justin @ pragmaticphotography.com

Ate a tasty brunch at Fabulous Ferns today (recommended) and then went for a walk around Selby Street and Western Avenue in St. Paul.  Here’s the butler statue in front of the Cheeky Monkey Deli (also recommended) using the Expodisc Neutral to get a good white balance:

Snooty Butler @ Cheeky Monkey

Okay, odd, but not too creepy.  Prior to that, I caught this chef:

Still not too creepy.  That said, on Friday night my band played up in Superior, Wisconsin.  I took this picture during our dinner:

auuuuuuuggggggh!

…what the Holy crap!    It’s like Geordi La Forge took off his visor during his own exorcism.

If you’re ever plan to go to the Anchor Bar, consider yourself warned.

Here’s the first picture to grace this blog, taken with my newly-acquired D200:

This Picture Goes to 11; f/4.5; 1/2s shutter; ISO 720; Exposure -1.3; Tungsten WB

There’s some very slight color bleeding on the text and numbers — especially noticeable on the “22.”  I believe that’s due to the use of two of the Promaster Close-Up Filters with a 50mm prime Nikkor lens.  In retrospect, I should have tried using one filter instead of stacking two.  I used a tripod and timed shutter release.

Those filters are a fast way to do simple close-up work without investing in Macro lenses (and were a great gift from my wife for my birthday this year).