Friday ~ September 13, 2024

Posted by Dave Updegraff on September 13, 2024
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Welcome & Happy Friday!

I had a delightful lunch with a dear friend today.  Long discussions and sharing of past events.  On the way home I decided to take the back road.   Doing so brought me to the above image.  Then I had a long debate with myself.  Was it worth turning around and looking for a place to park.  The road is barely wide enough for two cars let along parking on the road.

Given that this was a rare sight I thought perhaps it was worth the effort.

However I reasoned that It was not that feasible, so I drove on.  finally came to a T intersection and said, “what the hell.” So I turned around and was lucky enough to find small road leading to a field and it only left me a short walk to make the image.

While I was there the farmer was cutting silage so kind of a two for one.

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

Tuesday ~ 09-03-2024

Posted by Dave Updegraff on September 3, 2024
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Welcome to the blog.

Today I have a potpourri of images that are not related but were all shot on the same day. 

We did go to the river but other than a lot of boat traffic we didn’t see any wildlife to photograph.  I have taken many images of the Julian Dubuque Bridge but never from this angle.

We toured the A. Y. McDonald park and found a couple of our friends getting ready to practice their paddling skills in preparation to next Saturday’s Dragon Boat Race.

We did a quick survey of the 16th Street Basin.  Lots of water there but very little wildlife.  I did manage to catch the South bound part of a North bound Double-Crested Cormorant landing at the Basin.

Finally, out by Key West, where our Son lives, there is a lot of construction going on in the sub division and I just liked the looks of these two back hoes. 

Thanks for your visit.  Enjoy your day and be careful.  Pray for our Country!

Sunday ~ September 01, 2024

Posted by Dave Updegraff on September 1, 2024
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Welcome to my 1,932nd Blog post.

I went out kind of late in the day yesterday during the “golden hour”.  I don’t normally do that because I enjoy drinking wine during the golden hour.  🙂

I have to admit that I do love the beautiful light on these old farm structures. 

These buildings were not too far apart.  Surprised that I had never photographed them because old barns are one of the things I really enjoy photographing.  I’ve done a lot of them all over the area.

I know you get tired of me telling you this, but you can click on any image to see a larger more detailed version of the image.

Hope you enjoy the Labor Day weekend and be careful. 

Pray for our country.

Tuesday ~ 08-27-2024

Posted by Dave Updegraff on August 27, 2024
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Welcome

There was a beautiful sky tonight and while finishing up dinner I happened to look outside.

Once I did, I knew I had to get a drone up and capture this spectacular sky.

Hope you enjoy it.

Enjoy your day and be careful.

Thursday ~ 08-22-2024

Posted by Dave Updegraff on August 22, 2024
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , , , .

Welcome

When we first moved to Dubuque I can remember if you were on highway 151 N you could see a lighted cross amongst the trees.  Never really thought much about it and as time passed you could no longer see the lighted cross.

With the completion of the Southwest Arterial I became aware of this awesome Cross that stood out above the trees.  It was a large structure.

About THE Centennial Cross

History of the Cross

The Centennial Cross was constructed in 1937 to commemorate the Centennial of the Archdiocese of Dubuque. The blue cross overlooks Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Key West, IA – just South of Dubuque. It has been a symbol of Christian faith for over 8 decades!

A New Cross

Over the years trees had grown tall enough to block the lights on the 75′ Cross making it hard to see. In addition, the Cross’s neon bulbs were fragile and broke easily. We have added a new concrete footing and erected a new steel cross that is 137′ tall with LED lighting on 2 sides.

After seeing this beautiful cross I wanted to know if it too lit up like the old one did.

So one evening Jeanne and I took a drive on the arterial after dark and was delighted to find it did indeed light up.

Remember you can click on any image to enlarge it and see more detail.

Enjoy your day and be careful.

Tuesday ~ August 20, 2024

Posted by Dave Updegraff on August 20, 2024
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Welcome!

Believe it or not I have wanted to get up close and personal with this barn and the other farm structures at this property for over six years.

You need to  understand that I will not go on someone else’s property without permission no matter how bad I want to photograph a structure or person.

So I stopped at this farm several times in the past and knocked on the door and rang the bell but could never raise anyone.  So I got back in my truck and left without any images.

But today was different.   I was able to meet the owner of the property and got permission to photograph the barn and other structures on the property.  I was able to take my time and photograph the way I wanted to.

Enjoy your day and be careful.

Saturday ~ August 17, 2024

Posted by Dave Updegraff on August 17, 2024
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Welcome

A short post today.  I’m still struggling, learning the Nikon Z9.  It is a very complicated camera and I’m not even close to getting comfortable with it.  Perhaps above my skill and knowledge ability.

Addie,  (first image) and Austin (above) were at the pool.  Joshua and Gabbie got tired of swimming and went home.

Julia brought Brooks over and apparently he had a ball at the pool.  He was ready to go home by the time I got there.  He always makes strange with me at first.

Enjoy your day and be careful.

Thursday ~ August 15, 2024

Posted by Dave Updegraff on August 15, 2024
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Welcome.

The Naked Tree

Trees have long held a special fascination for me, especially when they have lost all their leaves.  You really get to look at how interesting the tree really is without its cover of its leaves.

Unfortunately when a tree is naked in the summer months it means that it has died and more than likely will ultimately be chopped down and used for other purposes.  This is sad for me because some of the trees in this post are, to me, just beautiful.

I chose to show them in black and white to emphasize their character against the fully leafed trees.  It lets them stand out better.

I have photographed the first tree in this post many times.  It used to have beautiful summer leaves and then one year about 3 years ago it died and it is in a place where the owner has not cut it down.  I hope it remains as a testament to its once glorious past.

I’m not sure this is classified as a tree or just an out growth of some other plant.  I choose to call it a naked tree and it is located at A. Y. McDonald park near the river.

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

Tuesday ~ August 13, 2024

Posted by Dave Updegraff on August 13, 2024
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Welcome.

I am trying to learn a new mirrorless camera system and finding it difficult to get the settings I want.  So I went to the River yesterday to take some test shots.

The menu system on the Nikon Z9 is the most extensive I have ever seen in a camera.  I felt like I was in over my head yesterday.  Between shooting images and changing menu items I got a little frustrated.

It was a beautiful sunny day with some amazing cloud formations so I also had a lot of fun.

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

Saturday ~ July 27, 2024

Posted by Dave Updegraff on July 27, 2024
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Welcome

Today I have a potpourri of images taken a few days ago, while trying out a new lens.  There  is no continuity to the images other than to say they were mostly captured at the lock and dam 11.

Overall I was very pleased with the new  lens.  It is the 160 – 600 mm from the Z series of lenses.  

I am still trying to learn the Z system of mirror-less cameras and lenses.   Although I am excited to learn this new system I have to confess that on a very recent “head-shot” assignment for a client I went back to my Nikon D5 with the 70-200 mm 2.5 lens. I must say that it was the best head-shot session I have ever shot, requiring only two of the 120 + images to be retouched.

After that experience it may be some time before I totally trust the Z system of Nikon cameras and lenses.

So overall, with this small test of the lens I was happy with the results.  There were about 50 images of various lengths and subject matter that I shot but most were just to test the sharpness of the lens.  I was very happy with the results.

Enjoy your weekend and be careful.