Its fall & its in Minnesota. What more do you expect? 😀
Minneapolis
1 cycle
Found this cycle parked behind one of the apartments near my house. Somehow the placement seemed very interesting to me, especially with brick wall as a background…so snapped a few shots 🙂
Check out an alternative composition HERE
The Red House…
… wonder how this house will look in winter 🙂
The Laughing Buddha
Budai(in Chinese) is often depicted as having the appearance of an amply proportioned bald man wearing a robe and wearing or otherwise carrying prayer beads. He carries his few possessions in a cloth sack, being poor but content.
His figure appears throughout Chinese culture as a representation of contentment. His image graces many temples, restaurants, amulets, and businesses. I am sure many Indian homes also possess it for the same reason 🙂
Amongst Westerners new to Buddhism, Budai is often confused with the historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama. However, the two are visually very distinct. Gautama is commonly depicted as being tall and slender in appearance (although since no images of him from his lifetime exist, this depiction of him is unverifiable and possibly idealized); Budai is short and overweight. (Buddha means “one who has achieved a state of perfect enlightenment” and there are several people who have been given the title.)#Source
Tunnel of gold!
Searching my archives, i found this gem. Minneapolis has a well established light rail transit system and this is one of the stations at the MSP international airport. The tunnel walls are not actually gold as the title suggests (duh! :P) but its the result of a 5 exposure HDR created from a single file. HDRs work best when you want to emphasize colors and textures in a scene.
Minneapolis Aquatennial Fireworks
Minneapolis Aquatennial is the official civic celebration of the city of Minneapolis. Featuring a whole bunch of events in various categories, its a week long celebration held every year on the third week of July which is traditionally considered the driest and warmest part of the year# Source. As always, it concludes with a spectacular display of pyrotechnics which lasts for about half hour. I shot this from the top floor of my friends apartment.
Sunburst!
A lovely sunset view over lake Calhoun in Minneapolis. Took this shot using my friends new camera. The ‘twinkle’ effect on sun is due to the small lens aperture used to capture this scene. Somehow, it looks better in black & white 🙂
Green beauty…
Get close and observe any leaf on a rainy day. Each time you will be amazed at the patterns and shimmer of these water drops.
Here’s a link to a rain drop covered Hibiscus flower we captured.
The Spoonbridge and Cherry!
This is an iconic piece of artwork from the Minneapolis sculpture garden. With aluminium, steel and paint in its construction, its not as tasty as it looks 🙂 The complex fabrication of the 5,800 pound spoon and 1,200 pound cherry was carried out at two shipbuilding yards in New England. The sculpture has become a beloved icon in the Garden, whether glaceed with snow in the Minnesota winters or gleaming in the warmer months, with water flowing over the surface of the cherry and a fine mist rising from its stem. Source:Click
Noisy Pilgrims 