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All posts for the month October, 2015

Thursday ~ October 29, 2015

Posted by Dave Updegraff on October 29, 2015
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , .

October-28-2015A

Happy Thursday!

A single image for you today that reflects, at least in my mind, the weather of the day.

I was on my way to one of our banks to do training and it was late in the afternoon, the sky was gray, dark and cloudy and the wind was blowing hard.  I had just missed hitting a big buck deer when I came over the hill and saw this lowly old combine sitting alone in a harvested field.  Its work done for another year, seemingly abandoned by its owner.

After I had passed the scene I had to turn around (my mind works slow) and photograph it.  I couldn’t get close without trespassing on private property (something I won’t do) so I parked as close as I could, walked a quarter of a mile and used the 80 – 400 mm lens.

The wind was blowing between 20 – 35 mph so it was really difficult to hold the camera steady enough to get a sharp image.  I had to bump the ISO up to 800 just to get 1/60 of a second shutter speed so the image has a little more noise than I prefer.

Training was over around 5:45 p.m. so it was about 6:50 p.m. when I got home.  It was dark and sleeting and it occurred to me that in 4 days that would have only been 5:50 p.m. and it was dark.  😦

On that note I’ll say thanks for stopping by the blog.  Enjoy your day and be careful.

Wednesday ~ October 28, 2015

Posted by Dave Updegraff on October 28, 2015
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , .

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Happy Wednesday!

A short post for you today with three Black and White images from my visit to the Millwork District on Sunday.  A short post because I overslept and I’m out of time. 🙂

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I want to spend more time at the Millwork District when the light is better and capture a variety of angles and perspectives.

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That’s it for today.  Oh yes, Yea Royals!!   Thanks for stopping by.  Enjoy your day and be careful.

Tuesday ~ Octobere 27, 2015

Posted by Dave Updegraff on October 27, 2015
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , .

October-27-2015

Happy Tuesday!

Some fall foliage for you today.  Yesterday afternoon (waiting on the golden hour) I went to the Dubuque Arboretum to see if I could photograph the waterfall they have there.  I had a technique I had learned and wanted to try it out.

Unfortunately two things were against me yesterday.  One the water falls wasn’t falling.  It was broken and under repair and the golden hour never materialized.  The sky was overcast and gray.  I could see the outline of the sun trying to burn through but it never made its appearance.

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So these first two images I did in HDR.  It works for buildings why not trees and bushes?  I’m happy with the results.  There isn’t much growing at the Arboretum this time of year but it is a peaceful serene place to visit and commune with nature.

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I photographed this guy on Sunday when the sky was a beautiful blue and there was plenty of sunlight.

Nothing of importance on my mind this morning so I’ll thank you for stopping by the blog.  Enjoy your day and be careful.

Monday ~ October 26, 2015

Posted by Dave Updegraff on October 26, 2015
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , .

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Happy Monday!

I have three HDR Images for you today.  If you are viewing this on Facebook you will have to click on the link below the text to come to my blog to see all three images.  Since I never look at my posts on Facebook, until yesterday, I’m wondering if you can always see all the images I post or only the first one?  Can someone let me know?

I’ve wanted to get down to the Millwork District and do some building photography for some time now.  They have spent millions of dollars on refurbishing these old warehouse buildings turning them into upscale apartments, offices, and shops.  Simply put it is a vibrant and fun place to visit.

Anyway, I didn’t start of with the intention of making HDR images.  I was going to shoot for Black and White processing but I chose the wrong time of the day to photograph and so the only way to do the scenes justice was to photograph them in HDR.

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So for the non-photographers who may not know what HDR is, it is short for High Dynamic Range.  The normal human eye can see about 9 – 11 levels of luminance.  Unfortunately most Digital SLR s can only capture 5 levels.  If you expose for the highlights the shadows are pure black and have no detail.  If you expose for the shadows the highlights are blown out and have no detail.

To compensate for that, you shoot a series of shots at the same aperture (like these were taken at f8.0) and the camera will “bracket” the shutter speed by 1 full stop (or what ever number you choose.) You can shoot a series of 3 images or 5 images (like I did here) or even up to 9 images.  Then you (with the help of software) merge them into one image so that all the levels of luminescence are exposed properly.

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Some people do not like HDR images because you can get carried away with the processing and they do not always look realistic.  I happen to think it is just another way of expressing yourself in another art form.  In other words “beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” 🙂

Now that I’ve completely bored you out of your mind, I’ll say that’s it for today.  If you live near the Dubuque area it’s worth your time to visit the Millwork District.  I was really surprised at the number of people visiting some of the shops on Sunday morning.

There were also two photographers shooting.  I assume they were professional, because of their equipment and cameras.  One was photographing a young couple, probably for their engagement photo and another photographing a couple and their three kids in Halloween costumes.  Great fun watching them work.

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

Friday ~ October 23, 2015

Posted by Dave Updegraff on October 23, 2015
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , , .

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Happy Friday!

As they use to say on the Monty Python show, “and now for something completely different.”

I made these images last week while visiting the Mississippi River.  I can never pass up an opportunity to photograph a sail boat especially on a bright sunny day that make the muddy Mississippi look all blue and pretty.

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This pair of Mallard Ducks were just riding the waves watching the world go by.  Didn’t seem to be the least bit bothered by my picture-taking.

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Lock & Dam #11.  Part of the Lock and Dam series of flood control up and down the Mississippi River.

Nothing much else to report.  Having coffee with an old friend this morning and then trying to finish up some projects I have promised to other friends.

Thanks for stopping by the blog.  Enjoy your day, cooler and rainy here today.  Be careful.

Thursday ~ October 22, 2015

Posted by Dave Updegraff on October 22, 2015
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , .

October-21-2015

Happy Thursday!

If you are able to stand upright and take nourishment then take a moment and give praise, thanks, or what ever form of gratitude you believe appropriate.  Life is short and we never know what the next second holds.

A very good friend of mine had a heart attack a couple of days ago.  The good news is that they will be okay.  The other good news is that a fellow employee noticing there was a problem insisted they go to hospital and ended up taking them to the hospital, which more than likely saved their life.

I was chasing the light on the way home last night and decided it was time to visit my favorite tree.  It’s not all that easy and somewhat out of my way to photograph it.  The main problem is that the only place to park is about a half mile from the tree and that requires walking on a very narrow road that is now heavily traveled by big trucks because of a detour.

For you the risk is worth it.  🙂

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Some more harvest scenes for you today.

I didn’t find anything of interest to photograph last night except of course for my tree.  It rained on me a lot of the way home and then cleared up the last half of the trip.

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I have several ideas of things I want to photograph this weekend.  Three things need to happen for that to come together.  First the weather needs to cooperate, I need to actually follow through and go find the “things” on my photography list and finally I have to do a good job of photographing them.  🙂

I am also in the process of learning a new web authoring software that will allow me to make “responsive” websites.  I have used the same basic web authoring software for 15 years and if I want to keep making and managing websites (which I do) I need to learn this new technology.

As my friend says it a journey not a destination so continuous learning is necessary.

That’s it for today.  Thanks for stopping by the blog and listening to my babble.  Enjoy your day and be careful.

Wednesday ~ October 21, 2015

Posted by Dave Updegraff on October 21, 2015
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , .

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Happy Wednesday!

Some more farm and harvest images for you today.  Once again I find myself in my typical state of nothing on my mind of relevance and I’m out of time.  🙂

So you don’t have to read my babble today.

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These images are from my road trip on Thursday.  As you can see from the first image it started out as a very cloudy day.  I was expecting rain but the clouds eventually gave way to blue sky and warm temperatures.

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I have built and managed many websites over the years.  It’s been a hobby / sideline for me and I enjoy it.  I have divested myself of some of the websites of late, some by my choice and some by clients who do not want to pay my increased fees, which is another way of me saying I don’t want to manage this website any more.

Anyway I am finding that ending a website relationship is twice as hard as creating one.  Go figure.  🙂

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

Tuesday ~ October 20, 2015

Posted by Dave Updegraff on October 20, 2015
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , .

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Happy Tuesday!

Back at it today.  I have to say I’m looking forward to getting back to work.  Don’t get me wrong, I certainly enjoy the off time, wearing tee shirts instead of ties, no schedule and usually have a camera in my hand.  But as I’ve said many times on this blog I love what I do and the people I do it for and with.  So it’s always good to get back.

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Some farm scenes for you today.  I drove up to Balltown on Sunday looking for harvest scenes.  There was only one machine in the fields working so I opted for some farm scenes, which I always enjoy capturing images of.

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Short post today as there is nothing on my mind.  🙂

All images were captured with:  Nikon D4 | Nikon 28 – 300 mm lens | ISO 100, 1/800 sec @ f8.0 -7EV

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

Monday ~ October 19, 2015

Posted by Dave Updegraff on October 19, 2015
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , .

October-18-2015-A

Happy Monday!

Tough weekend for Jeanne.  She woke up Saturday morning with a very sore and swollen eye.  Finally went to the doctor and he gave her some eye drops and told her keep warm compresses on her eye.  She was also not allowed to be around the grand kids this weekend because of the danger of giving it to them.  So she stayed pretty close to the house the entire weekend.

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Yesterday afternoon I went looking for some more harvest scenes.  I only found one that was worthy of photographing but came across this old barn in a sad state of repair.  The adjacent building was also falling down.  I thought “black and white” when I was photographing it.

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So a short post for today.  Nothing special on my mind.  All photos were taken with the Nikon D4 fitted with the Nikon 28 – 300 mm lens.  Probably my favorite lens because of the wide flexibility I get with it.  It is also a very sharp lens.  I do have a wide-angle lens but the fact is with the 28 – 300 I rarely find a use for the wide-angle.

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

Sunday ~ October 18, 2015

Posted by Dave Updegraff on October 18, 2015
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , .

October-17-2015

Happy Sunday!

Some random images for you today from yesterday.  I was ready to head out to watch Josh’s last soccer game of the year and notice this beast on the bird bath.  The water had a layer of ice that had formed during the night and he was perplexed as to how he could get a drink.  I think this is a common crow but I’ve never seen one at the bird bath before.

I captured this image using the Nikon D750 with a Nikon 80 – 400 mm lens shooting though the patio door, which hasn’t been cleaned in a couple of weeks.  So all things considered I’m happy with this shot.

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So yesterday was the last soccer game of 2015 for Josh.  It was very cold hovering around 41 degrees with a breeze.  Fun to watch all the parents and grand parents all bundled up and shivering.  The kids didn’t seem to mind the cold as they ran and played.

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Give Gabby some raisins and she is happy.  She doesn’t pay much attention to the game but does enjoy being outside.  She was leaning over her chair and fell into my legs.  She wasn’t hurt but scared.  Cried for a long time in my arms (and really had to work at it.)  I finally gave her back to Angie who put her back in the chair with her raisins and she was happy again. 🙂

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Not a very good shot of Austin.  I was too close for the lens and he was in the shade so some camera shake made this image a little softer than I like.  But what the heck it’s a picture of my grand child so it will work.

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Finally, Angie and Josh head back to their car as Ben had taken Austin and Gabby back to the vehicle to warm up.  Fun time with them all.  Josh is now taking hockey and he really seems to like it.  Only problem is his games are at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday evenings so it will be very difficult for me to make one.  😦

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