This past weekend we received about six inches of snow. It was enough to keep us inside for most of the weekend … we only ventured out for the essentials: groceries and cocktails at Ryan and Paula’s Oscar’s party. But as if the half foot weren’t enough just five days ago, Old Man Winter decided to dump another 8 inches on us last night and through today. Here’s a view of the street from our front door:

When I came home from work today, I couldn’t find the driveway. I had to look for the stakes that were planted by our snow plow man this fall.

The backyard is worse! Here are the paths I shoveled for Kozmo and Newman:

There are only two paths and neither takes the dogs off the deck. So, it’s no wonder Newman doesn’t like to do his business outside. Once he gets inside, he scratches his little paw on the basement door. If we let him downstairs without keeping an eye on him, we’re likely to find little treats in front of the dryer the next morning (fortunately, dry, making for easy clean-up).

More snow is in order for the rest of the night and tomorrow!

Each year, a local farmer by the name of Sever Peterson turns his corn field into a maze the size of 10 football fields. Yesterday afternoon, Ryan, Paula, Nick, Kristin, Roger and I “walked like an Egyptian” (this year’s maze had an ancient Egypt theme) and navigated the maze — without any of us getting lost! In fact, Ryan made it to several points in the maze without a map by simply bending over, picking up a handful of dirt, and tossing it in the air, as if the winds determined his direction. The event included more than just a maze — we enjoyed roasted corn, apple cider, mini donuts, carameled apples, kettle corn, a petting zoo, and pumpkin slinging. Despite the cold weather, the sun was out and we all had a great time. Check out the pictures of us at Sever’s Corn Maze and Fall Festival.

This week Roger and I attended the Digital SLR 1 class, provided free by National Camera and Video after the purchase of our Nikon D50. Here are the top 10 tips we took away from the class:

1. Always wear the camera strap around your neck. It’s too easy to get bumped from the side or behind and get the camera knocked out of your hands. When it drops to the ground, you’re toast.
2. When shooting in cold weather (as will happen often in Minnesota!), carry a spare battery since the batteries start to slow down — and eventually give up — when they’re cold. And, shoot without a hat or gloves. When you’re cold and you’re ready to go inside, that means your camera probably is too.
3. Don’t use the “delete all” feature in your camera’s menu system. Your pictures aren’t really erased — they’re just not viewable on the camera anymore. New data gets written on top of the old and your card gets fragmented much like a hard drive. Instead, use the “format card” option to erase your card (once you’ve downloaded the pics onto your computer, of course!).
4. Use a UV or polarzing filter for two reasons: 1) to protect your lens (your filter will break first) and 2) to get true color. A polarizing filter will make all the difference, even when shooting on what you think is a cloudy day.
5. Beware of the “GBD” — the “green box of death.” (That’s the green “auto” setting on our camera that we’ve been using since day one — oops!) Instead, use the “P” (program) setting. Also, instead of using pre-programmed settings for landscape, portraits, sports, kids and close-ups, use the S (shutter) and A (aperture) settings instead (the pre-programmed settings won’t give you any better results). This may take some practice.
6. Re-set the camera’s focus zone in the center (so that only the middle focus lights up) and use the “focus lock” technique when taking photos of subjects that are off-center (put them in the center, push down and hold the auto focus, recompose the photo, and shoot). With most cameras you can’t do this with the GBD on, so that’s another reason not to use it.
7. Looking for that soft background (otherwise known as “portrait” mode)? The higher your aperture, the more sharp your background. The lower your aperture, the softer the background.
8. Know that your built-in flash only works at about 12 feet max.  Your living room is probably longer than 12 feet.
9. Use a tripod. Follow the golden rule of thirds. Get down to your subject’s level.
10. Takes lots of photos and never delete on camera — use your computer (or TV if you’re in a hotel room — great hint!) to make judgments about what photos to keep or trash rather than choosing photos through your tiny LCD screen.

Great hints from a two-and-a-half hour class packed full of information. Digital SLR 2 is in a few weeks so we’ll post what we learned here!

What an odd sensation it was to be reading the newspaper over my lunch break today and come across my very own name in print, without even expecting it! In today’s Star Tribune Web search column, “Fun with photos,” columnist Randy Salas rounds up several photo-taking fun Web sites, among them, The Mirror Project:

The Mirror Project … asks contributors to submit photos of themselves as captured in reflective surfaces. The results can be winsome (Rollins Goetzel’s self-portrait in shiny sunglasses worn by his dog, Ojo), clever (Lynsey Barnett’s full-length reflection in a body-shaped mirror at the Science Museum of Minnesota in St. Paul) and breathtaking (Rebecca’s silhouette in a puddle reflecting leafless trees on Christmas Eve). I just wish the images were bigger.

There I am — Lynsey Barnett (my maiden name). The photo he refers to is here. Although the photo was taken six years ago (42 in Web years!) and I’d nearly forgotten about it, it’s proof that your internet footprints are around forever!

Digital Photography School (DPS) recently posted instructions on making your digital photos look like Lomo photography with a little Photoshop sleight of hand. I tried my hand at it and the excellent results are above — a close-up of a pot of hens and chicks on our deck. I’m not sure if this is even close to a “real” Lomo photograph, but I do like how it looks.

Enjoy more before and afters in the DPS group on Flickr.

A few weekends ago Roger and I finally purchased a long-time item from our wishlist: a digital SLR camera. We went with the Nikon D50 based on the recommendations from the experts at National Camera in Burnsville. Not only do they know what they’re talking about, but they also offer free classes with every camera purchase — we’re attending our first one in August (the soonest we could get in, the classes are so popular!). This camera really does make taking great photos a lot easier — in just a short time we figured out how to get the subject in focus with that soft, blurry(ish) background I was looking for. Check out some of the photos that both Roger and I took while hanging out in the house and backyard!

The installation of Ryan and Paula’s new deck was completed just in time for a Memorial Day weekend picnic. Check out the hilarity as we christened the new deck and kicked off the summer!

The entire purpose of my last post in which I mentioned Tom Cruise for a second consecutive time was really to lead up to this post, in which I write about Bloomington’s annual City Curbside Cleanup.

This annual highly anticipated event (also known as “Junk Day” in our household) invites the entire city to get rid of anything no longer wanted. And when I say anything, I pretty much mean anything: Boxes, carpets, appliances, furniture, mattresses, box springs, construction materials, scrap metal, bundled brush — it all goes to the curb (as long as it isn’t toxic) to be hauled away by the city. This year saw a plethora of computer monitors, dehumidifiers, inkjet printers and children’s playsets.

The amount of junk that’s collected is phenomenal. Last year, in our neighborhood alone, the average amount of discards hauled per household was 254 pounds. The neighborhood to the east of us averaged a whopping 327 pounds per household. As far as we’re concerned, the more junk hauled, the better.

However, Junk Day isn’t all about discards. It’s great for collectors. Items are “allowed” to be placed on the curb 48 hours in advance of the Saturday the junk is hauled away — but junk goes out much earlier than that. And that means out come the scavengers. Roger and I call them “trollers,” because they troll along the street in their cars like fishermen trolling along the river in their boats. They’ll drive by the piles of crap with no shame. Many get out of their cars to rummage. Some, in fact, haul trailers.

Each year I view it as a bit of a challenge to see how much junk can be hauled from our curb by trollers before it’s “officially” hauled away by the city. This year, we put out a few rolls of old carpet, the TiVo that died on July 18, 2004 (”The Day the TiVo Died”), an old inkjet printer, some miscellaneous boxes, and an old plastic milk crate. The milk crate was somehow hit by a car, throwing shattered plastic into the street. The TiVo was gone less than 12 hours after it hit the curb. (What was on there? I think some old Sex and the City episodes and the movie Whale Rider, not to mention some potentially embarrassing other late-night recorded shows.) The rest was left behind. I always feel a bit hurt when I see a troller get out of his car, rummage through my throw-aways, and then toss something back. What? Isn’t my junk good enough for you?

Apparently, this year, the trollers have become a bit of a problem. On the city’s Web site is posted a warning: “To report … scavengers that are making a mess, call 911.” Yes, 911 seems a little extreme, but Junk Day is a serious matter in Bloomington.

The old cliche rings true: “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” We can’t wait until Junk Day 2007.