in particular got me thinking about two different approaches to photography.

1. The sort that you plan, prepare equipment and diligently go shoot.

AND

2. The sort that just happens to you.

Thought I'd share these two shots as examples of both.

This first image was planned for.  Granted, not a lot of planning, but certainly as the evening was wearing on and I looked out of the studio window to see interesting cloud formations, I knew the potential existed for a cool sunset.  I grabbed my gear and hit the road trying to the right foreground for a sunset.  I knew of a location about 12 or so miles northwest of town with some open spaces, rolling hills, farms, fields and lakes.  Eventually, I found my spot. There was a farm in the foreground which would provide a little scale to the wide open spaces.  Turns out, I didn't even need to wait until the sun went down below the horizon.  The clouds were perfect and beams of sun were shining down to the ground.

Sunset near Florence, SDPlanned

This next photo was one of those photos that just happens to you.  Of course, you can always set yourself up for these opportunities.  First off, you have to have that gear with you.  We all have those head slap moments where we see something and say, "if only I had my camera!"  You need to make sure that your gear is within reach, has available media and charged batteries.

But, prepared or not, these moments will sneak up on you.  Be open to that and images will have a habit of popping up.

This happened just last night as I was returning home from the Twin Cities.  As I approached the city of Danube, MN, the sun had dropped below the horizon and was vibrantly lighting the clouds in deep red.  This is one of those sunsets you really enjoy seeing.  I noticed the light was bright enough on the horizon, but dark enough overall to cast buildings, trees and other structures into silhouette.  As I approached a curve leading into town, I spotted the headlights of an oncoming train and then a dirt road appeared on cue!  

I darted off US Highway 212 and the dirt road fortunately crossed the tracks and then turned almost parallel to the train tracks giving me a cool perspective of the train.  I grabbed my camera, braced myself on the back of the Trailblazer and took a couple of quick shots to check my exposure.  I decided to auto bracket 3 stops (if you are not familar, this is where I shoot one frame exposed correctly, one underexposed and one over exposed just to make sure I had all the lights and darks) and started shooting.  I just wasn't sure where in the frame would be the best for the train, so I figured I'd take a lot of images and cover all bases.

Train Sunset near Danube, MNUnplanned

I'm certainly happy with both images, but like all photography, this requires effort.  Either the effort of planning for and engaging or for being ready to go for whatever the universe throws at you.

In a sense, I suppose this relates to a whole lot more in life than just photography.  I'll let you take it where it goes in your own life!

Until next time,

PJ

So, late this afternoon when my computer was all tied up doing exports, I decided to grab some Holga lenses that I had purchased a couple of years ago and take a walk around Uptown Watertown and just see what might happen.

If you are unfamiliar with Holga, here is some background from Wikipedia: The Holga's low-cost construction and simple meniscus lens often yields pictures that display vignetting, blur, light leaks, and other distortions. The camera's limitations have brought it a cult following among some photographers, and Holga photos have won awards and competitions in art and news photography

In my case, I am not shooting with a Holga camera, but I've purchased Holga lenses that fit onto my professional Nikon camera.  I purchased them from Holga Direct.

These lenses are quite difficult to see through in my DSLR viewfinder and require slow shutter speed and high ISO.  So, in a way there isn't a lot of settings I can play with.  I simply point the camera at what I am interested in, play with the shutter speed a bit and take whatever I can get.  Without further ado, here's what I shot on my little walk.

ChandelierGoss Opera House

Original Opera Hall entranceGoss Opera House

Window detailGoss Opera House

Rust stains on wallUptown Alleyway

Busted light fixtureUptown Alleyway

Rusted steel drumUptown Alleyway

No ParkingBehind Goss Opera House

Uptown Clock across from the GossUptown on Kemp Ave

Window detailUptown Alley

AlleyUptown Watertown Black and white treatment for AlleyUptown Watertown

ChurchUptown Waterown

Red brick buildingUptown Watertown

Alleyway BuildingsUptown Watertown

LunchDragonfly in a Pitcher Plant

We saw a lot of Pitcher Plants again, but this time we actually saw the carnivorous plant in action.

This dragonfly appears to be lunch.  Not sure how long he's been trapped, but definitely isn't going anywhere.

Marsh CinquefoilPotentilla palustris

We also found more Marsh Cinquefoil here.  I figured that I'd show a wider angle shot than in the last post.

Grass Pink OrchidCalopogon tuberosus

The first new flower we saw was quite a ways off the board walk.  I thought I might have to pull out the long lens and hope for the best, but another hiker coming back from the other direction let us know that we'd see more a little further down the walk.

True enough.  It wasn't long before we saw more. This is the Grass Pink Orchid.  It is quite small.  Most every example that I've seen online are indeed pink, but the flowers we saw were all more purple (as in this image).

Grass Pink Orchid 3

Dragonfly

We didn't hear as much birdsong here, but we certainly saw more butterflies and dragonflies.

The varieties of dragonflies amaze me, although I haven't spent time learning which is which, like I do with butterflies and flowers.  I may need to start that at some point!

Northern CrescentPhyciodes cocyta

The first butterfly I was able to get a photo of was this Northern Crescent. This one was nice enough to land right on the boardwalk next to where I was photographing flowers.

Showy Lady's Slipper

Just like the day before, we had another chance to see the Minnesota state flower - the Showy Lady's Slipper.

They seemed a little further along in their blooming than at Big Bog.

HarebellCampanula rotundifolia

I noticed these small purple flowers on the way into the boardwalk, but I didn't slow down to photograph them until we were on the way out.

Very small, delicate little bell shaped flowers.  This is the Harebell.

Little Wood SatyrMegisto cymela

I really got serious about chasing down some butterflies at this point.  

This tiny butterfly is the Little Wood Satyr.

Harris CheckerspotChlosyne harrisii

I first thought this was the same type of butterfly that I posted earlier, but this is not a Northern Crescent. 

This one stumped me for a while.  I couldn't seem to find in in my go-to book (Kaufman Field Guide of Butterflies and Moths), although it gave me some close ones to start from.

Finally found this on the web on the butterflies and moths of North America website.  This is the Harris Checkerspot.

This last photo is my favorite from the trip.  I'd never seen a butterfly quite like this before.  This was the largest that we saw, but still smaller than a Monarch.   This is a Norther Pearly-Eye.  I definitely love the striking eye shapes on its wings.  I was very fortunate to spot this one flitting around in the dark forest.  It was very nice to land in the one spot of light on this leaf so I could get this fun shot.

Northern Pearly-EyeEnodia anthedond

We definitely enjoyed the mini-vacation, but as all vacations it was over way too soon.  Hopefully, we'll have future opportunities to visit both the Big Bog and Lake Bemidji State Park.  I'm betting each visit would be quite unique.

Until next time -  PJ

After days of hot weather at home, we were presented with a high of about 69 Fahrenheit and 50 percent chance of rain for our day planned for the bog, but we only had one day for this, so off we went on the 1.25 hour trip north.

Rebekah had a rain jacket and I had rain ponchos stuffed in the camera bag and they were needed as we started out to the mile long board walk into the bog.  

Showy Lady's SlipperCypripedium reginae

On the short lake around a pond that leads to the boardwalk we immediately found what I really wanted to photograph.  We'd seen several on the drive, but I really didn't want to stop on the highway to shoot.  So, I was happy to find them so quickly.  The Minnesota state flower, the Showy Lady's Slipper. 

As it was back home, spring was slow and late.  That means the flowers are sort of late in blooming.  Normally, these would be long past blooming by July.

Showy Lady's SlipperCypripedium reginae

In the past I've photographed the rare Small White Lady's Slipper and just a few weeks ago I photographed the yellow lady slipper in Sica Hollow State Park.  But, while all are beautiful, the pink and white of the Showy Lady's Slipper is probably my favorite.  

Showy Lady's SlipperCypripedium reginae

I won't complain too much about the rain at this point as the water droplets looked pretty cool on the flowers.  

I didn't notice until I was doing some processing, but this next image, it appears that a tiny green spider has taken up residence on this bloom.  You can spot the spider right in the center of this image on top of the pink of the bloom.

Spider on bloom

As we worked our way out into the boardwalk over the bog, we started seeing a lot of plants we've never seen before (or at least in my case, not since I was a kid).

Marsh CinquefoilPotentilla palustris

This first flower that we saw off the edge of the boardwalk is the Marsh Cinquefoil. There were many tiny blooms all over this plant, but I wanted to try to get a closeup of the wonderful detail of a bloom.

The only way to do it was to sprawl across the boardwalk and hang over the edge with the camera.  In this photo, you can see a few buds behind the flower that have not yet opened.

Harlequin Blueflag IrisIris versicolor

The next flower sort of surprised us as we came around a bend in the boardwalk. It couldn't get any closer!  The irises in our yard had bloomed and disappeared several weeks ago, so this was a great surprise to see this one still blooming. Another plant nearby was just getting ready to bloom.

This is the Harlequin Blueflag Iris and its color was absolutely amazing!

Purple Pitcher PlantSarracenia purpurea

One plant we both were hoping to see in the bog is the carnivorous Pitcher Plant. 

It wasn't too long and we were seeing tons of them in the sphagnum moss.

What we didn't expect was...  

BLOOMS!  What a crazy flower these Pitcher Plants have!

Purple Pitcher PlantsSarracenia purpurea

Purple Pitcher PlantSarracenia purpurea

Here is a closer view of a bloom that has opened a bit more than the previous image.

Upon reaching the end of the boardwalk, I thought it might be nice to point the camera in the distance rather than down at the plant life. While the boardwalk stretches out for a mile into the bog, it is such a small portion of the entire bog.  This bog spans over 500 square miles and is the largest bog in the lower 48.

Big Bog State Recreation Areanorth of Waskish, MN

We had hoped to hike two other trails in the recreation area that travel along an "island" in the bog.  However, another feature of northern Minnesota made it pretty much impossible.  With all the rainy conditions, the mosquito population in the forest was ridiculous to say the least.  We decided that we would probably just be miserable and decided to visit another time.

White AdmiralLimenitis arthemis

As we were packing up, I did get a chance for one more photo right in the parking lot.  A particular butterfly that I haven't seen since I visited Isle Royale in Lake Superior several years ago.  This is a White Admiral and it was very attracted to the mud in the parking lot as this sort of butterfly can be.

I was glad to get in at least one butterfly photo on this day.  The next day was better for butterflies.  Check back i the next day or so and I'll cover that next day when we visited Lake Bemidji State Park.  

It has been a fantastic run and I've had an opportunity to work with many wonderful models, actors and pageant contestants.  This latest trip was no exception.  I might even say that a couple of the models were among the best I've ever worked with.

If you are interested in the business of modeling or would like more information, please drop me a line.  If you are a business and you need photography that includes models, our affiliation with the Academie gives us access to hundreds of models that can meet most needs.  

By the way, many senior portrait sessions are much more like modeling portfolios than ever before.  Let us bring our expertise to you senior photo shoot!

Here are some of my favorites from the latest trip!   Until next time, PJ

Grace Rodney

Baylee

Eugene Royce Sadie

Baylee118

Grace

Henry and Marcus Eugene Rodney and Royce

Grace Baylee   

The park did not fail me.  Tons of "spring" green plants, an explosion of blooming flowers, more birds chirping than I ever recall.  Lots of dragonflies, but not as many butterflies as I'd like to see yet.

Virginia Waterleaf

I wasn't even out of the visitor parking area before I saw a flower I didn't recognize. It really stumped all of my efforts to look it up in guidebooks and on the internet.

Thankfully, another photographer in the region, Sarah Reed was able to steer me to the right name. This is the Virginia Waterleaf (hydrophyllum virginianum) and it is, to say the least, very abundant throughout Sica Hollow right now.  

Wild Columbine

The next flower that I ran into shortly after my hike began, is an old favorite from Sica Hollow and other forest parks.

This is the Wild Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) and it also is found all over the park.  Maybe not quite as much as the Virginia Waterleaf, but certainly not hard to find on this trip. 

Wild Columbine

By sheer luck, as I noticed the Wild Columbine, I happened to spot a flash of yellow.  Upon closer inspection, I found a Large Yellow Lady's Slipper.  I've seen these before in Minnesota ( for example at Lake Itasca State Park), but I've never seen them in Sica Hollow. What a great surprise this was!

Large Yellow Lady's Slipper

Large Yellow Lady's Slipper

I was also surprised at how many Lady's Slippers I was able to see.  I didn't see them everyplace that I found the Wild Columbine, but I never found the Lady's Slippers without the Columbine nearby.

Another new flower to me at Sica Hollow was the next that I found.  Probably looks somewhat familiar to most gardeners. This one is the Wild Geranium (Geranium Maculatum).  That purple looked great in the dark forest!

Wild Geranium

When I take photos at Sica Hollow, I am often focused on flowers, butterflies or small things.  As I was coming down the trail, the sun was shining so beautifully through the canopy, I thought I should shoot a larger view of the forest.

Forest in Sica Hollow

A Blue (LYCAENIDAE) Butterfly

Can't pass up the opportunity to photograph a butterfly.  Or in this case TWO butterflies. Can you see them both?

These are a type of "Blue" butterfly (Lycaenidae/Polymmatinae), but I am not sure exactly which.

Not my best butterfly photo, but getting two in the shot this way was too fun to not share.

Tiger Striped Swallowtail

This was followed a bit later by one of my favorite butterflies, a Tiger Striped Swallowtail.  This individual was a bit more skittish, so sort of hard to capture today.

This Tiger Striped Swallowtail is feeding on a  Dames Rocket (Hesperis matronalis) which was also absolutely exploding throughout the entire park.  Beautiful.

Fortunately, I did see a few butterflies, but the champion of the forest skies on this trip was the dragonfly.  Also, sort of hard to capture today, but this one stayed in one spot long enough for me to grab a quick shot.

Dragonfly

Prairie Smoke

As I picked up my camera bag from shooting the dragonfly, I just happened to catch sight of yet another flower I couldn't identify. Thanks again to Sarah Reed who identified this is Prairie Smoke.

As I researched this flower, I learned it gets its name from its wispy seed pods that will appear after it is pollinated.

I'm definitely going to give it my best shot to make it back to Sica Hollow to try to capture an image of that!  Hopefully, I'll time it correctly.

Finishing up the day, I spotted some very tiny blooms along the trail.  Once I spotted the curly vines and took a closer look at this flower, I knew I was looking at a Wild Pea. Found some purple examples and a white one.

Wild Pea Wild Pea  

You really have to get close to these to see the beautiful detail.

All in all, one of the best days I had at Sica Hollow in a long time.  Hope you enjoyed the photographs!

Feel free to give me a shout if you have any questions or comments.  I'd love to hear from you!

It is amazing the variety of plant life you can find in these parks.  This morning, as it was a little damp from rain (therefore how could I mow the grass!?) the light was fantastic with the overcast skies.  So, I took a quick walk around the pond with my camera and was able to capture a number of great spring shots.

Blooms on Flowering Crab TreeBlooms on a Flowering Crab tree in the Vista View city park in Burnsville, MN

The "keeper" of the morning is this shot of one branch on a Flowering Crab Tree. The thick forest and pond made for a great backdrop for this image.  A big "congratulations and thank you" to the city planners around here for including so much natural space in a very busy community!

Perhaps a "photographic" moral of the story is, there are beautiful things wherever you look.  You don't have to run out to the country or out to a state park, just take a few moments to look around you as you go.

Until next time!

PJ

Nikon D700 at ISO 800, 1/125 sec, f/7.1, 75mm

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If there was one or two dust specks here, I'd just jump in with the spot removal brush as seen here to the left.   However, I'd might find that I'd miss some spots with this approach.  The good news is that Lightroom has a great tool to help for a situation just like this!

Visualize Spots

Once I select the Spot Removal tool, I can check the box for "Visualize Spots", but it is easy to overlook this option.  You'll find it on the bottom left of the photograph near the Tool Overlay options.

Checking this box will immediately have a dramatic change in view for your photograph.

Holy cow, look at all those spots!

I can certainly get an immediate understanding of how serious my dust drama is!  However, this view makes using the Spot Removal Tool so much more efficient.  

Use the Spot Removal Tool exactly like you would normally.  You can uncheck the Visualize Spots checkbox as you go to see your progress.

Returning to the normal view shows that I've fixed the vast majority of the issues.  You might still need to finish up on one or two items, but for the most part this helps me knock off pretty much all the dust problems.

Dust Drama Eliminated

Moral of the story.  Make sure your equipment is clean, BUT if you get stuck in this situation, Lightroom is definitely there to help you out!

Happy shooting!   Remember, there's a photo in there somewhere!

PJ

07/21/2015 - Just changed the title from Lightroom 5 to Lightroom CC and LR6 as it still applies.

DSC_4926

When I first heard about this event a year ago, I had wanted to do something with it but unfortunately it got put on the back burner. This year though, we had our chance to dedicate our time, experience, and passion for a wonderful cause!  Besides what girl doesn’t love watching a bunch of grown men walk around uptown in red high heels!

Men in red high heels!

I must say that this event was a wonderful experience and I hope to take part again in the future.  There is such a rewarding feeling when you do something and you don’t view it as work, but rather doing your part… 

--Lindsey

Enjoy more photos from the event below and don't forget to support:

The Watertown Resource Center: http://www.watertownresourcecenter.com/

Vendors getting setup Wrist Bands

Bins of men's high heels t-shirts

Getting the right fit Police escort

Definitely "man" enough! Family time

Police Department's Fine Look! Last stretch of the mile!

The AMAZING staff!

PJ Shoots Lindsey in Action! Nite Life Entertainment Lindsey shoots PJ in "Action?"

For now, however, going to turn back the clock just a little bit.  I wanted to post some of the photos we did the last trip to the Academie Agencie in Fargo.  Of course, the cold winter forces us to do something I am not very fond of.  Shooting (mostly) indoors on a white backdrop with studio lights.  A lot hard for the models, staff and photographers when we don't have the environment to feed off of.  Have to stretch much harder for unique looks and look elsewhere for energy.

Fortunately, Stacey and the Academie crank out top notch models and they are up to the challenge.  Here are some of my favorites from the day.  Thanks for stopping by!  -- Patrick

Alkeshia Alvin Sarah

Bryce Alyssa Klaudia

Abby Alex Alvin, Abby, Alkeshia

Alex Klaudia Alkeshia

Abby Molly Bryce

Alvin Bryce Klaudia

It has been fun to photograph Meara over the last few years and get to know her and her family!   

Here are some photos from the last fun shoot we had recently at the fantastic Goss Opera House in Watertown, SD

Meara

Last summer, I had many wonderful creative discussions with an excellent musician, Joshua Kloyda.  These were held late at night at the Goss Opera House, where we both have work space.  We sat at an old weathered wood table, which was eventually dubbed the "therapy table".  Somewhere along the line, I mentioned to Joshua my thoughts about the Meridian Highway project.  Traveling end to end and photographing the journey.  Wasn't long before Joshua said, "I'm in!"

Fugitives Badge copy3

So the project changed a little and evolved and new members were added.  The plan now is that four creatives will set off this summer on this journey from the Canadian border to the Mexican border and travel the old Meridian (as close as we can from old maps) to rediscover the history and the people along the way.  We hope to deliver a documentary, a photo/word book and a music CD.

Hope you'll follow along.  You can find the project here:  http://fugitivesforgottenhwy.com/

I'll definitely be sharing photos along the way as much as possible.

The graphic is our badge that incorporates the old highway marker sign of the red MH for the Meridian Highway.

-- Patrick

My musician friend, Joshua Kloyda needed some photos for his new website and I agreed to shoot some photographs.  We had a chance to work in a room here at the Goss Opera House that we hadn't had access to in the past, so it was fun to try out some new things. We ended up walking away with a ton of great photos.  However, this one really wasn't one of them

Joshua Kloyda at the Goss

So many mistakes!

My hand is showing at the bottom of the frame.  My lens hood is showing in the top. Lens flare is happening all over and a door got into the frame on the left.

But... it still worked.

Granted, I cloned out the door and I used some tools from onOne Software to change the tonal qualities, but I still really like the photo!

Rather than being a photograph that never saw the light of day, we'll just chock this one up to one of those happy accidents!

--Patrick

DSC_0649

On shoot day, this room was perfect.  Super light and the mood was just right.

The radiator in this room has always fascinated Patrick and Tasia didn't have any problems jumping up there and taking advantage of the location!

DSC_0672-Edit

DSC_0659-Edit-3

This next image we applied a bit of a "cross-processed" look to give it a little more drama and to really focus on Tasia's face.

Next we moved on with the light along the 2nd floor and backstage

DSC_0694 DSC_0755 DSC_0818

Then up to the third floor near our studio/workspace.  This room only recently became available for us to shoot in and we love the textures and the colors.  Love the shoes that Tasia created in these images!

DSC_0852 DSC_0842

Decided to finish in the modern portion of the building.  We like the starkness of the stairwell and it worked out neat with this outfit.

DSC_0906 DSC_0926

All in all an exceptionally fun day of shooting.  Definitely like the end results!

Well, the combination of a super family, a great team (thanks Lindsey and Alexis) and the wonderful location that is the Goss Opera House made this a memorable shoot.  Being as the opera house was beginning to gear up for the holidays, we were able to take advantage of some decorations.  The photo below of the little Alex definitely makes me think of Christmas.  He was certainly excited about that stuffed animal.  You can't ask for a more real smile from a little guy.

Alex and his stuffed animal2013 PJ Anderson Photography @ The Goss

Alex2013 PJ Anderson Photography @ the Goss

This next photo was shot from the hip as Alex was a quick mover.  Normally, I wouldn't want that light stand in the background, but c'mon... that is too cool of a shot to toss out.

I sort of liked treating this as a black and white as well.  There is just something about a black and white photograph, isn't there?

Going back to my cutsie comment earlier.   This photograph is so much more like the recollection of photos that I think back to of my own boys or even way back to when my brother, Steve and I were just toddlers.  The overalls and striped shirt.  Such a classic look for a boy.

Although, even though the photos that I remember from years gone by were more posed portraits, this one is closer to them.  By the way, for the record,  I've got nothing against the current trend, just doesn't fit me.

Here's a few more shots from the day.  Thank you Flor, Marcus and Alex for letting us capture these images and for being such great participants!   -- Patrick

Miller039 Miller012 Miller034

I am going to take a quick break from showing our photography.  This post is for my photographer friends who wish to create a slideshow in Adobe Lightroom 5.2 that has slide transitions under 1.0 seconds.  For example, to create a time lapse video or a stop motion video.

In LR 5.2 we’ve lost the ability to set slide transitions for under 1.0 second.  The work around for this is to create and edit a slideshow template that will include the appropriate value you wish to use.  This is nowhere near as easy as moving a slider, but honestly, it isn’t all that hard to do either.

We’ll need to start in the Slideshow Module in LR 5.2.  You can see by using the default template, the slide transition is set to 4.0 seconds and the Fades are set to 2.5 seconds.

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Next we’ll create a new user template by clicking on the plus(+) symbol in the template browser.

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Name the template with something that makes sense to you.  I named mine "Slides"  Click on the Create button.

New Template

Once the template is created, you need to edit the actual template file.  So, you need to be able to find the actual file. With a PC you can right click on the user template and then select "Show in Explorer"  (Mac, I believe you command click and then "Show in Finder".

Explorer view initial file

Once you've located the file, you will need to open it with a text editor.  On the PC, I'll use Notepad.  When you open the file, you will see it is a rather long file.  You are searching near the end of the file for a line that starts with "Speed".

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Text File Edits

You will need to edit the speed to the amount of time you wish to use for the transitions.  In my case, I've changed mine to 0.3 seconds.  You'll need to also change the line for transitionSpeed (this is the time for the fade setting back in Lightroom).  In my case, I didn't want any fade, so I changed mine to 0. For more recent versions of LR CC Classic, you must also rename the user template or you will NOT be able to import. In my example, I changed the title to "Slides under 1 Second" - tested version 8.0.

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Save and RENAME the text file. Make sure the extension is *.lrtemplate. IF THE EXTENSION IS TXT, it will NOT IMPORT.  Note where it is saved, you'll need this in a moment.

Renaming Text File

Back in Lightroom, delete the user template as we are going to import the new/improved template.  For updated LR CC Classic versions, do NOT delete your old template at this point. You have to keep it until after you import the new.

Back in Lightroom, right click on the User Templates label and import your new template.

Next right click (Mac, command click) on the label for User Template and select "Import"

Import FINAL template

If necessary, navigate to where you saved the template file (remember, I told you that you'd need to know!) and then click on Open.

Import File Selection

You can now delete the Original User Template "Slides"

Delete original user template

Notice now that in Lightroom, the time between slides and the fade amounts match the value you editing in the template file.

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If you try to change these values in Lightroom, Lightroom will revert to normal and tell you that you need a time between 1.0 and 20.0 seconds.  If you want another setting below 1.0 seconds, the template file needs to be edited again.  Or perhaps you might create multiple templates with various time settings.

This worked for me with a variety of transition times.  Hope it will do the trick for you.  Please comment if you run into any troubles or have any fine tuning to share.

Happy stop motion and time lapsing to you all!

-- Patrick

Photographed a variety of ages and skill levels this time.  Some for the first time, some I had had the pleasure of working with before.  I don't think I'll get into a lot of description here, let's just get on to the photos and the wonderful models from the Academie Agencie!

-- Patrick

AbbyAcademie Agencie AaronAcademie Agencie KaylaAcademie Agencie

AliAcademie Agencie EveAcademie Agencie SarahAcademie Agencie

HeatherAcademie Agencie MikeAcademie Agencie EveAcademie Agencie

KaylaAcademie Agencie AbbyAcademie Agencie HeatherAcademie Agencie

AaronAcademie Agencie AliAcademie Agencie KaylaAcademie Agencie

AliAcademie Agencie HeatherAcademie Agencie

We can't tell you how much fun it is to have a reunion of sorts with people we've worked with in the past.  As last year's groom Jason put it in the midst of family portrait chaos, "This isn't the first rodeo Patrick has been to with this family."  Not only is it fun and a comfort to work with people we've worked with in the past, but very rewarding to be entrusted again to capture a very important family event.

Thought we'd post one of our favorites from last summer, with a quick updated photo of last summer's couple, Rose and Jason in front of the church after this last wedding. Rose and JasonReunion

Rose and Jason - it was wonderful to see you again!

Most of the time, Lindsey and I are focused on our commercial work and when we talk about the Goss,  from doing something artistic and creative or from the perspective of a wedding or music event.  Something we haven't talked about much is the neat opportunities we have for family photography.

Angie, Jeremy and Yashira The Skyline Suite at the Goss Opera House

We were really fortunate to work with a super fun family recently.  Angie, Jeremy and Yashira were an absolute riot to work with.  Angie gave us the direction that we were to come up with something "different."  

When someone gives us that sort of direction, it is really exciting for us.  A chance to really stretch and see what we can come up with.  Of course, it is also a little scary too.  We don't want to go so crazy that people don't enjoy the end result or are left scratching their heads.

However, I think we were able to do several different kinds of things on this afternoon of shooting.  We caught some moody looks working with some of the un-refurbished sections of the Opera House.  We were also able to capture some more traditional family looks.  And we also had the chance to capture a family just having some crazy fun as seen in this first photo.

We always want fun to be an important part of working with our clients.  We take our photography seriously, but having fun sure makes for better photos.  I can tell you, we laughed a LOT with this family.

Angie, Jeremy and YashiraMoody black and white photo shot on the third floor of the Goss Opera House

But, we also wanted to get some of those "unique" shots too.  Again, our wonderful location is a huge help in letting us come up with something a little different.

The weather outside was certainly not cooperating and the heavy overcast skies made it a little harder than usual for us to use the existing light inside the opera house.  But, while we prefer to use natural light as much as possible, we certainly have the equipment to deal with most any condition.

We did bring in some lights to help fill in some of the shadows in this room, but the mood of the photo is really set primarily by the existing light.  As much fun as it was laughing with these three, when we were going for something a little more serious, they were definitely up to the task.

We utilized some of the effects in a product called the Perfect Photo Suite from onOne Software to fine tune this photo.  The black and white is styled as if we used a red filter.  The border is a film emulsion style look.

Here are a few more of our favorites from the day:

Spying on a kissThird floor of the Goss Opera House

And to wrap this post up, I really loved this mother/daughter photograph!

Mother/DaughterSkyline Suite in the Goss Opera House

As the holidays approach, we are always available to do standard family sessions, but we are also planning on scheduling time for some mini-sessions for families that are looking for a quick set of photos to include in or build their Christmas greeting cards.  Email us for more information:  pj@pjandersonphotography.com or lindsey@pjandersonphotography.com

My last post showed the success of capturing that butterfly photo.  However, in my attempt to track down a butterfly, I actually had a lot more success with other critters in the park.  I thought I'd share some of those with you.

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In hiking a completely different trail than I've been on before, I found myself climbing a long ways up immediately.   This trail wastes no time in getting from the valley where the streams and the picnic area are to the top of the hills and back to typical South Dakota Prairie.

The sun was warm and I found a number of wildflowers on the top of a hill, so I took off my backpack, pulled out the canteen and took a break before diving in to shoot wildflowers.

In addition to the flowers, I found tons of these little guys.  I assume they are some sort of beetle (anyone with a suggestion on identification, I'd love to hear from you!)

However, on this warm afternoon, there was one type of resident of the park that was much more prevalant than anything else. Dragonflies!

I find butterflies can sometimes be very sociable and will often stick around for photos if I am patient.  Wasn't really the case this day.  Dragonflies are a little different.  They aren't as social, but they appear to be creatures of habit.  OR they know what they like.  

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If you can find one on a perch and approach to take a photograph, they'll take off and fly away.  But, I found if I get in place and prepare my camera as if that dragonfly was still there, it will usually circle around and eventually come right back where it was.  

That's exactly how it worked for this specimen.   I crept close until he took off, snuck up a little more, lined up my camera and waiting for a few moments.  Makes it a little easier than a butterfly to compose a shot and make sure you catch it.

I'm not sure what that shiny little package under the dragonfly's mouth is.  Hopefully, someone out there has an idea.

I went back to hiking and unlike the previous dragonfly, this next one had no interest in leaving his perch.  Must have been too darn hot to care.   I was even able to take off my pack, kneel down and spend time picking the angle I wanted to shoot.

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With their transparent wings, you definitely want to be able to compose a photograph.  You want to make sure that viewer is able to see their wings and not have them blend in too much to a busy or cluttered background.

Somewhere not too far beyond this second dragonfly, I started to find a few butterflies that were willing to be photographed.   Take a look at the last blog post for that here, but not to get too far off topic, because as I finally got to the highest part of the park, I found several ponds.  Honestly, I wasn't expecting that.  I am sort of glad it was late in the summer, as I might have had a hard time getting through some parts of the trail that are obviously creek beds in the spring.  

However, along with ponds, I was surprised by something in the middle of the trail that I definitely didn't expect.  He got a little nervous, because if he had just stayed where he was, I never would have spotted him.

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Even knowing that he was there, it still didn't make it all that easy to spot, especially in the first photo.  Wow, nature sure knows how to blend in.  The frog stuck around for a few shots and then decided to move on.  Matter of fact, I was adjusting my camera to take a photograph from a different perspective and like magic, he had bolted and I was left with prairie grass in my viewfinder.

From this point on, I worked over a short distance to the camp ground at the top of the park and found the trail on the other side of the road to work my way back down to the bottom where I parked.  I was surprised to see one more unexpected critter, but this one was WAY too fast for me to get a photo.  This trail dives into the forest, so I went from the bright sunlight into the dark twilight of the woods. Anyways, I guess we were obviously both surprised to see one another.  As I came around a corner on the trail, right in the middle of the trail taking a nap was a cat.  Probably belongs to the farm just down the road from the top of the park.  I'm sure the state park is a great place to prowl and hunt for birds and such.  Anyways, by the time I registered what I was seeing he was off like a flash.

The sun was fading rapidly and I was going downhill over trails I'd mostly been on before, so I moved along pretty quickly and didn't spot any additional bugs, amphibians or felines.  There was a few pesky mosquitoes, but I don't expect I'll ever slow down to photograph them.

I'll finish my Sica Hollow Posts next time by highlighting the flowers and plant life that I photographed.  Until then, I wish you the best!

This was the year that I was going too shoot in Sica Hollow State Park many times over the course of the summer.  Unfortunately, it appears the cosmos had other plans for me.  I last shot there in May when the flowers were first popping up.  Shooting again in September is definitely a huge contrast to that first shoot.

Eastern Tailed-Blue Butterfly

The late winter and weird spring weather also played havoc with my capturing photos of one of my favorite subjects, butterflies.   I hadn't taken one photo of a butterfly all year and honestly, I was starting to get worried.

Fortunately, one of my favorite state parks came through for me.  Nature didn't make it easy, but I finally did get some shots.   I saw many, many monarchs, tiger striped swallowtails and random yellow and white butterflies that I couldn't even identify before I finally got my chance.  A freak chance, actually.

I was down on my knees unpacking my gear from my backpack - I had just swapped lenses as I was shooting a flower and this tiny little dark colored butterfly came flitting by.  It kindly settled on a flower a mere couple of feet from where I was kneeling.  I scooted over and fired away.   I didn't get any award winning photos, but I am relatively happy with this one.

According to Kaufman's Field Guide to Butterflies of North America, this appears to be a female Eastern Tailed-Blue.  This is a TINY butterfly, less than an inch.  I was very happy to get that under my belt!

I hiked for about four or five hours in the afternoon and evening.  I wanted to get to places I hadn't been before and the park didn't let me down.  Completely different feel from the south side of the park road where I spend most of my time.  This part of the park is mostly open prairie as opposed to forest.  Lots and lots of flowers, dragonflies and butterflies.

Sometime after capturing the Blue, I had one additional opportunity to shoot another butterfly.  They all seemed very skittish this day. Many times butterflies can be rather social and tend to fly around me, giving me lots of chances.  Not today.  

Fritillary Butterfly

Again, not an award winning photograph, but it had been some time since I seen a Fritillary butterfly, so it was fun to see this one on the side of the trail.  I only got a chance for two quick captures and this was the better of the two.

I believe this one is the Great Spangled Fritillary, but I didn't have a lot of time to see it and the photos are not completely conclusive.

Even though I didn't capture a lot of images, I did very much enjoy the day.  The hike was fantastic.  The weather was warm, but not overbearing.  The wind was light, the sun was bright and the critters and flowers were abundant.

I'll post follow up articles in the coming days highlighting the flowers and other critters I photographed at Sica Hollow.  Hope you'll come back and take a look!

PJ

p.s.  If you want to see all the photos from this trip to Sica Hollow, you can view the entire gallery here:  http://www.pjandersonphotography.com/sicahollowsept

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Here are three wonderful models from our last shoot in Fargo, Madison, Kamryn and Kaitlyn.  They were all terrific to work with and they all did an excellent job.

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I can always tell the difference when I work with a trained model.  I know I can get right into the shooting and I don't have to spend a lot of time working up to getting good shots.

Next time you need some marketing, advertising, catalog or promotional shots, please keep us and the Academie Agencie in mind.  We'd love the opportunity to show you what we can do!

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This last weekend I was at an art festival in Fargo.  Many visitors stopped to complement me on my photography.  Also, a lot walked on by.  It was hot.  94 degrees on Saturday and hotter still on Sunday.  Honestly, it was getting me down.

Until a gentleman stopped by.  He really looked at my photos.  I mean he REALLY looked.   I noticed he had a bit of a shake or perhaps tremors from Parkinson’s or something similar.  Turned out he was a photographer and former studio owner.  Told me he still had all of his equipment, but the Lord had other plans.  We talked about about the business of photography.

He was very interested in the daisy photo with the dew drops I'll post below.  Really caught his eye and meant something to him.  He noticed one of my business cards had the daisy photo on it and he picked it up.  Before he left, he thanked me for the blessing of that image.   Sort of made the slow business not annoy me so much.

I remembered that I didn't get in this business to get rich.  I got in this to give people memories or emotions.  This is my art.

I'm not sure where the future will take me, but I always want my photos to move people.  No, not every photo will move every viewer.  But if one can move one person, I'll take that.

Daisy with Rain Drops

Some time ago, I was fortunate enough to shoot a Red Riding Hood theme shot with a really talented model from Fargo – Heather Anderson (no relation).  With fantastic support from her family and a wonderful location, Sica Hollow State Park, South Dakota; I was fortunate to walk away with photographs that the artist in me could be proud of.

Trying to recapture some of that magic, I’ve started working on an Alice in Wonderland theme shoot.  Been excited to meet a couple of models and we’ve done some test shoots in the fabulous Goss Opera House in Watertown, South Dakota.

Again, with a wonderful model, supportive family and a wonderful location; I can see the Alice shoot will probably result in more photos that I can be proud of.

Here is model Lauren at one of our test shoots.

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It is probably unfair of me to post the second photo as it is very moody, whereas Lauren has the giant, beautiful smile that pops onto her face so automatically.  Trust me, she is a gem and even if we select another Alice, we’ll want to work with her on other projects!

Unlike “Red” this is going to be a two part set.  One of interior photos, to be shot at the Goss Opera House and then after the snow goes, we’ll identify a location for the exterior shots.  Perhaps again to Sica Hollow, but perhaps Buffalo Ridge, perhaps Garretson, South Dakota (Devils Gulch/Palisades). 

Stay tuned and see how this all turns out!

So, look for updates on this

Enter Dagbjart the Miniscule.  This tiny Viking figurine was given to me many years ago by a dear colleague after she and her husband visited Norway.

Dagbjart and his friend Olga the Horrendous (thanks to my good friend Lori) are now tossed into a new situation every day.  Whether it is Dagbjart chasing the bad guys of the evil Norwegian Lutefisk Cartel or Dagbjart getting carried away with his love of beer or just a normal day to day trial between Dagbjart and Olga.

I post every day to a Facebook page created specifically for this project.  www.facebook.com/tinydagbjart   Hope you’ll check it out.  I also hope you’ll be amused.  It has been a fun journey so far and I hope we can keep it fresh for the remainder of the year!

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I wouldn’t really mind them so much, but they make a mess out of the pond and they really bother me with their chatter every time I am in the back yard.  As if I shouldn’t be out there!

However, all creatures have a place in our world.  I’ll give chase to them every now and then, but that is about as much of a reaction they get out of me.

Just a short time back, I was out stalking butterflies with my camera and when I came around the back of the shed, there was a fledgling Grackle.  Not my typical photography subject – but this baby bird just kind of held its ground and stared at me.  I can’t hardly walk away from a perfect photo setup, so I grabbed the shot.  Turned out decent…soooo, I present my “least” favorite bird to you!  The Common Grackel:

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My daughter's high school graduation and open house was yesterday. Beautiful day in Watertown. Of course as I was trying to be a good dad/host with all the friends, relatives and guests - I couldn't help noticing tons and tons of butterflies in my backyard. ARRGGH! Wanted to go grab the camera and forget everything else!

However, I behaved. This morning I went hunting butterflies. Never photographed this one before - called a "Question Mark" (Polygonia Interrogationis).  It looks ridiculously like a leaf when it’s wings are folded up, so it was nice that this one was sunning on our shed for the top photo!  The bottom photo shows the beautiful orange of its wings opened up.

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Top Photo: ISO 200, 1/125 sec at f/8.0, 200mm, Nikon D700

Bottom Photo: ISO 200, 1/60 sec at f/20, 200mm, Nikon D700

Been a fantastic spring for butterflies.  Hoping that leads to a fantastic summer as well!

Shortly after I photographed a Crocus in our back yard, I realized this was my chance to get out and search.  I found a photo of the Pasqueflower on the website for the nearby Altamont Prairie – a site managed by the Nature Conservancy.  I’d been there before, so I thought I’d take a drive out and see if I could find some.   I walked for close to an hour in a very zig zag pattern up hills and through swampy parts and every different terrain I could find.  The sun was starting to go down, so I was a little depressed and started back. On the last leg on my way back to the car, I walked across a hill and FINALLY found one clump of four flowers!   They were a little droopy from the rain that had fallen most of the day, but nonetheless made for great photos!

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I noticed one other clump just peeking out of the ground, so I thought about planning another trip when I returned home from a wedding scheduled for weekend.  I invited my wife Rebekah to go back on the follow up visit.

We were rewarded with a handful of new Pasqueflower clumps.  On this day, they were standing tall and not droopy like the previous trip.  Here is one of my favorites from the second journey.

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The only downside was the many little passengers we picked up.  On arriving back to the car, we both pulled at least 20 wood ticks each off our clothing.  A few more were found on the ride home and the last eight or so persistent buggers were finally found upon “close” inspection at home  wlEmoticon-winkingsmile[2]

These trips made me a very happy South Dakota photographer!  Next on the list is the White Ladyslipper.  This one may be even harder to find than the Pasque!

This year the snow has been gone for quite a while and I almost neglected to look in back where the crocuses usually bloom.  Fortunately, I didn’t miss them!

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Nikon D700, Holga HL-N lens, ISO 800, 1/10th of a second.

This year, I decided to do something a little different.  If you’ve seen some of my other photos, you know I sometimes like to play with different camera effects in Photoshop and Lightroom.  This time, I thought I’d shoot with a Holga lens.

If you aren’t familiar with Holga, it is a medium format 120 film “toy” camera manufactured in China.  Because these cameras are built very inexpensively, they generally has some optical aberrations due to the limitations of these cheap lenses.  Makes for some really interesting and artistic results through vignettes, light leaks and blurring.

I wanted to play with cameras like these for a while.  I was fortunate enough to find that I could purchase Holga lenses that would mount to my Nikon D700 DSLR camera.  Sort of really “dumbing” down this expensive camera!   I bought these from http://www.holgadirect.com/

Below is a photo of the main lens and the close-up lenses that I used to achieve this.  Shot this with the 120mm close-up from about four inches away from the flowers.  The close-up lens snaps right on the top of the Holga lens – low tech, but simple to use.

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The back of the Holga lens is pretty much just like a pinhole camera, so it is a little hard to compose the image through the viewfinder as very little light is coming in through the lens.  Lots of trial and error, but I love the end result.

Hope to shoot more over the course of the summer!

I have no clue how many times I’ve driven down US Highway 212 between Watertown and the Twin Cities or Duluth since 1995.  Many, many  times for sure.

Near the South Dakota/Minnesota border are several fireworks stands as you can’t purchase fireworks in Minnesota.  There are a number of visually interesting elements there and like I always say  “There is a photo in there somewhere.”  

On my last trip to Minneapolis with my son Tyler, I finally stopped.  The lighting was quite nice with the sun having just set.  With the old textures of the building and the rusty garbage barrel out front, combined with the light, I thought this might make a good HDR study.

I bracketed five images with the Nikon D700 and then merged the files from Lightroom into HDR Pro in Photoshop CS5.  From there I sent the resulting file into onOne Software for some additional tweaking.  Finally, back to Photoshop to deal with a few items of edge glow.

This may be an image I return to in the future to further refine, but I’m liking the feel of it so far.

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Here’s a photo from the “small” world around us.

I shot this little guy in the Theodore Roosevelt National Park in Medora, ND.

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ISO 160, 1/1500 second, f/3.5, 60mm – Fuji S3 Pro

Here’s a photo from the “small” world around us.

I shot this little guy in the Theodore Roosevelt National Park in Medora, ND.

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ISO 160, 1/1500 second, f/3.5, 60mm – Fuji S3 Pro

Photo of the week! We decided to start up a photo of the week to share with our friends on the blog. We shoot a lot of photos that only a limited group of people get to see. We'll try to give you a glimpse at many different styles and projects. We'll start this week with a wedding photograph. Amy and I LOVE to have fun when we shoot weddings. We couldn't have asked for a more fun couple than Alyssa and Josh! Goofing around behind the church :)

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Photo of the week! We decided to start up a photo of the week to share with our friends on the blog. We shoot a lot of photos that only a limited group of people get to see. We'll try to give you a glimpse at many different styles and projects. We'll start this week with a wedding photograph. Amy and I LOVE to have fun when we shoot weddings. We couldn't have asked for a more fun couple than Alyssa and Josh! Goofing around behind the church :)

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Just a big thank you to all the great couples we worked with this year!  You were great. 

Here’s a slideshow of some of our favorite shots.

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Favorites from 2011 Weddings

Looking forward to 2012 couples!   We already weddings booked at Grand Superior Lodge in Two Harbors, MN and Watertown, SD.  One at the Joy Ranch – be fun to work a new venue!

Just a big thank you to all the great couples we worked with this year!  You were great. 

Here’s a slideshow of some of our favorite shots.

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Favorites from 2011 Weddings

Looking forward to 2012 couples!   We already weddings booked at Grand Superior Lodge in Two Harbors, MN and Watertown, SD.  One at the Joy Ranch – be fun to work a new venue!

The model is Heather and she fit the part perfectly!  After searching the internet for costumes, we settled on one that was not too cartoony or “Disney-fied”.

I wanted to work in a dark and sort of creepy forest.  One of my favorite locations – Sica Hollow State Park was ideal.  We had a great day and walked away with a number of excellent images.  I’m going to have a lot of fun continuing to edit these photos, but I thought I’d share a handful immediately.

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The model is Heather and she fit the part perfectly!  After searching the internet for costumes, we settled on one that was not too cartoony or “Disney-fied”.

I wanted to work in a dark and sort of creepy forest.  One of my favorite locations – Sica Hollow State Park was ideal.  We had a great day and walked away with a number of excellent images.  I’m going to have a lot of fun continuing to edit these photos, but I thought I’d share a handful immediately.

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If you’ve read my posts in the past, you know I have an appreciation for “toy camera” photography.  I’ve seriously considered buying a Holga or a Lomo camera in the past, but I couldn’t really justify buying that and purchasing and developing the film. 

However, I found a way to perhaps get the best of both worlds!

I bought a set of Holga lenses for my Nikon digital cameras. Sort of bizarre to be dumbing down these really expensive cameras, but I do love Holga photography. I haven't had more than a minute to play yet, but I shot a quick photo outside the door. Hard to see through the viewfinder as it is so dark, but I'm sure I'll get the hang of it.

I bought the Holga lenses here (the kitchen sink option): http://shop.holgadirect.com/collections/digital-holga-for-nikon-slr

I wasn't sure I much liked this first image, but then I remembered that a lot of Holga photography is cross processed. A couple of quick steps in Lightroom and I like the end result a lot better.

Here they are side by side. The cross processed photo is on the right.

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Hope to share more in the coming weeks!

If you’ve read my posts in the past, you know I have an appreciation for “toy camera” photography.  I’ve seriously considered buying a Holga or a Lomo camera in the past, but I couldn’t really justify buying that and purchasing and developing the film. 

However, I found a way to perhaps get the best of both worlds!

I bought a set of Holga lenses for my Nikon digital cameras. Sort of bizarre to be dumbing down these really expensive cameras, but I do love Holga photography. I haven't had more than a minute to play yet, but I shot a quick photo outside the door. Hard to see through the viewfinder as it is so dark, but I'm sure I'll get the hang of it.

I bought the Holga lenses here (the kitchen sink option): http://shop.holgadirect.com/collections/digital-holga-for-nikon-slr

I wasn't sure I much liked this first image, but then I remembered that a lot of Holga photography is cross processed. A couple of quick steps in Lightroom and I like the end result a lot better.

Here they are side by side. The cross processed photo is on the right.

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Hope to share more in the coming weeks!

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The photo above introduced me to another artist.  A writer attending Utah State University, Alex Baldwin.   Alex wrote in an email:

Tonight I just found your beautiful photo from 2009 of a feather in a bottle and was wondering if I could use it on the Cover page of my project. My project is actually about the author Sherman Alexie but he addresses often the problem of alcoholism on reservations, so your photo would be perfect!

Alex was awarded USU’s Creative Writing Student of the Year and USU’s Overall Outstanding English Student of the Year. This email started a great dialogue with Alex about his work and my photography.  I was more than happy to help out. 

By the way, the photo above that Alex found was really just something I was using to demonstrate how I achieved the photo I was after.  I was on a weekend outing with two wonderful friends.  I was trying to figure out how to capture the texture and color of the feather.  The beer bottle and the twist tie just happened to be convenient!  How very interesting that my “example” made a completely different impression on Alex.  Here is my finished product for comparison:

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I was excited when Alex sent me a short piece so I could share it with you.  I look forward to reading his creative portfolio that he turned in for graduation (where he is using the photograph.)

So, here is an example of Alex’s work.  I hope you enjoy!

What is that Sound High in the Air

A mist, too thick for a waking sun,

slouches against mountains

east of Cache Valley,

and somehow turns January snow

blue: leftover scraps of sky

            draping the view

            beside campus.

Students, dozens, rush

by: cell phones flipped open,

            ears clogged with iPods,

            palms warm to the foam

            touch of cups brim

            with hot chocolate.

Cat Stevens hopes I have a lot

of nice things to wear,

            a sideways smiley-face

            buzzes in my right hand:

            Sapphire’s in for lunch

            at Quadside Café,

OJ from Einstein’s Bagels

sloshes almost empty to my stride.

Ten minutes away from a class

starting in five, I give ten seconds

            of semester to the mist,

            imagine my Faded Glory

            treads climbing air.

Could I summit before losing myself

in absence of up and down?

            Like a bluebird spreading

            a shiver of feathers

            between cloudlessness

            and a lake of glacier run-off.

Alex can be contacted at:  alexbaldwin2@yahoo.com

feather%252520in%252520bottle_thumb%25255B18%25255D

The photo above introduced me to another artist.  A writer attending Utah State University, Alex Baldwin.   Alex wrote in an email:

Tonight I just found your beautiful photo from 2009 of a feather in a bottle and was wondering if I could use it on the Cover page of my project. My project is actually about the author Sherman Alexie but he addresses often the problem of alcoholism on reservations, so your photo would be perfect!

Alex was awarded USU’s Creative Writing Student of the Year and USU’s Overall Outstanding English Student of the Year. This email started a great dialogue with Alex about his work and my photography.  I was more than happy to help out. 

By the way, the photo above that Alex found was really just something I was using to demonstrate how I achieved the photo I was after.  I was on a weekend outing with two wonderful friends.  I was trying to figure out how to capture the texture and color of the feather.  The beer bottle and the twist tie just happened to be convenient!  How very interesting that my “example” made a completely different impression on Alex.  Here is my finished product for comparison:

Feather%252520closeup_thumb%25255B1%25255D

I was excited when Alex sent me a short piece so I could share it with you.  I look forward to reading his creative portfolio that he turned in for graduation (where he is using the photograph.)

So, here is an example of Alex’s work.  I hope you enjoy!

What is that Sound High in the Air

A mist, too thick for a waking sun,

slouches against mountains

east of Cache Valley,

and somehow turns January snow

blue: leftover scraps of sky

            draping the view

            beside campus.

Students, dozens, rush

by: cell phones flipped open,

            ears clogged with iPods,

            palms warm to the foam

            touch of cups brim

            with hot chocolate.

Cat Stevens hopes I have a lot

of nice things to wear,

            a sideways smiley-face

            buzzes in my right hand:

            Sapphire’s in for lunch

            at Quadside Café,

OJ from Einstein’s Bagels

sloshes almost empty to my stride.

Ten minutes away from a class

starting in five, I give ten seconds

            of semester to the mist,

            imagine my Faded Glory

            treads climbing air.

Could I summit before losing myself

in absence of up and down?

            Like a bluebird spreading

            a shiver of feathers

            between cloudlessness

            and a lake of glacier run-off.

Alex can be contacted at:  alexbaldwin2@yahoo.com

My wife and I decided to stay until Sunday and make it a mini-vacation.  On Saturday, we drove up MN Highway 61 to Tettegouche State Park.  If you know me, you know I was out shooting various wildflowers and chasing butterflies as much as photographing the standard attraction there (waterfalls).

After hiking up to the aptly named High Falls, we went in the opposite direction and made our way to the lake shore.  We sat and took in the sun and poked around in the rocks for Lake Superior Agates – Minnesota’s state rock.

My wife pointed out to me some unusual formations on the horizon.  At first I thought perhaps storm clouds, but then a light bulb went off in my head about an atmospheric phenomenon that I had read about, but had never seen.  Of course, it had to wait until I had an internet connection to help me recall the name and the details.  What we were seeing was a mirage from the Apostle Islands approximately 25 miles across Lake Superior.  Below is a map from Google Maps giving you some perspective.  Click here to see in Google Maps if you wish to see larger:

image_thumb[2]

According to the Wikipedia article: A Fata Morgana is an unusual and very complex form of mirage, a form of superior mirage, which, like many other kinds of superior mirages, is seen in a narrow band right above the horizon. It is an Italian phrase derived from the vulgar Latin for "fairy" and the Arthurian sorcerer Morgan le Fay, from a belief that the mirage, often seen in the Strait of Messina, were fairy castles in the air or false land designed to lure sailors to their death created by her witchcraft. Although the term Fata Morgana is sometimes incorrectly applied to other, more common kinds of mirages, the true Fata Morgana is not the same as an ordinary superior mirage, and is certainly not the same as an inferior mirage.

I’d be the first to admit, perhaps these may be an “ordinary” superior mirage, but it was cool to see and I’m glad I finally had some kind of an idea of what it might be like.

NorthShore78_thumb[15]

I hope to post a few more photos from the trip soon and also a special post from a writer that used one of my photos in a recent project. 

My wife and I decided to stay until Sunday and make it a mini-vacation.  On Saturday, we drove up MN Highway 61 to Tettegouche State Park.  If you know me, you know I was out shooting various wildflowers and chasing butterflies as much as photographing the standard attraction there (waterfalls).

After hiking up to the aptly named High Falls, we went in the opposite direction and made our way to the lake shore.  We sat and took in the sun and poked around in the rocks for Lake Superior Agates – Minnesota’s state rock.

My wife pointed out to me some unusual formations on the horizon.  At first I thought perhaps storm clouds, but then a light bulb went off in my head about an atmospheric phenomenon that I had read about, but had never seen.  Of course, it had to wait until I had an internet connection to help me recall the name and the details.  What we were seeing was a mirage from the Apostle Islands approximately 25 miles across Lake Superior.  Below is a map from Google Maps giving you some perspective.  Click here to see in Google Maps if you wish to see larger:

image_thumb%25255B2%25255D

According to the Wikipedia article: A Fata Morgana is an unusual and very complex form of mirage, a form of superior mirage, which, like many other kinds of superior mirages, is seen in a narrow band right above the horizon. It is an Italian phrase derived from the vulgar Latin for "fairy" and the Arthurian sorcerer Morgan le Fay, from a belief that the mirage, often seen in the Strait of Messina, were fairy castles in the air or false land designed to lure sailors to their death created by her witchcraft. Although the term Fata Morgana is sometimes incorrectly applied to other, more common kinds of mirages, the true Fata Morgana is not the same as an ordinary superior mirage, and is certainly not the same as an inferior mirage.

I’d be the first to admit, perhaps these may be an “ordinary” superior mirage, but it was cool to see and I’m glad I finally had some kind of an idea of what it might be like.

NorthShore78_thumb%25255B15%25255D

I hope to post a few more photos from the trip soon and also a special post from a writer that used one of my photos in a recent project. 

Here are a couple of example layouts.  There are several to choose from:

Tych Panel_thumb[1]

A diptych featuring our cat, Pixel.

Tych Panel 2_thumb[2]

A triptych from photos underneath the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.

I thought this was a nice, quick little tool that others might want to be aware of.  Have fun with it!

Here are a couple of example layouts.  There are several to choose from:

Tych%20Panel_thumb%5B1%5D

A diptych featuring our cat, Pixel.

Tych%20Panel%202_thumb%5B2%5D

A triptych from photos underneath the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.

I thought this was a nice, quick little tool that others might want to be aware of.  Have fun with it!

I had the extreme pleasure of doing event photography for the OTA Sessions in Sioux Falls on Friday.  The OTA sessions are described as:

Creativity and originality of thought are critical to our success as a region, but without action and implementation it's all just idle chitchat. OTA challenges us to bring originality and action together. o + a

The OTA Sessions are a chance for all of us Midwesterners to shatter the perception that creativity and thought leadership in business, marketing, communications and education live solely on the east and west coasts.

I was blown away by the speakers:  Sally Hogshead, Ellen McGirt, CC Chapman, Ann Handley, John Winsor, Ricardo Crespo, Rod Arnold, Jeff Slobotsky and Dusty Davidson.

All were very motivating and a pleasure to listen to.   Sally Hogshead had me cracking up (while trying to be steady and focus), John motivated the heck out of me and Ellen and Rod moved me immensely.  I was torn in some ways as I couldn’t be both focused on the presentations and focused with my camera.  I was there to take photographs!

Working with Hugh Weber, the founder of OTA was fantastic.  He’s put together a fantastic event and I really identified with his motivations for creating this event.

The venue for the OTA Sessions was the Orpheum Theater in Sioux Falls.  What a fantastic place!  I was so excited as soon as I got a look at it. 

My plans for PJ Anderson Photography this year called for a new camera so that I had a solid backup for the spring/summer weddings.  I also wanted to get up to the next level of pro cameras.  As great as my workhorse Nikon D300 has been for years, I was more than ready to get up onto the Nikon D700.   With the OTA event being held at the Orpheum, I knew I wanted to get the D700 in my hands immediately - to make sure that I could take advantage of the great high ISO results.  I wanted to be able to walk away with photos that weren’t overly grainy in the dark light of a theater.

The D700 did NOT let me down.  I am very pleased with the quality of the images!  This is going to open up even more opportunities at weddings in darker churches.  Should allow for some wonderful moody lighting situations!

I’m in the middle of editing/finishing four assignments, but while taking a break – I tossed together 7 or 8 photos in Photoshop that I shot “hand held” in the Orpheum to create an interesting panorama. This photograph is in no way to be considered a “finished” product.  If I was going to shoot this in a serious fashion, I would have definitely set this up on a tripod and would have spent some serious time getting the shot down perfectly.  I might have even took some time to try an HDR study. BUT, I do think this shows the power of the camera (and the beauty of the theater.)  So, just for fun, here you go!

Orpheum-Theater-pano-2_thumb[1]

Nikon D700, ISO 2000, f/2.8, 1/60 second – multiple exposures stitched in Photoshop

I had the extreme pleasure of doing event photography for the OTA Sessions in Sioux Falls on Friday.  The OTA sessions are described as:

Creativity and originality of thought are critical to our success as a region, but without action and implementation it's all just idle chitchat. OTA challenges us to bring originality and action together. o + a

The OTA Sessions are a chance for all of us Midwesterners to shatter the perception that creativity and thought leadership in business, marketing, communications and education live solely on the east and west coasts.

I was blown away by the speakers:  Sally Hogshead, Ellen McGirt, CC Chapman, Ann Handley, John Winsor, Ricardo Crespo, Rod Arnold, Jeff Slobotsky and Dusty Davidson.

All were very motivating and a pleasure to listen to.   Sally Hogshead had me cracking up (while trying to be steady and focus), John motivated the heck out of me and Ellen and Rod moved me immensely.  I was torn in some ways as I couldn’t be both focused on the presentations and focused with my camera.  I was there to take photographs!

Working with Hugh Weber, the founder of OTA was fantastic.  He’s put together a fantastic event and I really identified with his motivations for creating this event.

The venue for the OTA Sessions was the Orpheum Theater in Sioux Falls.  What a fantastic place!  I was so excited as soon as I got a look at it. 

My plans for PJ Anderson Photography this year called for a new camera so that I had a solid backup for the spring/summer weddings.  I also wanted to get up to the next level of pro cameras.  As great as my workhorse Nikon D300 has been for years, I was more than ready to get up onto the Nikon D700.   With the OTA event being held at the Orpheum, I knew I wanted to get the D700 in my hands immediately - to make sure that I could take advantage of the great high ISO results.  I wanted to be able to walk away with photos that weren’t overly grainy in the dark light of a theater.

The D700 did NOT let me down.  I am very pleased with the quality of the images!  This is going to open up even more opportunities at weddings in darker churches.  Should allow for some wonderful moody lighting situations!

I’m in the middle of editing/finishing four assignments, but while taking a break – I tossed together 7 or 8 photos in Photoshop that I shot “hand held” in the Orpheum to create an interesting panorama. This photograph is in no way to be considered a “finished” product.  If I was going to shoot this in a serious fashion, I would have definitely set this up on a tripod and would have spent some serious time getting the shot down perfectly.  I might have even took some time to try an HDR study. BUT, I do think this shows the power of the camera (and the beauty of the theater.)  So, just for fun, here you go!

Orpheum-Theater-pano-2_thumb%5B1%5D

Nikon D700, ISO 2000, f/2.8, 1/60 second – multiple exposures stitched in Photoshop

However, the other day I was stuck in my office waiting on an important call that I couldn’t miss and my camera and computer were just sitting here.  The thought popped into my head to give it a shot.

I connected my camera to the laptop with the USB cable and fired up Lightroom.  Once there, it was really a no-brainer to set this up.  I work on a PC, so I opened the File menu and selected “Tethered Capture”.  This opens the following window where I can name the session, set the location where the files to be saved and set my Metadata presets.

image_thumb[4]

After clicking the OK button, a new toolbar opens in lightroom:

image_thumb[2]

I could quickly see the camera attached and the settings currently set on it – ISO, shutter speed, aperture and white balance.

What really interested me was the ability to set the develop settings in Lightroom.  These settings are applied as the file gets transferred to the computer and is then displayed in Lightroom.  Being I was taking self portraits of myself (yikes!), I opted immediately for a black and white preset that I like.

image_thumb[6]

Then, all I did was click the big grey button on the far right of the toolbar to trigger the shutter release.  I had my camera set to autofocus and it did that first and then triggered the shutter.

In just a moment, the photo appeared on my screen.  I’ll spare you the agony of looking at most of these captures – not easy taking a self portrait that I liked!  However, here is one of the end results that my family and friends say best looks like me.

PJ Tethered 2-2_thumb

I really may think more on this – in particular when I am doing some product photography or working with models in a studio environment.  It was worth playing with.