A Midsummer Night's Shooting Expedition


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Having grown up in Minneapolis, I have always felt safe there. Although, it has been decades since I actually lived there.
Last Saturday was a balmy summer night and I got the urge to photograph some of the scenery and night life.
There is no more life downtown than Block E, that's for sure.
Mrs. Dodger, ever the trouper, let me drag her along with for her role as Lovely Assistant. Thanks, Karen!
You ever notice how comical it is when it seems like you are the only sober person in a room full of drinking people?
There was a Twins game that day, which might have accounted for a lot of the crowd.
Our first stop was at this restaurant on Washington, next to the Milwaukee Road depot:


I wanted to be sure to get at least one shot at dusk, before it got completely dark, because I love the deep blue hue of the sky at that time.
It can be more dramatic when there is a small cloud or two, but I like this look.
The second shot, taken facing east, actually has the full moon in it, just below and to the right of the streetlamp.
By the way, I used Photomatix Pro to merge the exposures (as usual) and Topaz Detail instead of the usual Topaz Adjust that I frequently use. Detail just seemed to work better for these night shots.
This market, on the north end of downtown, looks like a fortress. It even had its own uniformed security guard, who gave me the once-over as he was making his rounds.
 
 
We found a place to park right across the street from these "Gentlemen's Clubs". Pretty popular places, there was quite a line waiting to get into Dreamgirls. All guys except for one solitary lady.
 
 
 
Here are a couple of places that have been around forever:
 

Irish pubs are popular around here. Here we have Kierans, there is also O'Donovan's and The Local.


The Hard Rock and First Ave, where Prince once held court:


I would have probably had better luck catching the streaking headlights/taillights if the cars kept moving but traffic was too slow so I did not get the effect I wanted.
Came closer in the motorcycle picuture, top.
All pictures are 5 exposures each, EV-2 through EV+2. Then merged and tonemapped in Photomatix. I should see if Photoshop's "new & improved" HDR merge in CS5 does any of them better.
All were taken on the D700 with the Nikkor 24-120mm VR lens, f/11 Aperture Priority. I never did break out the ultra wide, probably should have.
I want to do this again, hopefully before we run out of summer. Does anyone have any ideas for me? Answer in the Comments section.
By the way, smugmug now has Tweet and Facebook 'Like' buttons for each image, so feel free . . .

Update:  No, the Photoshop Merge to HDR does not do it better.

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