Rochester, MN
Interesting places in Rochester, MN:
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Location is derived from the great work of WikiMapia
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Top photos chosen by u all:
Then and Now - 2nd and Broadway looking w
Made by Olivander
The volume of traffic on 2nd St now makes it difficult to faithfully reproduce this c1950 postcard. The Cook Hotel, which had burned a few years earlier, was torn down and replaced by the Woolworth's on the left in 1949. The building, heavily remodeled, is now the Lanmark Building and is mostly leased as Mayo Clinic office space. The E.A. Knowlton department store is on the right corner. Later, it was replaced by a Dayton's, and is now a Mayo Clinic office building with a Red Lobster restaurant on the ground floor. From there to the Plummer building, the First State Bank and International Order of Odd Fellows buildings are the only original structures left. Most of the visible buildings on the left side of the street are still there, other than the Congregational Church (barely visible beyond the 201 Building and the Hotel Martin sign), which was demolished in 1963. Mayo Clinic's Hilton research building stands there now.
The Crow King
Made by Doug_Chartrand
By popular request - I opened this one up on my stream :D And also, so I could enter it in the Rochesterian contest on the topic of monochrome - since evidently this is the better shot :) Earlier last week, I noticed a huge flock of crows near the downtown area. There must have been hundreds of them. It seems they gather down there to sleep off all the heavy partying that they do around town during the day. I thought I may be able to get some cool shots. Well, it worked out a little bit better than expected as there was an almost full moon out while there was still enough light to capture the crows - really cool. So, all these shots are straight off the camera - no photoshop tricks except for pretty standard level adjustments, and cropping. And, I did convert them to black and white - they just look cooler that way.
Assisi Heights
Made by -Chad Johnson
Assisi Heights Convent is a three-story Italian Romanesque style building with a unique red tile roof, beautiful slate floors, a Romanesque ceiling, and German hand-blown stained glass windows. Although Assisi Heights seems to be ageless, it is actually only about 50 years old. The Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi, who celebrated their 126th anniversary here this year, purchased a hilltop in northwest Rochester and ground breaking for the Mother house took place in 1952. The landmark in the city was completed in 1955. Today, the convent serves as the home and congregational headquarters of the Rochester Franciscan community. About 125 retired Sisters of Saint Francis reside at the convent. (rochestermn.com)
Mayo Clinic tulips
Made by -Chad Johnson
Tulips in Mayo Clinic's Annenberg Plaza ~ Rochester, Minnesota The building on the left is the Mayo Building. The building on the right is the Gonda Building. The 20-story Gonda Building is linked with the Mayo Building and the Charlton Building of Rochester Methodist Hospital, forming the largest interconnected medical facility of its kind in the world, more than 3.5 million square feet. An important feature of the Gonda Building is its architectural details, sculptures, paintings, multicultural artifacts and landscaping, which combine to create an environment that is beautiful to the eye and healing to the body, mind and spirit. (mayoclinic.org)
The Hardee's that used to be a Sandy's
Made by Olivander
I didn't take this! I found it among a collection of photos documenting the 1978 flood. The Hardee's in this photo is interesting in that it's a direct conversion of a Sandy's Hamburgers. Sandy's, a McDonald's competitor, had its heyday in the 1960s. Beginning in the early '70s, the struggling franchise was bought and most of its burger stands turned into Hardee's. The building was replaced in the 1980s by a larger one of the familiar generic Hardee's design (which today is an Indian restaurant). To my knowledge, this is the only photo of the original Rochester Sandy's structure.
Remember Woody?
Made by Aynchent1
He's working for some realtors now here in Rochester, but when I knew him before, he was doing his greetings from the Interstate. Maybe you remember him - eastbound I-90, mile marker 21 in Wisconsin, between Bangor and Sparta, off on the right hand side standing in a field. We waved to him many many times on our drives to Chicago, me and Vic and the kids. He never failed to wave back, but then he's a pro. Anyway, I hadn't seen him in years when he popped up just blocks from where I live, out on S. Broadway in Rochester. He didn't seem to mind me shooting him while he was working. He waved again as I was leaving . . .
Second Curtain Fall
Made by Tollefoto
I found out about this feature today so I thought I would play around with the rear-curtain sync (or also called 2nd-curtain sync) function. See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_synchronization The option on my camera is found on the custom menus. Instead of the flash going off when the shutter opens it goes off just before the shutter closes. You can see a ghost image of moving objects and the flash freezes the action at the end. Here the flash went off just as the last dominoe was being hit.
Downtown Transfer (2)
Made by -Chad Johnson
Five new bus shelters were just put in downtown at the cost of almost $300,000 per shelter. The glass around the shelters is stenciled with images of a regional plant or tree, then lit with LED lights that bathe the glass in shifting colors. They have electronic signs, heated sidewalks and a heating system that will be available at the push of a button. View Larger
forgive
Made by -Chad Johnson
The metal structure in the foreground is an undergroud gas tank. The gas station (which sits about 75 ft. from this) went out of business and one of the tanks that was dug up was left on the site for a while. The old gas station has been remodeled into a bar. I have posted this photo a few times before with different post processing. This version has the least processing of any of them and is the most true to what the it actually looked like the day I took the photo.
Beyond Bike Friendly
Made by mazzmn
In 2010, Rochester Minnesota was awarded the title “Bicycle Friendly Community” by the American League of Bicyclists. one of only 21 communities nationwide to be honored by the organization and among just five west of the Mississippi River. Rochester features 90 miles of paved bike trails and many miles of designated bike lanes as well. In 2011 Rochester has gone beyond bike friendly by adding the first of many planned extreme power loops.
DIY flash diffuser
Made by theDancingLlama
DIY flash diffuser made from a country time lemonade canister and foam koozie. The whole setup cost under $4 after tax. In my opinion, aside from the purple koozie, this is one of the more professional looking diffusers I have seen. Michaels didn't have any black koozies, and my almost 2 year-old kept nagging me to get the purple one. I may make a trip out to Joannas to see if they have black, instead.
carbon's aniversary
Made by unionwhore
There's no work in walking in to fuel the talk I would grab my shoes and then away I'd walk Through all the stubborn beauty I start at the dawn Until the sun had fully stopped Never walking away from Just a way to pull apart Dehydrate back into minerals A life long walk to the same exact spot Some day you will die and Somehow something's going to steal your carbon Parting of the Sensory by Modest Mouse.
None shall pass
Made by Olivander
But is it to prevent someone from coming...or going? The last two rolls I've processed have had fogging on the last three or four frames. I think my tank lid may be letting a small amount of light seep in. Nonetheless, I think I like how the combination of fogging and bad focusing work well together to make this photo creepier. UAE-visible copy
Whorled Milkweed
Made by Aynchent1
The leaves are incredibly thin and the whole plant so delicate compared to the robust and almost leathery Common Milkweed. Asclepias Verticillata. The seedpods are long and slender, no thicker than a pencil. I didn't find these until late in the season, so I missed the light green flowers - but next year, I'm on 'em.
The Larch in Spring
Made by Aynchent1
New growth seed cones on a larch tree. The brown ones are last year's growth. This is Western Larch, it's a deciduous conifer - it drops its needles every year, and the new ones grow back, along with these beautiful seed cones. This stand of trees is said to mark the passing of the old Dubuque Trail through Rochester, Minnesota, as it wended its way from Dubuque, Iowa to St. Paul, Minnesota.
Silver Lake
Made by -Chad Johnson
Thought I would post the original, un-processed image for all to see in the first comment. This is 3 exposures (-2, 0, +2) combined in Paint Shop Pro X2 and then processed with Topaz Adjust pluggin. Then back to Paint Shop where I pinched the corners to give it more depth. Then some de-saturation and sharpening. This was taken a few hours before the 4th of July Fireworks at Silver Lake Park.
Common Milkweed Flowers
Made by Aynchent1
Asclepias Syriaca in bloom! The individual flowers are on stalks from a common stem point, forming umbels of flowers. They are fragrant and subtly colored, but the flower structure is wonderfully ornate. Each of these flowers has the potential to turn into one of the large seedpods that are the hallmark of milkweed.
spiderman
Made by Doug_Chartrand
Another shot from the strobist meetup at the skatepark. I hope I'm not boring you with all these shots. I tried some tonemapping of a single jpeg using qtpfsgui, and I thought it came out pretty cool. This shot reminds me of spiderman. I believe the strobe was full power camera left, handheld. Spiderman Theme Song
Peace Plaza
Made by -Chad Johnson
Newly remodeled Peace Plaza ~ Rochester, Minnesota, USA The bronze sculpture in the foreground was designed by local sculptor Charles Eugene Gagnon and is dedicated to world peace. The fountain is made of 7 circular tiers containing 50 bronze doves representing the 50 states and seven continents. almost 3 years ago. 6 second exposure - processed with Topaz Adjust
Cascade Lake
Made by -Chad Johnson
Cascade Lake is an old gravel pit that will eventually contain public beaches and boat access. Currently there are some houses around parts of the lake that have private beaches. There is also a series of walking trails around this developing area. This will be great when finished, it's only six blocks from our house! This image is only a small part of the lake.
