Monday ~ March 04, 2019

Posted by Dave Updegraff on March 4, 2019
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , .

Happy Monday!

I can say happy Monday because I am retired! 🙂

Yesterday afternoon I had some errands to run so I took my camera with me and then did a little ride through the countryside to see if I could find some photo opportunities.

This image happened by accident.  I saw a large hawk perched on a tall tree limb and I stopped well short to set up my camera and long lens.  I got in position, rolled down the window and as soon as the lens came out of the window opening he took off.  I was disappointed but as I lowered my gaze I saw this deer just staring at me.  🙂

I decided to go by the Buffalo ranch to see if any of them wanted their picture taken.  They weren’t very cooperative and even though he had his back to me I was determined to get a shot of him.

I hadn’t been out in the country for a long time and I was amazed as to just how much snow they have had.  There were drifts higher than the top of my vehicle.  The snow is crusted over with a layer of ice and it was just as cold as it looks in this image.

Enjoy your day and be careful.

Saturday ~ February 09, 2019

Posted by Dave Updegraff on February 9, 2019
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Happy Saturday!

We had a fair amount of ice this week in Eastern Iowa.  The sun came out yesterday and made everything look so beautiful.

Jeanne and I took a ride through the country to look at the landscapes and I came home with some images on my memory card.

Although beautiful with the sun glistening off the ice it was only 1 above zero and the wind was blowing pretty good giving us a wind chill of around -15 degrees.  I didn’t stay out very long.

The good news is that we didn’t see many farm animals out in the cold.  Most were in some type of shelter.  There wasn’t much wildlife at all but we did see a large bald eagle.  Unfortunately by the time I got the car stopped and the camera up to my eye he had decided to leave the area.

Finally, yesterday was my birthday.  The best birthday present I have ever received was given to me by my two children.  They spent an hour and half with me and even bought my breakfast.  They are such amazing young people and I am very proud of them.  I took this with my iPhone so I’m not totally happy with the quality of the image but the image itself is priceless to me.  It is now my new desktop image.

Enjoy your day and be careful.

Friday ~ February 08, 2019

Posted by Dave Updegraff on February 8, 2019
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , .

Happy Friday!

Yesterday I celebrated my one year anniversary of being retired.

I have enjoyed retirement more than I could have ever imagined.  It doesn’t seem like it’s been a whole year but the calendar does not lie.  There were some things about retirement that turned out to be more difficult than I would have thought but on the whole I highly recommend it. 🙂

We have a fair amount of ice here in my little corner of the world and I captured this image of our bench in the back yard.  Too cold to sit there today.

Enjoy your day and be careful.

Monday ~ January 21, 2019

Posted by Dave Updegraff on January 21, 2019
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , .

Happy Monday!

Angie brought the grand kids over yesterday as Ben was on call and working.  We had about 7 inches of fresh snow and you know what that means when you have kids.  🙂

The only one who didn’t get to enjoy the sledding was Addie.  She stayed inside and after I took these images I went back in and spent some quality time with her.

Austin had his share of mishaps but never quit smiling.  He would get back up and carry his sled back up the hill and do it all over again.

Josh had his form perfected after his first few runs and he set the longest slide of the group.

Angie didn’t slide but she was taking pictures of the kids.  This is the same hill that her and Mark slid down when they were young.  Spent hours watching them come down that hill.  🙂

Got a nice pose from Gabby.

Enjoy your day and be careful.

 

Thursday ~ January 17, 2019

Posted by Dave Updegraff on January 17, 2019
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , , , .

Happy Thursday!

I haven’t been doing much photography of late.  I always have a camera with me but just haven’t found anything that interested me.  It’s been cloudy and gray for most of the last couple of weeks, not the best light for photographs.

These photos were taken with the Nikon D500 (a cropped sensor DLSR) and with the Sigma 60mm – 600mm f4.5 – f6.3DG 105.  Used on the D500 the focal length becomes 90mm – 900mm so I get a good range.

Over the years I’ve had a love / hate relationship with Sigma lenses but their quality has improved greatly and this one is now my favorite lens.  It is tack sharp, quite, and fast focus.

The University of Dubuque has a flying program that many future pilots attend and learn to fly.  They also get their commercial pilots’ license.  The U of D has many planes and on any given day at the Dubuque Regional Airport you can see many of them practicing their landings and take offs.  I saw this guy waiting to take off and getting the landing plane in the shot was just good luck.

I was coming back from Maquoketa yesterday afternoon and I saw at least ten hawks sitting on fence posts, wires, and signs.  This is the only one that sit still long enough for me to get even this shot.

Enjoy your day and be careful.