Midwest Photo Safari
Midwest Photo Safari Newsletter September 2009 - Vol 1 Issue 9

Click HERE to view as a web page

In this issue:

• what's new at MPS
• photo tip of the month ...hand    holding your camera
• safarian "image gallery"
• our current safaris
• history tidbits
• new "special" safaris now    reserving

WHAT'S NEW AT MPS?

All of Our regular scheduled Safaris are now available Tuesdays thru Saturdays. Since our last newsletter, we have added several new tours.

OUR CURRENT SAFARIS NOW INCLUDE:

All of these safaris, except those that include the Skyways, run Tuesdays thru Saturdays. The Skyway Tours run Tuesdays thru Fridays

for complete schedules, visit our Web Site

NOW RESERVING!

Two MPS Special  Photo Safaris ...
We have two special photo "adventures" designed and ready to reserve.

We are now booking the Duluth / North Shore 1 day safari. This tour will run Saturday, September 26th, 2009. This tour has limited availabilities. A minimum of 4 participants, and a maximum of 12.

Click HERE for more info on our North Shore Safari.

Also reserving is the newest "all inclusive" safari to Iowa. Starting from a home base in Des Moines, we will spend 2 days in the area.

Day one will find us in Pella, Iowa, a small town with the flavor of Holland all over it. Pella is famous for the annual tulip festival, but the flowers and Dutch theme is always present.  We will  tour and photograph the many fabulous parks and gardens, featuring several Dutch windmills. One windmill,  operated by the local historical society,  actually functions as a flour mill. Our safari will have special access to photograph this mill. We will also tour the historical Dutch village nearby. The quaint Dutch themed main street of this town is also great for architectural photo ops.

Day 2 of the Iowa Safari takes us to Madison County. Here we will photograph and tour the famous Bridges of Madison County. The six covered bridges in this area are all listed on the National Historic Register. This area is  famous as the birthplace of John Wayne and for the 6 historic covered bridges, popularized by Robert James Waller's novel The Bridges of Madison County and the feature film starring Meryl Streep and Clint Eastwood.

Click HERE for complete info on our Iowa Special Safari

SAFARIAN IMAGE GALLERY

Our September image of the month comes from Stacy W. from New Brighton, MN. when she was on our St Anthony Falls Heritage Trail safari. This image was shot on St. Anthony Main near Riverplace. This area is host to many festivals, this one being the Polish festival. Stacy was able capture a great image of this couple dressed in full costume as they were on their way to a dance competition.  A closer look at this image, as well as more safarian images, is available on our web site on the newly added safarian image gallery.

MPS PHOTO TIP OF THE MONTH

Hand-Held Digital Photography Tips

In lower light situations where using a flash and tripod is impractical and you're hand-holding your camera, brace your arms against your sides to help steady the camera. If your camera has anti-shake technology such as Vibration Reduction (VR) or Image Stabilization (IS) lens that can be switched on and off, this is the time to have it turned on.

You can also lean against a wall or tree or whatever sturdy object that's handy, and help keep yourself and your camera steady. Alternatively, lean or lay your camera or lens on some readily available sturdy object to help steady the camera.

Steadying your camera by hooking the strap under your elbow and wrapping the rest around your forearm will also help stabilize the camera and hold it steady in your hand. Your MPS Tour director usually carries an elastic shock cord device sometimes referred to as a string tripod (an improved version). Ask about trying it out during your safari!

Getting those tack sharp photos while hand-holding your camera can be difficult, so to increase your chances of getting that perfect shot, try using the burst or continuous shooting mode on your camera to take several shots at once. That increases your chances that at least one of the pictures will be in sharp focus.

HISTORY TIDBITS FROM OUR SAFARIS
 Some facts about the New Guthrie Theatre on our St. Anthony Falls Heritage Trail Safari.

This interesting building was completed In 2006. One of the signature features of the new Guthrie, the cantilevered lobby known as the "Endless Bridge" is an observatory for the Mississippi River falls and landscape Stretching more than half a block (178 feet) from the building face, the 30-foot-wide Endless Bridge towers over West River Parkway. One of the longest occupied cantilevers in the world.

The outside of the building's walls are covered in large panels which display a large mural of photographs from past plays visible clearly at night. The panels dark blue color was chosen to enhance the night view of the mural / photographs.

You can see and photograph it and many other significant buildings and historical areas during our Heritage Trail OR Minneapolis Nights Safari.
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