Saturday ~ Octdober 18, 2014

Posted by Dave Updegraff on October 18, 2014
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , .

God Beams on the Earth

Happy Saturday!

A rare blog post from me on a Saturday.  I generally am either vegging or working on a project that I promised someone weeks ago I would have done.

I saw this on my way home last night and thought it was pretty enough to share with you.  The beauty of nature is something that we simply cannot reproduce with all our technology nor should we ignore it when it presents itself for our viewing pleasure.

So enjoy this brief respite from your busy weekend day and then get back to it. 🙂

Thanks for checking in.  Enjoy your day and be careful.

Friday ~ October 17, 2014

Posted by Dave Updegraff on October 17, 2014
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , , , , .

Windmill

Happy Friday!

I was able to leave the office at a reasonable time yesterday and there was still some nice light.  Now to find some harvest scenes.  Problem is with the three days of rain we just had, I didn’t find any machinery in the fields on my trek home.

I did find this windmill however and since windmills are one of my favorite things to photograph I captured this image.

Rural Heartland

We see these scenes all the time but like the little bird from yesterday it’s not often that we stop and take a close look.  That’s one of the many things I love about photography.  Being able to freeze time and really look and enjoy what the camera captured.  Click on any image if you like to enjoy a larger version.

I was surprised yesterday when I read Dennis Voy’s blog.  Dennis is the owner of KMAQ AM / FM in Maquoketa.   He writes a daily news and information blog and it’s read by several thousand people every day.  He had one of my images of our little dog “Maggie” on his blog with the caption; “DAVE HAS GREAT CAMERAS AND TAKES GREAT PHOTOS.   GOOGLE HIS WEB SITE TO SEE MORE.”  I was flattered that he would post one of my pictures and give me a plug.  I hope it’s not just the camera that makes the great pictures. 🙂

Harvesting The Crop

This is the only combine I could find last night.  I was losing the light rapidly and he had a long way to go before he would get back my way so I settled for a butt shot.  I don’t think a butt shot of a combine is as bad as a butt shot of a bird or is it?

That’s it for today.  Hope you enjoy your Friday.  Thanks for stopping by the blog and be careful.

Thursday ~ October 16, 2014

Posted by Dave Updegraff on October 16, 2014
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , .

Sparrow

Happy Thursday!

A lowly sparrow for the first image today.  Common bird to be sure, we literally see hundreds of them each day but I’m betting we never really focus on them.  Since I started feeding birds a few months and dollars ago I’ve been watching the birds and photographing them.  I don’t know a lot about them (from research) it’s just not my thing but I do watch their behavior and actions and that helps predict their future movements and when to snap the shutter.

I marvel at the complexity of these creatures and how beautiful they are in their own right.

Fall Color

I have a potpourri of images for you today with no rhyme or reasoning to their selection.   Just some images that for lack of space didn’t make the first cut and now that my photo cupboard is a little sparse they have taken on a new luster.   🙂

I captured this image at Camp Courageous near Monticello, Iowa.  It is a wonderful program that is in operation 12 months a year and gives people with challenges hope and happiness.  We hold some of our training programs there because we like to support the camp and because it is such a beautiful place to be.

Grain Wagons

Normally by this time of year I have shot hundreds of harvest images.  Due to the wetness of the crop and the weather I have very few to show you.  I missed a great opportunity last Saturday because I had commitments I had to take care of but hopefully this weekend I can shoot a bunch.  There are two contests I want to enter before the end of the year and I need some quality images to have a chance.

Another busy day ahead with more cheese moving and challenges to overcome.  Thanks for stopping by the blog.  Enjoy your day and be careful.

Wednesday ~ October 15, 2014

Posted by Dave Updegraff on October 15, 2014
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , .

October-11-2014

Happy Hump Day!

There is a wonderful book entitled “Who Moved My Cheese.”  It is must reading for anyone experiencing change in their life.  It’s been a few years since I read it but the one thing that still stays with me today is the question; “What would you do if you were not afraid”

Many times change itself is frightening.  The unknown that makes us uncomfortable.  The loss of familiarity in the things we do and feel.

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I love learning.  I am invigorated by learning new things.  That is why I subscribe to two on-line learning services and have an office stacked to the ceiling with books waiting to be read.  The problem of late has been that after a few pages or a couple of videos it’s snooze time.

I don’t know if that is a result of the diabetes sapping my energy or that I don’t get nearly enough sleep or some combination of the two.

What’s all this babbling about?  Nothing in particular but everything in general.  I watch people go through change almost every day.  Some good and some not so good.  My job is to help them embrace change and learn from it.  Change is inevitable and often times we can grow personally and professionally from change.

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These images were taken last Saturday.  I was happy to see my little friend still alive and healthy.  I was nervous the entire time he was at the feeder line keeping one eye open for the hawk that hunts around here.  He is super quick but so is the hawk and the hawk has the advantage when he is in the open feeding.

Lots of rambling this morning with not much continuity.  It made sense to me when I thought it up but now that it is written I’m not so sure.

Well hopefully you can enjoy the birds and the squirrel.  🙂

Thanks for stopping by the blog.  Enjoy your mid-week hump day and be very careful.

Tuesday ~ October 14, 2014

Posted by Dave Updegraff on October 14, 2014
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , .

Joan Cannon

Happy Tuesday!

I’m sorry for the lack of activity on the blog of late.  Nothing to worry about.  I’ve just been extremely busy at work and then I had some photo projects for other people that I had to get done so there just was not time to either make new images nor write about them.

The weather over the last couple of days has not been helpful for photography either.  Lots of rain Sunday, Monday and it looks like more to come today.

This lady is Joan Cannon.  She is an ERISA attorney who lives and practices in Omaha, Nebraska.  For those not familiar with the acronym of ERISA it stands for Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

The laws that govern employee benefits are so complicated that from time to time you need the counsel of a specialist to help guide you through the myriad of rules and regulations.  I have worked with Joan for fifteen years and through numerous phone calls and emails have developed a friendship with her.  We had never met nor had she ever met the principles of the organization.

Last Friday on her way to visit her twin sons (who are both doctoral candidates at Ann Arbor in the field of aerospace) She stopped in Maquoketa to meet us.  It was fun to actually meet the person on the other end of the phone.

GSB

Yesterday was our company wide celebration and learning day.  It is held in Dubuque at the Grand River Center.  One of the banks asked me to take a group shot of them during the lunch break.  It’s always difficult to get a group shot that looks good.  There is always someone hiding behind another person and one or more people will either be looking away or have their eyes closed.  The only solution I have found is to take several shots and then composite them into one usable image.  Even using 4 images there were still some people looking away from the camera.  🙂

That’s it for today.  Hope you enjoy your soggy Tuesday.  Thanks for stopping by the blog.  Be careful.

Thursday ~ October 09, 2014

Posted by Dave Updegraff on October 9, 2014
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , .

October-05-2014-3A

Happy Thursday!

Here is another series from the family photo shoot this past Sunday.

Interestingly enough (and I didn’t know it at the time) the photographer, Angela Sleep, is the wife of the eye surgeon who will be doing my cataract  surgery next month.  Another interesting fact about them is they are both working on their MBA degrees.

Okay so back to the image above.  Angie and Ben had us all line up for a “family group” shot but they stayed out of the picture standing by Angela.  I was lucky enough to snap this image at the exact right time.  What could evoke such an emotion?

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Yep, were going to be grand parents and uncles again.  Each time they have become pregnant they have found a unique way of breaking the news.  True to form they really caught us all off guard.

Needless to say the rest of the photo shoot included lots of big smiles and the mood was one of euphoria.

October-05-2014-3C

Here is the announcement card that Angie and Ben are sending out.  They certainly caught the emotions of Josh and Gabby at the appropriate time.  🙂

So that’s my big news.  Exciting stuff.

I am anxious about the cataract surgery.  It is very difficult to see right now as the fog in my right eye is so prevalent.  I was under the impression that the surgery was a pretty simple procedure and to some extent it is.  There is a fair amount of things I have to do for a week / month after the surgery that I wasn’t aware of.  I will just be so glad to be able to see clearly again.

Only saw one harvest scene on the way home yesterday and it would have required shooting directly into the sun so I opted to pass on it.  There should be plenty of photo opportunities in the next couple of weeks because there is so much corn still standing.

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

Wednesday ~ October 08, 2014

Posted by Dave Updegraff on October 8, 2014
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , .

October-08-2014

Happy Wednesday!

My big announcement will have to wait until tomorrow.   I was up at 4:00 a.m. this morning doing my exercise when I saw the reminder on T.V. about the lunar eclipse.

I stood outside for 30 minutes and was frozen solid but this image is what I came away with.  I made a mistake and used the gimbal tripod instead of my ball head.  90% of my images were pretty soft and this one is softer than I would prefer.  Having said that it accurately reflects what I saw this morning.

Now because I stood outside for 30 minutes I’m running later than normal so a short post today.

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

Tuesday ~ October 07, 2014

Posted by Dave Updegraff on October 7, 2014
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , .

October-05-2014-2B

Happy Tuesday!

Just some random shots from Sunday at the park.  Angela Sleep was the photographer for this session.  She is a wonderfully talented photographer and really does great work.  She enjoys photographing children and babies.

October-05-2014-2A

I had my Nikon D4 on a tripod with a remote shutter so I just snapped away the entire time we were getting pictures taken.  I have a very special photo to show you tomorrow so check back if you can.

October-05-2014-2C

Busy day today.  I get to take some more portraits for some of our loan folks to use in marking materials.  I always enjoy that.   Then later in the afternoon I have an evaluation meeting with the eye surgeon.  Hopefully that will go okay and I can get this foggy eye fixed.

That’s it for today.  Hope you enjoy this Fall day.  I’m going to make the effort to capture the moon in the morning.  Should be fun to watch.

Thanks for stopping by the blog.  Be careful.

 

Monday ~ October 06, 2014

Posted by Dave Updegraff on October 6, 2014
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , .

October-05-2014-A

Happy Monday!

Fun day at Swiss Valley Park yesterday as we met Angie, Ben, and the kids along with Ben’s parents and brothers.  I’ll have more stories as the week unfolds but some very interesting things occurred at the photo shoot.

The barn above was near the park and of course you know that I cannot pass up a barn if the lighting is right.  So while we were waiting for the kids to arrive I grabbed some shots of this barn.

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My two favorite ladies.  We were getting ready to leave after the photo shoot and Angie and Jeanne were talking.  Angie doesn’t mind me taking her picture, I’ve done it since she was born but Jeanne, on the other hand would prefer that I didn’t take hers.  🙂

Not to be deterred I coaxed her into posing with our daughter.

October-05-2014-B

My other favorite lady of course is Gabby.  She did pretty well yesterday.  It was a chilly day at the park and she was cold but she cooperated pretty well for the photographer.

I had some interesting conversations with the photographer and more about those conversations and her later in the week.

Short post as of course I’m running late.  Hope you enjoy your Monday, it’s here all day so make the best of it.

Congratulations to the KC Royals who swept the Angels.  My sympathy to you Melinda for your Tigers.  😦

Thanks for stopping by the blog and be careful.

Sunday ~ October 05, 2014

Posted by Dave Updegraff on October 5, 2014
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , .

October Moon

Happy Sunday!

I was grilling last night and saw this wonderful moon in the sky.  Well much like seeing an eagle I cannot pass up an opportunity to capture a clear shot of the moon.

I saw my little friend the squirrel at the feeder yesterday afternoon so I know he is still safe.  I worry that feeding at the bottom of the feeder really exposes him to the red-tailed hawk but there isn’t much I can do about that.

Corn Wagon

Yesterday morning I drove to Cedar Rapids, which is not something I particularly wanted to do, however there was a company in town for the day at the photo store I do business with, that were there to buy used cameras.

Yes I had (even for me) an extra camera that I needed to sell and I’ve done business with this company before so I thought it would be worth the while to drive down.  I knew what the camera was bringing on e-bay and what it should be worth and of course I had a bottom price that I would accept.

I have always found these folks to be extremely fair and cordial.  While I was standing in line I was able to visit with a couple of factory representatives from Sony and Cannon.  It was really fun to talk equipment with other people with out someone’s eyes glazing over.  🙂

Anyway, when it was my turn I got into another conversation about the Tamron 150 – 600 mm lens with the guy who was appraising my camera.  I felt guilty for taking so much time but he had just received his lens and was excited to talk with someone who has had some experience with it.

They gave me more money then I figured they would so I was really happy.  I sold the Nikon D600. which was a really good camera but it was the first production run and it had some issues with the sensor.  A year later they released the Nikon D610 and so I bought that one when it came out.  So it was more of just an upgrade for me.

Fall Harvest

I had lunch with my good friend Barb after selling my camera and we got caught up on what she’s been doing.  She likes to shoot sports as her one of her brothers is a H.S. football coach.  Shooting football under the lights with a long lens is really a challenge.  Especially if you don’t have a really expensive and fast telephoto lens.  She was frustrated with some of her results so I gave her some tips that might help but it will be a challenge none the less.

I saw the wagon in the second image on the way to Cedar Rapids.  It was really overcast and I was wanting to make sure I had plenty to time at the camera store so I made a mental note to stop on my way back.  Fortunately the blue sky and sun were out when I came by the second time so I was able to make this capture.

The image just above was captured near Anamosa, Iowa and I’m sure the farmer and his helpers wondered what that Dude with the camera was up to.  I shot several passes of him harvesting but finally got one of him harvesting and unloading at the same time. 🙂

That’s it for today.  Angie and Ben have hired a photographer to take their family picture out at Swiss Valley today.  They have invited Ben’s family and our family to also have a group picture taken.  So Mark came up last night and we’ll meet at the park this morning.  Going to be chilly but hopefully a nice day for the shoot.  I have seen the work of this photographer and she is very good.  Maybe she’ll talk cameras with me.  🙂

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