I always enjoy visiting the capitol in Des Moines. In the past 10 years they have really changed the landscape and have a park in the front that is very enjoyable to sit and relax. Here is a pic I took a few years ago.
The Iowa Capitol
Des Moines @ Night
Re-post June 2011
I drove into Des Moines tonight for a meeting and thought I would capture some pictures. Des Moines is one of my favorite cities. Since graduating in 2005 from Des Moines University there has been a significant amount of renovation to the downtown area. I love the architecture and it’s always a great place to take pictures.
Iowa’s State Capitol sits on the east side of downtown (immediately behind me in this picture). There is a lot of sidewalks and landscape to its west. It also sits up high in comparison to the remaining downtown which allows for some great cityscapes. Also, I love how Locust street ends in front of the capitol thus allowing for a unique perspective.
This shot was taken at dusk using my Leica M9 and 90mm summarit-m. As Leica owners know, summarit is considered their “affordable” lens (most would disagree). Anyway, I’ve been very happy with its sharpness and have taken many great pictures with it.
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The Iron Skeleton
Repost from July 2011
My wife and I spent 4 years in Des Moines, IA while I was receiving my degree. The first couple years I was vey busy with my work and never showed much interest in photography. Midway through my second year, my father lost his year long battle with cancer. When he passed I inherited his film dSLR and lenses. Not until later in the year did I finally gain an interest in photography. Initially, I was just taking pictures in the operating room for the physicians I was rotating with. I remember getting many compliments doing this and thought it came somewhat natural. Canon came out with the EOS 20d (you can find the most recent version, Canon EOS 60D here). I remember how excited I was to get this and try out my dads lenses. Since then, I’ve traded, bought, and upgraded from the Canon 20d and his lenses.
Many years have passed since purchasing my first dSLR and I’ve now moved on to Leica M9 rangefinder camera but I still have many good pics that I took. One of those was from a trip back to Des Moines a few years ago. I was driving around Booneville, IA and came across this old railroad bridge. At that time I was starting to show some interest in HDR photography. Below is one of those pics (I also posted it in black and white).
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Repetition
I spent almost 4 years of my life in Des Moines, IA going to school. Twice a year I head back to my old school and each time I spend some time wandering around downtown. It’s not even comparable to Chicago or New York but they have a very nice and beautiful downtown.
A couple of years ago as I was walking around, I noticed that there were a bunch of bike racks with bikes to rent. Since I don’t live there I’m unsure how often they are used but I think it’s a good idea.
ISO 160 1/1500 f/1.4 50mm
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The Path
Every time I come back to Des Moines, I always have to travel out to this railroad bridge in Booneville. For some reason I never get bored taking pictures of it.
Previously, I shot a HDR but I thought I would post a single shot I took this weekend using my Leica 35mm.
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Flying High
I spent some time in St. Louis in late 2004 and early 2005. On a few occasions we would drive to Alton Illinois to see the second largest gathering of Bald Eagles in the United States. I’ve never had much interest in birds but Bald Eagles are the exception. They are remarkable to see and an enjoyment to watch them fly. I can easily understand why they are our national bird.
Probably, my first heavily photoshop image was taken of Bald Eagles in Alton. The below image is made up of two different birds. The five birds flying are actually all the same bird, I shot it using my Canon 20d and Canon f2.8 L series 70-200mm lens (best telephoto lens I’ve ever owned). The bird on the branch was sitting next to the road. Last, it was a very overcast day which allowed me to get such great pictures of these creatures without completely ruining their highlights. The sky used in the picture was taken outside my apartment at the time in Des Moines Iowa.
P.S. You got to stop at Fast Eddies if you are in Alton, they sell 1/2lb hamburgers for $.99 (they haven’t raised there prices in years)!!!
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Iowa Countryside
I can remember the many drives from Southern Illinois to Des Moines and how much I would complain that there was absolutely nothing to look at. If you’re not familiar with this part of the country lets just say it is extremely flat and all you see for miles is farm land.
Now don’t get me wrong, I loved where I grew up and wouldn’t change it for anything but when you are stuck in a car for 8 hours, it’s nice to have something to look at.
Until recently, I never realized that Iowa actually is not that flat and has many rolling hills. I took this picture just west of Des Moines, it captures the typical farm land scene in this area.
