Sunday, September 30, 2018

9/30/18

It's the last day of September and it has seemed to be such a long month.  My image today is of the Wagner 14 inch scale locomotive that I get to help operate in Minnesota at the Western Minnesota Steam Thresher's Reunion.  I captured it on it's new turntable ready to go into the new Roundhouse.  Both things have been a great addition to make it resemble full size operation more.


Saturday, September 29, 2018

9/29/18

So this week is going to be birds, except for tomorrow which is always Steamy Sunday.  😃 I am hosting the Bird Poker game on Google Plus again.  I chose an easy theme of favorites.  This one I was very happy with because I don't see Swans very often, I have never seen a wild bird on a nest and it was a pretty good capture.  I was able to shoot this Swan on it's nest this past June in Minnesota.



Friday, September 28, 2018

9/28/18

Here is a lovely Buckeye Butterfly that I captured in early August enjoying the Zinnia flowers.  I have been able to capture a lot of butterflies this year to brighten up the winter months.  


Thursday, September 27, 2018

9/27/18

I grew some Teasels in my garden.  I find the flowers on them interesting and they draw bees and butterflies.  I find that after the blooms have faded and they dry they are even more interesting.  I shot this with the sunlight really back lighting this dried one and it really shows off the details.  I also liked the muted colors of the image. 


Wednesday, September 26, 2018

9/26/18

Autumn is here for sure, it was only in the 40s last night.  Brr chilly.  This image was taken on a much warmer day.  After an 8 mile drive which was the longest of my life and a bit of a hike up a steep trail, this was the view I was treated to.  I thought it well worth the effort.  This is Silver Falls which is located outside Pagosa Springs Colorado.  I shout this long exposure with out any filter because I forgot it but got lucky with some dark clouds.


Tuesday, September 25, 2018

9/25/18

Well, it's exactly 3 months till Christmas!  Time to get started on your shopping.  😜 The wild Sunflowers have been blooming and are actually almost done now.  I captured this young one just shortly after opening.  It was just about perfect in shape and that no bugs had eaten it yet.


Monday, September 24, 2018

9/24/18

Every now and then I like to get back to my roots in Black & White Photography.  With the tinting on this one, it's more a monochrome work.  I thought this Marigold from my garden really lent itself well to this treatment and it made the details in it really pop.


Sunday, September 23, 2018

9/23/18

Autumn is starting off beautifully here with sunny cooler but not too cold days.  This was taken on a cool summer morning in Minnesota over the Labor Day weekend.  Locomotive 353 was beginning to pull out on an early run and the steam from the cylinders was really billowing out around it due to the cool air.



Saturday, September 22, 2018

9/22/18

I was working on this image this morning.  This is a 3 shot panoramic image that is best viewed large by clicking on it.  This is a view of the huge Sunflower field that I found when I was in Minnesota in late August.  The image doesn't even totally show how this field seemed to go on forever.  It was the largest field of Sunflowers I had ever seen, just a see of yellow, it was beautiful.


Friday, September 21, 2018

9/21/18

Yesterday afternoon when I got home from work I was out by the garden and I spotted this butterfly that I had not seen before.  I quickly went in and got my camera and I was able to get a few shots of it as it was enjoying the Autumn Sedum.  In doing some research last night at butterfliesandmoths.org I found that it is a Border Patch Butterfly and Kansas is on the edge of it's habitat.  I submitted my sighting to the site as well.  I was quite happy to have seen and captured a rare to Kansas butterfly and a quite beautiful one at that.


Thursday, September 20, 2018

9/20/18

I captured this White-lined Sphinx Hummingbird Moth enjoying a Thistle flower a while back.  They are also known as just a Hummingbird Moth.  They are pretty elusive and I don't see them often so it was great to be able to get a photo of one.  I found out something interesting about Hummingbird moths, their caterpillar stage are Hornworms.  One variety is the Tobacco Hornworm that destroys tomato plants if left alone.



Wednesday, September 19, 2018

9/19/18

Still hot today but it's looking like only one more day of this.  My image today is of an almost perfect red Sunflower from my garden just a few weeks ago.


Tuesday, September 18, 2018

9/18/18

Well summer is finishing off hot.  I know I don't want winter to come but I am tired of the heat.  The Hummingbirds have been visiting and stocking up for their trip south.  I captured this Ruby Throated one seeming to look at me while taking it's photo recently.  

 

Monday, September 17, 2018

9/17/18

I captured this shot on my trip to Minnesota over the Labor Day weekend.  I was trying to capture a Heron on the ground but it took off, they are always so skittish.  Fortunately I was fairly ready for this and able to capture my best flight capture of one of these so far.  This is a Great Blue Heron.


Sunday, September 16, 2018

9/16/18

This is a shot of the ex Soo Line locomotive that I get to fire on at the Western Minnesota Steam thresher's Reunion for 2 hours of the 4 days of the show.  The locomotive is just pulling into the Baker Depot here to pick up passengers and switch crews out at about 10am.  I took this image just before going on board.



Saturday, September 15, 2018

9/15/18

This is an image that shows a bit of the vastness of the Sunflower field that I came upon in Minnesota a couple weeks back.  It was huge and beautiful.  I captured this image and did a bit of an HDR treatment to really bring out the details in the clouds and also the Sunflowers.


Friday, September 14, 2018

9/14/18

I have been lucky to have several Swallowtails visiting my garden this past summer.  I have planted several varieties of things to entice butterflies to the garden.  I always find it funny that the thing they really seem to enjoy are the Zinnias, that's where I almost always seem to find them until the Sedum starts to bloom.  Here is a female Black Swallowtail enjoying one.


Thursday, September 13, 2018

9/13/18

I have finally seen some Honey Bees around lately.  I captured this one a little while ago enjoying a Sunflower head in my garden.


Wednesday, September 12, 2018

9/12/18

I captured this image this past winter at the in-law's birdbath during a snow.  I liked this image because it clearly shows the difference between a male and female Bluebird.  The male is much more vibrant blue while the female is a lot duller to help her blend in more while nesting.


Tuesday, September 11, 2018

9/11/18

This is the color version of yesterday's photo.  I processed the B & W one a lot differently so thought I would share the other version.  I like the very dark and vivid colors of this variety of Marigold.


Monday, September 10, 2018

9/10/18

I have some Marigolds that are growing in a garden on the new land.  They must have been part of a seed mix as I did not specifically plant them but they are doing quite well with very little attention from me. I like to get back to my monochrome roots at times and I thought this bloom lent itself to that treatment well with it's lines.


Sunday, September 9, 2018

9/9/18

I like double number days like today 9/9.  Maybe I am weird.  LOL  Anyway, my image today is of the Cumbres & Toltec train on it's way up to Cumbres Pass.  I captured it on the switchback that allows it to gain a lot of elevation in a short actual distance but zig zags back and forth.  This was taken when coming from the Antonito Colorado end of the trip.


Saturday, September 8, 2018

9/8/18

I was out all day today so posting a bit late.  I captured this guy at my pond a couple weeks ago while we were having a bit of a stare down.  A lovely Dragonfly that looks so alien with those big eyes.


Friday, September 7, 2018

9/7/18

Another kind of dreary day for the most part.  These are some Lantana flowers to brighten things up.  I shot these a couple weeks back when they were blooming quite profusely in the heat.  They have slowed down some now that it is cooler and rainy.  I liked the bokeh behind them and the stair step look too.


Thursday, September 6, 2018

9/6/18

When it rains it pours.  They always say, be careful what you wish for.  I like the rain and it ha not been bad where we are but I am missing the sun, not seeing it too much since I have been home.  I was shooting Thistles in bloom a couple weeks back and this Bumblebee came in and photo-bombed me.  There were other flowers around and I was actually holding the stem of this one to get it in the right position under the lens but it didn't care and just landed right there and kind of startled me but I got some good shots after I recovered.  I think it was high on pollen as covered as it was.


Wednesday, September 5, 2018

9/5/18

I was in Minnesota and it was a crazy time with the internet, there were so many people that the towers were overwhelmed and you couldn't do anything.  On Wednesday when I got there, I went for a drive and captured my best Great Egret images ever.  It was so close I couldn't even extend my zoom lens all the way.  It didn't fly away either which was amazing.  So here is one of the images I was able to capture.


Tuesday, September 4, 2018

9/4/18

I took this image a while back as well.  There is a theme on G+ called Tree Tuesday that I thought of while taking this one.  I love the trunks of old Bristle Cone Pine Trees.  They are quite colorful and interesting with the twists in them.


Monday, September 3, 2018

9/3/18

Being without internet really stinks.  Quickly posting while I can.  This is an older image I got of 2 Swans in flight at Tamarac Wildlife Refuge in Minnesota.


Sunday, September 2, 2018

9/2/18

Having internet issues so posting very late and also missed a day.  I almost missed Steamy Sunday as well.  I'm having to post to G+ through my Blog because of the internet issues.
This is the 14 inch Wagner that I get to run in Minnesota in it's new Roundhouse.  It just got moved into it not too long before the show.  It's a great addition.