Upde Designs

What an amazing day yesterday was.  Filled with learning experiences, emotional ups and downs and some reasonable photography opportunities.  What I will share with you is a sequence of images I took on my drive home from the conference.

I knew that the conference was going to be over at 11:45 am (for me anyway. )  There was a lunch and then an hour of congratulatory talks and prize drawings (none of which would have any effect on me.)   My plan was to turn the 4 hour drive into leisurely photographic experience.

I always see things that I want to photograph while driving anywhere but never have time to stop and shoot them.   So on the way over Wednesday I made a mental note of several things I wanted to photograph on the way back.

The problem with a plan is that it cannot possibly take into account the randomization of life events. (“The best laid plans of mice and men…”) So my trip home took an unexpected detour (unfortunately this is not the venue to discuss said detour) and all my plans got changed.  I firmly believe in the 90 / 10 Principle.  10% of what happens to us is beyond our control. How we react to it determines the outcome.

It is reasonable to believe that life is a never-ending learning and growing opportunity.  If we look for the learning and the chance to make our lives or the lives of others better than it is the 90% positive outcome of the 10% we had no control over.

The weather was just beautiful and the temperature was a pleasant 71 degrees.  Even I cannot complain about that temperature. 🙂  One of the things I had not taken into consideration was the amount of traffic on highway 20 on a Friday afternoon.

Even though I pulled really far off the road to shoot some images people going by would occasionally sound a disapproving horn, I guess I caused them the inconvenience of having to move over one lane.  The constant rush of sound from car after car passing by at 70 plus miles per hour is unsettling as well.

I stayed in the car to shoot this Red-Tailed Hawk but one of the blaring horns spooked him just as I was getting started.  The short time I had him he didn’t seem to mind that I was photographing him.

I’ll finish my trip with this image just West of Dyersville.  I saw this in my rear view mirror and I couldn’t resist it.  I did try as I was tired and wanted to get home but you cannot pass up a sunset like this.

So to answer your questions:  No I did not have an accident, no I did not get arrested, no I did not have car trouble.  It was a learning, growing, understanding, strengthening, emotional, and untimely beneficial detour (although some would argue that statement.)  None the less it is what it is.

Sorry for all the mystery.  I should have just stuck to the photography and left the rest unspoken (that’s what Jeanne will say) but I share more than my photography on this blog I also share my philosophy and that was the point of mentioning the detour.  🙂

Enjoy your Saturday.  Thanks for stopping by and be careful.