Rain Over Saint Paul

This is a panoramic shot of downtown St. Paul, MN taken from Galtier Towers in late spring of 2008. I have a 5 foot wide copy of it hanging in my office and it generates quite a bit of interest from my clients, as many of them live or work in the buildings you see here.

For display purposes, blogger.com cropped the original photo. Click here to see the full, more detailed version of the image. Your browser may scale it down to fit in your window so zoom in to get the full effect.

The image faces north, looking up Jackson Street. The skyline of Minneapolis can be seen on the horizon towards the left side of the photo. Notable buildings and landmarks include: Region's Hospital (under construction) - First Baptist Church - City Walk Condos - The Rossmor - Pedro's Luggage - Mn. State Capitol Dome (hiding behind a billboard) - The Embassy Suites Hotel - St. Paul Police Station and Metro State University.

This photo is compiled of about 20 individual photos which I combined and stitched together. This is one of my favorite shots and I hope you enjoy it.

Pete

Cairn

cairn marking the mountain summit

Yellowstone National Park is a photographer's dream because of its beautiful vistas, abundant wildlife, and unique thermal areas. My favorite subject to shoot was probably the waterfalls, and would make Nora stop the car any time we came across even the smallest stream of water rolling, twisting, or falling downhill.

On our last day out of the park we spotted a small stream coming down a hill not far from the east entrance of the park. We decided to hike along the stream for a bit, just to see where it went. We originally planned on gentle thirty minute hike up hill but found ourselves continuing to ascend as the trail turned from marsh to woods to rock. We weren't supplied at all for a five hour hike and soon found ourselves hungry and thirsty. Thankfully we crossed a field of pristine ankle-deep snow where we stopped and ate a few snowballs.

Finally we arrived at the summit of Avalanche Peak where I snapped the photo seen above. The pile of rocks is called a cairn and is used, amongst other things, to mark the summit of a mountain. The custom in Scotland is to add to the cairn with a stone you carried from the bottom of the hill, causing the sculpture to grow over time.

Palisade Minnesota

Palisade, Minnesota is my hometown and is located about three hours north of Minneapolis / St. Paul in Aitkin County.

The bridge you see here is the village's landmark. The Soo Line railroad used to pass over the Mississippi river here, but now the trail has been converted into a recreational ATV and snowmobile trail stretching 112 miles from Moose Lake to Cass Lake.

The town itself is small (population 112) but services around 1000 people who live in the woods or on the lakes and rivers nearby. Logging and farming are popular occupations here, but as with much of greater Minnesota, tourism dollars also feed the local economy.

For tourists, there is a lot to do, but lodging is scarce. The closest hotel is in McGregor, MN which is about a 15 mile drive, but closer to nine if you travel by ATV or snowmobile.

Popular nearby fishing spots include the Mississippi River which is great for Walleye and Northern Pike. The river also has quite a few White Sucker, Redhorse Sucker, and Carp which are fun to catch but not so good to eat. There is a fishing pier in Bergland Park, next to the old railroad bridge if you don't have a boat.

About the picture: I was heading to breakfast in Palisade shortly after sunrise. The fields were thick with fog and I had to dodge a few deer on the highway on my way to town. I stopped by the park and took this shot from the fishing pier.

Dr. Ladd

Where we first meet

The consultation

Hello everyone, and thanks for stopping by. Here's your chance to take a peek into the life of a chiropractor who also loves photography. I thought it would be appropriate to show you a shot of where you and I might first meet should you find yourself in need of world-class natural health care.

This is my office and consultation room, where I learn about you and your health concerns. The first appointment with me usually takes about an hour, as I am very thorough. It's important to take a good patient history, as that is where 90% of my diagnosis comes from. Expect a lot of questions from me the first day. Expect answers from me after this visit.

I like this picture because you can see all 4 walls of my office. The curving perspective is a result of stitching together about 6 shots to create a small panorama. I hand-held each of the shots instead of using a tripod, which resulted in some jagginess of the margins.

Dr. Ladd