Sometimes taking photos involves catching heck. I could avoid it ... but usually don't.

Heck in this case is relatively mild, never reaching the level of catching hell. Three people receive immediate pleasure from the heck-generating activity. And others will eventually find pleasure.

The dilemma is this:  "How rough should I let the grand kids play? Do I try to keep them clean, or do I let them play, well, rough?" 

They like to play rough, and I like good photo opportunities. I usually catch my photos, and then catch heck from Omi (Phyllis) when I bring the kids home a little "dusty."

The girls immediately go into the tub, which they enjoy. And once they're clean, Phyllis enjoys the photos from the dusty outing.

The girls parents, Elizabeth and Zach, almost never give me heck. They just shake their heads ... and enjoy their kids' pictures, especially if Omi also washes the girls' clothes before returning the girls home.

This is a sunset from the Lake Street Bridge. It's a pretty sky and contrasts nicely with the bridge silhouette.

The photo didn't start out this way. The sky was fine but the bridge was too dark. See photo two ... the original.

With photo editing software, I kept the sky bright but lightened the dark bridge. Lightening up the darkness.

Street lights would have added interest to the picture. The lights weren't on yet ... so in the final photo I turned them on.

We're told to stop and smell the roses. To slow down. To take pleasure. To see.

Can you do that vertically? Look up. Look down.

Vertical roses.

The software that writes this blog couldn't see a large vertical photo all at once. So the "rose" - the Minneapolis skyline - was cut into three.

If your mouse has a wheel, roll it.

In the spring leaves series, this is take 5.

It's Mississippi River water - starting just above the Ford Dam, Minneapolis/St Paul - that I'm following. I'm capturing spring leaves.

Photo one is the Ford Bridge. I took 23 photos of this view, trying to capture a bicycle rider in a "just right" position. This was shot six of the series. 23 used to be a roll of real film. Ya' gotta' love digital!

Photo two is of "Ira's Island," taken from Ford Bridge. I informally named the island, just below the Ford Dam, for a fisheries-professor/friend who used to do research by the island. The study was about the effect of human-made hormones on the biology of fish. If we have a flood, it messes us the research. If we have a drought, we no longer have an island; there is a land-bridge to Lock and Dam #1. Someday I hope to walk on the island, just to say I've been there, enjoying the beach like the children on the photo ... and to take some dam close-up photos.

Photo three is from the Dam overlook by the former Ford plant. You can see fishermen in their blue and green boats, trying to catch the fish that my friend Ira used to study.

Photo four shows where Minnehaha Creek joins the Mississippi. The last bridge on Minnehaha Creek can be seen in the upper center section of the photo.

The fifth photo is of Hidden Falls Park, taken from on top a bluff downstream - one of the few places with an open, high view of the river. The beach, with it's exposed and knurled tree roots, is a favorite of my grandchildren - climbing roots, finding shells and discovering "sea glass."

The final photo is of Pike Island in Fort Snelling State Park, and near the Mendota Bridge. I'm standing at the Hwy 5/River Road overlook. Someday the trees may be tall enough to block the view of the Mendota Bridge. It's a pretty bridge. There are few places where you can get an overall perspective.