Weihnachtsbaum

Weihnachtsbaum
Originally uploaded by K0GMB

I love Christmas Time.

It's been years since I've had a Christmas in Nebraska, and I must say that this is the best place in the world to have it. Everyone's so nice, towns become very festive with lights, celebrations, and kindness.

And then we have awesome things like this. This is the Christmas tree in the state capitol building in Lincoln, NE. A rather imposing thing, it's 35 or so feet tall and lit with light-emitting diodes. I can guarantee that lighting that entire tree is more energy efficient than any of the other lights you see down the hall.

This image is an example of me playing around with high-dynamic range imaging. Basically, cameras are only able to get so much of the differences between light and dark with every shot, so I take 5 shots, (2 dark, 2 light, and one normal shot) and use a program called photomatix to blend them together. The result is something like this, where portions of each photograph are blended together to restore brilliant color, detail in the highlights and shadows, and ad realism or surrealism and contrast to the image.

If you have a flickr account, please comment on this image, I need to know if it's too overdone, I wanted it to be as realistic as possible without being overbearing or looking like a painting. I will browse your photostream and in turn, comment on your images.

Thanks!

Nebraska Versus Baylor

Pre-Game Panorama
Originally uploaded by K0GMB

I am a native Nebraskan, and I've lived here off and on my whole life. I am, however, sad to say that I had never been to a Husker game until the October 25th game against Baylor.

I have been to the stadium before, but not in quite some time. The new north-field skyboxes and jumbotron are quite nice.

I must remark on the atmosphere and spirit of Nebraska fans. They are, simply put, the best fans in football. No one boos (well, maybe they boo the officials) and they support their team through thick and thin, winning, or losing.

I had never been to a game before, so I didn't know about the touchdown traditions -- such as the balloon release at the first TD, or the flags coming out on the field any other time Nebraska scores.



All in all, if you get the chance, go to a Nebraska game. They're loud, fun, and energizing. If you don't give a crap about football, you might when you get done with this experience!

Seward

Seward Courthouse
Originally uploaded by K0GMB

I am learning how to drive on the interstate (I'm 22 years old, but let's not go there), so we decided to give me some practice by driving from Lincoln to Seward to have lunch.

Seward is a really neat little town, the down town section is pretty full, which is amazing, considering all the other little towns I've been to seem to have issues filling the old storefronts up (even though they have 1000 more people than Seward!)

We had a great lunch at the Cafe on the Square Which was a patty melt for me, and they crusted delicious asiago cheese to the bread - wonderful!

I walked around taking photos of the courthouse (above) and went in and out of some of the businesses along Seward Street

I didn't get to see as much of the town as I wanted to, but I will at some later point. I went in search of a restroom, and along the way found interesting painting and murals on some of the store fronts, which was refreshing.
I favor a mix of old and new, and Seward seems to have that. If you like small town America and are in the area, visit Seward! (It's not in Alaska!)

J. Stering Morton's Home: Arbor Lodge

Morton Manor
Originally uploaded by K0GMB

This is the Arbor Lodge in Nebraska City, which was the first framed building between Nebraska City and the Rocky Mountains.

This was the home was built as a simple four-room structure on 160 acres, as a home for J. Sterling Morton, who was the Agricultural Secretary under Grover Cleveland, and also the founder of Arbor day.

The house was expanded several times, the latest expansion having taken place in 1903, and for several years served as the summer home of J. Morton's son Joy Morton, who founded Morton Salt.

The home now serves as a museum, and is open daily from April-December.

Lewis and Clark National Historic Interpretive Center

River Framed
Originally uploaded by K0GMB

This photo was taken in May 2008 at the L&C Natl Historic Interpretive Center. The last time I was in Nebraska City, this wasn't yet built, but when I come to visit, lo and behold, on the top of a hill off Highway 2, overlooking the river, there it is.

The LCNHIC was awesome, they had historical figures and artifacts inside, along with this gorgeous window, a conference center, kids area, and an awesome little gift shop.



Outside there are trails that lead to bird watching areas, decks overlooking the river and surrounding areas near the bluff, and a replica of a Native American mud house that is very cool inside, due to it's basement-like construction.



All in all, this is a great place to go to get a look at the history of the southeast area of Nebraska, and get some gorgeous views of Iowa and the Missouri River, as well as walk a lot of trails and get some photos of plants, insects, and birds.

The Poor Old Barn

The Poor Old Barn
Originally uploaded by K0GMB

I took this photo through a fence at a rest stop in Missouri. I thought it would look good as an old photo, so I played with vignetting, sepia, and lense blur on the edges.

Whenever at a rest stop on an interstate, make sure there isnt anything neat to take photos of, many times I have looked around and behind the rest stop or near it is something awesome, but sometimes not! Just look, you never know what you'll find!

Field Reflections

Field Reflections
Originally uploaded by K0GMB

This is the drainage pond in my grandfather's field again. Here we are facing Highway 2 in Otoe County, near Dunbar/Otoe/Nebraska city. I like the tall sky and reflections in this one. You can even see the tiny little moon floating a little left of center towards the top of the image. This was taken in May, now the corn has gotten so tall this view would be completely different.

The transmission line you see along the highway is very new, it connects to the new OPPD (Omaha Public Power District) Unit 2 Coal-fired power plant near Nebraska City.

Country Road Sunset

Country Road Sunset
Originally uploaded by K0GMB

This photo was taken near Otoe, Nebraska on Otoe County Road 42. I love watching sunsets when there's a wide open expanse to see it, you can watch it all the way down to the horizon. A lot of that grass is brown not because it was autumn, but because it hadn't had a chance to grow back in from winter, this photo was shot in May.

Autumn

I have just moved back to Nebraska after having been in Florida for around 8 years. Man have I missed the seasons. I'm sure most of you reading this think I am crazy for leaving Florida, but I have a new opinion of that state after living there - it's great to visit, but even greater to be able to leave after visiting!

It's hot constantly in Florida, sometimes even in the winter, and there is no seasonal variation. No fall colors... spring is pretty neat there, but even then, it's hard to tell it apart from summer or fall.

I am having a wonderful time this year, due to the fact that I had forgotten how interesting Autumn in the midwest can be. Everything turns vivid golden, orange, red, and brown hues. A rich palate of warmth before winter gray sets in.

The weather so far has been pretty damn gorgeous, right now it's down in the 40s at night and in the 70s during the day, but every day it's a little cooler. To tell you the truth, I cant wait until we get a good sticky snowfall so I can throw snowballs for the first time in 8 years.

The midwest is underrated - the weather is interesting, there's a lot of space if you want it, the people are fantastic, and (contrary to popular belief) if you situate yourself next to a city, there's plenty of things to do.

Today (Friday) in down town Lincoln is "First Fridays" which is the first friday of every month, when the art galleries open up and have a reception and viewing of all their art. It's very nice, and down town becomes packed with people, I need to get down there next time and take some pictures to prove to my Floridian friends that more than 10 people live in Nebraska.

Down Town Auburn

Down Town Auburn
Originally uploaded by K0GMB

This is Auburn Nebraska, in Nemaha County. I was born there. There's not much to do there, but the people are nice and the town is pretty quiet. I have a grandmother and father there, so I do visit from time to time, and I make sure I stop and get a Casey's Pizza (cheap pizza crave!) to devour at Rotary Lake Park.

Lincoln Sprawl

Lincoln Sprawl
Originally uploaded by K0GMB

This is a photo I took on Rokeby outside of Lincoln, looking Northwest. I love the country, but I wanted to illustrate the infringement of the city on the countryside. I guess it happens everywhere, but I like cities that have a defined edge. My favorite thing about this image are the beautiful golden hues. I'm so glad I moved back to Nebraska, I miss having 4 distinct seasons.

From Nebraska to Iowa

Missouri River
Originally uploaded by K0GMB

I thought this would look great in black and white, I am standing in Nebraska, looking across the Missouri River into Iowa, near Nebraska City.