Twin City Photos

Out on photo shoots, Mitch has reminded me several times that shooting into the sun isn’t necessarily the best thing to do. A bad habit of mine. The camera simply can’t make the adjustments our minds make when looking from dark areas to light areas. For example my eyes saw plenty of detail in the shady areas of the trees across the lake, while at the same time seeing the details in the sky. With the camera you have to sacrifice one or the other, in this case the shade in the trees. Sometimes though it does work out. No one probably cares about what’s going on in the distance.

This shot is from Lake Calhoun. It was very windy that day, and these sailboarders were zipping back and forth at amazingly high speeds.

For other skywatch photos go here

I don’t think this variation of Cirrus clouds is to common. They normally are fairly well lined up in the same direction. These seemed to originate from a central band and then extend laterally in both directions, depending on their elevation. Since they’re shaped by the winds makes you wonder just what kind of wind pattern would do that.

For other skywatch photos go here

View of downtown St. Paul riverfront from Raspberry Island after sunset. Is this where Prince got his inspiration for Raspberry Beret?

For other skywatch photos go here

Most probably know the story of Icarus, who according to Greek Mythology attempted to flee the island of Crete by fabricating a set of wings and strapping them to his arms. His flight went ok until he got to close to the sun, at which point the feathers, which where attached to the wings using wax, began to fall out once the wax got too warm and softened.

Spring has finally arrived in Minnesota. Lawns are greening, trees are budding, birds are flirting. You can see it in the sky too. Clouds are beginning to look like they have some real moisture waiting to come down as rain, the air feels a bit humid, and unfortunately allergies are acting up for some.

Temps are going to be in the 80s today, and we’re supposed to get some thunderstorms this weekend. First of the season. I’m looking forward to it, though now I probably won’t be able to undertake another major vehicle maintenance challenge. After last weekend’s success (saving myself $500 now confirmed after getting a quote), I’m ready for another automobile repair challenge, like tackling that little leak in my truck’s transmission cooling line that apparently costs $100s to fix because ‘you have to remove many unrelated parts to get at it’. I have some ideas.