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At the Zoo

 Gallery: At the Zoo On the last weekend of September, we visited the Minnesota Zoo. It was a beautiful afternoon and the gallery linked above has my photos from the day. It also gave me a wonderful opportunity to test out a brand new long zoom lens. I think the results speak very well for the lens. A slide show of selected images are below. Please visit the gallery to see the full set.  I hope you enjoy the photographs.

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Grandma

 Today, May 17, is the tenth anniversary of my grandmother’s death. Today I’m remembering my still missed Grandma. I’m remembering much that seems ordinary, but those are the memories of the root of lives.  I’m also remembering the picnics at Minneopa State Park outside of Mankato, Minnesota during my week summer stay with her and grandpa. I always got to share a family birthday celebration with both Grandma and Grandpa, as we were all March babies born during snowstorms. And there were what we called the Betsy-Tacy tours we’d do in Mankato from time-to-time, where Grandma would point out the real-life places that had inspired the author of those books. (For those…

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In Gadget Heaven

 I’ve got a new toy. I’m visiting Portland, Oregon and I stopped by the local Apple Store.  I walked out with a brand new iPad. It’s an amazing device.  When they were first announced I thought they seemed nifty, but was a little skeptical. But after having got my hands on one, I determined that I wanted one too.  I’m just playing with it, yet.  Some of the games make very good use of the touch screen and orientation interface.  The screen is beautiful.  I decided not to wait another couple of days for the 3G version.  I don’t have immediate need for always having internet access, and many of…

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Space Policy: Good, But No Moon?

 On Tuesday this last week, Ron Howard’s excellent film Apollo 13 was released on Blu-ray disc. It was also the 40th anniversary of the accident on that flight. Watching the movie this week I recalled during the scene of the mission launch the same thing I noted 15 years ago, that the the majestic and spectacular launch of a Saturn V is unlike anything we are currently capable of. We cannot go to the moon. We don’t have heavy lift capability anything like what the Saturn V could do. At the end of the movie is a voiceover where Tom Hanks, in the character of Jim Lovell, wonders when we…

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By San Francisco Bay

 My last set from San Francisco are photographs from along the beautify San Francisco Bay. In this gallery are several views of the the bay shore at the Maritime Park and a few sea birds in photographs I hope you find beautiful and interesting. Gallery: By San Francisco Bay

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San Francisco Architecture and Cityscapes

 At last, I’ve posted the last couple of sets of photographs from my trip to San Francisco in the fall.  This set is of buildings, cityscapes, and architecture in San Francisco, including the much photographed “Painted Ladies,” a row of victorians facing Alamo Square.  You’ll also see the recently restored facade of the Castro Theater, in its grand movie palace glory, and other of the shapes and styles that are fairly typical of San Francisco’s buildings. Gallery: San Francisco Architecture and Cityscapes

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Winter Wonderland

 Much of the east coast of the United States has been targeted by deep snows. While other parts of the Midwest has also had some significant snows of late, where I live a couple of inches here and there have been all we’ve had. I’m feeling a bit left out. But a couple of days before Christmas I drove into the face of an approaching snow storm to be with my family for the holiday. We largely stayed put for the next few days, with 21 inches of snow falling. All that snow blanketed the world in a beautiful white. Gallery: Christmas Snow

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Rain When You Want Rain

 My high school classmate Betsy Johnson-Miller, who teaches in the English department at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University, has published a volume of poetry titled Rain When You Want Rain. First off, congratulations go to Betsy on the publication of her book! It’s always a great achievement. I have a bit of pride in this publication for myself as well, for I too have been published in a quieter way.  Perhaps, in the spirit of the schools at which Betsy teaches, I should remind myself how St. Benedict urged the artisans of the monastery to conduct themselves: cum omni humiltate faciant ipsas artes—with all humility they are…

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Reintroducing the Restenergy Store

 Several month’s ago I announced the creation of an online store featuring my photography. Since then it quietly disappeared and I’ve now rebuilt it with a different vendor and added a greater variety of products than were in it’s earlier incarnation. Please feel free to visit my brand new store at http://www.zazzle.com/restenergy*.  When you visit, you’ll find greeting cards, mugs, a couple of calendars, postage and stationary, and possibly more to come done the line. I’m quite pleased with the quality of the greeting cards I’ve recieved, and I hope you will be too. As always, prints of my photograph are available through my photography galleries at http://photo.restenergy.net.  You’ll always…

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A First Look at M101

 I’ve started the process of imaging a galaxy designated Messier 101 (M101), often called the Pinwheel Galaxy. M101 is in the constellation Ursa Major, perhaps better known as the Big Dipper. Below is an image of this beautiful galaxy from my first data set. Gallery: Astrophotography It lies to the east of Mizar, the second to the last star in the Dipper’s handle, and is nearly the size of the full moon. But don’t bother going out to look for it without a good telescope. The surface brightness is well below what even a pair of 50mm binoculars can see. But seen through the right instrument, this galaxy can be…

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