Wednesday ~ August 31, 2016

Posted by Dave Updegraff on August 31, 2016
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , .

August-30-2016

Happy Wednesday!

I have three images for you today.  The sky was “dramatic” yesterday evening on my commute home.  I don’t know of another word that would adequately describe the every changing clouds rising up and forming together to produce a storm somewhere.

Well if there is that kind of drama in the sky then I have to photograph it and you have to put something in relationship to the sky to be part of the image.  My favorite windmill serves the purpose very well.  I only made about 20 images in the span of 15 minutes but the clouds were constantly changing and giving me new looks.

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Sometimes I guess you really don’t need a subject other than the clouds themselves and the beautiful lush land they cover.

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I’m still not at 100% but I’m getting there.  Yesterday was a bit of a struggle but made it through the day.  I have some traveling to do today so I hope that goes okay.  🙂

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

Tuesday ~ August 30, 2016

Posted by Dave Updegraff on August 30, 2016
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , .

August-30-2016-08-13-16-AS

Happy Tuesday!

I have three images for you today from my photo shoot at the Dubuque Farmers’ Market of a couple of weeks ago.

I contracted  a nasty stomach bug Saturday afternoon that pretty much sidelined me for the entire weekend and yesterday as well.  Today I am feeling much better today and I think I have it behind me (no pun intended.) 🙂

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Jeanne and I had dinner plans for Saturday evening and then we were going to the Irish Hooley to see our favorite band Gaelic Storm.  Those plans got derailed around 6:00 p.m. when the bug hit me with its full fury.

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So I’m back at it today and hopefully I will have a chance to capture some images of interest.  I’m excited that we are getting close to the harvest season, which is my favorite time of the year both for photography and the weather.  I know it’s what comes after, that is the problem.

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

Friday ~ August 26, 2016

Posted by Dave Updegraff on August 26, 2016
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , , , , .

August-25-2016

Happy Friday!

A late post for me as I usually write my blog early in the morning.  Had a wonderful day yesterday filled with interesting experiences, amazing sights, and shared with good friends.

I got to tour the Federal Reserve Bank in Chicago with some of the staff and board members of one of our banks.  I had been there before about 14 years ago and while some things were the same this was a completely unique experience.  We left DeWitt, Iowa at 7:15 a.m  (which meant that I left home around 6:00 a.m.)

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There are not a lot of places (as you might imagine) where I could take pictures at the Federal Reserve.  However one of the places I could take pictures was in the Money Museum.  This is the most valuable piece of U. S. currency in existence today.  It’s called the Melon bill because the numbers look like watermelons.  It is a $1,000 bill and is valued at over $3,000,000.00.  A person could have a pretty good time for that amount of money.  🙂

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This is our bus driver for the trip.  I show his image because I have been on several bus tours and trips and he is the most professional and personable driver I have ever met.  I’m not a big fan of tattoos.  Just a personal preference and I have no objection to people who wear them but if I were ever to have a tattoo (and I won’t) I would have one like the three-dimensional cross on his forearm.

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We ended the day with a fabulous dinner at the wonderful Candle Light Restaurant in Clinton, Iowa.   We were able to eat on the patio and enjoy live music.  The weather was perfect and the conversation was enriching.  I got home around 11:15 p.m. and slept in this morning.  🙂

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

Tuesday ~ August 23, 2016

Posted by Dave Updegraff on August 23, 2016
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , .

August-23-2016-08-21-2016

Happy Tuesday!

Short post today with only one image.  Sunday evening we celebrated Jeanne’s birthday with Angie, Ben and the grand kids.  It was a wonderful evening with good food, conversation and celebration.

When we were ready to leave we found this sign had been put in the front yard of their house.  As you can see Joshua is very excited.  He usually doesn’t like me to take his picture but was a willing subject this time.  🙂

That’s it for today.

Enjoy your day and be careful.

Sunday ~ August 21, 2016

Posted by Dave Updegraff on August 21, 2016
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , .

Jeanne-60

Happy Sunday!

Jeanne

“When no one else can understand me. 

When everything I do is wrong. 

You give me hope and consolation.

You give me strength to carry on.

And you’re always there to lend a hand in everything I do.

That’s the wonder, the wonder of you.” 

“And when you smile the world is brighter.

You touch my hand and I’m a king.

Your kiss to me is worth a fortune.

Your love for me is everything.

I guess I’ll never know the reason why you love me as you do.

That’s the wonder, the wonder of you.”

Happy Birthday Honey.  You are my best friend, my soul mate, my lover, my life partner and I love you August-21-2016with my life.

 

When I went out this morning to get Jeanne’s newspaper I saw this in the sky.  I had to make an image of it. You can click on the image to see more detail and a larger version.  🙂

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

Saturday ~ August 20, 2016

Posted by Dave Updegraff on August 20, 2016
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , .

August-20-2016

Happy Saturday!

I have 3 images for you today that have nothing to do with photo esthetics or photographic art.  They tell the story of a great little tool that I found quite by accident, but now I can’t imagine how I got along without it all this time.  🙂

One of the “many” things about me that I’m not happy with is the fact that sometimes I don’t always look deeper into the details.  Case in point.  When I was in Nashville Bill Fortney suggested a handy tool to have with you was the Gerber Metric Allen Wrench.  He said it was a must have tool for him and that we would find lots of uses for it.  Additionally it wasn’t all that expensive.

So Wednesday morning I went to my favorite website in the whole world “Amazon.com” and searched for the tool.  They had it for $7.99 and so I pushed the add it to my cart button and all is well.

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Well not so quick.  That nasty Amazon.com then suggested that people who purchased this Allen wrench also purchase this handy tool.  When I saw the picture of it I thought I could use one of those in my camera bag.  I needed one when I was in Nashville (because of my troubled tripod) and had to ask several other photographers before finding one.  It too was inexpensive so I added it to my cart.  I was able to resist other Amazon suggestions.

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Friday my package arrived and when I opened it, here was this little box with my handy Gerber Dime wrench.  At first I was disappointed as I was looking for something larger but then when I opened the package it turned out to be exactly the right size for a small pocket knife plus all the other tools it could become.

So in some cases not doing my due diligence actually paid off.  If I had read the dimensions of the tool I would have deemed it too small to be of use in my camera bag and not purchased it.  🙂

Okay, that’s it for today.  Jeanne and I have a fun event to go to today.  I’ve been looking forward to it for a few weeks.  Hopefully I will get some good images.

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

 

Thursday ~ August 18, 2016

Posted by Dave Updegraff on August 18, 2016
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , .

August-17-2016

Happy Thursday!

Just one image for today.  I saw this freshly mowed hay-field ready for baling, set against some building storm clouds and I had to turn around to take the shot.

Nothing else roaming around in my head so that’s it for today.

Thanks for stopping by the blog.

Enjoy your day and be careful.

Wednesday ~ August 17, 2016

Posted by Dave Updegraff on August 17, 2016
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , .

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Happy Wednesday!

I have several images for you today from our trip to the Dubuque Farmers’ Market on Saturday.

This guy is a therapy dog.  I watched him for several minutes as adults and children approached him.  He was gentle and accepting of them all.  We often see dogs at the Farmers’ Market and we are often struck by how well they accept strangers.  We’ve never had a dog like that! 🙂

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A sea of tomatoes.  As you would expect you can purchase all type of fruit, vegetables, and assorted variety of foods at the Market.

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Popcorn of every color and configuration is a big hit with the kids.  I really enjoy the atmosphere of the market.  There is usually live music playing at different ends of the area and the conversations you over hear are of friendship and comradely (usually.)

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Green Peppers finishes up our little tour of the Market.  I made around 200 images while visiting the Market.  I won’t show them all but may share a few more at a later time.

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

Tuesday ~ August 16, 2016

Posted by Dave Updegraff on August 16, 2016
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , .

August-16-2016

Happy Tuesday!

I was having a typical day yesterday.  I was sitting in the kitchen having just finished my mid afternoon snack when I decided to step outside to see if the temperature was still as hot as it was when I mowed the yard earlier in the day.  Before I could open the door my eyes caught a glimpse of a familiar sight.  It was our neighborhood Red-tailed Hawk.  He was sitting on top of a shed about 250 feet away.  I watched him for a little while and then decided I would grab my camera and take a chance at getting a shot.

Click on the images to make them larger and to show more detail.  🙂

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I keep the Nikon D4 set up with the Sigma 120 – 600 mm lens configured for wildlife so I didn’t have to waste any time adjusting the camera.  I slowly opened the patio door and stuck the lens out enough so I could see the hawk.  Unfortunately I couldn’t get a focus lock because of the trellis so I thought what the heck if he flies he flies.

To my surprise and delight he didn’t take off and I ripped off 50 – 60 images of him just sitting on the roof.  Then he flew down to the ground.  At first I thought he had found a rodent but he was just sitting there.  He gave me a couple of once overs but didn’t seem to mind that I was shooting lots of frames of him.

Then he took of and flew straight towards me.  When he went by me I could have stuck my lens out and hit him.  He flew over my head and up into the neighbor’s tree.  I slowly walked over to the tree and he let me get close to him again.

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I’m sure he found me to be an annoyance and finally he flew away, which was okay with me.  We have some young squirrels and rabbits in our back yard and I’m not anxious for him to feast on them.  🙂

So that was my excitement for the day.

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