Wednesday ~ May 25, 2016

Posted by Dave Updegraff on May 25, 2016
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , , .

May-20-2016-4BB

Happy Hump Day!

I have three images for you today from last Friday’s shoot.  I believe this is an Eastern Kingbird. If I’m wrong please correct me.  It is the first time I have captured this species.

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I saw a lot of these guys on my walk.  They paid no attention to me (which I was very happy about) as their sting is very painful.  I have photographed them before with a macro lens but I don’t like to get that close to them.  In this case the 500 mm lens worked pretty good.

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Sorry I had to post another image of the Indigo Bunting.  Since this is my first collection of images for this beautiful little blue bird I have to share it.  🙂

Short post today as I am running late.  Enjoy your day and be careful.

Tuesday ~ May 24, 2016

Posted by Dave Updegraff on May 24, 2016
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , .

May-20-2016-3AA

Happy Tuesday!

I have windmills for you today.  As I traveled around some back roads last Friday I came across three windmills that I decided to photograph.  You can imagine living in a predominately rural area there are windmills everywhere.  Like barns and other farm structures I enjoy making images of them.  Generally I try to photograph them against a dynamic cloudy sky, however Friday was pretty much a dull gray sky.  😦

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Several years ago I photographed this windmill along with a deteriorating barn and some other farm buildings.  When I drove by it this time I noticed that the barn and other building were gone.  The windmill is all that remains.  Kind of sad in a way as these old structures had a lot of history about them and were a salient part of the landscape.

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This old guy has lost his wind fins and is just the frame of the windmill with all sorts of vegetation grown on it.  Still it appealed to me so I had to make some image of it.

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

Monday ~ May 23, 2016

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

May-20-2016-2BB

Happy Monday!

I have some wildflower images for you today from my Friday shoot.  There was not an abundance of wildflowers where I was but I did see some on my journey.  It was pure luck to capture this bee headed for the flowers as my attention was directed to the flower.

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I keep reflecting on the peaceful feelings I had while walking through the area.   Occasionally I would hear a bird singing and so I would stop and make no motion other than just slowly look around.  Many times I would find the bird who was making the sounds and I was able to photograph him before the sound of the shutter spooked him.

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I know, it’s a plain ole dandelion.  But they like all God’s creations have beauty as well.  I plan to get back out among them again today.  I won’t go to the same place but will search out some more images for you.

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

Sunday ~ May 22, 2016

Posted by Dave Updegraff on May 22, 2016
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , .

May-20-2016-1AA

Happy Sunday!

Some more images for you today from my Friday shoot.  When I took these images I had every intention of rendering them in black and white.  I believe this is an old manure spreader.  It occurs to me that the driver may have had to take a long bath after a day of operating this piece of machinery.  🙂

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I drove by this farm-house and saw this wonderful old jeep in the yard.  Made a turn around and headed back with great expectations of doing a full exploration of the jeep with my camera.

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This guy had other ideas about my exploration.  If I stayed at a certain distance he would just look at me and give me an occasional courtesy bark.  However if I took one step closer he bared is teeth and got down to some serious barking.  I could call his bluff and attempt to get some more images of the jeep or I could consider it a break that I got the one and be assured of no dog bites.  I opted for the sure thing.  🙂

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

Saturday ~ May 21, 2016

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

May-20-2016-C

Happy Saturday!

I have four images for you today of some wildlife, one of which I have never photographed before.  I describe my style of photography as a road photographer.  Not with any amount of pride in that label but it is what I tend to do a lot of.  I will take a lot of county roads with and without pavement looking for things that catch my attention.  I do a quick assessment of what would make the best image in my mind and then make some pictures.  Sometimes they are good and sometimes they are not.  What I do not tend to do is find a subject and really explore it with my camera.  I wished I did more of that but it’s just not the way I’m wired.

Another self-revelation is that I tend to use my Friday off as a decompress day and I spend a lot of time vegetating.  Again I don’t say that with pride, it simply is what I have been doing.  So yesterday I decided I needed to change the pattern.  I got up at my normal time and went through my normal routine.  I grabbed a couple of cameras, one with the long lens and one with a wide-angle lens and left the house at 9:00 a.m.  I had two goals yesterday.  One, photograph things that interested me no matter where I had to go and two, get some exercise.  I accomplished both at the same time.  I got home around 4:30 p.m. totally exhausted but re-energized and happy.  🙂

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I walked for about 3.5 hours and I have no idea how many miles but enough that I was happy when I saw my car again.  I knew there was the possibility of snakes (I don’t care what you say Paul) but I was not going to let that detour me.  I walked, stood, reflected, listened, and watched for several hours and it was wonderful.

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I saw a lot of cardinals Ronnie, but this one was the only one I could get a lens on.  The rest were either in too thick of brush or there was enough other obstacles between them and me that the auto focus couldn’t lock on.  I didn’t have a tripod (not that would have done any good) and as skittish as they were I doubt if it would have made any difference.  Anyway I was glad to capture some images of this guy.  You can click on the image to see more detail.

May-20-2016

I believe this is an Indigo Bunting.  I have never photographed one and yesterday I saw several of them.  They are hard to capture and I had to shoot fast and furious to capture an image.  They never stood still for very long so I have a lot of images that are nothing more than blurry blue blobs.  🙂

That’s all I have for you today.  Thanks for stopping  by the blog.  Enjoy your day.  The forecast said it is going to be “Pleasant” today.  Isn’t that a nice sounding forecast!  Be careful.

Wednesday ~ May 18, 2016

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

May-17-2016-A

Happy Hump Day!

I have four images for you today.  On my way home yesterday evening, as I always do, I drove past the Hurstville Wetlands (“duck pond”) and guess what I saw there?  You’ll have to read a little further.  Anyway I broke a cardinal rule of photography and made this exposure shooting directly into the setting sun.  I love all the sparkling diamonds on the water, which in my mind makes this image of the ubiquitous geese something special.  🙂

What really caught my attention was I saw a large clump of pelicans in the middle of the pond.  They were in high fishing mode.  I was surprised because of the water levels of late I assumed there were no fish in the pond.  I was wrong.

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I waited for a while and once they determined I wasn’t a threat the continued fishing and moved closer to me.  It appears the two pelicans in the rear of the moving “scrum” are on lookout while their peers do the fishing thing.   If there were fish in the pond they didn’t have much chance of escaping this giant vacuum cleaner.  🙂

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You can see what appears to be a small fish in the bill of this pelican.  They move a fair distance with most of the flock having their heads below the water line.

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A little later I capture this image which clearly shows a small fish in the mouth of the pelican.  Click on the image to see it in a larger more detailed version.

So I spent about a half an hour at the duck pond watching and photographing the pelicans.  It’s always fun to see the pelicans.

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

Tuesday ~ May 17, 2016

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

May-16-2016-B

Happy Tuesday!

I have some random images for you today that have nothing in common, other than I like them all.  🙂

The Common Grackle is “common” in these parts and we see them all the time.  I love the piercing eyes and iridescent coloration of the bird.  I captured this image at Mud Lake Park, where along the shore line there are lots of dead trees that have been carried by the current to their final resting place.  There were several grackles foraging for food and I couldn’t resist making some images of one of my favorite birds.

You can click on the images to make them larger and see more detail.

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The ubiquitous American Coot.   “The American coot, also known as a mud hen, is a bird of the family Rallidae. Though commonly mistaken to be ducks, American coots belong to a distinct order” (~ source Wikipedia.)  I made this image at Green Island a couple of weeks ago.  They are everywhere at Green Island and although some people find them to be a nuisance I personally enjoy watching them interact with their environment and each other.

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Finally I’ll leave you with this landscape I capture yesterday at Twin Springs bridge.  It caught my eye on my way to Bankston, Iowa so on the return trip I stopped and photographed it.  It use to be much prettier before the flood of a few years ago.  The raging waters from that flood rearranged the stream and left some debris in its wake.  Still on a cloudy afternoon I’m pleased with this image.

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

Monday ~ May 16, 2016

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

May-14-2016

Happy Monday!

I went out Saturday afternoon looking for images because the sky was a deep blue and there were a lot of puffy clouds.  One of my favorite conditions to shoot in.  Problem was I couldn’t find anything to photograph (well that interested me.)  So I paid a dollar and toured Eagle Point park.

It was a bit chilly and there were several people having picnics in their winter coats and hooded sweatshirts (not my idea of a picnic.)  Anyway I was hoping for some small migrating birds but I couldn’t find anything other than sparrows and red-winged blackbirds.

There is a look out point at the park and so I shot a few images of the lock and dam system.  For those who are not from this country the Mississippi River uses a series of locks and dams to control river levels and to assist with river traffic.  Lock and Dam #11 is located at Dubuque, Iowa.

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I noticed these pelicans sitting on the edge of the lock and so I shot this image in crop sensor mode (on my camera) which turned my 600 mm lens into essentially a 900 mm lens.  I was pleased with the results considering I was hand holding the Sigma Contemporary lens.

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I noticed this turkey vulture floating over the water so I followed him for a while with my lens.

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This fish must have been dropped by an eagle.  I’m sure it didn’t get there by itself.  🙂

Anyway it made a nice lunch for this guy.

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

 

Friday ~ May 13, 2016

Posted by Dave Updegraff on May 13, 2016
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , .

May-12-2016

Happy Friday!

I have a potpourri of 4 images for you today that are not completely related.  The first image is a tree that I saw on the way to work yesterday.  The same road that I have driven for 16 years and for some reason it stood out to me as I should photograph it.  I was running late (as usual) so I didn’t stop to take the picture reasoning that I would remember it on the way home.  Amazingly (for me) I did remember it.  It isn’t the stunning tree I had viewed from the highway but I still like it.

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I love to take images of Gabby.  She isn’t always the most cooperative model so sometimes I have to take stealthy images like this one.  As I was processing the image it kept saying to me black and white and it feels right as a black and white image.

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This is what Ben and Angie had for us Wednesday evening.  It was just as wonderful as it looks.  Actually it was better.  🙂

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When they remodeled their home they included a fireplace on the deck.  I love it and after foundering on morels we adjourned to the deck for some conversation and relaxation.  It was a wonderful evening that I’m still enjoying in my memories.

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

Thursday ~ May 12, 2016

Posted by Dave Updegraff on May 12, 2016
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , .

May-06-2016-6X

Happy Thursday!

Only one image for you today.  I found this old tractor-trailer sitting near a barn on someone’s farm.  No one was home at the time and I didn’t want to walk on private property so I shot this photograph from the shoulder of the roadway.  I would have enjoyed getting up close and personal with this old work horse and really exploring it with my camera.  The good news is I know where it is and I’ll go back and get permission to photograph it.

Very busy but rewarding day yesterday.  Then had a real treat.  Angie called in the morning and said they had some morel mushrooms and would we like to come over for dinner and enjoy them.  Let me think about that for a minute…  YES!!

Great evening with the kids and grand kids.  Wonderful dinner and a little wine.  Very nice way to end the day. 🙂

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