Cheesy Looking Moon
I was on my way back when I saw the moon. At first, I thought I should have caught it earlier, but then took the camera out again, changed lens, and made another photo.
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Sunset by the Creek
The afternoon was relatively dry. I drove to the park without knowing a specific photo I would like to make beforehand. It was getting too dark to go through the longer loop path so I took the shorter path around the cabin.
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Samuelsons' Cabin at Beaver Creek
I visited the park again to make more photos of the fall's colors. I think the clouds took the spotlight instead. I took a short walk around the loop while the day got darker.
Samuelsons'cabinBeaverCreekbeaver creekbeaver creek nature areacloudsduskparksamuelsonsdsioux fallssodaksouth dakotasunset
Red Brembo Caliper Cover
A detail of a Ford GT I saw at the Cars and Coffee event. Big engine needs a good stopping power.
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The Largest Tree in the Park
Between rain and wind, I took a chance to go to the park. At first, I thought I could go to a park a bit farther but because of time constraints, I ended up at Arrowhead Park. I walked around for a bit and then head to supper.
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Curve, Light, and Shadow
After walking around, looking for compositions and colors in the park, it was time to go home. I saw the curve and the reflections and liked it.
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Different Pace of Autumn
Some trees turned faster the others. That creates an interesting color gradation or combinations. With the windy nature of the region, these leaves will not stay for long. I can only enjoy them while it lasts.
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Still Plenty of Green Left
The early fall, where the temperature is not too cold yet and the color of summer slowly turns to fall. The park surrounded by soccer fields, but there are several spots where I can find small groups of trees. I want to share the early stage of the fall season.
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Streak of Lights
As the sun came down to the west, it left behind a streak of orange on the horizon. I drove west to a park and make a photo. The idea was to constrasting the artificial lights of the traffic with the natural lights from the sun.
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The Cathedral from the Park
Even though I was being bitten alive by mosquitos, I had to make another photo of the cathedral. I can't wait until it's cold enough so there will be no bugs outside.
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North Phillips Avenue
I started driving to a different park and eventually came to the Falls Park. Instead of making another photo of the falls, I walked to the southwest side of the park, towards North Phillips Avenue. It was a cloudy day, so no majestic sunset.
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Falls Colors Are Coming
This week started colder but it became warmer as if summer had come back. I am not complaining. Besides that, the leaves have changed colors. We can't turn back time, so enjoy what we have now.
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Junior Football at Sanford Sports Complex
We arrived at the sports complex while the sun was still up. All the fields were filled with junior football matches, except for this one.
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Downtown Home Improvement Project
The work is on the roof. I don't know if it's for an addition or for fixing a leaking roof. It looks quite significant.
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Dance Class in Session
I didn't know there's a dance studio downtown. I was on top of the parking ramp, looking for compositions and saw this view. I am not familiar with ballet or any type of dance, but I appreciate the people who involve in it.
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Construction by Washington Pavillion
The downtown is definitely changing. This is one of the on going construction. It has some office and retail spaces and both apartments and luxury condos. It is called Washington Square.
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Sidewalk Art Festival
The sidewalk was clear. The streets, on the other hand, were pretty packed with people. There were plenty of booths or tents to look at and plenty of food to choose from. It was the largest art festival I have been at so far.
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Shriver Square Building
I like the texture of an old brick wall. The building was originally built in 1918. It used to be South Dakota's largest deparrtment store.
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Dodge Challenger R/T
A modern muscle car.
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Ford GT Is Loud
This is another from coffee and car event. A few guys had a ride on it.
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Speed Limit 20
We went to the Sidewalk Art Festival. It was my first time to the event. The event was an annual fundraiser for the Washington Pavilion. Washington Pavilion houses arts, entertainment, and science exhibits in downtown Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
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Shadow Casting Clouds
As the sun sets, the crawling clouds cast their shadow and created streaks of lines in the sky. It was finally the weekend.
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River View by Falls Landing
People were gearing up for the weekend. The weather supposes to be nice through out the weekend. There are at least a couple public activities around downtown this weekend.
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The River Runs Through It
I tried to go out to use the new lens more. I saw a composition that might work while driving from downtown the other day. I went for it, but it was lower than the bridge I was on. The view was not what I visualized previously and the bridge was not accessible on foot. So, I drove and walked around to find something else and came up with this.
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On Approach to Land
This is another photo test with the new lens at the longest zoom and the widest aperture. I can read the callsign and the model of the plane. Can you spot them too? I am a big aviation fan and maybe can be a private pilot someday.
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Homegrown Tomatoes
A new lens arrived so I had to test it out. I read quite a few reviews about it prior to the purchase and had been saving to replace an aging lens. Originally, I was going to a park but decided to just make photos around the house.
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Old Courthouse Museum in Black and White
This was part of the process of making a photo. I was looking for a composition but didn't like the lighting condition. The sky in the background was quite bland. In black and white, the structure stands out more in contrast with the bright background.
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The Sioux Steel Co.
I headed out to a specific location but changed my mind mid way and drove around downtown instead. I stopped at this parking lot and started to make some photos. Sioux Steel started in 1918 and currently owned by the fourth generation family.
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United States Court House
A federal building in downtown Sioux Falls. It was built between 1892 and 1895, expanded in 1911 and 1931.
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Take Heart by Patricia Vader
One of the art piece part of the sculpture walk through out the downtoan area of Sioux Falls.The program is sponsored by local businesses.
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Phillips Avenue and 11th Street
Another excursion around the downtown area. I wasn't really motivated to make photos today but brought myself to go out anyway.
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Saint Joseph Cathedral
It was getting late but I thought the light was still good to make one more photo. The cathedral is located in the historic distric in Sioux Falls, not far from downtown.
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Old Courthouse Museum at Dusk
I went out for an outing downtown and was looking for a location that I haven't been to recently. I walked around looking for a composition or two.
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Men's Ministry Evening
Food, competitive game, nice day, blue sky, great combinations to be outside and to be part of the ministry to seek purpose, to seek support from each other.
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Worship Time at the Meadows
The last time we played together as a group prior to this was about four years ago, before I left for Indonesia. It was nice to be able to woship together again. There might be more worship opportunities in the future.
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Dusk All Around
During totality, we observed dusk all around the horizon. It was like a 360 degrees sunset. No solar filter or glasses needed during the total eclipse.
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Spots on the Surface of the Sun
This was the sun prior to the eclipse. Sunspots are temporary phenomenon on the surface of the Sun that appear as spots darker than the surrounding areas. I checked and compared this with the other observers, the ones with a stronger telescope. So I am pretty sure those are not spots on my lens.
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The Spotting Site
This was the small section of a field where I chose to observe the eclipse in Grand Island, Nebraska. It is part of the Stuhr Museum. Thousands of people gathered on the property. It took me more than 15 minutes to get in because of the long queue.
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Totally Amazing
This doesn't represent even a tiny spec of how I felt when watching the total solar eclipse for the first time. The view of the sun, our surrounding, people's reaction, it was a unique experience. Life changing? I don't know what's that even mean in this context Changing to what? I can't believe I was so excited to see a black circle in the sky this afternoon. I met new friends from all over the country. Lack of sleep, close to ten hours of driving, all worth it, and then some.
Besides the corona, there are also prominences, the reddish outward hydrogen emission from the surface of the sun.TotallyAmazingeclipsefiltergrand islandnenebraskaphasessolarstuhr museumtotal
False Hope for a Race Start
The spectators got excited for a moment when one of the balloon was getting ready. In the end, the flights were canceled because of the weather condition. It's better to be on the ground and wish you are flying than you're flying, but you wish you're on the ground.
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Inside a Big Balloon
It was the annual Great Plains Balloon Race weekend. Unfortunately, they couldn't fly this evening because of the gusty weather. But at least I got to be inside one of the balloons.
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