March 21, 2013 - Catholic Church of St. John

This is the Historic Catholic Church of St. John in Little Canada, Minnesota.  It is a 3-shot HDR photo.

Camera Settings

HDR	Yes *	Shutter	1/500	Filter(s)	UV	Metering	Matrix
Focal Length Digital/35mm	30 / 45 mm	Aperture	f/10	White Balance	Auto	Flash	No
Camera Mode	Aperture Priority	ISO	100	Exposure Comp.	0	Stabilization	Tripod;VC off

* - 3 exposures -2,0,+2 EV

March 20, 2013 - Christ the Servant Lutheran Church

Today's photo is of Christ the Servant Lutheran Church in Vadnais Heights, MN, taken on a very cold, but sunny, first day of spring!

Camera Settings

HDR	Yes *	Shutter	1/320	Filter(s)	UV	Metering	Matrix
Focal Length Digital/35mm	32 / 48 mm	Aperture	f/11	White Balance	Auto	Flash	No
Camera Mode	Aperture Priority	ISO	100	Exposure Comp.	0	Stabilization	Tripod;VC off

* - 3 exposures -2,0,+2 EV

March 19, 2013 - West River Parkway

As the sign indicates, this is West River Parkway in Minneapolis, MN.  It runs along the Mississippi River through town.  This shot was taken near the Ford Parkway Bridge and Lock & Dam Number 1.  I had been playing with my polarizer filter prior to taking this shot, but this was taken without the polarizer and I still got a nice blue sky.

Camera Settings

HDR	No	Shutter	1/200	Filter(s)	UV	Metering	Matrix
Focal Length Digital/35mm	21/31mm	Aperture	f/18	White Balance	Auto	Flash	No
Camera Mode	Aperture Priority	ISO	200	Exposure Comp.	0	Stabilization	Handheld; VC on

March 18, 2013 - Swirling Snow

I was sitting in my office this afternoon thinking about what today's shot should be and I noticed the freshly fallen snow swirling around in the wind.  I started to wonder if I could catch a shot of one of the swirls and so went out and took numerous shots in the cold.  This is the closest I got to actually catching a swirl!

Camera Settings

HDR	No	Shutter	1/400	Filter(s)	UV	Metering	Matrix
Focal Length Digital/35mm	60/90mm	Aperture	f/7.1	White Balance	Auto	Flash	No
Camera Mode	Aperture Priority	ISO	200	Exposure Comp.	+.3	Stabilization	Handheld; VC on

March 17, 2013 - Methodist Cemetery

Driving around looking for my shot today I came across this cemetery in Circle Pines, MN.  A sign on the fence said it belonged to Gethsemane United Methodist Church, but on the map it appears simply as Rice Lake Cemetery.

I set the exposure compensation to +.3 to ensure that I had white snow.  I was worried that the letters on the sign may be difficult to see with the trees in the background, but they seem to show up OK.

Camera Settings

HDR	No	Shutter	1/320	Filter(s)	UV	Metering	Matrix
Focal Length Digital/35mm	70/105mm	Aperture	f/9	White Balance	Auto	Flash	No
Camera Mode	Aperture Priority	ISO	100	Exposure Comp.	+.3	Stabilization	Handheld; VC on

March 16, 2013 - Washington County Courthouse

This is the Historic Washington County Courthouse in Stillwater, Minnesota.  This was a difficult picture for which to determine the exposure, since the sun was shining behind the building and to the right.  In addition there is white snow and clouds.  I appears as though I selected the right exposure for the building and the snow, but I had to accept that the clouds are over exposed.

Camera Settings

HDR	No	Shutter	1/400	Filter(s)	UV	Metering	Matrix
Focal Length Digital/35mm	38/57mm	Aperture	f/8	White Balance	Auto	Flash	No
Camera Mode	Aperture Priority	ISO	100	Exposure Comp.	0	Stabilization	Tripod;VC off

March 15, 2013 - Going Bananas

I got lazy today:  stayed in and shot what I could find around the house!  I shot these bananas at a very high ISO and then reduced the noise in Photoshop Elements.

Camera Settings

HDR	No	Shutter	1/250	Filter(s)	UV	Metering	Matrix
Focal Length Digital/35mm	155/232mm	Aperture	f/6	White Balance	Auto	Flash	Yes; Off Camera
Camera Mode	Manual	ISO	6400	Exposure Comp.	0	Stabilization	Tripod;VC off

March 14, 2013 - Rare Book Room

Today the 55+ Retirees Group from our church toured Luther Seminary in St. Paul, MN.  One of the stops on the tour was the rare book room in Gullixson Hall, where the older or otherwise valuable books were stored.  When the room was converted from its previous use, these stained glass windows were installed showing various symbols associated with printing.

Camera Settings

HDR	No	Shutter	1/200	Filter(s)	UV	Metering	Matrix
Focal Length Digital/35mm	30/45mm	Aperture	f/8	White Balance	Auto	Flash	No
Camera Mode	Aperture Priority	ISO	250	Exposure Comp.	0	Stabilization	Handheld; VC on

March 13, 2013 - Vadnais Lake

This is a photo taken this afternoon on Vadnais Lake, Vadnais Heights, MN.  The sky was a beautiful blue this afternoon!

Camera Settings

HDR	No	Shutter	1/250	Filter(s)	UV	Metering	Matrix
Focal Length Digital/35mm	23/34mm	Aperture	f/10	White Balance	Auto	Flash	No
Camera Mode	Aperture Priority	ISO	100	Exposure Comp.	0	Stabilization	Handheld; VC on

March 12, 2013 - Winter Again!

We made our way back to Minnesota through Wisconsin today.  While it was disheartening to see snow again, I have to admit that the drive was exceptionally beautiful today.  We pulled off of the interstate highway near Camp Douglas to take some shots of the snow on the trees.

Camera Settings

HDR	No	Shutter	1/320	Filter(s)	UV	Metering	Matrix
Focal Length Digital/35mm	18/27mm	Aperture	f/9	White Balance	Auto	Flash	No
Camera Mode	Aperture Priority	ISO	100	Exposure Comp.	0	Stabilization	Handheld; VC on