Archive for the ‘Photography’ Category
Sun showers and forest baths
I was planning a return to Como Lake last weekend to see how our young eagle was coming along. But then I got distracted by the sunrise. As I passed the Gibbs Farm Museum I couldn’t help wondering how many spectacular sunrises Jane DeBow Gibbs had watched from this same spot some 170 years ago. […]
Filed under: Minnesota, Photography, Psychology | 130 Comments
Tags: forest bath, Gibbs Farm, Minnesota, owlet, owls, red-wing blackbird
Take a walk on the wild side
I had a wild weekend. Not in the “Dad, can you please post my bail?” kind — more in the John Muir sense: Come to the woods, for here is rest. There is no repose like that of the green deep woods. Here grow the wallflower and the violet … On Friday evening I strolled […]
Filed under: Minnesota, Photography | 116 Comments
Tags: Como Lake, Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden, Minnesota spring, Minnesota wildlife, St Paul spring
Spring must be close
It’s been only two weeks since the record-setting late-season hyphenated-expletive snowstorm, but it already feels like a lifetime ago. Our plow guy’s son pretty much summed it up. Last weekend brought temperatures in the 60s (15.5 Celsius) and a thaw so rapid you could literally hear the ground sucking in the snowmelt. I was giddy […]
Filed under: Minnesota, Photography | 52 Comments
Tags: Flower photography, macro photography, Minnesota spring, Minnesota winter
“What makes Paris so special?” I get this question a lot. There’s food, art, centuries of history … and I love the Parisians’ flair for sophisticated simplicity. But what draws me back again and again is that there’s always something new to discover — if you have an attentive eye. To me, Paris is a […]
Filed under: Paris, Photography, Travel | 74 Comments
Tags: Compostela, heurtoir de porte ancien, heurtoirs de Paris, Paris door knockers, Paris photography, St. Jacques de Compostelle
Notes from a week in Paris
Esteban and I have done so much and seen so many friends over the past week that we’ve started comparing notes to make sure we’re keeping our days straight. There are so many stories to tell — beginning perhaps with today’s superb lunch in Paris’ oldest house. But if I stop now to look for […]
Filed under: Friends and family, Paris, Photography, Travel | 70 Comments
Tags: Paris, Paris France, Paris photography, Paris vacation
Paris snow: a dream come true
I’ve always wanted to see Paris under a blanket of snow, but have always missed it — sometimes by a matter of hours. So imagine my delight when the blue skies that greeted me and Esteban a few days ago turned a heavy lead gray. At first the flakes were big and deceptively fluffy (because […]
Filed under: Paris, Photography, Travel | 91 Comments
Tags: Galeries Lafayette, Inondation, Paris neige, Paris Schnee, Paris snow, printemps, Seine
Random travel-photo round-up
I realized today I’ve been posting lots of rambling narratives about Minnesota, so here’s a change of pace: Just photos, selected at random from my travels over the past five years. Stay tuned for more news from the road, coming soon …
Filed under: Photography, Travel | 83 Comments
Snapshots from the Big Thaw
The past week has brought a palpable shift toward spring to Minnesota. Yes, it’s still snowing. But instead of plunging below zero after each snowstorm — as is typical between late December and February — now we’re inching above freezing during the day. This has enticed me to spend a lot more time outside. Last […]
Filed under: Minnesota, Photography | 98 Comments
Tags: Minnesota winter, snow
My watchword for 2018
Rather than make grand resolutions for 2017, instead I chose a single small word to guide me through the new year: focus. I’d been trying to do too much, I decided. I would be happier and more fulfilled if I did less, and with greater attention. Then a bunch of unexpected things happened — my […]
Filed under: Photography, Psychology | 78 Comments
Tags: happy new year, heart attack, move, supermoon, turkeys
Running away to Arles
I’ve always believed it’s my duty as a citizen to be engaged and informed. But lately I find myself reacting to the news in ways I never used to. It’s a reflexive and visceral response — even when events don’t directly affect me. My instinct is to discuss these events, because they’re important. But then […]
Filed under: Photography, Travel | 93 Comments
Tags: Alyscamps, Arles, Arles Amphitheater, Arles photos, Arles travel, Cryptporiques, Roman cemetery, Roman ruins
An Arles appetizer
As an amateur photographer I have lots of bad habits, but by far the worst is not looking at my photos after I take them. Over time, the weight of all those photos becomes oppressive, as it can take hours to sort through my mostly crappy snapshots to pick out a handful of favorites. Eventually […]
Filed under: Photography, Psychology, Travel | 114 Comments
Tags: Arles, creative process, creativity, Photography, Travel
Saturday shopping in Arles
The sky at home is (yet again) drippy and dark, so I’m turning to my archives for some sunshine. Esteban and I spent a few days in Arles last year. Because we’re both history buffs, we were keen to see the Roman ruins and the well-preserved medieval city. But mostly we came for the Provençal […]
Filed under: Photography, Travel | 67 Comments
Tags: Arles, French market, Provence
Paris connections, revealed
From its doorknobs to its house numbers, Paris is rich in architectural details. But it was the city’s iconic pavers that led me on my most recent historical adventure. In some streets the pavers are still arranged in beautiful fan-like patterns. The rue de l’Abreuvoir offers a nice view of the Sacré Coeur in Montmartre, […]
Filed under: History, Paris, Photography, Travel | 90 Comments
Tags: Conciergerie, Dr. Guillotin, French Revolution, Marie Antoinette, Paris, Paris pavers, Paris photography, Paris riots, Pavé de Paris
Paris connections, part 5
The Cour du Commerce Saint-André in Paris’ sixth arrondissement is little more than a cobbled alley. Open only to pedestrians, it connects the tony and traffic-choked Boulevard Saint-Germain with the bustling little rue de Buci. But when you step onto its uneven paving stones, you’re stepping onto a spot where centuries of history converge. (Full […]
Filed under: History, Paris, Photography | 23 Comments
Tags: Boulevard Saint-Germain, Cour du Commerce Saint-André, Paris, rue de Buci
Paris connections, part 4
This is my fourth post in series about the unexpected historical connections that abound in Paris. See the past three days’ posts for other clues — or tune in on Sunday for the full story. The Place de la Concorde is not only Paris’ largest public square, but arguably its most historic. Its name changes […]
Filed under: Paris, Photography, Travel | 51 Comments
Tags: Paris, Paris France, Place de la Concorde
Paris connections, part 3
Although I missed the supermoon in Paris, seeing the moon set behind the Conciergerie was a lovely consolation. How many men and women have gazed at la lune from their prison cells over the centuries? This is my third post about the unexpected ties that bind Paris’ historical sites. See the past two days’ posts […]
Filed under: Paris, Photography | 26 Comments
Tags: Paris, Paris Conciergerie, Paris supermoon
Paris connections, part 2
One of my favorite things about Paris is that everything is somehow connected. Here’s the second clue. What does it have to do with yesterday’s photo? I will reveal all on Sunday. Paris’ pavers come in a variety of sizes. You’ll find large ones like these mostly along the quays that line the Seine river.
Filed under: Paris, Photography, Travel | 40 Comments
Tags: Paris, Paris lamp, Paris paving stones, Paris photography
Paris connections, part 1
One of my favorite things about Paris is that everything is somehow connected. Over the next week I’ll show you seven photos that at first glance may seem unrelated — and next Sunday I’ll reveal what they share in common. The Place du Trocadéro offers a great view of the Eiffel Tower, but it had […]
Filed under: History, Paris, Photography | 31 Comments
Tags: Eiffel Tower, Paris photography, Place du Trocadéro
Check out them knockers!
Street photography is my Parisian passion. But when I’m traveling with other people, it’s unreasonable to ask them to wait a half hour until the right person walks into the frame. That’s why on this last trip I concentrated instead on small architectural details I could snap on the run, almost without missing a stride. […]
Filed under: Paris, Photography, Travel | 69 Comments
Tags: Paris doorknockers, Paris doors, Paris poster
Paris’ street-sweeping heroes
Photography often makes me adopt some strange positions. Such was the case when I slithered on my belly along Paris’ Seine river to frame this shot. So engrossed was I in my task that I barely registered the sound of the street-sweeping vehicle approaching from behind, nor did I notice it stopping. “Is everything alright, […]
Filed under: Paris, Photography, Travel | 75 Comments
Tags: Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris, Paris photography, street sweepers
