Nightshade Of Bridge Blue, BlackBerry Shots, I-35 Bridge, Minneapolis, Minnesota, November 2009, photo © 2009 by QuoinMonkey. All rights reserved.
loss runs river deep
vertebrae span the dark sky
nightshade of bridge blue
crossing when we get to it
for time will not let us choose
Berth Of The Nightowl II, Spine Of I-35 Bridge At Night, The Weight (Vertebrae), BlackBerry Shots, Minneapolis, Minnesota, November 2009, photo © 2009 by QuoinMonkey. All rights reserved.
-Related to posts: WRITING TOPIC – 3 QUESTIONS. PRACTICE: Have You Ever Come Close To Death? — 15min (by ybonesy), PRACTICE: Have You Ever Come Close To Death? — 15min (by Bob Chrisman), PRACTICE — Have You Ever Come Close To Death? — 15 min (by QuoinMonkey), Berth Of The Nightowl haiku, Memorial — Day & Night, haiku 2 (one-a-day), 40 Days, 8 Flags, & 1 Mennonite Choir
These photos are gorgeous, QM. And (after everyone heard about the 35W Bridge collaspe a few years ago) it’s wonderful to show everyone our replacement bridge.
I hope someday you’ll be able to see the blue bridge Robert Bly wrote about in southwestern Minnesota. You drive for miles on the prairie, and then…suddenly…a beautiful old blue bridge over the Lac Qui Parle River.
“….Nearly to Milan, suddenly a small bridge,
And water kneeling in the moonlight.
In small towns the houses are built right on the ground;
The lamplight falls on all fours on the grass.
When I reach the river, the full moon covers it.
A few people are talking, low, in a boat.” R.B.
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These are gorgeous pictures. As I was looking at the pictures it snowed across one and I thought, I bet that’s how the bridge looks tonight with snow falling.
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N.I.C.E. Looks especially cool with the snow effects falling.
QM, I know there’s an Photoshop AP for iphone. There’s probably something inexpensive for a Blackberry too. I have a friend that’s creating a site with just iphone shots and uses photoshop to trick them out just for fun. You might enjoy tinkering.
I saw the temps coming from your way…makes me want to wear socks…almost…Brrrrr
Stay warm my girl. Liz too. Wrap those cats around you both. They make excellent warming devices if you can stop them from kneeding holes in your sweaters…and convince them it’s their idea. 😉
😉
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Teri, thanks. Beautiful Robert Bly lines. I love bridges. Mostly because they usually signify some kind of water, specifically rivers. And I love rivers. The underbelly of the I-35 bridge is mesmerizing. When I fly over the bridge during the day, I hardly notice I am on it. But that eerie blue at night — you can’t miss it. Plus I’m fond of my motorcycle route on West River Road that goes right under the I-35 Bridge.
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Bob, how much snow did you all get down in Kansas City? I saw Iowa got socked in with a blizzard. It’s freezing this morning, 11 degrees with -8 windchill in my neck of the Twin Cities with about 7 or 8 inches of snow on the ground out where I am. I love storms like this. But I have to drive truck today and it’s going to be interesting! Got the sandbags over the axle last night.
This bridge would look beautiful at night with the snow in the eerie blue light. Time for another nightowl excursion!
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Heather, thanks, we are staying warm so far. But I have to go out and shovel here in a bit before I can get to work. Both cats slept with us last night. In fact, I woke up and Mr. Stripeypants had fallen down in the down comforter between us. Could hardly see him! I was saying to Liz yesterday that Kiev and Pants have changed their sleep patterns since Chaco died. Kiev used to sleep at the end of the bed and Chaco would curl up with her. Then later in the evening, Chaco would go to the back of the couch and keep guard. He was a Nightowl.
Pants has been sleeping at the end of the bed more. Or between us. He used to romp around with Chaco at night and sleep on the couch. Pants and Kiev are even getting along a little better than before. They can sleep near each other without Kiev hissing at Mr. Pants!
Heather, I haven’t messed around with Photoshop. But I’ve sure seen a lot of people on Flickr who use it. Some quite effectively to create their own style of photograph. I think it’s hard to use it in a way that doesn’t seem forced or enhances the photo rather than poofs it up into something it never was or never can be. Actually, Liz loaded a version of Photoshop on my laptop that she got for free when she ordered something else. I haven’t had a chance to use it yet.
I’m kind of a purist when it comes to photography, an old school value. I like to challenge myself to see what I can shoot without any alterations. That’s part of my practice. But I do want to learn Photoshop and see what it can do. I may want to come up with another whole series based on what I learn there. I’ll have to see how I like it.
With the BlackBerry phone shots, I’m just amazed at the photos I can get using a phone camera. They don’t all come out great. But I’ve managed to get quite a few decent shots. And I love the immediacy of it. I can shoot and get it up right away if I want to. It’s great on the fly. I don’t know if I’d tinker on my phone with that tiny screen but it sure sounds fun to do on the laptop! I’ll keep you posted! Do you use Photoshop, Heather? What’s your experience been with it.
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QM, we received about 3 inches of snow. Today the wind whips down the street and keeps the wind chimes on the porch ringing. The temperature is 11 degrees and I have no idea what the windchill with these winds. I have a lunch date at 1 p.m. so I will be going outside to meet my friends. Lunch is at the art gallery and I will bundle up and walk over there.
I loved the blue lights on the bridges. They have started doing the same thing with the bridges here across the Missouri River. A new glorious bridge is rising out of the river to replace the old Paseo Bridge. I bet it has lights too.
Stay warm. I don’t envy your driving in this stuff whether it’s one inch or a foot.
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The blue lights on the bridge are lovely. They add so much. I’m glad to see the finished bridge.
I’m thinking of you today driving the day after a snowstorm. Per my note to you this morning, Albuquerque would have shut down. We had a two-hour delay yesterday and only got a light dusting of snow (although more near the mountains). And a few schools even closed for the entire day. 8)
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QM,
I use all Adobe products, Photoshop (for photography), In-design (for layout) and Illustrator (for drawing) because they are compatible to each other when I design things for print. They also have a product called Lightroom (specifically for Photographers). I use it to both keep images cataloged and stored but it can do allot of the same color work (that Photoshop can) but also it makes great slide presentations, contact sheets for clients in an amazing array, etc. Most of National Geographic is using it now so that they cannot manipulate say…The Pope in a red cape, under a perfect blue sky, out in a nice green meadow… with big yellow flowers…and then win massive awards over a fake! It’s a great tool for spotting dirt (which I’m fanatical about) or enhancing saturation for the web (you can lose 5% or more).
Remember, even A. Adams was a purist but he was also one hell of a burner and dodger and created (what we now see today) in the darkroom. As long as you’re using it in a way that truly enhances (without faking), I think it’s a good thing.
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anuvuestudio
Thanks for the comments about what products you use with your photographs. You and QM sound much farther along than I am at photography. I’ve seen how much I can alter photographs with Photoshop and enjoyed playing with it, but felt it was dishonest in a way. You made a great point in your last paragraph about enhancing versus faking. I’ll keep that in mind.
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I took a Photoshop class and loved it. It’s great for all sorts of digital works, not just photos. I’ve since forgotten most everything I learned in the class, but I enjoy seeing the works of artists who make photo collages with photos and other images. That’s probably my favorite thing to see.
I hope to retake some classes and then use it so I don’t forget it.
Bob, your photos of Taos were great. I was impressed. Have you taken classes or are you self-taught?
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yb, took a class on digital photography with a camera that some friends gave me. It included work with Photoshop and a student show. Most of what I have learned is from the experience of talking photos and seeing what works and what doesn’t. I may take a class, Intentional Photography, next year…an 8-week class. I thought most photos were intentional.
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Heather, thanks for all the great photo tips. I’m sure I’ll fall in love with it when I start using it. Maybe this year.
Bob, it’s -3 this morning where I live with -19 windchill. Yesterday I had 8 stops and was out driving from 9am to 4:30pm, then had to check stuff in. The roads were insane and lots of black ice on the way home. This morning, the dentist. We’ll see how the drive is!
ybonesy, I do think some schools were closed yesterday but that’s mostly from the cold temps. Some delayed openings this morning. Otherwise, when it gets cold here, it’s business as usual!
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Yesterday was lunch with friends at the gallery and home again. The wind was the tough part, but I walked with my back to it most of the time. Today was as cold and was the writing group’s party on the Plaza. I walked down there and took the bus home. Still cold, still windy although the wind has died down considerably. Tomorrow the temperature will rise above freezing and then into the 40’s on Saturday. More snow next Wednesday. Unusual weather for this early in December.
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Bob, hope it’s warmed up a little in Kansas City by now. It’s still -1 here in Minneapolis. But it’s supposed to be 20 degrees tomorrow. Hard to imagine that jump!
Heather, I came back to this post to say I might be eating my words about Photoshop. I started working on an avatar for Facebook today and Liz showed me a little about the Photoshop she uploaded on my laptop. I got lost in playing around with it! It’s really pretty fun.
I don’t think I’ll use it for my BlackBerry 365 practice this year because I want the photos in that series to be as I shot them. But I sure can see messing around with it in the future for some other projects. And doing clean up on digital shots like in an old-style darkroom. I’ll keep you posted!
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