Photography

No Dice

Farkle
 365.22

I was hoping to photograph something sunny or yellow today, but no dice. Winter is finally here. Tonight, my friends and I celebrated the Chinese New Year with Thai food and Farkle. Thai because the Chinese restaurants we like are closed for the holiday, and who doesn’t love a good curry? (Not what I ate, but it sounded poetic.) You might think that Chinese checkers would be a more authentic game to play, but you’d be wrong. That game was created in Germany.

No sun today, but I’ve got sunflowers. I chatted with my Alaskan friend tonight, and I’d taken this photo during my visit last summer at Fairbanks’ Pioneer Park (formerly known as Alaskaland). Right now, -25 degrees is warm there. However bad the Midwest winter is, I know not to play the winter weather game with my friend Casey; after all, she always wins.

Sunflower - Alaska
    365.22b

January 23rd, 2012|Nature, Photography|Comments Off on No Dice
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History Matters

Minnesota History Center
   365.21

This afternoon, I went to the Minnesota History Center. Nestled between the Capitol, Xcel Energy Center and the Cathedral of Saint Paul, it’s bizarre that I’d never been here before. You see, I’m completely fascinated by history. How others lived before us. How we came to be. How I came to be.

So I was unexpectedly elated to see traffic congestion (seriously) of people swarming to soak up some history. Today I also became a card-carrying member of the Minnesota Historical Society–definitely a deal. My photo shows the ceiling of the Great Hall, with its eight-pointed star. The points on each star form the letter “M” for Minnesota, also known as the North Star State.

Transporting through time, I learned from the exhibit “1968” about a year of comedy and tragedy, achievements and violence, love and hate, and the hope for a better tomorrow. I became versed in Minnesota’s Greatest Generation, of the Depression, WWII and the post-war boom. I watched a recreation of a WWII combat flight in a C-47 plane. I heard the tale of a soldier who survived Vietnam. So much history, so many stories. Even more intriguing though was overhearing real interpretations of history by the visitors around me. And if you listen carefully, the museum experience becomes that much richer.

I learned how Minnesota’s landscapes, people and communities have changed over time in “Home Place Minnesota.” I stepped into an “Open House,” the recreated home of 470 Hopkins Street from the the Railroad Island neighborhood on St. Paul’s East Side. I read stories of the families who lived there, from the first German immigrants through the Italians, African-Americans, and Hmong who succeeded them.

It all reminded me that people change and places change. But, the memories we hold dear to us shape the stories of our lives and become our history and influence our future.

January 21st, 2012|Photography, St. Paul|2 Comments
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Fireside Chats

Fireside Chat
  365.19 

If you’re lucky at my office, your status meeting might turn into a fireside chat in the Great Hall. And some random trivia: the term fireside chat was coined on the date I celebrate my birthday. Except not the 1933 part.

January 19th, 2012|General, Photography|Comments Off on Fireside Chats
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Pink Elephants on Parade

Orchestra Hall
  365.17

Whimsical blue tubes erupt around the exterior of Orchestra Hall in downtown Minneapolis. These playful, architectural adornments look a lot like sousaphones. And in my imagination, I half expect to hear them making music from one of my favorite childhood movies with the song Pink Elephants on Parade.

January 17th, 2012|Minneapolis, Music, Photography|Comments Off on Pink Elephants on Parade
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Papaya

Papaya
Papaya 2
 365.14 

Stepping under the canopy of palm fronds, I quickly traded the crisp cold for humid air and growing things. The $2 suggested donation was a fair exchange for a 20 minute escape within the Como Park Conservatory in St. Paul. (If you’re in Chicago, another one worth visiting is the Garfield Park Conservatory.)

I noted the textures and colors of mid-morning light, as leaves swept past my arms and palm branches brushed my hair. I weaved around the source of things found in my spice rack like black pepper vines, cinnamon bark and allspice, as well as banana plants and barren fig trees. Then, I caught the spidery-looking stems and nine-lobed leaves of a papaya tree, and that’s how today’s photos came to be.

January 16th, 2012|Nature, Photography|Comments Off on Papaya
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Lights On

Lamps
 365.11

When you’re first learning something new, it’s a mix of adrenaline, excitement and uncertainty. A bit like being in the dark. But little by little, lesson by lesson, light pierces through the darkness. Things start to make sense.

Language is one of those things. Tonight, I volunteered at a Jesuit high school helping a senior student and her dad fill out the FAFSA for college financial aid…in Spanish. You see, when I introduce myself to Spanish speakers, I’m often met with polite skepticism as “un gringo de la granja” (foreigner from the farm). But, then I keep talking. And the skepticism fades to surprise and a smile as I conjugate the crap out of -ar, -er and -ir verbs at a respectable rate. I make no pretenses of having perfect Spanish. Far from it. I have fun with it and make jokes at my own expense, while being coached by native speakers. I expect that I will forever be learning linguistic nuances.

I have an insatiable curiosity to be clued in to Latin culture, and I have no idea where this comes from. Over the past 17 years, lesson by lesson, the Spanish language has ignited in my brain, piercing pockets of light through the darkness and creating an ear attuned to the sounds of el español. Here tonight I reflect on the lights: the lights on learning.

January 11th, 2012|Photography|Comments Off on Lights On
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Pin it to Win it

Pin it to Win it
 365.10

One of the things I find most fascinating in my digital job is to watch the Diffusion of Innovations theory in action. Particularly when there’s an initial barrier to participation, whether it be beta testing, cost, exclusivity (invite only) or other reasons, which then make that flashy object more intriguing and desirable. When a new social media concept emerges, there’s a sense of discovery and excitement as well as curiosity. Then, it reaches a tipping point when the phase of early adopters transitions to early majority and soon you and all your friends are signing up for something new. Because who wants to be left out of the party? Right?

Such is my experience with Pinterest, an online pin board where you can organize and share the things you love. You pin. Your friends pin. And your homepage is filled with curios that your friends, both real and Internet-introduced, have tagged. In a way, Pinterest reminds me of antique shopping…you never know what you might find on each visit.

Once you’ve got the concept, Pinterest is super simple. But is the idea “sticky?” What’s the motivation to return? Lots of great ideas are pinned on the site, but do people actually do something with them or just admire them? Or is it really about the intent to someday try them? Last week, I felt good about pinning the recipe for the decadent Caramel deLights/Samoas cookies. In reality, it sounds way easier to wait for the Girls Scouts to deliver a $5 box to my front door. By all means though if you’re bored, check out my boards. And call me when you bake some Samoas.

I’m game to keep exploring Pinterest, but I can’t waste any time. Gotta Pin it to Win it!

January 10th, 2012|Photography|Comments Off on Pin it to Win it
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Green Gables

Basilica of St. Mary
 365.08

Today I was thinking about Epiphany Sunday during my photo walk. (Side note: Traditionally in Christianity, the Epiphany falls on the 6th of January, though it’s celebrated in my church the first Sunday following January 1.) I wanted to shoot something green, but finding that unlikely, I headed to the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis.

I circled the basilica hoping to frame a unique photo, but the sky was a boring winter blue. And, then I found it. A green shingled roof on the property. Bingo.

As I thought about my newly taken photo during Mass tonight, I recalled a new translation of the Catholic Mass which reads: “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.”

While probably not a theologically correct correlation, I wondered to myself, “Who else would I invite under my roof?” and metaphorically speaking, doesn’t all humanity live under the same roof with intertwining lives? The priest shared a message of caring for one another because we’re all in this world together.

I thought about how each of our ideas, words, emotions and actions has a rippling effect on others, in ways that are visible and invisible. I thought about the gifts of the Magi on this Epiphany Sunday—the gold, frankincense and myrrh—and how each person has their own unique gifts to share. Have you recognized your gifts? And, do you let them ripple with family, with friends, with colleagues, even strangers?

Twelve hours later, a seemingly simple, green gabled photo means more. It’s a symbolic invitation for me (and perhaps others) to share your roof, your heart, your gifts and your best self.

January 8th, 2012|Minneapolis, Photography|Comments Off on Green Gables
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Power Play

MN vs. Notre Dame Hall of Fame hockey game
  365.07 

My college friend Brian and I went to the Minnesota vs. Notre Dame men’s hockey game. I was excited but a bit conflicted, since it was the first time I’ve seen both my alma maters play competitively. We had great seats behind the goal with the Notre Dame alumni club, so I dutifully donned my Irish gear complete with class ring, but also proudly wore my maroon Minnesota shirt. And, I cheered for everyone and jeered for no one.

Today’s photo was literally milliseconds before Minnesota made a power play goal to tie the score at 1-1 .

What though the odds be great or small,
it wasn’t a Ski-U-Mah, but Old Notre Dame,
who won overall (4-3).

January 7th, 2012|Photography|Comments Off on Power Play
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Spontaneous Challenge

Clock at University of St. Thomas - Minneapolis campus
  365.06

Of all my many middle school activities, I was only on one team. A team for geeks. (It’s true.) I feel safe in sharing this, thanks to the Geek Squad for bringing back the geeks and making them cool. The kind of team that does Thinking Cap Quiz Bowl, Knowledge Master Quiz Bowl and the sort. The kind of crew that’s complimented more for nice neurons than great guns.

This 1994 spring team was for Odyssey of the Mind (OM), a long-term creative problem solving competition. We chose a literary challenge to write and perform a 10-minute play with specific criteria. The six of us were singing mice (with mice accents, obviously) in an opera in Sydney, set of course at the Sydney Opera House. The plot was one of crime and intrigue and sung soliloquies, which I’ve since forgotten probably for good reason. Ironically, our grand finale was inspired by a common sports expression that “the opera ain’t over till the fat lady sings.” Which, of course, was how the tale of opera singing mice in Sydney ended. Naturally.

The second part of the competition was known as “Spontaneous.” Teams would meet in front of a panel of judges in a closed room and be given an on-the-spot spontaneous problem to solve. You’d get a word or phrase, image or concept, and your team would answer Family Feud-style to see how clever you could collectively be. The more original = the more points. And you so want points. When time was up, you’d solemnly swear not to spontaneously share the challenge or be disqualified. (No joke…OM is serious business.)

In the spirit of a Spontaneous challenge, look again at the photo above. What do you see? (When you decide to take a timeout, my answers are below, but please, no judging.)

  • Clock  [Tip: go for the easy points first!]
  • A face
  • A sprocket
  • Measure of time
  • One moment in time
  • Frozen hands
  • A sign of the times
  • 12 signs of the zodiac
  • A full circle protractor
  • A Twister board with a gold spinner
  • A 12-person in ground, public seating area
  • 525,600 minutes
  • A 4-H camp song (From minute to minute, 4-H is really with it. From hour to hour, 4-H has got the power.)
  • Tik Tok by Ke$ha (though I rarely wake up in the mornin’ feelin’ like P. Diddy)
January 6th, 2012|Photography|4 Comments
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