Posted by Dave Updegraff on October 7, 2013
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October-06-2013-A

Happy Monday!  I know I said yesterday I was going to get some fresh images for today’s blog and that is what I have, however what I meant by that was, I intended to go on a photo shoot yesterday and capture some new images of wildlife or the harvest.

I worked on the yard most of the morning (hoping this is the last time for 2013) and then I had to finish up a project that I promised almost a year ago.  😦  I know… Don’t judge me too harshly.  It was just one of those photo projects that was promised in a weak moment and then kept getting pushed off because of more pressing projects.  Finally got it done and then of course it was time for a nap.

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Actually the kids were coming over for dinner and they were going to arrive around 4:30 p.m. so there wouldn’t have been time to go out looking for images.  Besides why look for images when I’ve got such great subject matter with the grand kids.  🙂

My apologies to Ben as I didn’t capture him with either of the kids yesterday.

Ben drove himself and the kids over and Angie ran the six miles from their home.  She loves to run but doesn’t get the opportunity as one can imagine with a 6 month and a (almost) 3-year-old.

Fun evening with the family.  Ate too much and was miserable for the rest of the evening, but it’s all good.

Enjoy your Monday.  Thanks for stopping by the blog and as always be careful.

Sunday ~ October 06, 2013

Posted by Dave Updegraff on October 6, 2013
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , .

Great Egret

You would think after spending 2.5 days in class last week, the last thing I would want to do is take on more training.  Well yesterday was kind of iffy weather wise and so I got hooked on a course on portrait retouching and I spent over six hours with that class.  I learned some amazing new techniques and short cuts.  Of course when you consider that the average person only retains about 25% of what they see and hear and are only able to process 25% of that it into useful skills it doesn’t amount too much training at all.  🙂

I experienced one of the best speakers Friday that I have ever had the pleasure of listening to.  He was one of those engaging, funny, knowledgeable, and entertaining people you just enjoy being around.  He spoke almost non stop for 1 hour and 20 minutes and when he had finished it seemed like only five minutes had passed.  It is by far the best training session I have ever attended.  How I would love  to have those skills.

Not much in the way of a post today.  Just didn’t want to go two days without posting.  The Great Egret coming in for a landing is from a shoot we did a couple of weeks ago at the 16th Street Basin.  They are such a graceful bird and I enjoy watching them fly, fish, and just stand in the water for that matter.

Enjoy your day and thank you for stopping by the blog.  I will have some fresh images for you tomorrow.  Be careful.

Friday ~ October 04, 2013

Posted by Dave Updegraff on October 4, 2013
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , .

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Some more of my shoot from the hotel on Wednesday.  I didn’t get out with my camera on Thursday.  I was basically in class from 7:45 a.m. until 5:30 p.m.   Some of the classes were great but there were a couple that I really wanted to attend that were full.  I was late getting out of one session and by the time I got to the one I really wanted it was full and closed.

Of course there is only so much material that can be covered in an hour and 15 minutes.  So who knows how much I really missed by not getting to attend the sessions I wanted to.  I have a couple of classes tomorrow that I will make sure I will be there, even if I have to leave a session early to get to the one I really want.

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The first image is a man-made water fall at the far end of the small lake on the hotel property.  I know that you are supposed to make a timed exposure so the water is silky smooth but that is not really representative of what I saw.  Besides, those images of running water that are smooth and blurry are not really to my liking. It doesn’t look natural to me so I just did it the way I like.  🙂

The second image is of one area of the lake (that I talked about yesterday) where the fish were so thick they were bumping into each other.  I know that it is not a quality shot but you get the idea of just how many fish are in the lake.

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Finally who doesn’t like a nice spider image.  🙂    This actually was the first image I captured Wednesday evening.  I was just starting down the stairs to explore the lake and I saw this guy sitting down to dinner and decided to start my photography odyssey with him.

I’m home this evening.  As I mature I find travel less and less enjoyable.  I like the comforts of home (be it ever so humble.)  I hope you enjoy your Friday and the weekend as well.  Thanks for checking out the blog.  I was in a bloviating mood this morning, but as usual I do not have the time to pontificate.  Perhaps this weekend I’ll have more time to opine. 🙂

Be careful.

Thursday ~ October 03, 2013

Posted by Dave Updegraff on October 3, 2013
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , , .

October-02-2013

Happy Thursday!  I’m in Coralville, Iowa today for training.  I have to get so many hours of training each year to keep my certification.  My first class yesterday afternoon was so-so, but there are some great topics today and I’m looking forward to several of the classes that I’ve signed up for.

I’m staying at the Coralville Marriott and behind the property is a natural area complete with a small lake and an elevated walk way completely around the natural area.  It also has a rail on both sides so for a person like me who would rather not have a close encounter with a snake it is a perfect way to explore.  🙂

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After class I took my camera and walked some of the path around the lake to capture some images with the soft light of the setting sun.  I really like the first image.  As I walked around the lake I was surprised by the number of fish swimming near the surface.  I’m talking hundreds of fish.  In one area there were some pretty big guys and then as I walked along I would find groups of smaller and smaller sized fish down to a place where they were just about the size of minnows.

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My biggest treat for the day was having dinner with Mark and Taylor.  It was fun hearing about their days what they’ve been up to.  When the kids were growing up I was not interested in being their friend.  My job (as I saw it) was to teach them to be resourceful, respectful, and responsible.  I feel like we accomplished that and now the great thing is that I can enjoy them as great adults.  I’m very proud of them both.  Although Mark and Taylor still had lots of energy after dinner and were up for more,   I opted to say good night.  🙂

I reread my notes from the day’s class and then tried to watch a little of the MLB play off game but at some point faded off to La La land.  🙂

That’s it for today.  Should be an enjoyable day as I love learning new things.  I hope you enjoy your day.  Thanks for stopping by and be careful.

Wednesday ~ October 02, 2013

Posted by Dave Updegraff on October 2, 2013
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , .

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Happy Hump Day!  I stopped by the Duck Pond yesterday on my lunch break and was able to get fairly close to the swans.  The light was high and bright but I was more interested in getting a shot of the swans than trying to make a prize-winning image.  They seem to be doing well, although there is little water left in the marsh, it appears they are doing what is necessary to stay fed and safe.  One of the dangers they will face before too much longer is when they start to fly.  There are some high voltage power lines on the North side of the pond and they’ll have to navigate beyond them.

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I love this time of year and the harvest.  I enjoy the softer light on my evening commute and the machines in the fields harvesting the crops.  I saw a half-dozen combines in fields on the way home last evening but this one the only one that I could get a safe place to park and capture a couple of images.

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Another field where the harvest is completed.  A couple of grain wagons sit at the far end of the field and they have already baled up the corn stalks.

So you can expect to see a fair amount of harvest type images in the month ahead.  I really enjoy shooting the process and the wonderful warm colors of Fall.

I hope you have a great day.  Thanks for stopping by the blog.  Be careful.

Tuesday ~ October 01, 2013

Posted by Dave Updegraff on October 1, 2013
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , .

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It is a poignant moment when something that has been around for a long time finally comes to an end.  It carries so many emotions with it and most of them are not pleasant.  That was today as we closed the small branch bank in Charlotte, Iowa.  It could no longer be justified financially and it was long over due to be closed.  Never the less it is always a sad thing to do.

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The memories in this old bank are beyond the scope of my ramblings today.  Some of the original equipment and ornate materials from the beginning are still there.  Other places there is the freshness of a retro fit some few years past.

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So it was at 4:00 p.m. today the little bank in the little town closed its doors for the last time and as the money was counted down the and the vault sealed.  One can only wonder what fate awaits this stately old building.

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

Monday ~ September 30, 2013

Posted by Dave Updegraff on September 30, 2013
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September-29-2013

Happy Monday.  Yesterday, as is our normal Sunday evening custom, Jeanne and I took a photo drive.  She wanted to go up to Mud Lake Park and see if we could see any wildlife.  It is a pretty drive and we hoped to see some Fall colors, although it is a bit early for that, some of the trees are starting to show some color.

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The wildlife consisted of some Canadian Geese, who insisted on remaining in the shade near the bank o the river so that about all I could get was a silhouette of them, some gulls that were too far away to shoot and then I happened to see this Blue Heron slowly stalking up the side of the canal looking for dinner.

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I watched him for 30 minutes, taking one slow step at a time, getting his head very close to the water and then stabbing at the water.  Several times he came up empty but on this particular attempt he got a small fish for his efforts.

I love to watch Herons hunt for food.  They are usually pretty timid and fly at the first sign of a human but he was deeply engaged in his hunting so he didn’t seem to mind me clicking away.  Just as we were leaving I saw some more movement from him and when I put the camera lens on him I saw that he had a pretty good-sized fish in his mouth.  He was really fighting with it and I got a few shots but they were blurry and not very good.  He was shaking his head and moving to shore because as the old adage goes, “he had bit off more than he could chew.”  🙂

That’s it for today.  I hope you have a good day and thanks as always for stopping by the blog.  Be careful.

Sunday ~ September 29, 2013

Posted by Dave Updegraff on September 29, 2013
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , , , , .

September-28-2013

Until yesterday I had never been to a “Color Me Run.”  I didn’t know what to expect but was interested in photographing some of the experience.  This is what I think I know about it.  The “color” is a corn starch product that is not permanent and will not hurt the skin or any other part of the body.  It also will not permanently stain clothing or any other inanimate objects such as cars.

So there are four stations or areas along the route and each station has one color and one station has all the colors.  There may have only been three stations (I’m not clear on that.)  The colors are blue, yellow and magenta.

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At each station you can also get a drink of water.  People then throw the powdery color at you as you run past the station.  You get some interesting combinations when it is mixed with water (or sweat) and the colors start to blend with each other.  I was only at one station and they were just throwing the yellow power.  I was under the impression that it was a mix of water and powder and then that got thrown at the runners.  I’m not sure.

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Now matter how it was supposed to be done everyone seemed to enjoy it for the most part.  There were actually three runs yesterday.  A timed 5K run for the serious runners, the color me run, and then a kids color me run.   The weather was iffy up to race time.

Once the color run was just about over it started raining and then as you are aware it rained the rest of the day.  Too bad because the Maquoketa Chamber had planned so many wonderful events for the community including “Muscle On Main.”   The Coronado Car Club was presenting a vintage car show on Main Street complete with music and food.  Since we were baby sitting Josh yesterday I left after the race was over and the rain started.  I hope they got to have some part of the other events.

That’s it for today.  I hope you enjoy your Sunday.  Thanks for stopping by and be careful.

Saturday ~ September 28, 2013

Posted by Dave Updegraff on September 28, 2013
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , .

September-27-2013

Happy Saturday!  Today is the big Hillbilly Hotfoot event in Maquoketa, Iowa.  There is still time to sign up and participate.

What’s with the grill full of burgers?  One of the things that makes me extremely proud to work for the organization I do is the way it gives back to the communities we serve.  There are so many ways that community banks in general help the communities they serve but our organization goes above and beyond.

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This blog post today is about one of our banks and their unique and creative way of giving back to the community.  As you can imagine all banks are solicited on an almost daily basis for contributions and sponsorships of one kind or another.  One of our bank Presidents decided it was time to make a change in that never-ending cycle and still make a substantive contribution to worthy groups.  He based his philosophy on the principle of, “if you give a person a fish you feed them for a day (and they’ll be back tomorrow), if you teach them how to fish they will feed themselves for a life time.”

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So when a group came to the bank looking for a donation they were presented with a different proposition.  “We’ll help you raise funds.”  From that was born “Grilling For Charity.”  Our organization supplies all the necessary items for the cookout including the labor, food, location, delivery, and some of the advertising and we ask the group to help by spreading the word in their circles of influence and helping with some of the labor.  It’s a big project and requires a lot of work to put one of these on.

You can imagine that it takes many of our employees (who we are paying for their work), all the food costs, and we deliver the food to all kinds of businesses.  All we ask for is a good will donation for the Charity we are grilling for.

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Yesterday was the last grilling event for 2013 and it was held at our branch in Goose Lake, Iowa.  It was for the school booster club and was held on Home Coming Friday.  You can imagine the amount of food it takes to feed the entire football team.  🙂

Many of the local community members came out as well and it was another successful event.  This year this bank raised over $12,000 for charitable organizations.  Every dime that is contributed for the event is given to the Charity organization.

It gives me an enormous amount of pride to work with such an organization.  Congratulations to the entire team!

Thanks for stopping by the blog today.  I hope you enjoy your Saturday.  Be careful

Friday ~ Sepember 27, 2013

Posted by Dave Updegraff on September 27, 2013
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , .

September-26-2013

I had an early morning meeting yesterday in Cedar Rapids that had me leaving the house at sunrise.  It reinforces the fact that there are really only two times during the day when you should take landscape images.  In the early morning light of sunrise and with the setting sun.

I couldn’t pass up this wagon sitting in an empty field being bathed in the warm orange light of the rising sun.  For about 30 minutes of my drive ordinary things looked extraordinary in the beautiful light of the rising sun.  I could have easily shot a half-dozen or more landscapes simply because the light was so beautiful.  It reminded me that I have to get out and on the road much earlier than I do now because of the great photo opportunities.

It is also why I love October and early November because of the setting sun light as I’m leaving work.  The light is so soft, warm and orange, which makes everything look better.

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