Bike Parade...

Copyright 2009 Matt Mortensen

Last weekend the Edina Rotary club with other sponsors attempted to break the Guinness Book of Records entry for most people on bicycles at the Edina Bike Parade. Greg LeMond was on hand to lead the group. Unfortunately he (and the free polka music) was not enough to draw the 2,800 riders required to beat the record. The turnout was large; however, and the proceeds went to a good cause. I wonder if Greg's not-so-good pal Lance Armstrong would have attracted more participants...

Helping in Uganda...

Kind Hearts

Copyright 2009 Matt Mortensen

At a local event I had the great opportunity to meet the women who run Dorca's Widows, Carol Vogt, Lisa Tschetter and Kari Miller. The Dorcas Widows Fund is an NGO based in the United States that supports the Dorcas Widows Ministry in Kampala, Uganda. The Dorcas Widows Ministry is a support group for widows who have lost their husbands due to the war in Northern Uganda, HIV/AIDS, malaria, TB, or other diseases.

Kari, a teacher, spends six months a year with the women in Kampala by taking unpaid leave from her job. She sold her house and tells me, "I finally found what I am supposed to be doing!" I am so jealous of her and her group!

The women make jewelry from single-use paper materials like advertisements and then dye them to the beautiful colors so evocative of African cultures. The photo above depicts the jewelry and some of the other items sold in the USA to directly benefit The Dorcas Widows. You can read more about the dedicated women who started this fund in the Star Tribune.

Cousins and Crew...

Crew Cab

Copyright 2009 Matt Mortensen

With everyone moving and shuffling things around in early May, I finally got the bugs fixed and some time to post. With our grandpa moving to assisted living, it was a month of visiting with cousins. I took the above shot in the back of the car while we drove around getting lost in southern Minnesota. That 12 mm lens is perfect for tight group shots like this, I even fit the big guy napping in the corner!

Technical Difficulties...

New place....still working out the bugs in the system!

Post-processing...

Angel
Copyright 2009 Matt Mortensen

Some photos just beg to be post-processed a little more in Photoshop, this was one of them. My niece, Roma, is such a little cutie and when she settled into this pose, the image was perfect! The angel wings and halo effects were done with multiple layers and transparencies. The look was completed by using the Glow filter o$n a fairly aggressive setting. In my opinion, I got lucky...I really envy my friends who can consistently produce high-quality images of children who are always moving targets!

Even More Guest Photography...

Jökulsárlón
Copyright 2009 Andy Mork

This is a real treat to put work from travel photographer Andy Mork up on DRM Chronicle. Perfect timing as well, since this photo came from his previous trip to Iceland and he is currently on the plane heading back to this amazing destination! He took the time to send me a couple of images and a few words before heading out.---

This is Jökulsárlón, which translates to "Glacial River or Lagoon" A nearby glacier, Vatnajokull, (the largest in all of Europe) dumps off icebergs which slowly float out to sea. Some icebergs appear dirty....the dirt is actually soot from ancient volcanic eruptions. This Ice has been frozen for about 1500 years, and nearby Hekla has erupted 18 times since Iceland has been inhabited – a space of 1100 years. This has been a background for many movies and is a very popular destination despite its location -- about 400km East of Reykjavik. I got there by splitting a tiny Volkswagon subcompact with 3 strangers I’d met at the Reykjavik city Hostel!

Thanks, Andy! I better get a few more images from this trip--this time with that new 18-200 VR!

Summer '09

Summer is Here

Copyright 2009 Matt Mortensen