Date: Monday, May 31, 2010
Day 151 - Bugler
Today was the observed day for Memorial Day. I went to the cemetery this morning, for the Memorial Day ceremonies held by the Wind River Post 3638 of the Veterans Of Foreign Wars. Today's daily photo is of the Bugler for the Marine Corps League's Honor Guard, as he waits silently out of the main ceremony group, waiting to sound the traditional tune, "Taps," also known as Butterfield's Lullaby, at the conclusion of the ceremony.
My thoughts today are with those who have sacrificed their lives for our nation, as well as their families who continue on without them. You are not forgotten...
Date: Sunday, May 30, 2010
Day 150 - A Simple Remembrance
Many don't know that May 30th is the Traditional observance for Memorial Day. The date was changed in 1971, so people could have the entire weekend off and this made the holiday more of a mini-vacation for many people. Some have said this lessens the day on which we remember the sacrifices made by those wearing military uniforms, but I try to mark the traditional observance of Memorial Day with a short, personal moment of remembrance for those who have fallen in our nation's name. Tomorrow, during the "observed" Memorial Day, there will be a ceremony at the Cemetery and I may try to photograph that observance.
I shot this photo of a small flag that I set up on the railing out front. While photographing a parade a couple of years ago I was carrying so much gear that I just didn't have enough hands to carry anything else, and this little flag was given to me free by a member of the VFW. I didn't know his name, but I thanked him for his service and for providing me with this little flag, then he went on his way finding others in the crowd who had no flag. I kept this flag and I bring it out every now and then, to not only remember the gentleman who gave this flag to me, but to remember all those who have worn our nation's uniforms, many of whom never returned home alive, if at all.
On this day and tomorrow, we thank those who have sacrificed their all, that we may breathe free air, and we will endeavor not to throw away, that which was provided to us with their blood and sacrifice.
May Liberty ring to this, and all nations around the world.
Date: Saturday, May 29, 2010
Day 149 - Facing The Great Unknown
I had planned to photograph a brood of baby Robins in their nest when I spied their home in one of the pine trees, but I clearly waited just a day too long. They must have been blown out of their nest by yesterday's high winds. Although they can fly a short distance, the fledglings still need to work at getting the wind beneath their wings.
About 7AM this morning, I saw this little guy hopping around the yard, next to the honeysuckle bushes. He hopped up on one of the lower twigs for me to get a better shot of him. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough light to get a good shot without a flash, so I shot several more using the flash. This shot turned out to be my favorite photograph for today.
Date: Friday, May 28, 2010
Day 148 - Unachieved Potential
The wind blew heavily most of the day, so photography was a bit limited. About dusk the wind started to settle down a little, and I shot some photographs around the yard.
I shot some great closeups of a baby rabbit, getting to within a half-foot of it for some ultra-close photographs over the time period of about a half-hour. But I figured I've posted one too many rabbit photos recently, so I shot more photographs around the yard, focusing on some crabapple blossoms that had been ripped from the tree and slammed to the ground by today's fierce winds.
I photographed these two blossoms as they lay on the concrete, holding fast in some standing water left behind by the sprinklers. I liked this shot best out of my photos today, and decided this would be my daily photo.
Date: Thursday, May 27, 2010
Day 147 - Hat And Stick
Today was a domestic day. In other words, I didn't have too much time for photography, due to house cleaning for Memorial Day, in case company comes over later on that day, although I will be trying to spend some time at the Cemetery and Veterans Memorials around here.
I only spent just a few minutes shooting photos and I decided to shoot freehand today. So, I threw my camouflage boonie hat on my tripod, set my monopod against the tripod, and shot some quick photos around the yard. The wind was still blowing off and on, and there wasn't many photo opportunities tonight. I was going to come inside and find something to do a macro photograph, went back to pick up my hat, tripod and monopod, and found my daily photo. This shot felt right, given these particular items are part of my photography gear. I noticed the wooden ball on my monopod, has an interesting reflection of the blue sky, white fluffy clouds, an Ash tree that has yet to leaf out and just a slight peek at the sun, poking out from behind the clouds. I was kind of thinking about Dean Martin, singing about his good companions in the song, "My Rifle My Pony And Me" from the movie Rio Bravo.
I ended up liking this shot more than any other photos shot today, so I chose it for my daily photo.
Date: Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Day 146 - Red-Blooded
I didn't spend much time on my photography today. Many other things going on today, so my photography play time was limited. At times the weather appears to be considering giving us more rain, but that hasn't happened yet.
Today's daily photograph came after shooting some similar photos yesterday, and I wanted to capture some of the color on the leaves of Honeysuckle bushes. These bushes seem to have a lot more red in the leaves this year, than they normally do, and I thought they'd make for a nice close-up shot.
Date: Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Day 145 - Lazy Day
The run-up to today's daily photo was kind of interesting. I saw this little critter laying proned out in the lawn this afternoon, and I thought he'd been hit by a truck going by on the road, saying to myself; well, that's one less critter photo subject. I started moving toward it, to go pick it up and dispose of the corpse, when I saw his ear twitch, and I then realized he was sound asleep in middle of the yard.
So, I quickly grabbed up my camera and sneaked up on this furry critter, getting to within about 3 feet of him, before the sound of my camera clicking woke him up. He didn't get up right away, putting his head back down in the grass for a second, then raising his head back up, looking like he was thinking, "Dude! Why did you wake me up and where's my cup of coffee?"
I shot several more photos of him, proned out, looking like a wiener-rabbit, all stretched out in a very relaxed sleeping position. I finally annoyed him by taking more and more photos of him, so he finally got up started grazing in the lawn, which is when I shot this photograph from about 2 feet away. I finally got my fill of shooting photos, and left him under the pine tree, where he grazed and slept, then grazed more, most of the afternoon. I shot more photos of him late this afternoon, then finally left him to find his way back to his home, as the afternoon hours waned.
I do wish these photographs had been shot either earlier in the morning, or late in the afternoon, rather than mid-day, since they appear a bit washed out due to the sun being so bright, but I liked this shot, as I was very close to him, and he was fairly comfortable with me being right in his face.
Date: Monday, May 24, 2010
Day 144 - The War Of The Dandy Lions
To war, or not to war, that is the question.
Dandelions are one of the few "flowers" to be blooming due to our delayed Spring, but even though they make for some interesting macro photographs, they are a bane to people who want a nice, uniform, green turf.
This year's Dandelion (Dandy Lion) war has started earlier than expected, but this beauty lasted long enough to have it's picture taken before its untimely demise.
Date: Sunday, May 23, 2010
Day 143 - Let The Symphony Begin
The weather was mostly overcast today, however the light this afternoon seemed to be right to shoot some decent photos, then the skies turned darker and the rest of the day it rained.
Before the rain came, I shot some photos of some of the Hopa crab apple blossoms, that have finally showed their true colors. This photo turned out the best, as a slight breeze made it a challenge to get a good focus, with no movement of the petals.
I found myself thinking this is just the beginning Spring's music, and am expecting to see a great concert as the days go by.
Date: Saturday, May 22, 2010
Day 142 - All In Due Time
My photography time was cut very short today, after spending a few hours on a long distance call with a relative, trying to walk them through some serious computer issues.
I am impatient for the arrival of spring and summer, so that I have some interesting subjects for my photography. The Lilac bushes are barely leafing out, but many of the bushes also have buds on them, an odd combination probably resulting from the heavy snowstorms we experienced this month. The wind was blowing off and on, as I was shooting photos of the buds.
I don't believe I used a fast enough shutter speed to capture any outstanding shots today with the way the wind was blowing and I ended up running out of daylight, as well as time. So, I chose this Lilac bud shot as my daily photo. These tiny little buds are hard to grab focus on, on a good day, let alone on a day when the wind is blowing them around, in addition to the weak daylight. But when they bloom, they will produce some great macro photographs.
Date: Friday, May 21, 2010
Day 141 - Eye Of The Ages
Today I walked around on the grass barefoot. It was the first time this year that I have done that, so we are finally easing into Spring. A simple activity, but it felt good to feel the grass underneath my feet.
I ended up shooting some photos of rabbits and the usual photo fare, but then I took a closer look at an Ash Tree, at a healed wound where a small branch had been cut many years ago. I noticed the wound looked very much like an eye staring back at me, so I shot a few macros of the eye and I liked this shot best out of my photographs, thus it became my daily photo.
Date: Thursday, May 20, 2010
Day 140 - Lucky Blossoms
Today was a "blah" day for me. I'm not feeling well at all, but the afternoon was nice and I ended up shooting 110 photos, mostly of nothing in particular.
I started look at how poor shape the Hopa Crabapple tree is in. I think it is in its last years of life. Only about 1/2 the tree has blossoms on it, if that much, but the blossoms that managed to form, are as red and ready to bloom as always. Seeing the deep red colors, I decided to shoot another set of photos of some of the blossoms as they get ready to bloom.
The scent of the apple blossoms is pleasant and this shot turned out very nice, with intense red blossoms along with a deep blue sky for the background, so I chose it for my daily photo.
Date: Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Day 139 - Gobble Gobble Gobble!
I had a fun time this afternoon shooting photographs of a Robin that was playing "hide and seek" with me. While trying to photograph it, this wily bird would duck down behind a log it was sitting behind, so that it was hidden from my view, sticking its head up just for a second to see what I was doing. I'd just get ready to click the shutter and down it would go, so I couldn't get the shot. I finally made a tweeting noise to get it to poke its head up so I could get the shot, and in the photo, you can see the Robin straining its neck way up to see what had made the odd tweeting sound.
After I got the shot, I had to laugh because this experience was amusingly identical to a scene in the Gary Cooper movie, "Sergeant York" (a biographical film about the life of Alvin C. York, who was the most-decorated American soldier in World War I). In the scene I am referring to, Alvin York is at a turkey shoot, but the turkey he is trying to shoot, ducks behind a log and York can't get a shot at it. York, being a knowledgeable outdoorsman, made a gobbling noise similar to a turkey, causing the turkey to raise its head up, so that he could take the shot.
Unlike Alvin York's turkey, the Robin in my photo survived its encounter with my camera, and I got a good laugh out of the fact that life sometimes imitates art. Although I may have had some technically better photographs today, I just had to post this one, as it is more interesting than the others.
Date: Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Day 138 - Promise Me Spring
Today turned out to be a good day. I got a late start on my photography due to an afternoon storm, and some stiff winds. The evening turned nice, a mild temperature, slight breeze and sun, so I had a pleasant evening of photography.
I finally saw a real, tangible promise of Spring that I have been looking for. Crabapple Blossoms!!! Spring has teasing us for weeks, delayed by snow, cold, wind, etc., but this time it appears to be genuine. I am looking forward to the coming warm days, green leaves, colorful flowers, birds, trees, wildlife and more. Today was a good day.
Date: Monday, May 17, 2010
Day 137 - This House Just Ain't No Home
Today's photograph reminds me of the Bill Withers song, "Ain't No Sunshine" as this "house" never became a home for a mother Robin.
Either the huge snowstorm we experienced last week, interrupted the Robins to the point where the mother Robin dropped her eggs, or they built a nest in a more suitable location, since this nest had at least seven inches of snow on top of it a few days ago, and was built in a very exposed location on some open branches of a honeysuckle bush.
Now this bird's nest remains dark and empty, and there ain't no sunshine to be found there.
Date: Sunday, May 16, 2010
Day 136 - Rose Claws
Today was a nice day today. Great for photography, but I didn't take advantage of this nice day the way I should have. I managed to shoot about 90 photographs this afternoon, but I was still not feeling very well, so I spent little time on my photography.
Spring seems to have finally arrived, and the crackerbarrel rose bushes are finally leafing out, meaning it won't be too long before I have roses to photograph. I am going to spend more time this year practicing on those yellow roses as they are a nightmare to try to shoot correctly. Photographs of the pink roses turn out amazing, if shot at just the right time of the morning.
Today's daily photo is macro of the small thorns on one stems of a yellow rose bush. These little claws are probably about 1/2 inch long, but they are sharp as needles and really make themselves felt if you try to invade their space. These bushes are a favorite safety zone for the warren of rabbits that live around here as well, providing them with protection from all sorts of predatory critters.
I'm looking forward to tomorrow as I hope to take better advantage of the expected warm and sunny weather to practice my photography.
Date: Saturday, May 15, 2010
Day 135 - Presentation Of Colors
I attended Riverton's Arbor Day / Armed Forces Day ceremonies this morning to photograph the events. Today's daily photo is of a Riverton High School, JROTC detachment as they, "present the colors" (present the U.S. and Wyoming flags) for the Armed Forces Day commemoration this morning.
I wasn't sure about posting this shot or any similar shots as my daily photo, as these photos were a bit disconcerting for me, since these kids are extremely young. I hope none of them ever end up having to be deployed into combat, and that we can bring all our service members home as soon as possible.
Date: Friday, May 14, 2010
Day 134 - Sickness
Today's daily is a macro photograph of the needles on a pine tree that has seen better days.
Numerous trees around not only the neighborhood, but the entire town, have this problem and for some odd reason, the cause has not been definitively identified. Several Extension Agencies tried to identify the cause some years back, but no luck. This tree has needles that turn red, dropping them to the point where it appears it is about to die, but then it bounces back for a while with a lot of new growth. I wish the cause could be identified, as this was once an amazingly beautiful pine, but now looks a bit worse for the wear.
Date: Thursday, May 13, 2010
Day 133 - Casualty Of Nature
Today was a perfect day for photography. The weather cleared and the sun came out, which allowed for a full day of photography. Interestingly, today's daily came near the end of the day, during the "magic hour."
I spied this feather sitting in the yard, thinking I could shoot a photograph of it, then I saw a few more feathers, then even more feathers, Then I saw some small piles of Down, finally realizing that a predator had taken out a bird, probably one of the local Eurasian Collared-Doves, judging by the coloring of this feather. Most likely an Owl or hawk got to it, as they are fairly large birds for smaller predators to handle.
So, as the light was beginning to fade on today's photography opportunities, I went back to the original feather, laid down on the grass and got in very close with my macro mode on, shooting this photograph, which was one of the last photos shot today, out of almost 300.
Date: Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Day 132 - Clingy Drops
Today's daily photo is of water droplets clinging to the emerging leaves of a honeysuckle bush. This was my first real attempt at shooting water droplets, and although the results are fair, I just don't think my camera possesses the ability to get in ultra close for water droplet shots like this. I'll try again, in the near future, when the weather warms up some.
The snow has tapered off quite a bit, but it should continue throughout the evening. We ended up with about 8 or 9 inches, with about 3 inches of precipitation from this storm, which is going to green things up quite a bit when it melts. But until then, I'm still waiting for spring!
Date: Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Day 131 - Ridin' The Storm Out - A Self Portrait
Today's daily is another self-portrait, shot during the heavy, heavy snowfall we are experiencing today. During snowstorms such as today's plastering, I'm always reminded of the REO Speedwagon song, "Ridin' The Storm Out," which is about a guy waiting for the snowfall in the Rocky Mountains, thankful to be in the mountains, instead of the big city. I identify with that song, especially on days like today.
This was probably the most fun I have had while shooting self-portraits. I found myself laughing out loud, setting up these shots, pressing the shutter button, running into the frame and as soon as the shot was complete, I'd run back and cover up my camera to keep it from getting soaked. Fortunately, I was wearing my rain gear, and boonie hat, so I stayed relatively dry, which was more than I can say about my camera. However, the camera was Ok, after I wiped it down and dried it out, before downloading my photos from today. Today's daily was one of the shots I liked out of my self-portraits, where I wasn't laughing too much for the shot to be any good.
Date: Monday, May 10, 2010
Day 130 - Dissolution
The storms of the past few days have blown old, rotting leaves out of the gutters, crevices and shingles on the roof, depositing them on the walkways and porch. The recent rains have worked to dissolve these old leaves, leaving them black and dissolving into a gooey mess, as the water breaks them down.
Date: Sunday, May 09, 2010
Day 129 - How Do You Photograph A Unique Rabbit?
Unique Up On Him!
So, today, I was out shooting photos of birds and whatnot for my daily photograph, when I wondered to myself just how close I could get, stalking up on one of the local rabbits while trying to photograph it. I managed to get less than 3 feet away while shooting today's daily photograph. I think this is the one I nicknamed Peter Rabbit. I stalked most of the way, with a pine tree between me and the rabbit, and I slowly leaned out around the tree when I shot my photographs today. Interestingly, even though this critter knew I was there, it didn't seem concerned that I was so close to it.
I guess I wanted to see how close I could get for a photograph, after I noticed that "Lightning," the baby rabbit was still alive. Lightning is a super-wary baby rabbit that will not let me get within about 30 yards of him, without it running and hiding. I believed that particular rabbit had been eaten by owls or other predator, but was happy to see that he had moved from under the porch to out back in the wood pile. I guess it has more protection out in the wood pile. He still will not let me get withing 30 yards of him, but hopefully, I'll gain its trust to get some photos as close as the rabbit featured in today's daily.
Date: Saturday, May 08, 2010
Day 128 - Diversion
This Robin with a nearby nest worked hard at keeping me occupied, by letting me get close enough to photograph, and then jumped to different branches to keep me hopping. This Robin's nest is in an odd place, built very low in a honeysuckle bush. I hope the Robin manages to nest there, as I should be able to get some good photographs of the babies. Unfortunately, a nest built that low to the ground, is also at risk from predators. Time will tell, I suppose.
Date: Friday, May 07, 2010
Day 127 - Depression
A lone-surviving tulip appears depressed, with its head hung low, being the only bloom in a now-vacant flower bed that sits along side a new porch. I should have dug up all the tulip bulbs in this bed and transferred them to a place where they could get sunlight to grow.
Date: Thursday, May 06, 2010
Day 126 - Liquid Glass
It snowed again today. The ground was covered with fluffy white stuff early on in the morning, and then it warmed up melting off during the day. Snow on the roof was the first to go, and when it went, it created a heavy runoff through the gutters on the eaves. This shot is of water running out of the end of a rain gutter, creating a design that appears almost like liquid glass.
I shot some panoramic photos of the snow-covered yard that looked nice, but I liked this shot best out of my photos today, so I ended up choosing it for my 365 project entry for this day.
Date: Wednesday, May 05, 2010
Day 125 - Pine Drops
I got out early today and shot some photos for my 365 daily in the morning, instead of late afternoon. Morning might be a better time for my photography as I don't feel as rushed. It was chilly this morning, and after the automatic sprinklers had gone through their cycles, the trees and grass were covered with drops of water that had turned quickly to ice. I focused on photographing that pine tree's needles and drops of ice for most of my photographs today, and I liked this shot out of all the photos I shot. So it is my choice for today's photograph.
Date: Tuesday, May 04, 2010
Day 124 - State Of The Nation
My photography was a bust today and my daily photograph was shot very late today, more of a desperation shot than I have done in the past, as it was dark by the time I got around to shooting photos. I thought I'd turn to macros again, and shot this photo of a machine screw sitting on a newspaper insert from the UW Cooperative Extension Service about insects and how to control them. I didn't think anything about what this screw was sitting on at the time I was photographing it, simply thinking the threads might look cool as a macro. However, when looking at the photograph while resizing, it came to me, that it was a metaphor for the state of our nation, our financial health, as well as the entire leadership of our country.
First off, financially, this nation is metaphorically speaking, the main subject of the photograph, that being the screw. The U.S. now has a debt of nearly $13 Trillion, with a $22 Trillion dollar debt expected by 2020. That will be upwards of 94% of our Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The last time the percentage of Debt to GDP was that high, was at the end of World War II, but we no longer have the manufacturing capability that we did at the end of WWII.
The newspaper insert the screw was sitting on, also played into effect, with the DOF ironically focused on words perfectly describing politicians on all sides of the political spectrum, who have created the mess our nation is currently in.
Date: Monday, May 03, 2010
Day 123 - Keepin' The Wheels Down
Today's daily is of an airplane circling over the west end of Riverton, with its wheels down as it heads back toward Riverton Regional Airport. When planes fly over town like this with their wheels down and locked, it often indicated they are being flight-tested after having mechanical work done on them. In any event, this was my choice for today's photo, as I didn't have much time to get out and about today, so my other choices were limited again to rabbits, or Robins.
I need to get in gear and start my daily photowalk so that I can expand my photography subject matter. I don't know if I want to do an early morning walk, or late afternoon/evening walk, yet.
Date: Sunday, May 02, 2010
Day 122 - Have A Nice Day!
Today's daily is another self-portrait with a little bit of wry humor thrown in. I found my eye-dominance training blinder after searching for it for a couple of months, so I chose to wear it for a while to see how dominant my off-hand eye had become. The blinder is used mainly for eye-dominance retraining, for target archery.
The device is actually made from a pair of flip-down sunglasses, with one of the lenses cut off and the other painted flat black, while the Smiley Face was added on for a bit of fun.
This photograph made me bust out laughing when I looked at it, as I had to get in the frame quickly, before the shutter triggered and I had a serious look on my face, in juxtaposition to the Smiley Face covering my eye. Since it made me laugh, I thought it would be a good photo to post for today's daily 365 entry.
Date: Saturday, May 01, 2010
Day 121 - Cell
Today's daily photo is of a small storm cell as it passes by to the North, without leaving much moisture behind.
I didn't get to spend much time on my photography today and it showed, with another lackluster photograph. I've been struggling the past few days with my 365 daily, posting photos that I don't think are of a very good quality. But I'm hoping to do better in the future.