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All posts for the month October, 2014

Thursday ~ October 30, 2014

Posted by Dave Updegraff on October 30, 2014
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , .

Birds of a feather

Happy Thursday!

All I have for you today is this image of two birds on my makeshift tree branch.  It was either show you this and babble a little or not post at all.   When I don’t post (and take pictures) something is missing from my life.  So it’s birds today.

I wasn’t feeling well yesterday and so laid down after dinner last night just to rest.  I woke up early this morning after the Royals had lost the World Series and past the deadline for entering the photo contest.  😦

I was happy with my potential entry so maybe I’ll save it for next year.  There is no expiration date on the photo.

I showed it to a friend yesterday at lunch on my iPhone and his comment was, “Oh Wow!”  That made my day.  🙂

That’s all I have for today.  Hope you have a great day today.  Thanks for stopping by and be careful.

Wednesday ~ October 29, 2014

Posted by Dave Updegraff on October 29, 2014
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , , .

Combine @ Dusk

Happy Wednesday!

A challenging day yesterday and to make it even more of a challenge I was supposed to have my pre-op physical yesterday afternoon, which got canceled because my Doctor was sick.  I had moved most of my appointments to Thursday and the bulk of them on Friday to accommodate yesterday.   The only time they could get me in was Friday at 11:00 a.m., it was either that or reschedule the surgery, which I did not want to do because it’s getting harder to drive in the dark.

Anyway, after having a little pity party I got things rearranged and if that hadn’t happened I would have never been able to get the shot above.  I think this is my image to submit for the contest, which closes at the end of today.  🙂

Windmill @ Sunset

It was gray and cloudy when I left work and I really didn’t think there was going to be a photo opportunity.  Then about halfway home the sun broke through the clouds and it got very interesting.  I decided to take a route home that I rarely take and then stumbled on this combine as the sun was beginning to set.

I thought the light was over but the closer I got to home there was still some light shining up into the clouds so I captured this windmill with the many wonderful colors of the setting sun.

God Beams

This was actually the first image of the evening.  When the sun broke through the clouds and showed the “God Beams.”    Lots of cars passing me while I’m on the side of the road wondering, “What the hell is he taking a picture of?”  🙂

Anyway it was a fun ride home and I got to take pictures.  Top that off with KC winning last night and it was a good evening.

That’s it for today.  Hope you enjoy your mid-week hump day.  Thanks for stopping by and be careful.

 

Monday ~ October 27, 2014

Posted by Dave Updegraff on October 27, 2014
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , .

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Happy Monday!

Not an eventful weekend for me.   Just the normal yard maintenance, naps, and cleaning up after the birds.  They are certainly filthy creatures and just poop anywhere and everywhere.  🙂

Yesterday afternoon Jeanne and I took a long drive through the country looking for nice harvest scenes.  There is still a lot of corn standing in the fields and there weren’t many farmers out harvesting yesterday.

This image was taken of a combine sitting in a half-finished field.

October-26-2014

No harvesting going on in this image but I liked the way it looked when I went past it so had to grab the shot.

I stopped at one farm to shoot some images of a combine picking corn and the farmer came out and asked if I was from the newspaper.  When I told him no I was just shooting for my pleasure he invited me to pull into the field for a better view of the operation.  🙂

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These older 4 row pickers of among my favorites.  They have been replaced by the larger behemoths on a lot of farms but there are still a few of these around.

I got the car washed Sunday morning as it was pretty dirty and by the time we got finished with our photo run I had to stop by the car wash again.  Lots of dusty roads and fields on our little trek and black cars don’t get along with dust very well.  🙂

That’s it for today.  Busy week ahead.  Thanks for stopping by the blog.  Enjoy your day and be careful.

Friday ~ October 24, 2014

Posted by Dave Updegraff on October 24, 2014
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , , .

Halloween House Goblin

Finally it’s Friday!!

Today as promised I will show you the images I have from last Sunday night’s visit to the Halloween House in Asbury, Iowa.

I shot a lot of video at the house but I was paying more attention to the still photography and as I reviewed the video it’s not very representative of the experience.  I’m going to show it to you anyway but if I were to do it over (next year) I would pay more attention to the video part of the presentation so you could really get a feel for how amazing this place really is.

Scary

When we were there, I would guess there were 50 people visiting with lots of young children.  It is not so much frightening as it is awesome.  When you are listening to the audio track of the video you will not hear screaming from fright you will hear a lot of laughing and conversation about the marvel of mechanics involved in the presentation.

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The whole process is run by two computers.  I’m going on what the owner told me last year.  He said there were 5 smoke machines and all the strobe lights and movement of the characters are controlled by a computer program.  He purchased much of the animation from various Hollywood special effects studios

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I apologize for the lack of professionalism of the video and editing.  Like I said I didn’t pay much attention to the details of making the video.  I used a GoPro Hero 3+ Black edition mounted on a hand-held gimbal.  It was the first time I had used the gimbal and I was holding it in one hand and shooting stills with the other hand.  In much of the unpublished video the camera is in the video more than the actual scene. 🙂

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We learn by doing.  That’s it for today.  Hope you enjoy the video below.  Have a great Friday and weekend.  Thanks for stopping by the blog and be careful, it’s dangerous out there.

 

Thursday ~ October 23, 2014

Posted by Dave Updegraff on October 23, 2014
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , .

Harvesting Beans

Happy Thursday!

I saw this scene on my way home and passed it up as the combine was going the wrong direction for me and it was going to take it a very long time to come back.  Then I paid some attention to the landscape around the machine and decided that it was the main theme  of the image.    So I turned around and went back.  As it turned out this was the only opportunity to capture any harvest scenes I found yesterday.

Halloween Guy

I have not made the time to work on the Halloween House images and video but I’ll give you a tease with this guy.  He stands about 5′ 10″ tall and raises to over 13 – 15 feet high all the time spewing his evil laugh and looking very menacing.

Yea!!  The Royals won last night and tied the series up.  🙂

That’s it for today.  Hope you have a great day.  Thanks for stopping by the blog and be careful.

 

Wednesday ~ October 22, 2014

Posted by Dave Updegraff on October 22, 2014
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , .

Fall Colors

Happy Wednesday!

I decided to take a different route home last evening hoping to find some more harvest scenes.  The contest deadline I want to enter is rapidly approaching and I haven’t found what I’m looking for.

I didn’t find any harvest scenes so I decide to shoot some fall foliage.   I’m not thrilled with the images I have for you today but they are what I have.

An Eagle Takes Flight

So while shooting trees I came across this guy sitting in the top of a pine tree.  I did a turn around and found a place to park.  I was trying to be stealthy but of course that’s hard for me.  Once I got close he took off. This image is a little soft as the light was quickly setting and I really didn’t have the camera set up for an eagle shot.  When I get a chance to capture an eagle in flight or just sitting I’m going to take it no matter.  🙂

Fall Colors

I went to a ribbon cutting yesterday afternoon at a local care center in Maquoketa.  The manager is a good friend of mine and we have been on several projects and boards together.   They added a new section to their facility to take care of people transitioning from the hospital to their home.  It is really a nice enhancement and the care center is well run by my friend.

That’s it for today.  Hope you enjoy your mid-week hump day.  I’ll do my best to get the Halloween House images and video processed for you tomorrow.

Thanks for stopping by and be careful.

Tuesday ~ October 21, 2014

Posted by Dave Updegraff on October 21, 2014
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , .

Harvesting the corn

Happy Tuesday!

Challenging day yesterday.    I went to lunch with my friend Steve and after lunch we had about 20 minutes so we took a drive on some of the black top roads around Maquoketa looking for harvest scenes.  In all that time we only found one combine in harvest mode and it was far enough away that it didn’t make for a good image.

I found this harvest scene on the way home.  I was actually following the sun and trying to find something worth shooting in that nice orange light.

Corn Crib at Sunset

About 4 years ago I shot this old corn crib at sunset.  I decided to make an image of it again last evening.  The lighting was quite a bit different four years ago but I’m happy with this image.

I am getting anxious about my up coming surgery.  My right eye is so foggy now it is really affecting my vision.  So I’m anxious to get it done so I can see properly again.

Old Police Car

I had seen this old police car a couple of weeks ago coming back from Cedar Rapids.  But it was early in the afternoon and the light was harsh.  Last night I had the soft light of the setting sun to work with and it caressed this old car in its orange beauty.   That sounds a little sappy as I reread it but what the heck it was a wonderful light. 🙂

I’m still working on the Halloween House images and video.  I should have it ready for a post later in the week.

Thanks for stopping by the blog.  Enjoy your Tuesday and be careful.

Monday ~ October 20, 2014

Posted by Dave Updegraff on October 20, 2014
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , .

Nick & Caitlyn Miller

Happy Monday!

Hope you enjoyed your weekend.

Jeanne and I went to a wedding reception Saturday evening.  This is Nick and Caitlyn Miller.  Nick works at one of our banks and they are a great couple.

They had a nice reception in Monticello, Iowa and we enjoyed seeing our friends from work.  I’m not a big fan of weddings or funerals so we didn’t stay all that long.

Last night Angie, Ben and the kids came over for dinner.  After dinner we decided to go see the amazing Halloween House West of town.  I took a lot of still pictures and shot a fair amount of video.  Time did not permit any editing of either so I will have those for you later in the week.  If you live anywhere near Dubuque you owe it to yourself to come see this amazing home.  It is worth the trip and is on display until Halloween.

I wrote about it last year and had a few shots but this year I was better prepared.

That’s it for today.  Short post as I am as usual running late.  Thanks for stopping by.  Enjoy your day and be careful.

Saturday ~ Octdober 18, 2014

Posted by Dave Updegraff on October 18, 2014
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , .

God Beams on the Earth

Happy Saturday!

A rare blog post from me on a Saturday.  I generally am either vegging or working on a project that I promised someone weeks ago I would have done.

I saw this on my way home last night and thought it was pretty enough to share with you.  The beauty of nature is something that we simply cannot reproduce with all our technology nor should we ignore it when it presents itself for our viewing pleasure.

So enjoy this brief respite from your busy weekend day and then get back to it. 🙂

Thanks for checking in.  Enjoy your day and be careful.

Friday ~ October 17, 2014

Posted by Dave Updegraff on October 17, 2014
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , , , , .

Windmill

Happy Friday!

I was able to leave the office at a reasonable time yesterday and there was still some nice light.  Now to find some harvest scenes.  Problem is with the three days of rain we just had, I didn’t find any machinery in the fields on my trek home.

I did find this windmill however and since windmills are one of my favorite things to photograph I captured this image.

Rural Heartland

We see these scenes all the time but like the little bird from yesterday it’s not often that we stop and take a close look.  That’s one of the many things I love about photography.  Being able to freeze time and really look and enjoy what the camera captured.  Click on any image if you like to enjoy a larger version.

I was surprised yesterday when I read Dennis Voy’s blog.  Dennis is the owner of KMAQ AM / FM in Maquoketa.   He writes a daily news and information blog and it’s read by several thousand people every day.  He had one of my images of our little dog “Maggie” on his blog with the caption; “DAVE HAS GREAT CAMERAS AND TAKES GREAT PHOTOS.   GOOGLE HIS WEB SITE TO SEE MORE.”  I was flattered that he would post one of my pictures and give me a plug.  I hope it’s not just the camera that makes the great pictures. 🙂

Harvesting The Crop

This is the only combine I could find last night.  I was losing the light rapidly and he had a long way to go before he would get back my way so I settled for a butt shot.  I don’t think a butt shot of a combine is as bad as a butt shot of a bird or is it?

That’s it for today.  Hope you enjoy your Friday.  Thanks for stopping by the blog and be careful.