Monday ~ February 10, 2013

Posted by Dave Updegraff on February 10, 2014
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , , .

February-09-2014

Happy Monday!  I’m off one more day so with all my projects completed and the temperature so cold I may spend the day processing some photo shoots that I’ve done earlier and people are waiting on.

Yesterday Jeanne and I decided to drive up to Guttenburg to see if we could find some eagles to capture.  Guttenburg has a nice area along the river by the lock and dam and it does afford some good shooting opportunities.  On the way we decided to take some of the less traveled roads since we were in no particular hurry to get anywhere.  I’m glad we did because if we had taken the most direct route we would have missed this guy.

February-09-2014-A

On the other side of the road was this bull.  He was either on something or love was in the air because he would run from one end of his pasture to the other at full speed.  There were other buffalo (I’m assuming females) in an area next to his but they were separated by a fence.  😦

So all he could do was run around and try to impress others.  All to no avail however because he was mostly isolated from everyone else.

February-09-2014-B

We arrived at Guttenburg and was dismayed to find not one eagle in the area.  None flying and not one in the trees surrounding the lock and dam.  The river was frozen solid and except for a narrow strip of open water just below the dam there was no water to be seen.  That narrow strip was surround by ice fishermen so there is no wonder why the eagles were not present.

We had an okay lunch at the Subway in Guttenburg and then decided to head back to Dubuque and check out the lock and dam there.  Same story.  Very little open water and it was inundated with ice fishermen.  We then traveled over to the 16th Street Basin and found some interesting subjects to photography.  More on that in another post.

I guess the best place to capture images of eagles is in Le Claire at lock and dam 14.  My friend Burt has sent some magnificent shots of eagles fishing.  I doubt that I will go there today but you never know.

Thanks for all the birthday greetings on FB.  I do not use FB very much other than I send this blog to it.  So I’m not sure how to respond to all the wonderful birthday wishes other than to say, “Thank You All.”  🙂

That’s it for today.  Enjoy your Monday.  Thanks for stopping by and be careful.

Saturday ~ February 08, 2014

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

Gabby Grace

Happy Saturday!  Fun day yesterday.  I have taken a couple of days off to recharge and I had three projects I wanted to get accomplished.  I got all of them done but not until the end of the day.

My first project involves electronics.   I know enough to be dangerous and that is about it.  I’ve always been fascinated with electronics, but could never seem to wade through the material long enough to gain a good understanding of how things work.   So I follow directions and if the directions do not work I improvise and then I can get into trouble.  Fortunately such was not the case yesterday.  My electronics project took most of the day but when the final piece was in place and I turned it on…   IT Worked!!!!   🙂

Now for the problem.  The whole assembly (that works by the way) has 4 holes that are supposed to allow screws to go into and then, they in turn are supposed to match the 4 threaded receptors on the main housing body.  Well no matter how I turned it at any given time only two holes lined up.  😦

The only alternative that I can see is to drill two new holes and use a screw / bolt combination.  I put the project away to think about that for awhile.

I also had to go to the Hobby Store and the Hardware Store to buy some supplies for a piece of electronics that also needs to be attached to the main housing body but there is no pre-designed  way to receive it.  So I have to take “something” and make it into “something else” to work.

This is beyond the capabilities of my tiny brain.  I will have to do some more research.  That is one of the things I love about YouTube®.  If you have a question on how to do something you can type in some search words on their site and are almost guaranteed that someone will have posted a video explaining how to do it.  Is this a great country or what?

Joshsu Michael

Mark came home last evening to celebrate his birthday (which was on the 2nd) and he decided he would like to have a steak for dinner at home.  So I grilled up three steaks and we had a great meal.

Then Angie and Ben called and wondered if we’d like a Dairy Queen® treat for dessert.  They couldn’t make it for dinner but wanted to stop by and say hi to Mark and wish him happy birthday.

It was really fun to see my kids (yes Ben is my kid as well) and grand kids.  So that was my fun Friday.  A very enjoyable day.

I did go out for a little while and try to capture some winter images but nothing caught my eye.  I’ll see what the eagles are up to today.

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

Friday ~ February 07, 2014

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

February-06-2014

Happy Friday!  It’s been a couple of days since my last post.  My last post was of a deer and that is also the subject of this post.  Yesterday I was at Camp Courageous facilitating a retreat and we finished up around 4:10 p.m.  The sun was a soft yellow and it was perfect for taking images.  But what of?

On the way back to the office (I took the Caves Road) I started seeing lots of deer.  Mostly in the fields but as I got closer to the Wildwood area they were closer to the road.   There were three times that I either had to slow down or stop completely to let the deer decide which way they were going to run.  This group above was three that I had to stop for.  Once they cleared the road I pulled onto the shoulder, got out, and walked up to the top of the hill so I could get a better look at them.  They were waiting for me to take this shot.  🙂

February-06-2014-A

I also had to stop for this doe.  This was shot from my car and yes she is that close to me.  I did shoot it with the 80 – 400 mm lens but I only had it at about 120 mm focal length.  Both images were shot at ISO 400 1/1250 sec @f8.0.  These were not the only deer I saw on my way back but the only ones that lent themselves to a photograph.  I know I am a little paranoid about deer but wow there are a lot of them this year.

I’m taking a few days off for R&R and hope to do some shooting.  I was also hoping to make some shots with the Phantom but the weather is not going to cooperate.  24 degrees is the recommended lowest temperature to fly in and it is not going to get that high over the 4 days I’m off.  So the Phantom will stay grounded. 😦

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

Tuesday ~ February 04, 2014

Posted by Dave Updegraff on February 4, 2014
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , .

Deer in a field

Happy Tuesday.  Yesterday I ate a quick-lunch and then drove through the countryside looking for things to capture with my camera.  Nothing special about this doe.  She is one of over 200 that I saw in my 25 minute drive.  I stopped counting at about 145 because it was pointless.

It is no wonder I see them lying by the roadside about every day.  They were thick in some places trying to find anything to eat in the harvested corn fields.  Other areas it would only be a doe and couple of her fawns.  They are a beautiful creature but they sure make it dangerous for night-time driving.

On the way home last night I must have seen another hundred deer in the fields and then on one of the country roads I take home, at one place there were three of us backed up waiting for 5 deer, who were walking along the side of the road, to move out-of-the-way.

A Winter scene

This image of a frozen river has no main subject.  It was at the end of a turn around located at a little park I drove through.  I just thought it made a nice winter scene.  The sky was a soft blue with some wispy clouds and the golden prairie grass contrasted with the white snow.  Well I thought it was a pretty scene. 🙂

That’s it for today.  I hope you enjoy your Tuesday.  More winter weather coming today and tomorrow.  Yea!  Thanks for stopping by the blog and be careful.

Monday ~ February 03, 2014

Posted by Dave Updegraff on February 3, 2014
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: .

Just and Ice Cycle

I know, how lame is this.  It is a common or (uncommon), depending on your point of view, ice-cycle.  That’s all I have to post for today. On the technical side, I shot this at 8,000 ISO because it was around 5:30 p.m. and dark enough that I needed that ISO to get 1/60 sec shutter speed at f5.6.  I was impressed with the low noise after some modest adjustment in Lightroom 5.

I didn’t venture out much this weekend other than to clean more snow off the driveway and sidewalks and to chauffeur Jeanne to the grocery store.  That was the extent of my outdoor experience.  Too cold to fly the Phantom so I just vegged.

Enjoy your Monday.  Thanks for stopping by and I hope to have something a little more interesting for you as the week unfolds.  Be careful.

 

Saturday ~ February 01, 2014

Posted by Dave Updegraff on February 1, 2014
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , , , .

Asher and Lisa

Happy Saturday!  I usually do not have a post on Saturday but I will make an exception this Saturday to tell briefly about an exceptional man, whom I’ve had the good fortune to have met and known these past 14 years through Rotary.

His name is Asher Schroeder and he is of our greatest generation.  The young lady next to Asher is his neighbor and good friend Lisa Clark.  Lisa works at Maquoketa State Bank in Maquoketa and her and her husband have two sons.  Everyone knows Lisa as one of the most caring and considerate people you will ever meet.  She watches over Asher and makes sure he is taking care of himself.

Ashers' Medals

In August of 1943 Asher was inducted into the Army to serve in the theater of War and was shipped to Europe.  He landed at Utah Beach on June 10th and he recounts his amazing story from that period on.

I have heard Asher speak of the war on different occasions but only in casual conversations and only bits and pieces Two weeks ago he gave the program at Rotary and it was a captivating recollection of an event that happened more than 70 years ago with specific dates and vivid memories.  He did this without notes or any other visual aids.  It was a remarkable story to listen to.

Asher Schroeder

Yesterday our bank, Maquoketa State Bank, had Asher come and speak to the entire staff at their weekly meeting.  He told his story again and it was just as remarkable hearing it two weeks later as it was the first time.

Dennis Voy, a fellow Rotarian and owner of KMAQ FM / AM Radio in Maquoketa was on hand as well and he video taped the presentation.  He posted it on YouTube® and I have linked to it below.  It is 46 minutes long but I can tell you that you won’t find a better 46 minutes to watch.  We are losing this generation at an alarming rate and anytime we can share in their remarkable giving and sacrifice is well worth the time.  I encourage you to click on the link and listen to his story.

As always thank you for stopping by the blog.  Enjoy your snowy Saturday and be careful.

Friday ~ January 31, 2014

Posted by Dave Updegraff on January 31, 2014
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , .

abandoned house

It’s just an old abandoned house that I came across this week in some of my travels.  I like the old antique look of this image.

My Son, Mark turns 23 on Sunday.  It’s so hard to believe.  He is a hard-working guy with a ‘can do attitude’ and I’m very proud of the young man he has become.  He has had some challenges in his life as everyone does and he has stood up straight and taken them on without complaint and over come them all.  That is after all the true test of an individual, how they handle adversity.

That’s it for today.  I haven’t been able to fly the Phantom since the “lost on the Mississippi episode.”  So many things I want to do with it and the weather just hasn’t cooperated.  There will be opportunities ahead I’m sure.

Much to contemplate in the weeks ahead.  Thanks for all the supportive comments from my dear friends.  I am so grateful for your friendship and support.

Enjoy this Friday.  This is number 5 and there are only 47 more this year.  🙂  Be careful.

Thursday ~ January 30, 2014

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

January-29-2014-B

Good Day!  I grabbed a quick-lunch yesterday and then went looking for things to make images of.  When I came into Maquoketa yesterday morning this guy was sitting in this tree looking much like he does here.  He was still in the same spot at noon and then when I left Maquoketa around 4:30 p.m. to travel to one of our banks for an evening meeting he was still there.  Either he is totally confused or has the patience of a saint.  🙂  I’m not sure there are a lot of fish that are going to swim by his field of vision right now but I have to admire his tenacity.

January-29-2014-A

Sometimes it doesn’t take much to amuse me.  I was driving up a narrow gravel road when I caught a glimpse of movement off to my left.  So I stopped and once I got the camera to my eye I could see it was a squirrel digging in the snow.  He was very busy and snow was flying everywhere.  I tried to get some shots of that but none of them turned out to my liking.

January-29-2014

Finally he emerged with this pod and spent the next ten minutes eating on it.  His face is all covered with snow from his digging and rooting around.  Like I said it doesn’t take much to amuse me and I sat there watching him for 10 – 15 minutes.   Sad isn’t it.  🙂

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

Wednesday ~ January 29, 2014

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

Eagles fighting

Happy Hump Day.  Short post today.  This is one of the images I captured from the lock and dam on January 4th.  These two battled for several minutes and finally the juvenile gave up and flew away.  Once he did that the mature eagle landed near this spot and just sat there.  So apparently they were fighting over a small piece of ice on which to stand.  We humans tend to do the same thing.  In the HR world we call it “turf protection.”

Thanks for stopping by.  Enjoy your cold wintery day, although it will seem down right balmy today with a predicted high of 25 degrees.  Be careful.

Tuesday ~ January 28, 2013

Posted by Dave Updegraff on January 28, 2014
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , .

January-24-2014-2A

Happy Tuesday.  I only ventured out yesterday long enough to clear my drifted in driveway and the sidewalks.  That took about an hour and a half  and I was a Popsicle by the time I was done.  I received an email from my friend Burt who showed one of the best eagle shots I have seen that he took yesterday in a minus 20 degree windchill.   I admire his tenacity but must admit that I would not have stood outside yesterday for any period of time even if it were to catch an image of an eagle.  I am a wimp and I admit it. 🙂

Here is another image from the Friday night Gala.  These women all work at DAC in Maquoketa and I know a couple of them.  This one took a lot of time because some of the background was not green screen so I had to improvise.  I set the background up to take an image of two people (three tops) so this was really a stretch for both the background and the 85 mm f1.4 lens.  I didn’t have that much room to back up and so it was hard to get them all in.

All things considered I’m happy with the way it turned out.

Hope you have a great day.  Thanks for stopping by the blog.  Be careful and stay warm.