As many of you know I recently went on a trip to Duluth, Minnesota with 3 of my best friends from high school. We went June 1-4, and I'm finally sharing our trip with you (Sorry it took me so long).
We'll start with day one. Seems like a good idea. :)
June 1
We left Amanda's house early in the morning after packing up all our things in the back of Ashley's truck. The ride seemed to go by quickly as we shared stories of things that happened with us in the past year. Before we knew it, we were at Canal Park. This is where the famous lift bridge is.
After watching a few boats go under the lift bridge and visiting the museum we went exploring around town at all the little shops and man did we ever find some odd things. Then we went to get ice cream. Yum! Next was to find our camping site.
We camped at Gooseberry Falls State Park in a tent (the best way to go). We set up our campsite, ate supper, played cards, and listened to our camp neighbors play the fiddle. It was perfect!
Day 2
On our second day Amanda and I woke up early and took a walk through the park. We met a couple from the cities and their dog. It's always great to meet nice people on your trips. When we all got ready we set out on our adventure for the day, the Split Rock Lighthouse.
At the lighthouse they had a house open up to show visitors how the people lived next to Lake Superior in the 1920's. One woman showed us the sewing machine that they used to make various things. Another showed us the kitchen and the oven.
Afterwards we went to Silver Bay Beach. This beach was a little treasure that Amanda knew about. It was awesome. There were rock everywhere and we decided it was our job to climb on them!
When we got back to camp, we decided to walk around the park, but we couldn't go to the falls yet. That was for the next day!
Day 3
Today was the day we finally got to see the falls. They were beautiful!
Later we went into Two Harbors, a cute little town. It wasn't too busy as it was a Sunday evening. We had a good time just walking around and exploring more odd shops.
Day 4
On our last day we went to the Glensheen Mansion. It was awesome. It was exciting to hear about the lives of the Congdons and even more exciting to find out I'm taller than what Mrs. Congdon was! This visit also made me wish there were historical sites near where I lived because being a tour guide seems like a fun job!
I don't have my own pictures of the Glensheen Mansion, but here is one from the official site.
http://www.d.umn.edu/glen/
I think everybody should go to Duluth at some point in their lives. It was a blast, and it's filled with fun history!
For just a few more pictures check out: http://www.facebook.com/EmmaMargaretStudio
March 30-31 marked the 89th Annual Little International Livestock show at South Dakota State University. It started on a Friday at 7:30. I got there bright and early with my Nikon D3000 in my farm wear ready to take pictures. I started with a few practice shots of the horse show to figure out the settings I would need to use.
I started out shooting in the automatic mode; not a good idea, but I made adjustments. Little International was held in the Animal Science Arena on campus. Basically it’s a huge barn with a show arena inside of it along with dreaded fluorescent lights. Because of the lighting, I bumped up my ISO to 1600. This is the highest ISO setting on my camera. The setting worked perfectly with my pictures. Then I switched my camera’s setting to sport mode. I did this because the animals and people in the arena were moving around quite a bit.
If I could change one thing, I would have used my tripod. With a tripod, my camera would have been more stabilized, and the pictures would have been even more clear than what they were.
My advice to anybody taking pictures of a livestock show or any other event in a fluorescent-lit arena is to take your pictures with a high ISO setting. I also recommend bringing a tripod with you. Lastly, experiment with different camera settings to see what works best. Go and have fun!
This weekend I'm taking pictures for the Collegian (the South Dakota State newspaper). I'm really excited for this event... Little "I". It's something I'm really excited about. You may not know what Little I is, but I have that information for you from the South Dakota State website.
Little International
What is Little "I"?
Little International is a two-day agricultural exposition planned, organized, and implemented by students at South Dakota State University for the benefit of high school and college students. Little International is considered the largest two-day agricultural exposition in the country. The exposition provides students with an opportunity to compete in judging contests, showmanship competitions, and fitting challenges.
History of Little "I"
Little International has been presented every year since 1921 with only three exceptions. In 1926, it was canceled due to the Scarlet Fever epidemic, and 1944–1945 it was canceled because of World War II. The first Little I was patterned after the Chicago International Livestock Exposition and was held on campus in what is now the Agricultural Heritage Museum. In 1952, Little International was moved to what is now called the Intramural Building. In 1977 it was moved to where it is held today, the Animal Science Arena in. During the week prior to Little International, the student staff prepares the Arena for the exposition. This includes erecting the famous red barn and white fence, adding bleachers, and dying the wood chips green for the show ring. Also, each member of the staff is responsible for ensuring that the specific task of the committee they sit on is accomplished, whether that task is livestock judging or the event schedule.
Purpose
Little International serves both high school and college students alike. The exposition provides a fun and competitive opportunity for students to develop and refine skills essential for lifelong success in agriculture. Through Little International, students can utilize the two day event, not just as an opportunity to improve their showmanship, fitting, or judging skills, but also to develop time management skills, responsibility, hard work and personal pride—not to mention the networking possibilities and the fun had by all involved with Little International.
I'm going to be submitting these photos to the UPC Photo Contest here at South Dakota State. Anybody who can should enter the contest too.
Here's the info:
Enter your best photos for a chance to win some money!!!
Two categories:
- Original Photo
- Photoshopped
Each participant is able to submit up to TWO ENTRIES and prizes include $60 for 1st place and $40 for 2nd in each category.
Bring your entry to the UPC office in the Student Union (across from Java City) by 5pm on March 30th.
