Saturday ~ March 24, 2018

Posted by Dave Updegraff on March 24, 2018
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Happy Saturday!

After running some errands and having lunch with my beautiful daughter and grand-daughter I decided to wander through the countryside to see what I could find.  The first image inspired the black and white theme for today.

I have three images for you.  My Face Book friends will need to click on the link below to see all three images.

This took a fair amount of walking to get this image.  There was no place to park (that was safe) and so I had to find an area wide enough to accommodate my car and then walk the half mile back to the tree.  Up hill I might add.  😦

I can’t pass up an old barn.  Even though it has a metal roof, the structure itself has some age on it.

Enjoy your day and be careful.

Thursday ~ March 22, 2018

Posted by Dave Updegraff on March 22, 2018
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Happy Thursday!

This past Tuesday I spent 6 and a half hours on a photo shoot with two different departments at the Maquoketa State Bank.  I have three images from the session to show today.

I got there around 8:30 a.m. and finished the actual photography around 12:10 p.m.

Went to lunch with some friends and then came back and took another hour and half to tear down and pack away the equipment.

This was one of the best sessions I have had.  I really enjoyed it. The light set up and place I had to work was great.

I’m thinking more and more about offering a corporate / head shot service in the near future.

Enjoy your day and be careful.

Sunday ~ March 18, 2018

Posted by Dave Updegraff on March 18, 2018
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Happy Sunday!

Angie and the kids came over for a visit and lunch yesterday.  I wanted to try out a new light source and the best subject I could think of was Addie.

Enjoy your day and be careful.

Thursday ~ March 15, 2018

Posted by Dave Updegraff on March 15, 2018
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Happy Thursday!

I had lunch with a dear Friend yesterday and as I was on my way to that lunch this guy just happen to fly in front of my lens.  🙂

Actually I saw him in a small clearing near some woods, finishing up a meal and after about 20 minutes of me being there he decided it was time to seek some solitude.

So I have lots of shots of him eating (they are boring) and I didn’t think I would get a sharp image of him because of all the trees and clutter but I got lucky.

You can click on the image to get a larger more detailed image.

I love eagles!

Enjoy your day.

Wednesday ~ March 14, 2018

Posted by Dave Updegraff on March 14, 2018
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Happy Wednesday!

I had lunch yesterday with a great Friend who retired a few months before I did.  We finalized our golfing plans for the Summer and then had a nice discussion about how to fix all the problems in the world.  🙂

After running a few errands I wandered through the countryside looking for photographic opportunities.  I have three images for today.

I actually took some roads yesterday that I have never been on before.  Now that I have the time I hope to explore the surrounding countryside in more detail.

I couldn’t pass up a tree without making an image.

Enjoy your day and be careful.

 

Sunday ~ March 11, 2018

Posted by Dave Updegraff on March 11, 2018
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Happy Sunday!

I’ll finish up my Green Island shoot with the last four images today.

It wasn’t my best day at Green Island, but anytime I can come home with some images on my card it is a good day.

I couldn’t get any closer to the Sandhill Cranes then this.  My friend Andreas says that this is a normal feeding patter for them.  Some will keep watch while the others forage for food.

A little further down the canal I found this lone crane standing on a mound.  Don’t know what he was doing but he let me take a bunch of images and never offered to move. 🙂

I was photographing the Northern Shoveler in the foreground when the other guy came in for a landing.  He is not in focus but I liked the way he stirred up the water.

Finally I found these guys hanging around perched on a dead tree.  They let me get very closed before taking off.  I don’t normally like to disturb wildlife if I can keep from it but I had to drive past their tree to get out of the wetlands.

Enjoy your day and be careful.

Friday ~ March 09, 2018

Posted by Dave Updegraff on March 9, 2018
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Happy Friday!

I have three more images today from my trip to Green Island on Wednesday.  I, like most photographers have photographed thousands of geese.  I still enjoy photographing them and trying to catch them in a different perspective when possible.

They are also good practice material when it comes to capturing images of them while in flight, like these.

The geese were all over Green Island and in large numbers.  I saw lots of mallard ducks as well and often times they were swimming with the geese but they seem to have less tolerance for vehicles then the geese so I do not have any close up images of them.

On the way home I spotted this tree sitting alone in a field.  I had to make a couple of U-turns but it was worth the effort in my view.

Enjoy your day and be careful.

Thursday ~ March 08, 2018

Posted by Dave Updegraff on March 8, 2018
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Happy Thursday!

I spent several hours yesterday roaming the countryside looking for things of interest.  Even ended up at the Green Island Wildlife Preserve, which was a sloppy mess by the way.  It took two trips through the car wash to get all the crud off.

For today, however I have three barns to show you.  I love to photograph barns and I often said when I had the time I was going to visit with the owners of the barns and learn their history.  Now that I have that kind of time, it is what I plan to do.  🙂

I was disappointed in my visit to Green Island.  My friend Andreas had been posting about a lot of the migrating wildlife that he had found over the weekend and so I thought yesterday with the beautiful blue sky with puffy clouds would be a perfect time to visit.

I found a lot of the ubiquitous geese and ducks but that was about it.  I enjoy photographing geese but you see them almost everywhere now and so they lose a little of their luster as a photographic subject.

It was a fun day with no responsibility or schedules to meet.  Never looked at my phone once the entire day.  🙂

Enjoy your day and be careful.

Wednesday ~ March 07, 2018

Posted by Dave Updegraff on March 7, 2018
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Happy Wednesday!

I had a very enjoyable day yesterday, that is after working a couple of hours on the heavy wet snow that covered the driveway and sidewalks.

I met my Son in Anamosa for lunch.  We have a great time visiting and catching up with what each of us had been doing.  It is always such a treat for me to be around my children.  🙂

I have three images for today.

It snowed most of the day yesterday although the roads were just wet it made for some interesting photography.  I decided to do black and white today as that is what most of the day looked like with the snow and heavy gray overcast sky.

Today marks a full month of retirement.  It doesn’t seem like it’s been that long.  I’ve given lots of thought to what I might like to do with my time.  Obviously photography will occupy much of my time and the grand kids as well.  However, I am really considering doing some corporate photography and head shots.  Having said that, I have to admit having nothing on my calendar and no stress is very appealing.  🙂

That’s all that is rambling around in my tiny brain.

Enjoy your day and be careful.

Saturday ~ March 03, 2018

Posted by Dave Updegraff on March 3, 2018
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , .

Happy Saturday!

This retirement gig is alright.  I had lunch yesterday with a friend that twenty-five years ago I hire right out of college to work for my company.  She did a wonderful job and is now the head of HR for one of the largest employers in Dubuque.  I’m so proud of her.

Then yesterday afternoon Angie invited me to the “Community Involvement” at Josh’s school, for a monthly program they have.  His class was doing the presenting and also had people from the community who had a small part in the presentation.  It was wonderful.

Finally I got to go with Angie to pick  up Gabby and Austin at their day care at Mercy Hospital.  That was a real treat as well.

Very fun day and I got to spend it with my beautiful daughter and my littlest girl friend.  🙂

Enjoy your day and be careful.