Sunday ~ October 07, 2018

Posted by Dave Updegraff on October 7, 2018
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , , , , , .

Happy Sunday!

I took a stroll up and down the Great River Walk (Dubuque) last week and made a few images of wildlife that I enjoy photographing.  I have four images today.

This Great Egret was actually at the 16th Street Basin.  Although the city has made an effort to clean the debris from the area it remains inundated with all sorts of garbage.  I cannot believe the insensitivity of some with regards to this wonderful place.

You know, if you’ve followed my photography for very long, that I cannot pass up a chance at photographing a Blue Heron.  The River Walk is high enough and just far enough to allow a great shot with a long lens without stressing the bird too much.

At one end of the River Walk is the barge staging area where they put together barges and load them up.  I had to capture these gulls taking advantage of this temporary resting place.

On my way back I found this guy resting.  So like the one before I had to take the shot.

Enjoy your day and be careful.

Friday ~ October 05, 2018

Posted by Dave Updegraff on October 5, 2018
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , .

Happy Friday!

I’m late getting these three farm images posted today because I was practicing a new Photoshop technique and it didn’t work out so good.  😦

Lot of time wasted.  Perhaps a little more study and then try it again.

Also a reminder you can click on any image to reveal a larger more detailed version of the image.

Yesterday I received a comment from an individual who lives in Norfolk U.K.  Imagine someone who lives in the United Kingdom liked my images of butterflies.  It reminds me how connected we photographers are.  I enjoyed his comment, “Lovely images, not a species we get in the UK.”  So I visited his blog and found his photography interests much along the same line as mine.

I was also reminded yesterday that a lot of folks who follow my blog may not see the farm scenes where they live.  I know that a couple of people from New York (who have lived there, their entire life) rarely if every have seen farm scenes.  So while some of my images may seem redundant I still enjoy photographing barns and farm scenes so bare with me.

Supposed to rain in our part of the country for the next five days.  Our ground is saturated to the point that we have standing water in our back yard so it’s going to be awhile before I can mow again.  🙂

Enjoy your day and be careful.

Thursday ~ October 04, 2018

Posted by Dave Updegraff on October 4, 2018
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Happy Thursday!

I have three images for today.

I have really neglected my photography.  Not really intentional but just I just never seemed to find the time.

So, yesterday I had to go to the clinic to get my flu shot and I decided to spend the rest of the day with my camera.  It was a very fun morning and afternoon.

I have a tendency to look for the same type of images so I forced myself to look for other things to capture.  I still have some Herons and Egrets because I can’t pass up a chance to photograph them but I also have some different things for the coming days to post.

These images were taken by Lock & Dam #11.  I drove a lot of miles yesterday and it was good to get out and see the progress of the harvest.  Unfortunately with all the rain we’ve had I also saw a lot of damage both to crops and parks.

When I was at the river I was amazed at how dirty and muddy the river was.  I don’t ever remember it looking that bad and it was full of floating debris.

A couple of parks I went to had sustained considerable damage as well.  I didn’t photograph the damage as I wanted to focus on positive things.

I met a lot of very nice and friendly people who stopped and visited with me about my photography.  I had one of the best lunches in recent memory at a restaurant I didn’t even know existed.  So all in all, it was a fantastic day.

I shot 375 images (several duplications) but a lot of different things.  I want to get out this afternoon as well because the weather forecast is for five straight days of rain.

Enjoy your day and be careful.

Wednesday ~ September 26, 2018

Posted by Dave Updegraff on September 26, 2018
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , , , .

Happy Wednesday!

Fun and busy day yesterday as I worked on my second project.  This was for the MMEU (Maquoketa Municipal Electric Utilities.)

Once again I discovered how out of shape I have become when I had to get into a bucket on a lift truck to take some aerial shots of the power plant.  The guys from the line crew were extremely gracious and helpful but they agreed I would probably have trouble meeting the qualifications for a lineman.

I spent about four hours photographing the complex facilities that make up MMEU.  Lot more to it then meets the eye.  I met a lot of dedicated people who more than willing to help me get the images I wanted.  Thank you.

Now for the image above.  I saw this two nights ago when I went out on the back patio.  For those photography purists, this image was not cropped.  More on that in later posts.

Enjoy your day and be careful.

Monday ~ September 24, 2018

Posted by Dave Updegraff on September 24, 2018
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , .

Happy Monday!

Mark and Julia brought Charlie over yesterday afternoon for a visit.  We had a lot of fun playing with her and watching her explore our back yard.  I have three images of her if you’re interested.

One of the things I thought would happen when I retired was that I would really focus on my photography and spend a lot more time exploring places that I didn’t have time while working.  Turns out that between trying to get my little head shot business going, some odd projects around the house, keeping up with friends, and generally vegging I have actually done less photography then when I was working full time.

I have close to a dozen projects listed on my to do list and I’m still only on the second one.  I’m not optimistic, but boy do I love retirement.  🙂

Enjoy your day and be careful.

Friday ~ September 14, 2018

Posted by Dave Updegraff on September 14, 2018
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Happy Friday!  Especially for my friends still working.  🙂

I was trying to keep the new grass plantings moist so headed out the back patio door and saw this guy.  Went back got my camera, fitted it with a macro lens and photographed him from the inside and outside.

Two things became apparent to me in post production.  One, I need to clean the glass on the door and two, I should have set up the tripod.  Too hard to get a tack sharp image with the macro lens without a tripod. Never seem to learn the basics.

Enjoy your day and be careful.

Thursday ~ September 13, 2018

Posted by Dave Updegraff on September 13, 2018
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , .

Happy Thursday!

I had a fun day yesterday.  Spent about four hours doing a photo shoot for the city of Preston, Iowa.  Actually the company that supplies electricity to Preston hired me to photograph the community.  Shot 175 images and will edit them today.  I got to meet a lot of nice people and learned a lot of things about Preston that I didn’t know.

Wonderful community.

Enjoy your day and be careful.

Monday ~ September 10, 2018

Posted by Dave Updegraff on September 10, 2018
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , .

Happy Monday!

Every year we go the fly in breakfast at the Dubuque Regional Airport.  It’s a pretty good breakfast and usually there are some neat planes to photograph.

The Grand Kids love the excitement and this year Angie, Ben all four of the kids went.  There were not as many planes to see as in past years but this old war bird was present as usual.  I have photographed it many times and never get tired of seeing it take off.  That big radial engine has an amazing sound.  Click on the image to see a larger more detailed image.

So I photographed it’s take off and then he did a fly by with a smoke trail.  Of course when he made that pass I was in the hanger walking back to the car so I missed that. 😦

This large corporate jet was not part of the fly in scene but I was impressed with the size of it.  It took off while we were standing in line so I ducked out and went to the flight line to grab this shot.

Enjoy your day and be careful.

Saturday ~ September 08, 2018

Posted by Dave Updegraff on September 8, 2018
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , .

Happy Saturday!

Fun day yesterday.  I received a text from Mark wondering if I’d like to me Charlie?  That’s Charlie in the image above.  A beautiful Golden Retriever female that is so full of energy and curiosity that some of it actually rubbed off on me.

Mark and Julia got Charlie a couple of weeks ago and this is my first time to meet her.  After I played with her for a long time it was time to take some images.  More about that in a moment as I have three images for today.

Mark has always loved dogs and now he has his own dog to share that love with.  I decided to use the Nikon 105mm f1.4 lens for the shoot yesterday.  I haven’t had enough practice with it and it shows.  Even though I shot at f4.0 I still struggle with what’s in focus and what is not.  Plus I am used to shooting with a zoom lens and so I sometimes forget that I have to move my feet.  🙂

The 105mm f1.4 is a great portrait lens but not so much for photographing a wild puppy.

Julia is also a dog lover and grew up with a dog in the family.  I’m going to enjoy watching and photographing Charlie as she grows and matures.

Enjoy your day and be careful.