Sunday ~ March 19, 2017

Posted by Dave Updegraff on March 19, 2017
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , .

Happy Sunday!

Jeanne and I went down to the river yesterday.  It was the first day in the last week that I have felt good enough to pursue my photography.  I thought I was getting over my cold but got a second punch Tuesday and left work early Thursday.  Nasty stuff.

Anyway I have three images today.  There wasn’t much going on at the river so I didn’t get a lot of good images.

I always enjoy photographing the antics for Ring-Billed Gulls.  They were close to the water’s edge when we were at McDonald’s park so I grabbed a few shots of them.

There were some boats in the water near the lock and dam.  I captured this image because of the dog in the boat.  He seemed to be enjoying himself while his owner fished.

That’s it for today.  I feel a little better today so I’m going to get out among them.

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

Tuesday ~ March 14, 2017

Posted by Dave Updegraff on March 14, 2017
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , .

Happy Tuesday!

We went out yesterday afternoon, after cleaning up from the snow storm, looking for some winter scenes.  I was not happy with what I came back with.  The lighting was not good but you take what you’re given and do the best with it.

I have three images for you today.

I have photographed this meandering stream before.  I seem to gravitate to same things, which I’m trying to break free of.  It’s easy to fall back on what you like.

We were at John Deere preserve when I saw this lady and her dog walking towards the water some distance away.  I had to wait until the dog got closer to her to make the image.  🙂

That’s it for today.  Enjoy your day and be careful.

Monday ~ March 13, 2017

Posted by Dave Updegraff on March 13, 2017
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , .

Happy Snowy Monday!

Lots of snow in our part of the world today.  Lucky that I am off and don’t have to get out in it.  I have three images for you today.

We were invited to Angie and Ben’s home for dinner yesterday evening, which is always a treat.  It’s so much fun to see the grand kids and to be with Angie and Ben.

Ben took this rare image of me.  Rare because I’m usually not in front of the camera.  My little buddy loves his Papa and I really treasure the time I get to spend with him.

It’s so enjoyable to watch the interaction of Angie and her children.

That’s all I have for today.  Stay safe, enjoy your day, and be careful.

Friday ~ March 10, 2017

Posted by Dave Updegraff on March 10, 2017
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , .

Happy Friday!

The light was soft and warm last night on my homeward commute.  I go by this old silo and collapsed building every night but last night with the sun bathing it in that gorgeous light I had to turn around and make the image.

The second image I have for you was taken about 20 minutes later.  I was hoping for a nice sunset shot but the clouds over took the sun.

That’s it for today.  Colder weather is back in our area and even predicting some snow by the late weekend.

Enjoy your day and be careful.

 

Monday ~ March 06, 2017

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

march-05-2017

Happy Monday!

I only have one image for you today.  I’ve been struggling with a nasty cold and just haven’t felt like doing much of anything.  I have been working on a project for one of your banks and I should be able to finish that up today.

The weather forecast is for storms most of the day so likely I won’t get any photography in.

Better days ahead.  Enjoy your day and be careful.

Tuesday ~ February 28, 2017

Posted by Dave Updegraff on February 28, 2017
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , .

february-27-2017

Happy Tuesday!

It has been some time since I was last at the Green Island Nature Preserve and the last time I was there a lot of it was closed because of hunting season.

I was hoping to see some migrating birds but I was obviously a little early.  The only birds I saw were the ubiquitous Canadian Geese and a lot of Mallard Ducks.  The Mallards were very far away and I couldn’t get a decent image of them.  I was watching them as this Ring-Billed Gull flew past me looking for some food.  I watched him make a pass, turn around and come back through.  I was happy with this image.

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There were a lot of geese beginning to nest and I watched some turf battles over nesting rights.  Nothing serious.  🙂

There was an eagle flying over the marsh but again he was too far away for a decent image.

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So it was back to tracking the gull and photographing him.  I told myself, all I would have had to do was drive down to the river in Dubuque and I would have had the same shots.  It’s always fun to go to Green Island but I have to admit I was disappointed in the lack of subjects.

Enjoy your day and be careful.

Sunday ~ February 26, 2017

Posted by Dave Updegraff on February 26, 2017
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , .

february-25-2017

Happy Sunday!

I have three images for you today and coincidentally I have three grand children.  🙂

Fun day yesterday as Angie brought the kids over to our house to play as Ben was working.  We have a “toy room” in the lower level that is totally dedicated to the kids and they can do pretty much (with supervision) whatever they want.  We have most, if not all of Angie and Mark’s toys still there and even though they don’t have all the fancy electronics the grand kids just love them.

One of their favorite things to do is paint with water colors.  Messy but again that’s what the room is for.

This image is of two of my favorite women in the world.  The other favorite one doesn’t like to have her picture taken.  🙂

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Austin is such a fun young man and generally happy as can be.  After lunch I was playing with him in the living room and he was trying to get in some desk drawers that contain things that he should be exposed to.  I was trying to misdirect him but I think he thought it was a game because he would go back to the drawer and pull it open.  Finally I said, “Austin No!”

Grand pa has never said no before.  His head went down, his lower lip came out and he started gently hitting the drawer.  The tears finally came and he went running to Mommy.  The good news is that he was back in about two minutes with his normal smile and ready to play some more.

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Last evening we went to Josh’s hockey scrimmage held at the Mystique Community Ice Center.  It is a wonderful facility but as can be imagined cold all the time.  I have to admit I’m not a fan of hockey.  I don’t understand the rules, I never played it, and the arena is beyond loud. The Dubuque Fighting Saints were playing a Cedar Rapids team.

So the first period was over and then the young kids got to scrimmage and I was able to get some shots of Josh.  Came back to our seating and happened to ask Ben how many periods there were.  He said, “three.”  Jeanne felt sorry for me so we left after the end of the second period.  Angie later texted to say the Saints won in overtime.

That’s it for today.  Hope you enjoy your day and be careful.

Wednesday ~ February 22, 2017

Posted by Dave Updegraff on February 22, 2017
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , .

february-11-2017-aa

Happy Wednesday!

I have three images for you today.  Jeanne and I enjoyed lunch a few days ago at one of our favorite restaurants overlooking the Mississippi River.  We were on the River Walk looking at some of the new art pieces and decided to stop in at Tony Roma’s for lunch.

We were being led to our table by the hostess when I noticed these two martini glasses sitting near the window.  Two women were enjoying them, while waiting for their food.  Once we were seated I told Jeanne I’d be right back and took my camera back to their booth (I know, who goes into a restaurant with a camera.) 🙂

I asked them if I could photograph their drinks and they were gracious enough to allow me.  Then they took out their cell phones and took the same image that I did.

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I don’t always understand what the art piece is trying to say but I appreciate it none the less.

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It was a nice day and I always enjoy the river walk.  We always seem to find things to photograph and appreciate.

Enjoy your day and be careful.

Tuesday ~ February 21, 2017

Posted by Dave Updegraff on February 21, 2017
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , .

february-20-2017-aa

Happy Tuesday!

Two great friends from Cedar Rapids made the trek to Dubuque yesterday to take me out for a belated birthday lunch.

I am grateful for their friendship and that they were willing to drive that distance in crappy weather just to share a couple of hours of conversation, laughs, and of course some good food.

Thank you Barb and Emily!

Enjoy your day and be careful.

Monday ~ February 20, 2017

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

february-20-2017

Happy Monday!

It’s been a long time since I talked much about the gear I use in my photography.  I have bought and sold a variety of cameras over the years and truth be told I have too much gear for a person who does not make a living off of photography.

That being said I will readily admit that I am a gear head and love the equipment almost (almost) as much as the photography itself.  One of the things I learned last Summer when I was at the photography school in Nashville is that I’m not alone.  There were 14 other gear heads there as well.

I felt almost normal.  🙂

If you follow this blog you know that I just had, a couple of weeks ago, a momentous birthday, a milestone as it were.  So subscribing to the philosophy that life is short so enjoy it while you can, I purchased a new Nikon D5 camera as a gift to myself for my birthday.  As of today it is the flagship camera for Nikon.  It won’t be for long as they are constantly offering improvements and new models.  Its 12 fps burst rate coupled with the fastest auto focus system of current cameras make it a pleasure to shoot with.  I currently have a Nikon 28 – 300 mm lens as my main go to lens for most shooting.

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I also have the Nikon D4S, which I purchased about a year ago when it was considered Nikon’s  flagship camera.  I keep a Nikon  24 – 120 F4.0 lens attached to it and often times if I’m out shooting wildlife I will put the Nikon 200 – 500 mm lens for quick action like tracking birds in flight.

The D4S has an 11 fps frame rate and several improvements over the D4.

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This is my first love.  The Nikon D4.  I keep the Sigma 150 – 600 mm Contemporary model lens on it and I have it set up to shoot at 1/1600 sec @ f8 and auto ISO.  Normally this is on a tripod with a gimbal head.  I have had some really good success photographing eagles using this combination and it has not disappointed me yet.  I first happened on this set up when I was returning from Green Island and saw a guy in the parking lot of the Off Shore Restaurant near Bellevue flying remote-controlled airplanes.  I asked him if I could photograph his airplane and I got a lot of tack sharp images of his P51 Mustang in air moving much faster than an eagle does.

My last camera (not shown) is the Nikon D810 36 mp camera.  I keep the Nikon 70 – 200 F2.8 G2 lens on it and use it primarily for my portrait work.  It only has a frame rate of 5 fps and the files are so large that I don’t use it very often.

That’s all I have for you today.  Please have sympathy for my wife.

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