Friday ~ June 09, 2017

Posted by Dave Updegraff on June 9, 2017
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , , .

Happy Friday!

I have four images today.  Some of them are from my Green Island visit of last Sunday.

At the end of our patio we have a cement bird bath, which is a real chore to keep clean and filled with fresh water.  It it is heavily used by the birds in our neighborhood so I’m happy to do it.  I love watching the birds take baths and getting drinks.  I captured this robin at the end of his frolicking bath.  I wanted to get some images of the water being splashed into the air but for some reason I was having trouble getting focus lock on him.  I do like this image however.

A pair of Great Egrets are stalking some food in one of the canals at Green Island.  I was happy to see a fairly large group of egrets on this visit.  I haven’t seen many of them this year.  I think they are such an eloquent bird I enjoy watching them.

It has been a busy week at work with lots of benefit meetings at the various banks.  Lots of travel and early mornings so I haven’t had much time to do any photographing.  I plan to do some exploring this weekend.

I saw this little guy jumping / flying to the different lily pads and I was finally able to capture this shot of him.

Finally another shot of an egret sitting in a tree.  I’m just not used to seeing these big birds sitting in trees.  They let me get very close to them and didn’t seem to mind my presence.

That’s all for today.  Thanks for stopping by the blog.  Enjoy your day and be careful.

 

 

Wednesday ~ June 07, 2017

Posted by Dave Updegraff on June 6, 2017
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , , , .

Happy Wednesday!

Off at Zero Dark Thirty Hours this morning for a full day of benefit meetings.  Two long days but it’s good to see all the folks at our different banks.  I have some more images from my Green Island session.

I found this guy crossing the road on my way into the preserve.  I stopped the car and approached him on foot.  He withdrew into his shell so I had to wait for him to come of his shell for this image.  🙂

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

I saw some movement behind the over growth on one of the canals.  I followed it for awhile and then this little Mallard Duck emerged.  He was having a little turf battle with a Red-Winged Black Bird.  I love photographing Mallards.

This is not the image I wanted to capture.  The auto focus system caught the branch that was closest to the camera, which left the Egret a little softer than I like.  When I was photographing this magnificent creature I didn’t realize the AF was on the branch and not the bird so I just kept shooting.  Still it’s a nice shot so I present it today for your enjoyment.

Enjoy your day and be careful.

Monday ~ June 05, 2017

Posted by Dave Updegraff on June 5, 2017
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , .

Happy Monday!

I am working today as we have our annual stockholder meeting this afternoon.  In fact I will have a 4 day work week because of benefit meetings later in the week.  I know you feel sorry for me.  🙂

I have three images today.  Yesterday I decided that no matter what, I was going to make some images.  I was originally thinking of just running down to the river but I have not had much success there in recent memory.  So I opted for the longer drive to the Green Island Wildlife Preserve.

When I first got there it felt like I had made a mistake because I wasn’t seeing anything other then a few ubiquitous geese.  The deeper into the preserve I went the more I found and ended up with 1,047 images.  Not that hard to do at 12 fps.  🙂

My friend Andreas had posted sometime ago, on his blog, about a pair of Trumpeter Swans that given birth to seven Cygnets.  Wonderful to see and truthfully I had forgotten about them.  I stumbled on them quite by accident.  I couldn’t believe how close they let me get.  The parents acted like I was no threat to them (which of course I was not) and so they swam right past me even though I was firing off lots of shots.

I saw a variety of wildlife that I will share over the coming days as time permits.  One thing I did see that I didn’t photograph was a black snake.  Most of you know about me and snakes.  He was crossing the road and I drove up closer to him but was proud of myself for not trying to run over him.  I thought about it but he wasn’t doing me any harm so I let him pass.

I made a mental note to myself that I should probably stay in the car.  It’s easier to approach wildlife from the confines of the car.  They don’t seem to mind it as much as if I get out of the car.  Lucky for me.  🙂

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

Saturday ~ June 03, 2017

Posted by Dave Updegraff on June 3, 2017
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , .

Happy Saturday!

Another long dry spell for my photography.  What I have for you today is not about photography but a cool thing that Dubuque has done for the biking enthusiast.  So I have 4 images today to help tell the story.

I got back on my bike last week because I wanted to drop a few pounds and get back in shape.  Yesterday I did a 23 mile ride with some big hills.  This is my Trek “Fitness” bike.  I purchased it three years ago and really enjoy riding it.  It is a 27 speed bike and I like that it has wider tires than my road bike and I can sit more up right on it.

You’ll notice on the back of the bike is a carry all bag.  I’m a pack rat so I take all my bike tools for any kind of repair (including fixing a flat tire.) Money for snacks or water, first aid kit, rain gear, a towel, a small air pump, and of course a camera.  The camera is a little Nikon Coolpix L810.  It doesn’t shoot in RAW but it is small, durable, and holds a charge for a long time.

So my halfway point yesterday was at the end of the paved bike path where it turns into the Heritage Trail.  There is a large lake, a parking lot, and picnic tables with grills.  Many people park their cars in the parking lot and walk or ride the Heritage Trail or they fish in the lake.  Yesterday the parking lot was full of cars with bike racks on them and there were 15 or more people fishing.  The park is the halfway part of my ride so I like to stop here and rest my butt.  🙂

New this year they have installed a bike repair station.  The station is equipped with every tool you would need to make repairs on your bike.  You can download repair instructions on your smart phone by scanning the QR Code on the machine.  It also has directions for mounting your bike in the proper position to effectively work on it.

Additionally it has an air pump with pressure gauge.  All the tools are attached to steel cables that extend out far enough to allow access to the area that needs repair.  Hopefully some idiot will not destroy it.  It is really a thoughtful addition to the bike path.

Going on another ride today.

Enjoy your day and be careful.

Thursday ~ May 25, 2017

Posted by Dave Updegraff on May 25, 2017
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , .

Happy Thursday!

I have three images for today.  I was on my way back to my office after visiting one of our banks, when I passed this small marsh and saw a Great White Egret.  He was a little farther away than I like, as I only had my 400 mm lens.  I took this image and was prepared to move on but then  he dove his head into the water and came up with something of some size.

He had caught a pretty good-sized fish, relatively speaking.  I watched him for about 10 minutes and took a hundred shots but he never did get the fish down so this image is Representative of the other hundred.  🙂

While I was photographing the Egret this Canadian Goose was quite vocal making it clear that I was infringing on his territory.  So I obliged him by leaving but not before capturing his image.

Enjoy your day and be careful.

Wednesday ~ May 24, 2017

Posted by Dave Updegraff on May 24, 2017
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , .

Happy Wednesday!

Saw this beautiful rainbow on the drive home last evening.  I had to stop and capture this image even though it was raining.

My favorite windmill with the rainbow.

Enjoy your day.

Monday ~ May 22, 2017

Posted by Dave Updegraff on May 22, 2017
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Happy Monday!

We were in Des Moines over the weekend to attend the wedding of David and Tori.  David is the youngest son of Mike and Mary Rowley and Mary is Jeanne’s sister.  So now we have that out-of-the-way, what if anything does all of this have to do with this beautiful Alaskan Husky?

Well I was getting to that.  This is Rizzo named after the Chicago Cubs’ baseball player.  Even though Rizzo, the dog is a female, she carries the name of her owner’s favorite player.  Rizzo is the beloved dog of her owner Mike Rowley who is the older brother of David.

Now that I’ve given you way more family information than you could every want to know I bid you adieu.

Enjoy your day and be careful.

Saturday ~ May 20, 2017

Posted by Dave Updegraff on May 20, 2017
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , , , , , .

Happy Saturday!

I have three images for today.  Yesterday was a miserable day weather wise.  Constant rain, temperature only about 42 degrees and windy.  Not a good day for photography.  I had an appointment to get my hair cut yesterday morning and then an hour to kill before meeting my good friend Mike for lunch at Mario’s Italian Restaurant.  One of my favorite places to eat in Dubuque.

Even though the weather was unfavorable for photography I decided to drive down to the river to see what was going on.  As luck would have it there were two large barges parked one in front of the other waiting their turn to lock through the dam.  I have never seen that before and decided on my return trip I would capture some images.  I drove on to the lock and as I pulled into the parking lot there was a turkey vulture sitting on the asphalt.  I have never been that close to one of them before.  Now the camera is in the back seat still in the bag, it’s raining hard, and the vulture is giving me a close look.

Sure enough when I stopped the car he started unfolding his wings and as soon as I opened my door to get the camera he flew a few feet away to a large rock.  Not too bad, still well within range of my big lens.  Just got the camera out and a train came though.  The tracks run between the bluff and the parking lot, so away he flew and I couldn’t find him after that.  😦

This lonely pelican was floating near the lock so I thought I would capture him since I already had my long lens on the camera.  Back in the car, I dried off the equipment and then headed out to see if anything was going on at McDonald park.  Of course I had forgotten about the two barges sitting there.  It  was raining harder and I’ll admit I didn’t want to get out and change lenses in the rain.  So I just continued on my way to the park.

The only thing I found of interest at the park were some Common Grackles feeding on some berries.  They looked miserable in the cold rain but at least I was able to photograph them from the dryness of the car.  🙂

Do you get the idea that I’m somewhat of a fair weather photographer?  I don’t mind getting wet but I don’t like getting my gear wet and of course I forgot to pack my rain pouch for the camera.

Anyway it was time to meet my friend for lunch.  We had a great lunch with wonderful conversation and a few self-deprecating jabs.  Then home for a nap.  🙂

Enjoy your day and be careful.

Tuesday ~ May 16, 2017

Posted by Dave Updegraff on May 16, 2017
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , , , .

Happy Tuesday!

I have three snapshots for you today.  We celebrated Mother’s Day by having a picnic at Eagle Point Park with Angie, Ben, Mark, and the Grand Kids.  Been a long time since I’ve been to a picnic.  Ben offered to do the grilling on this obsolete charcoal grill, which proved to be quite the challenge.  He did a great job the burgers and brats were prefect.

Considering it was a celebration of Mother’s Day I don’t have any images of the two Mothers.  I didn’t take many shots as the kids wanted to play.  🙂

After the picnic we stopped at the DQ near the park and stood in line for a long time to get an ice cream treat.  It was a fun day and a great way to honor these two wonderful women in our lives.

Enjoy your day and be careful.