We unfortunately have had very little snow so far this season. Today was typical - we might have had as much as an inch accumulation except that the ground is too warm and the ambient temperature has been at 32°F or higher so most of the snow quickly melted off.
This by-the-way is approximately the view from my window, taken while standing just outside. A definite distraction.
. . . today at the Squaw Creek NWR. The thin layer of ice precluded views of water fowl feeding along the banks, but there were Snow Geese and eagles aplenty.
Back in KC for a long weekend to take care of some household repairs and other errands. The annual Eagle Days at Squaw Creek was this weekend so I went up today despite a misty cloudy rainy day. No great shots of eagles, there were only 10 or so present ("a big batch is on their way from South Dakota, should be here tomorrow . . ."). But besides the eagles I did see several trumpeter swans, mallards, pintails, Northern Shovelers, Coots (aka eagle snacks), Teal, etc. A nice day despite the weather.
I'm back in KC for a few days. Drove through Springfield IL on the way here, drove past these smokestacks for the umpteenth time. This time I stopped for a few shots . . .
As a follow-up on recent PDML discussion of photography and various privacy standards, I looked for an image to illustrate my one vignette about a street fair in Australia. It was Sydney BTW. Here is a crop showing the artist's booth with the artist prominently in the background yelling and pointing his finger at me. . .
Reviewing images from our trip to Rome in 2009 . . .
And now adding a couple of variations on this shot:
I've been going back through shots from our 2009 Rome trip. Walking back to our hotel after dinner one evening, I spotted this scene. I took two shots within seconds of one another, one with a car in the foreground, one without the car. I have rendered both shots in both B&W and color. What is your preference?
For the last 10 days we've been at the family cabin near Traverse City. Except for two days when we drove to the U.P. and visited Whitefish Point,Tahquamenon Falls, Seney NWR, and a few points in between. Saw a variety of wildlife including loons, eagles, osprey, beaver, grebes, swans, etc. Did not see much fall color, but just enough to know that we are in that quiet time at the end of summer, with the season about to dramatically change. Here are some favorites from the last few days . . .
I've been doing the final final (?) edit on my Costa Rica-2010 book. Came across this shot taken during one of our street-soccer games, played in the rain and mud of course.
