john and hiroe: November 2006

Today was photo project day for my photography class. Lighting and subject placement were the themes. Below are some of the photos I took, and not all are for the class. I'll try and explain as we go...
The first photo uses natural light from a 90 degree angle. I like how it makes this inside of the coat disappear, making one wonder if there is something inside. Kinda eerie.

Not for the class, just a Minneapolis icon. Recognize it?

In front of the Basillica. This is for the class, and demonstrates natural backlighting.

Not for the class. Just a bold squirrel. He was fine sitting about one meter away from me.

For the class. This was to demonstrate framing of the subject. When I decided to use this position there was a guy in front of the statue, studying it. By the time I got the camera out he had left. Fortunately these two walked by to make it more interesting...

Also for the class. This is to demonstrate filling the frame with the subject, but offsetting the subject using the rule of thirds. Sometimes this makes a photo more interesting.

A photo, not for the class, of ice skating in downtown St. Paul. Just people having fun and falling down.

Not for the class either. Just a mix of color and light. There was a festival at the Excel Center. Most people seemed to be Hmong, and dressed like this girl in bright colors.

Not for the class, but an amazingly delicious dish. This is Hiroe's first try at strudel. It was filled with shrimp and other amazingly delicious things. I saved a piece for lunch tomorrow. :-)

Thanksgiving & more 11/23/06

Today is Thanksgiving. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.
So I realize it's been a while since I've posted. 13 days actually. It's amazing how fast time goes by and how easily we get sucked into other things, then wonder what happened to the last two weeks.
So what have we been up to? We had a great weekend two weeks ago...
Friday night we went to a party at the Varsity theater in Dinkytown. Then we saw a band at the Terminal Bar in North Minneapolis. The keyboardist for the band is a friend of a friend of ours. It was a nice night.
On Saturday night we went to a neighbor's birthday party at his house. There were easily 70 people there. He had a live band in the garage... good music and dancing.
Sunday night we had a pot-luck dinner at our house. 7 people total (including us). Great food and wonderful company.
Then on Monday night we went to a performance at the James J Hill house in St. Paul.
A great weekend. And I didn't get any pictures. Needless to say, Hiroe was a bit disappointed in me. I know, I know. I should have pictures. But I don't. Beg your pardon.
I have been working on some of my photo projects - mostly focused on lighting. Main lights, fill lights, background lights, hair lights, reflectors, and so on. In most all cases practice is required...

Tomorrow I plan to get out and get my photo projects done for two units of the class. Maybe I'll post some of the photos to make up for not taking photos for the blog for two weeks.
Tonight we went to my uncle and aunt's house for Thanksgiving dinner...

Let's see, there was turkey, green bean casserole, stuffing, raspberry jello, salad, gravy, lovely appetizers, great drinks, and of course desserts... apple pie, pumpkin pie, fudge, cookies and bars topped with melted lindts chocolates.
I'm full. And ready for a nap.

Jim is on his way... 11/10/06

This is a quick blog update for Carola. Jim made it to the airport safetly. He should be there in about 15 hours.

For everyone else: If you're wondering what this is about, Jim, my brother, the one who initiated the lobster dinner, also the one whose wife and daughter are visiting relatives in Chile, is on his way to Chile now to see them. We're kind of jealous.

Sunday river walk 11/05/06

Went for a walk down by the river this afternoon. The river for me always holds so much mystery and opportunity.

There is a guy who drove his river boat from St. Petersburg Florida up the Mississippi to St. Paul just to see the radio show A Prairie Home Companion. I really admire someone who sets out on adventures like that. On the way he passed two guys who were taking a canoe from the Mississippi headwaters in northern Minnesota all the way to New Orleans. Amazing.

Saturday night lobster 11/04/06

On Friday night we received a call from my brother. He was bored and sitting alone at home while his wife Carola and daughter Sofia visit the family in Chile. He will be joining them later this week, but for now he wanted to get out of the house. A little lonely? I can't blame him... I remember the days that Hiroe was away in England and I really didn't feel like hanging out alone at our place. That's when I'd head over to Jim and Carola's for dinner.
Anyway, Jim wanted to cook lobster on Saturday night. As I've never done that before, and since it sounded like an adventure, we agreed.
On Saturday night we headed over to Coastal Seafood in St. Paul. They had a tank of live lobsters that were all about 1-1/2 pounds. We brought three of them home and then all looked at each other trying to decide what to do next.

That's when Jim decided to ask for some help from everyone's old friend, Google. There he found a recommendation to steam them rather than boil them. A little water and salt at the bottom of the steamer, and we were ready to add the main ingredient.