Wednesday, January 30, 2019

1/30/19

It is bitter cold here, it was only 2 F or -17 C when I got up this morning around 8.  I got to sleep in because we got the day off due to the cold.  Yay.  I took the image I am sharing today on a much warmer day in December.  It was fairly cold relatively then but nothing like today.  The Canada Geese were headed south over my house and crossing a vapor trail.


Tuesday, January 29, 2019

1/29/19

This is another image from the Fly In that was held this past June in Junction City Kansas.  This is a beautiful Great Lakes Bi-plane, well restored.


Monday, January 28, 2019

1/28/19

This is another in my frozen soap bubble series.  They are lovely on their own but I wanted to be a little creative with it and have some added interest.  This one turned out as kind of a double bubble but I loved the patterns in both.

Here is a link to a YouTube video that I made that shows how I do it.  This first one forms very quickly, it was done in very cold temperatures:
Freezing A Bubble Very Cold

This link shows one I did in a bit warmer temps and the crystals take longer to form:
Freezing a Bubble Warmer

It was almost too windy in this second video.  Wind of any kind will cause the bubble to pop before the crystals form.



Sunday, January 27, 2019

1/27/19

January is almost over already, in some ways it seemed to go very quickly but in others seemed really long.  I think it's the weather, we are warmer these last 2 days but heading into some bitter cold single digit type stuff.  Yuck.  I prefer to think of warm days and watching steam trains.  This image is from late May while watching the Cumbres & Toltec move around on the Wye one evening to turn the train around to head back to Colorado from Chama New Mexico.  Whye's are shaped like a Y but have a curved crossbar on the wider part allowing the train to pull up, and back around to get going in the correct direction.  


Saturday, January 26, 2019

1/26/19

We had quite the beautiful sunset early this past week.  The colors were so vivid it looked like the sky was on fire.  I wish I had been somewhere more picturesque but I just ran out into the side yard and shot this Mulberry tree against it.  I actually used my phone for this image, a Google Pixel 3 which I am quite impressed with the quality of images that it puts out.


Friday, January 25, 2019

1/25/19

It was bitterly cold last night and this morning, only around 10 F on my way to work this morning.  Yuck.  I decided I wanted a photo that reminded me of warmth.  This is a lovely water Lily from my backyard pond this past summer.


Thursday, January 24, 2019

1/24/19

The snow we just had was not as pretty but the ice clinging to the trees was lovely.  This is from a couple weekends ago.  I like how the snowy branches reflected in the water.


Wednesday, January 23, 2019

1/23/19

We got a show day today so posting a bit early.  😂  This past Saturday along with the snow I was able to go out and try some frozen bubble images.  I used a different lighting set up and I was really pleased with the results that I got.  This is one that is fairly early on in it's growth stages but I chose this image because I liked the shapes and after viewing it big I thought the color on the top crystal was interesting too.


Tuesday, January 22, 2019

1/22/19

I decided to share a photo from this past year's Bi Plane Fly In as I realized I had not shared many.  This is a beautiful Waco Bi plane and is not restored but is newly built.  The Waco company is still producing this type of aircraft. 


Monday, January 21, 2019

1/21/19

On Saturday morning it was snowing a bit so i went out to take some snowflake photos.  Some beautiful little ones were falling and I was shooting away.  I then realized that the ISO on my camera somehow had gotten out of wack and was way too high so my photos were over exposing.  Ugh, I was not happy.  I think I can get some results out of them with some work but not anything like they should be.  Anyway, after I fixed that I was lucky and a few more flakes fell of which this was one.  I know I said I had shot my best one a couple of weeks ago, but this one tops it.  It is 6 images focus stacked together.  I am rather proud of it.


Sunday, January 20, 2019

1/20/19

We are back to winter but not as bad as originally thought.  Not much snow and not as bitterly cold.  This image was taking on a lovely warm evening in Chama New Mexico this past May at the cumbres & Toltec Roundhouse.  The locomotives sit ready for the next days work or are being maintenanced after a run.  They keep them all warm in case one has issues so another is ready to go.  Even though the building is not round any longer, they still refer to this type as a "Roundhouse".

Evening At the Roundhouse




Saturday, January 19, 2019

1/19/19

We had snow again and now very cold out.  It wasn't as beautiful as the snow we had last weekend because of the wind.  This past weekend the snow clung to the trees and made everything quite the winter wonderland.  This is another image that featured my Gazebo.  😃


Friday, January 18, 2019

1/18/19

Blue Jays rarely sit and pose for me but this one did in my in-laws Ornamental Pear tree this past November.  I thought this image came out rather well with the bird nicely in focus and the soft tree bokeh behind.  


Thursday, January 17, 2019

1/17/19

We have been soooo dreary for so long.  It's been at least a week since we last saw the sun.  I needed something bright.  This is an image I was able to capture of the yellow water lily in my new pond this past summer.  It was quite a surprise as it bloomed late in the season but once it started it kept putting out flowers and was quite lovely.


Wednesday, January 16, 2019

1/16/19

My property has an old 1800s stone house on it that has been slowly deteriorating unfortunately.  It makes for an interesting photography subject.  I thought it looked especially nice in the lovely snow we had this past weekend.


Tuesday, January 15, 2019

1/15/19

This is another image from the Great Bend Air Show this past September.  The airplane taking off is a T28 Trojan.  Of note is the triangle shape below off to the side of the runway.  It is an old Army Air Force Wind Tetrahedron which rotated on a pedestal as the wind blew to show the direction. 


1/14/19

Sigh, posting late again.  Yesterday was not a good day.  Anyway, the weekend was really good.  We had another beautiful clingy snow that lasted even into today.  This is a view of my Gazebo which seemed to feature in several of the photos I took.  😃


Sunday, January 13, 2019

1/13/19

I decided to be a bit different in what I post today, so the opposite of something steamy, something very cold.  We had another lovely snow and I captured this image.  It is a 2 image focus stack of snow covered Bittersweet in my yard.  The snow is still clinging to the trees and making for a lovely sight today.


Saturday, January 12, 2019

1/12/19

We had a nice snow last night.  I was hoping to get some snowflake images but they were all broken up last night and then when I awoke this morning it had stopped already.  It was a beautiful clingy snow again so I went out to capture some images of that before the wind came up.  As I was going out the door I happened to look at the gloves I had left laying out to become cold and capture flakes with.  There were only 2 flakes laying on it and this was one.  I couldn't believe it still help so much detail after laying there for who knows how long.  This is an 8 image stack and isn't even enough as there are still portions out of focus.  I am pretty happy with the result even so.  Te other flake was quite unique as well and quite appropriate for me, you will see that here in the future.




Friday, January 11, 2019

1/11/19

So it looks like we may get snow today.  Not really that fond of that unless it's a pretty snow.  It was warmer out this morning than I thought it was going to be.  This is from a much warmer day than we have been having.  This is a beautiful bloom off of my Butterfly Bush also known by several other names like Budhelia, Buddleia, Budleja.  The butterflies were enjoying it this past autumn so it lives up to it's name.


Thursday, January 10, 2019

1/10/19

Last week while I was on vacation and when it was really cold out I was feeding the ground birds a mix of nuts, seeds and fruit.  I captured this Red Bellied Woodpecker through the window as it was taking a piece of food back up the tree.  I call it a pig as it is always stealing from the little birds when it should be pecking for bugs.  😉


Wednesday, January 9, 2019

1/9/19

We are heading back in to winter.  I like the warmer weather but this is better so things don't start budding out and getting damaged.  This image today was taken on a warm day in June in Minnesota at Tamarac Wildlife Refuge.  This Dragonfly posed very nicely for me in some reeds so I had to take an image of it.  


Tuesday, January 8, 2019

1/8/19

I love old motorcycles.  At the Great Bend Air Show they had several types of military vehicles on display including this neat vintage Harley.  I am not sure if it was actually used in the war or just made to look like it but it was a nice bike nonetheless


Monday, January 7, 2019

1/7/19

It feels like spring out lately.  I like it but worry that it is not good for the plants and my Daffodils that think it is spring and are coming up already.  I took this image on a day like we have been having several years ago out in San Francisco California, a place I would love to revisit.  I went to see the Pacific Ocean and then walked along the coast past the Golden Gate Bridge, the subject of this photo, to the piers and saw Sea Lions there.  My feet were tired by the end, it was several miles I walked that day.  I gave this a B&W treatment to make it appear like a vintage photo and never shared it so here you go.  


Sunday, January 6, 2019

1/6/19

Sunday for a long time has been for steam, Steamy Sunday, and with the first Sunday of the new year I had to begin with my favorite tourist steam railroad, the Cumbres & Toltec.  I took this shot from the campground I was staying at as the train was heading out in the morning from Chama New Mexico.  It was on it's way to Anonito Colorado and would be passing back and forth over the border 11 times as it made it's way there.  A fun time and great experience.


Saturday, January 5, 2019

1/5/19

This is another of this year's Frozen Bubble attempts.  It is way too warm now to try again.  Guess we shall see what the winter has in store if I will be able to try again.


Friday, January 4, 2019

1/4/19

So we are back to warmer weather again.  I like it but I have Daffodils that are confused and coming up already.  Not good.  This image is from this past spring.  A web with water drops that I focused stacked about 5 images to get this one.


Thursday, January 3, 2019

1/3/19

I got this image this summer of a double rainbow.  My front yard view isn't the loveliest so I shot it at this angle with the trees instead of just buildings.  May the new year be filled with rainbows and good things.  😃




Wednesday, January 2, 2019

1/2/19

It has been bitterly cold for us the last couple of days.  I hate the cold but decided to make the most of it and try to do a frozen bubble image.  I like the results mostly, it turned out better than I thought it was going to due to my shutter speed and some movement in the bubble.  I am not sure I like how the flower reflected in the bubble.  I didn't notice that at the time as I had to shoot fairly quickly.  I did like the overall result though with the color it added.


Tuesday, January 1, 2019

1/1/19

Well, we made it.  Hope this one is better than the last.  I hope it is a good year for all of you and that you get to do the things you love, at least once in a while.  😃