Sunday ~ May 18, 2014

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

May-17-2014

Happy Sunday!  ~  306

A rare Sunday post for me but I was excited to show you some new images and tell you about a wonderful Saturday filled with photography, friendship, surprises and new gear.  A lot to talk about and some fun images to look at.

My friend Andreas has wanted to shoot with my 80 – 400 mm lens as he is considering getting one.  He graciously invited me to his home on Saturday to shoot some images of the wildlife that make their homes near him and to test the lens.  It is always fun to get with Andreas and talk photography.  He is technically proficient and an excellent photographer.  He was born and raised in Germany and is an engineer by trade so he is very meticulous in his preparation and shooting.  He produces beautiful images and over the years I have enjoyed our friendship.

He loves nature and really knows and understands the subjects he photographs.  Andreas once laid on his stomach in the snow and cold for over two hours to capture a wonderful set of images of a fox.  I will post a link < to his blog (you may never come back here.)  🙂

His home is nestled in the woods up by Durango, Iowa and it is a wildlife paradise.  With bird feeders galore, bird baths and lots of branches and trees to enjoy.  We sat on his front porch for three hours just talking and shooting.  It was an enjoyable morning and I want to thank Andreas for inviting me up.  I made over 900 images in those three hours with lots and lots of duplicates but I was just having so much fun I wanted to capture everything.

May-17-2014-A

While we were shooting and visiting I got a text from Jeanne and it read, “Your new Tamron 150 – 600 mm lens is in.”  What?!?!?  I didn’t understand.  I had ordered the new lens on December 21, 2013 from Adorama (it is a new product not yet released) and have been impatiently waiting for the email that says, “Your lens has shipped.”

So how would she know since she doesn’t read my emails?  I called her and she said that there was a message on the answering machine when she got home that said my lens was in.  Then I remembered about 3 weeks ago I was at Photo Pro in Cedar Rapids and I mentioned to the owner that I had ordered the lens from Adorama and was really getting frustrated with the wait.  He said, “I can get it just as quick as they can.”  Sure I thought, but said heck yes, go ahead and order one for me.  That was the call and so Jeanne and I headed for Cedar Rapids to pick up my new lens.  🙂

May-17-2014-B

After picking up the lens we did some shopping for the house and then had a wonderful lunch and conversation at Granite City.  If you’ve never eaten there I would highly recommend it.  We got home around 6:00 p.m. and I shot some test shots with the new lens.  Some were great and some were not, mostly because of me.  Two things right off the bat that really impress me with this lens.  #1 How incredibly fast it focuses and #2 how very quite it is.  More information on it as I learn to shoot it.

So we finally got home and I decided I would lay down and rest for a few minutes.  Jeanne woke me up at 10:00 p.m and told me to get up and go to bed.  🙂

I processed photos until midnight and then finally called it a day.  Wonderful weekend doing what I love to do.

Thanks for stopping by the blog.  Oh and by the way this female cardinal is for you Ronnie.

The first image is of a Scarlet Tanager, the second one is a Redheaded Downy Woodpecker, and the third one is a female Cardinal.  All images were shot with:  Nikon D4 | Sigma 50 – 500 mm lens |  ISO 400, 1/1250 sec @ f8.0

Enjoy this beautiful day and be careful.

Friday ~ May 16, 2014

Posted by Dave Updegraff on May 16, 2014
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , .

My Favorite Tree

Happy Friday!  ~  308

No it didn’t snow yesterday but it still reminds me of Winter.  Cold, damp, and gray.  Enjoyable day yesterday with the employee training.  It is a lot like a retreat with a lot of high energy activity and some cerebral time as well.  The training was held at Camp Courageous, a remarkable establishment dedicated to helping people with challenges enjoy nature and all it has to offer.  It is a wonderful place to experience.

There are lots of trees and interesting things to photograph at the camp and so I intended to wander around the camp during the lunch break and capture some images.  Unfortunately around 10:00 a.m. it started to rain and it continued raining the rest of the day.  The staff at the camp always give our staff a tour of the camp and it is always enjoyed by everyone.  That got canceled as well.  I felt bad for the young campers as well because during the Spring, Summer and Fall the camp has so many fun outdoor activities.  They also now offer a Winter activity for their campers.

Why the above image?  Well, since I didn’t have anything current for this morning’s blog and as I was looking through some of my images I saw this one of my favorite tree that was taken March 06, 2014.  Not all that long ago and it is a reminder (not that we really need one) of the difficult winter we had and continue to have some remnants of yet today.

That’s it for today.  No pontification or profound thoughts to end the week.  Just a humble thank you for checking out the blog.  Enjoy your Friday and be careful.

 

 

Thursday ~ May 15, 2015

Posted by Dave Updegraff on May 15, 2014
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , .

Killdeer

Happy Thursday  ~  309

Another short post today.  I have employee training all day today so I’ve got to get going as the training is being held at Camp Courageous near Monticello, Iowa.

I really enjoy the interaction with people and helping them learn new things.  It is one of my favorite things to do.  I enjoy being of service to others (most of the time.) 🙂

Last evening after work my good Friend Jake and I went out to Derby Grange driving range to see what kind of condition our golf swings were in.  We both play in a charity best shot next week so no real pressure on one to perform all that much.  At one point in my life I played and practice golf almost to the exclusion of all else.  I practiced enough to finally reach of my goal having a single digit handicap.  I actually got down to a 9 hdcp.  It was short-lived and would generally bounce between a 10 – 12 most of the time I played.

In 2000 I decided that I couldn’t do both photography and golf and since the most enjoyment I received was from photography I cut back on my golfing activities.  Work also played a role in that.  I simply didn’t have the time available to practice and with no natural athletic abilities it didn’t take long for what little skill I had developed to deteriorate.   So then golf became even less enjoyable because I could no longer play to the level I once had.

I only ramble about this so that you understand last night.  I played a grand total of 4 times in 2013 with the last time being late August.  I had not touched a club until last night and it was like the first time I ever tried hitting a golf ball. YUK!  Maybe at the event I’ll just stick to putting.  🙂

That’s it for today.  Hope you enjoy the image of this little Killdeer.  I love the red in their eyes.

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

Wednesday ~ March 14, 2014

Posted by Dave Updegraff on May 14, 2014
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , .

Just an old house

Happy Wednesday  ~  310

Short post this morning as I am running late.  Jeanne has me doing so many chores around the house that I don’t have time for the important things.  🙂

I took a different road home last night a came across this wonderful old structure.  With the lush green grass and a few animals roaming around and the rough ground made, for me at least, a wonderful scene.  The real problem came in processing the image as there was one massive power line running across the image, that no matter what angle I tried to shoot from I still got part of the line in the image.  A few meticulous minutes in Photoshop and it is gone.

Oh, I almost forgot.  I sent an email to the gimbal company ( it’s been 8 weeks since I ordered the gimbal for the Vision 2.)  Surprisingly they responded back in a few minutes saying that I was now 128th on the build order.  The guy I correspond with from Great Britain said their little company is now up to producing 100 gimbals a week.  So hopefully I’ll have it in a couple of weeks.

I hope you enjoy the image and your day.  Thanks as always for stopping by and be careful.

Tuesday ~ May 13, 2014

Posted by Dave Updegraff on May 13, 2014
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , .

Geese and their gosslings

Happy Tuesday  ~  311

A potpourri of images and ramblings this morning with no discernible correlation to anything.

The good news is there is new life at the pond.  Last week I made this image of Mom and Dad with their 11 goslings learning to paddle in unison.  I know, if you count you’ll more than likely come up with only 10, that’s because one is hiding behind his sister.  Trust me there are 11 in the group.  I keep worrying about them.  The parents seem hell-bent on crossing the Hurstville road to invade a cornfield on the other side.  It’s just a question of time I’m afraid until some of the family is wiped out.  I hope I’m wrong.

Two Men in a boat

I pass this little pond / marsh land every night on the way home.  It is on the East side of North 61 highway.  It is a nice looking area and would be even better with wildlife on it but I’ve never seen one goose, duck, or anything other type of bird for that matter.  So last night on the way home I saw this canoe / boat in the water with two guys fishing.  Well I had to made a couple of u-turns to check them out.  You don’t need a regular paddle if you have a snow shovel.  🙂

Red-Winged Black Bird

Finally, I’ll leave you with this Red-Winged Black Bird doing his thing at one end of the duck pond.  I was looking for some little coots but this guy was all I could find.  Typical aggressor that they are he was giving me a piece of his mind for invading his protected territory.

So that’s what I have for you today.  Kind of a rough week ahead weather wise, lots of rain and storms in the forecast.  Hopefully the weather will smooth out a little.  Good time to figure out and install the new gimbal on the Phantom.  Perhaps I’ll do that this week and show you the results.

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

Monday ~ May 12, 2014

Posted by Dave Updegraff on May 12, 2014
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , .

Mark and Jeanne share a moment

Happy Monday!  ~  312

Pretty veggie weekend for me.  Some maintenance around the house and my head on Saturday and then enjoyed having Mark home to celebrate Mother’s Day on Sunday.

Mark’s gift to his Mother was some flowers, which he then helped her plant.  It made Jeanne very happy and I tried to capture the moment.

Took both Phantoms up for flights Saturday and Sunday.  No video to show because it was just the same old stuff of the neighborhood.  With each flight more experience is gained and more confidence.  I practiced some fancy flying at low altitude with the Vision version had a couple of crashes into the soft grass with no damage.

Jeanne took her dog for a walk yesterday evening and so I thought it would be fun to take the Phantom up and follow her.  I got it in the air about 10 minutes into her walk and I could not see her with my goggles.  Of course at 250 feet she just looks like a speck.  On the video I saw her several times and she was waving but through the goggles I saw nothing.  So much for surveillance.    🙂

That’s it for today.  I hope you had a wonderful Mother’s Day.  It was fun this morning looking on Facebook and seeing my friends with their Mothers.  I miss my Mother and her giving way.

Enjoy your day, thanks for stopping by, and be careful.

Friday ~ May 09, 2014

Posted by Dave Updegraff on May 9, 2014
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , , , .

There Be Pelicans

Happy, Happy Friday!!  ~  315

I have a mixed bag of goodies for you today.  Well actually that’s misleading.  I have several disjointed and unrelated stories to share.  First things first.  One of the three items that have been on order for ever is coming Monday.  I received an email today from the company that it is being shipped tomorrow for a Monday delivery.  Of the three items I have on order it is the one I’m the least excited about.  Don’t get me wrong I’m happy to finally get it, but it could have come last and that would have been just fine.

A Pair of Flying Geese

As you can see from the first image, what appeared to me to be 4 swans when I first pulled up to the pond turned out to be 4 pelicans.  This is the first time in a couple of years that I have seen pelicans at the duck pond.  I’m wondering if there will be a bunch more tomorrow morning.  The last time they showed up there were a lot of them and it was in the morning.

I love how geese fly in pairs and groups of fours.  They seem to fly in formation where ever they go and I was happy to capture this pair as they were leaving the duck pond last evening.

Turf Protection

Still a sad scene of the destroyed nest with the abandoned eggs lying around.  There was a couple of geese messing around the nest looking like they were tidying up the place when these guys came in attack mode.  At one point I thought one of the geese was actually going to roll the egg back to the nest (for all the good it would do) but she just looked at it and went on her way.   Very strange circumstances.

Some of the geese have goslings.  I photographed a couple that had 14 little ones.  They were in the pond on Wednesday but on the way home they were crossing the highway so no telling how many will be left in a few days.  This is an emotional roller-coaster following some of these guys at the duck pond.

That’s it for today.  Enjoy your Friday and the up coming weekend.  Thanks for stopping by and be careful.

Thursday ~ May 08, 2014

Posted by Dave Updegraff on May 8, 2014
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , .

Corn Crib

Happy Thursday  ~  316

A couple of old farm structures for you today.  Something about old farm buildings that attracts my interest.  These were taken in the early afternoon so the light was not good but I just couldn’t pass them up.

Had lunch with my good friend from DeWitt yesterday.  I hadn’t seen her in some time and it was good to catch up on what’s been going on in her life.

I think one of the things I might do to get out of my self-imposed rut is follow what a photographer from Great Britain does.  He picks a location or actually has his readers pick a location and then he spends fifteen minutes there making a good of images as possible.  I am always amazed at what he comes up with.  If you narrow your focus you naturally become more attentive to things in the field of focus.  Makes sense to me so I will give that a go.

Farm Building

I guess since this is supposed to be a blog about photography and not necessarily about my often times incoherent ramblings I should occasionally throw in some information about settings.  So these images were shot with:  Nikon D600 (RAW) | Nikon 80 – 400 mm F4.5-5.6 VRII lens |  ISO 100 1/160 of sec @ f6.3  |  First image at 220 mm focal length – second images 210 focal length.

I am having another problem with Mediacom.  Those who have followed this blog for some time remember my last go around with them.  I ended up filing a complaint with cable commission and finally got some satisfaction and resolution to that problem.  We’re not there yet but it seems that we may be headed to another complaint filed.    I will exercise my full limit of patience before I do anything rash.  🙂

Well that’s it for today.  I hope you enjoy your day.  Thanks as always for checking on my humble blog and be careful.  It is a dangerous world out there.

Wednesday ~ May 07, 2014

Posted by Dave Updegraff on May 7, 2014
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , .

Our Neighborhood at 400 feet

Happy Wednesday  ~  317

I am not a patient person.  Those who know me will attest to that.  So back in November 2013 Tamron™ announced the release of a new lens.  It was the Tamron SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD Auto focus lens.  600 mm is only 100 mm longer than my current long lens but that extra 100 mm was appealing to me and apparently a lot of other people.  Anyway the announcement was made on November 17th and I started checking the websites of my two favorite camera stores on a regular basis.  Neither had it listed even for preorder.  Then on December 12th it was on one of the camera stores’ website and I ordered it that day.  It is surprisingly listed for a reasonable price considering what I’ve read about it.

Now fast forward five months and reading several forums about the delay and it is somewhat gratifying to realize that although I am an inpatient person I don’t even hold a candle to some of the folks on those forum websites.  🙂

So the latest release date (rumored) is now May 15th but of course that depends where you are in the order que and a lot of other factors.  I expect to get my lens around October 2015.

I haven’t been having much luck finding things that I want to photograph so Tuesday evening I took the Phantom up for a very quick flight to test out the new antenna.   It was too windy to fly really and I didn’t want to get too far away from the transmitter in case I had problems so I just went up and took a few shots and then back down.  The neighborhood looks so much better with the beautiful green grass and budding trees.  Don’t you just love Spring!

That’s it for today.  Busy day ahead with the usual assortment of challenges.  Enjoy your day.  Thanks for stopping by the blog and be careful.

Monday ~ May 05, 2014

Posted by Dave Updegraff on May 5, 2014
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , , .

Kayaks on the river

Happy Monday!  ~  319

Unproductive weekend for me.  The weather Saturday lent itself to naps and vegging.

Then yesterday I worked on my presentation most of the morning, that I gave yesterday evening to a group of 4-H members from Charlotte.  The group was in the 10 – 14 age range (I guessing) along with some adults, so I’m guessing altogether there were probably 15 people there.  My presentation was on the fundamentals of photography.

Photography is a complex subject and I really tried to keep it simple.  After some basics about shutter speed, aperture, and ISO I mainly showed images that demonstrated some of the basic rules of photography.  Like the rule of thirds, leading lines, patterns, etc.  The kids seemed to enjoy it and there were some questions afterwards, which is always good.

Jeanne and I had a good time there and then we took some new roads home that I haven’t traveled before.  At one point we crossed the Maquoketa River and saw these two kayaks floating down the river.  I got pulled over and ran (a fast walk for me) back to the bridge.  Jeanne said, “They”ll be gone by the time you get there.”  It’s not exactly the shot I wanted but it’s what I have for you today.

I hope you enjoy your day.  Thanks for stopping by the blog and be careful.