Driving to Cedar City tonight I ran into an incredible storm. Cool clouds!!!!!!
Jul 162012
jim
Jul 152012
I take thousands of photographs at parades. I love parades. All the weird, cool, unusual, funny, entertaining and exciting things happen at parades. Every year in WB we have a parade. WB is a very small town about 6000 people. It’s a small town parade. Not completely organized……
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There is the weird. Like Santa driving in a mobilized recliner?????????
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The best for me this year was this beautiful young lady that was voted as the WB City’s outstanding youth. Probably made her day. Made mine for sure. Yes it brought a tear or two. It’s OK I was hiding behind the camera.
Parades are about getting together with neighbors and friends. Laughing and sharing. Just relaxing with nothing to do but watch. And photograph!
Jul 152012
Is there something about aging that draws you closer to beautiful things like flowers?
30 years ago you would never hear me say “isn’t that flower beautiful!’ But now…..
We have (or I should say my wife) has planted tons of flowering plants, climbers, shrubs, pine, etc., etc. My yard is beautiful. So this afternoon I thought it was time to capture a few of them. Of course I played with NIK filters and Photoframe. Way to fun to just mess around on the computer today.
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Jul 142012
My most difficult subject to find and capture in pixel form.
Thursday I received a call from a gentleman that introduced himself as an attorney. Holy Crap! Have you ever wondered why even with a clear conscience a call from an attorney inspires fear and self doubt. Immediately he identified himself as an attorney for my employer. And that he had a photographic question for me. Ok. I hope he has about an hour. Get me talking about photography and there is no end to my enthusiasm. In no time I met my match. Though I had never met him before we were soul photography mates. He loves wildlife photography. Ok now we really clicked. His question revolved around a purchase decision between two long lenses by Nikon. Anybody that knows me knows that I have an opinion about everything. Especially photography. Quickly I poured out my photographic souls as to why one of the two lenses was the better choice. Then we started to talk about photography in general. And he mentioned he shoots Owls. My bird nemesis. Owls avoid me like the winning lottery. With enthusiasm he mapped out several locations where I MAY find owls. There was a slight caveat…. he had not been to the locations for a month or two.
Let’s see Thursday morning, Antelope island was one of the locations, it was going to be a very long day waiting to get out there and check out the sites. Went out late and was skunked. Went out very early Friday morning and was skunked again. Went back Friday afternoon. At the ranch on the island a volunteer worker said they had a barn owl in the Silo at the Ranch. Christmas! My heart was racing. No owl at the silo. Only an hour earlier a group was watching it. My money says the spooked it out. Oh well. I’ll keep looking.
At the island there is an opportunity to always shoot buffalo. pronghorn, birds of all kinds and other critters. In an hours time before I had to get home I found these friends and capture them so my time there wasn’t a waste…..
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Jul 102012
I follow Moose Peterson’s Blog pretty religiously. He is one of the few professionals that blogs multiple times a day. And almost always he is helping the blog reader. We have one thing in common. We love to photograph clouds. Though I don’t post many, my camera is aimed at clouds a lot. Last week we flew in our jet to look at sites in a new area. Late that day as we headed back home the cloud configurations were just spectacular. Photographing through a window does not always provide the best results photographically. I couldn’t pass on blogging these beauties! Believe me I was glad my pilot averted the center of these. Better where we were looking back and getting some captures of this incredible site.
Jun 292012
I put up a bird’s nest last year hoping for a new family. This year they are here. Mom and Dad have been real busy feeding the mouth(s). Until I put up the tripod and the 200-400 I didn’t know how many kids there are. Every few minutes in rotation Mom and Dad are back feeding. And the two mouths cried the whole time!
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Jun 162012
I hope all you Fathers have a pleasing, gratifying and fulfilling fathers Day. Especially those Fathers, Grandfathers, and Great Grand-Fathers that fought for my freedom. There are so many cliches about gratitude for our servicemen and veterans. Often I think about the sacrifices so many American men have made. I do recognize the impact women have made also. But this post is for Fathers day. My Father served in the Navy. I have never known the details of his service. I do know this. He is and will always be my hero. For many more reasons than that he served overseas. Thanks to all of you that have served or are serving our country. Fathers if you will, of my freedom.
Jun 152012
In Bountiful they have an annual street party to benefit kids. The following day they have a car show. Tonight everyone had a chance to show off their cars. I took thousands of photo’s. It’s late and I have to get up early so here are three shots that I was excited to see in post and wow I loved them. All three I ran through Color Efex Pro4 – Midnight and erased back the subject.
This first is a hood ornament on an old Cadillac. Beautiful!!!!
My neighbor is a car buff. This is his stylin’ car.
This car just blew me away when I saw it. Had to get in the center of the road and down low for this shot. Is this car sexy or what!!!!!!!!!!!
Jun 152012
Well I am in Las Vegas again. 103 degrees today. And found another ……well…..you decide what this sidewalk performer is.
By the way. He would not do his “thing” until I dropped cash in his tip bucket. $1.00 and $5.00 wasn’t enough for the show.
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Didn’t understand the relationship of Spiderman to what he was doing.
Jun 142012
Oh, say can you see by the dawn’s early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o’er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning’s first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
‘Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more!
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps’ pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war’s desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav’n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: “In God is our trust.”
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!