Sunday ~ Augus 02, 2015

Posted by Dave Updegraff on August 2, 2015
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , , .

August-01-2015

Happy Sunday!

Yesterday we met Angie and the kids at the Dubuque Farmer’s Market.  It  was a nice day for touring the market and we hadn’t gotten very far when Josh ran into a classmate of his.  I couldn’t pass up this photo opportunity.  🙂

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After touring the market for awhile we ended up at the Dubuque Fire Fighters’ display.   Each week they bring some of their equipment including their rescue vehicle, aerial truck and a pumper.  The firemen hand out stickers to the kids and answer their questions about the equipment and being a fire fighter.

Gabby was pretty proud of her badge.  🙂

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While we were there Angie ran into a fellow nurse who also is a fireman.  He gave Josh a special treat of putting on the bunker fire gear complete with Captain’s helmet and let him sit in the driver’s seat of the big aerial truck.

I have the greatest respect for fire fighters, first responders and all the public service folks that let us go about our daily lives without much concern.

It was a fun morning spent with the kids.  Later in the afternoon I did a hard bike ride of 25 miles out to Peosta and back.  Difficult because of the head wind and the steeper hills.  It was a good ride however.

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

Friday ~ July 31, 2015

Posted by Dave Updegraff on July 31, 2015
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , .

July-30-2015

Happy Friday!

Another back yard image for you today.  I’m told by my Queen that this is a blue moon.  Couldn’t prove it by me.

I had lunch with my good friend Steve yesterday and he told me I need to get of my keister and find other things to photograph.  🙂

He’s right but I do enjoy photographing the birds in the backyard.  Our neighbor Jack (wonderful guy) brought over some baby tomatoes last night and we had an enjoyable visit on our patio.

That’s it for today.  Hopefully I’ll have something other than backyard photos for you in the coming week.  🙂

Enjoy your day and this coming weekend.  Thanks for stopping by the blog.  Be careful.

Thursday ~ July 30, 2015

Posted by Dave Updegraff on July 30, 2015
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , .

July-29-2015

Happy Thursday!

A quick, short post for you today.  Enjoying another night on the patio with magnificent weather and soft glowing sun light.  A couple of Robins visited the bird bath in that beautiful light and I couldn’t resist making a couple of images.

I had another visit with the eye surgeon yesterday.  Eight months after my surgery the flicker problem remains.  It is not quite as prevalent as it has been but still an annoyance.  The fix (if possible) is risky and there are no guarantees so I will deal with this and hopefully at some point my brain will ignore it.

I have 20/20 vision in that eye so I am willing to accept the random flickering.

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I have signed up for a photography school later in the year.  It is a 5 day course held in Tennessee and some of the biggest names in the photography business will be instructing.  It is a combination of classroom and field work.  I am both excited and apprehensive about the opportunity.   It is certainly outside my comfort zone but that is how you grow.

Jeanne is very supportive and that is a major benefit.

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

Tuesday ~ July 28, 2015

Posted by Dave Updegraff on July 28, 2015
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , .

July-25-2015C

Happy Tuesday!

Saturday Jeanne and I met our friends for lunch and then walked the beautiful Dubuque River Walk.  Even though it was not a good time of the day for making photographs I always find something to capture images of when I am at the river.

Something you don’t see every day on the river.  A barge configuration with a tug boat on both ends of the barge.  I’m not sure what was going on but it was fun to watch.

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Normally the edge of the river is full of ducks swimming and doing their thing.  We must have caught them at their siesta time because none of them were in the water and a lot of them were sleeping.

I got in a 32 mile bike ride yesterday.  It was hot but it really felt good to ride.  I was down at the river on part of the ride and there were a few shore fishermen at the lock and dam and a couple of pleasure boats in the water but the river was void of traffic at least when I was there.

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Finally I’ll leave you with this image of the venerable Spirit Of Dubuque.  It is a nice sight-seeing excursion boat that goes out several times a day for cruises.  It also has a dinner cruise and we have done that on occasion.  It’s a fun way to see part of the river and learn some interesting facts about river navigation.

That’s it for today.   No award winners here just some reflection of an enjoyable day at the river.

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

Monday ~ July 27, 2015

Posted by Dave Updegraff on July 27, 2015
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , , .

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Happy Monday!

I have a mixed bag for you today.  I will finish up my photo shoot at the airport of a couple of weeks ago.  Between flights of the War-birds there really wasn’t much else to do, then I noticed this little ground squirrel scurrying about.  Since I already had my long lens on the camera why not capture him as well.

I watched him for several minutes and took about 80 images of him.  I’m reasonably certain you do not want to see all of them so this is the best one.  🙂

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I thought this made an interesting contrast showing the old and the new.  There were two corporate jets that landed at the airport while I was there.

Dubuque Regional has a pretty robust amount of traffic even without the war-birds.

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American Eagle (Envoy) has regular flights in and out of Dubuque.  They fly nonstop to Chicago on a daily basis.

I have always had a fascination with airplanes.  When I was a kid my Dad would drive all the way to Kansas City (100 miles) on Sunday just so I could watch the big commercial airplanes land and take off.  There was even an observation deck on top of the old municipal airport terminal where you could stand and watch the (rich) people get on the big TWA Columbine 4 engine airplanes with their distinctive arched fuselage and three vertical tail fins.

I would imagine what mystical and exotic places they were traveling to.  Ridgeway, Bethany, and Kansas City were pretty much the size of my known world.

When those big engines started up they belched a lot of smoke and the rumble of those big engines would vibrate through your entire body.  It was amazing.  Other times we would go to the end of the field (which ever way the wind was blowing) and watch them come in for a landing.  In those days KC Municipal airport was very accessible to the public who enjoyed watching the comings and goings of the airplanes.  It was always crowded in the observation area.

When the wind was in the right direction the big planes had to come in over the city and some pretty tall buildings.  Then they had to drop immediately down to make the landing.  KC Municipal had a pretty short runway in those days even for the prop driven aircraft.

I’m sure it was a struggle financially for my Dad to take me to KC and then sometimes we’d stop at a truck stop on the way home for dinner or most of the time Mom would have made fried chicken for us to eat while at the airport.

When I think about it now it is amazing.  My Dad worked very hard (physically) 6 days a week and then would give up his Sunday’s to drive all the way to Kansan City and back just so his little boy could see airplanes.

What great memories these images have evoked both for the experience and the memories of an amazing man and Father.  🙂

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This is the last of the airport pictures for this year.  😦

It’s always great fun to go out and watch the planes land and take off.  In years past they would fly over the observation deck (in Dubuque) and turn on their smoke for some great fly by photo opportunities.

Thanks for stopping by the blog.  Enjoy your day and be careful.  It’s going to be a muggy day.

Sunday ~ July 26, 2015

Posted by Dave Updegraff on July 26, 2015
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , , , .

July-25-2015

Happy Sunday!

For some reason I decided to look back at my blog yesterday morning (not reading the posts) just looking at my photography.  It was then that I realized that yesterday was my one year anniversary of being diagnosed with Diabetes.  Amazing all the changes I’ve made in my life over the last year.  All for the best I might add.  🙂

Today I have some more back yard images for you.  After a wonderful dinner I went out to the patio to enjoy the evening sun.  Of course when I see that beautiful soft orange light I have to get my camera and shoot some images.  The moon really stood out this evening and I didn’t have to fight with the city light clutter to make this image.

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We met our great friends Becki and Steve for lunch yesterday.  They had been shopping in Wisconsin and were stopping by Dubuque on their way home.  We ate at my favorite (sort of) restaurant, Tony Roma and had a wonderful visit.  To celebrate my anniversary I had a small piece of strawberry shortcake (my favorite.)  I got along with it pretty well.

Then we did the river walk with them (shot a lot of images) and headed home for a nice nap.  🙂

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I am starting to enjoy the Sigma 150 – 600 mm VRII lens.  At first I thought it wasn’t very sharp but after some experimentation and trying different setting values I believe it is going to be a keeper after all.  I’ve had it for almost a year now but just have not been able to get comfortable with it until recently.

Not exactly the image you expect to take with a 600 mm lens but as we were going inside (the bugs were starting to bite) and Jeanne said, “Oh look at the beautiful ight on Jack’s (our neighbor) flowers.  So I handheld the lens and grabbed this shot. That’s it for today.  Enjoy your humid Sunday. Thanks for stopping by the blog and be careful.

Friday ~ July 24, 2015

Posted by Dave Updegraff on July 24, 2015
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , .

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Happy Friday!

My intention (last night) was to show you more images of the war-birds from this past weekend.  This morning my mindset was more focused on beauty and color so I’ll show you some more images from the Arboretum shoot last Saturday.

Many times I will process images in the evening for the next day’s post and then do the actual writing of the blog on the morning it is  posted.  So last night as I was thinking about today’s blog I processed more images from the airport.

I know I’m just rambling.

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I had completely forgotten this close up of this little honey bee.  He didn’t look too threatening so I got up close and personal with him.  I hadn’t really looked at it that closely but you can really see the pollen sticking to his body.  You can click on the image to make it larger on your screen.

Normally I try to stay away from bees but there is so much to do for them at the Arboretum so they do not seem to pay much attention to the lens just a few feet away from their territory. 🙂

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I’m playing golf today with some good friends in Bellevue.  I’ve played 9 holes in a charity best shot back in May when the weather was cold, rainy and windy and I played 9 holes with Mark on Father’s Day.  I never got a par.  😦

I did go out to the driving range last evening and hit some balls.  If I needed a reinforcement (which I don’t) for concentrating on my photography instead of golf it was demonstrated clearly last night.  Jeanne went with me and she was kind enough to point out that I had “some” good shots.

The good news is I’ll be with friends.  🙂

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

Thursday ~ July 23, 2015

Posted by Dave Updegraff on July 23, 2015
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , , , .

July-22-2015

Happy Thursday!

Another beautiful evening in the neighborhood.  I love sitting on the patio when the sun is soft and the light is a warm yellow.  Last night was another perfect evening and a lot of God’s creatures were enjoying it as well.  So what is a lover of photography to do but capture the moments.  🙂

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I was nervous the entire time this small rabbit was in the yard.  He laid in the grass and ate whatever it was he was eating.  I could just see the evil red-tailed hawk swooping down and grabbing him in his talons.  I kept a watchful eye on the sky but that hawk is clever.

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Speaking of cleaver.  We have a squirrel who lives in the trees behind our house and he has made a feast of the dropped bird seed below the feeders.  When he didn’t get enough he discovered how to climb the feeders (which is near impossible) and eat directly from the feeders.

A few weeks ago we had been gone for a couple of days and he came onto the patio, jumped on top of the “Rubbermaid” garbage can (where I store the seed) and chewed a nice big hole in the top so he could get to the birdseed.

I put some duck tape on it and it worked for three weeks.  Yesterday he came back while I was at work and Jeanne was with Angie and did it again.  The bird seed is now in the garage.  As clever as he is I’d like to see him get to it now.  🙂

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That’s it for today.  I hope you enjoyed the images of our back yard friends.  I really enjoy watching them doing their thing.  Often times the bird bath will have a waiting line of three or four birds waiting their turn at the water.  Just a fun thing to do in the evening.  I’m easily amused.

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

Wednesday ~ July 22, 2015

Posted by Dave Updegraff on July 22, 2015
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , .

July-21-2015

Happy Wednesday!

I decided to sit out on the patio last evening after dinner.  The temperature was moderate and a light breeze made being outdoors and watching nature far more appealing than watching TV.

I have scaled back on my bird feeding during the summer for several reasons.  However I do keep fresh water in the bird bath and the birds love it.  Usually if I’m sitting on the patio they won’t come to the bird bath so last night I sat close to the house behind some other chairs with my long lens and had a ball capturing bird images.

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I have not seen the Cardinal around for sometime.  I saw him last night for the first time up by the trees.  I was just about to call it a night when he showed up at the bird bath.  I have never seen him at the bird bath let alone photograph him there.  It was a real treat for me.

I always enjoy photographing a Cardinal and my friend Ron enjoys them a lot so I have a couple of images for you today Ron.

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The only feeder I still have out is the thistle feeder for the Gold Finches.  They are such a pretty bird and I really enjoy watching them.

The bird bath has become a busy place this summer.  It is used by all sorts of birds and there is usually a waiting line to use it.  A lot of birds just use it for a drink but the last few hot days there were lot of birds getting cooled off by taking a full bath in it. 🙂

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So it was an enjoyable evening doing two of the things I really enjoy.  Watching nature and taking photographs.  I shot 474 images and culled those down to 67 keepers.  There were actually more keepers but they were all of the same thing.  I used the Nikon D4 (which will rip off 57 shots in nothing flat) fitted with the Sigma 150 – 600 mm lens at ISO 400 1/640 sec @ f6.5.

That’s it for today.  I hope you enjoyed the bird images.  Thanks for stopping by the blog.  Enjoy your day and be careful.

Tuesday ~ July 21, 2015

Posted by Dave Updegraff on July 21, 2015
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , .

July-19-2015-1B

Happy Tuesday!

Some War-Birds for you today.  It was a disappointing year for me this year.  They were taking off and landing on the farthest runway and for that matter they taxied the wrong way as well.  Still it is always fun to see them and hear those big powerful radial engines roar.

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Enjoyable day yesterday.  I did yard work most of the morning and then Jeanne and I went for a pretty long walk in the afternoon.  I was able to finish up a project that I needed to get out the door so I was glad to have that done.

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I counted 30 war-birds on the tarmac Sunday.  Plus I saw two P51 Mustangs.  I would have loved to see them take off but I simply ran out of time and wasn’t able to hang around long enough.

Some of the planes took off and must have done some practicing of their formation flying.  I thought perhaps they were on their way to the airshow but they came back before I had to leave.

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That’s it for today.  Hope you have a great day.  Thanks for stopping by the blog and be careful.