On The Edge

Taken at Riverlands Migratory Bird Sanctuary, West Alton, MO.  This area has been underwater for months, I was really happy to find it back open recently.  This is either Alton Slough or Ellis Bay, depending on what resource you check.  From the trail along Ellis Island, which isn't actually an island...

Growing in the Nooks

A couple of similar images, both taken earlier this week.  Top one is from Watershed Nature Center, the bottom is from Greenspace North (behind Schon Park).  Humble images of the renewal of nature.  New growth in the nooks of old growth.  Just the kind of stuff I enjoy noticing.

Both images (but especially the second) would've benefited from increased Depth Of Field, but that would've necessitated having my tripod with me, instead of in the trunk of my car.  I wonder if I'll ever learn?

Trio

I was a little stumped for a title on this one, "Trio" kind of stinks.  If you have a better idea, please share in the comments!

Always keep your eyes open.  Don't just look straight ahead: look side to side, up, down...  stay aware...

I noticed this crossing a bridge on one of the local bike trails.  This is the bridge decking.  I likes the pattern of 3 recessed bolts cut at an angle to the line of the planks...  And (of course) the efforts of nature to take over.

Wood River Distribution Center

This is one of those spots that I drive by all along.  Not daily, or even weekly, but probably 10-12 times a year.  And I always think I should take a photo.  But for years, I haven't.  Either the light is wrong, or the traffic is wrong, or there's not really a good angle with the fence and the retaining wall...  always something.

That's far too common for me.  Then one day, the spot will be gone.  A building torn down, a tank repainted...  whatever.  And I kick myself for my inaction.

WELL, the other day, fate conspired to action.  I was headed from Alton area to home, and decided to make a side trip.  For giggles, I plugged the address into my phone's gps to see what the best route would be...  And as I was making a turn south, it updated to direct me east.  It told me to U-turn, pretty much right in front of this tank.  And since I was right there, I couldn't come up with an excuse to not go the extra 400 feet or so to get the shot.  I pulled as far to the side of the side road as I could, opened my door and stood on the driver's seat to get high enough to manage this.

It'll never win any awards, but I'm satisfied with it.  And glad I made it happen.

I have no clue how old this tank is, but that version of the Amoco logo is apparently from 1970-2002.
I'm guessing it is not in use, given the general state of it.  Looking at Google Street View, I see a sign at the back corner of the area saying Arcadis.  Looking them up on line, I'm wondering if they're getting ready to "remediate" this spot.

From google maps:

Birds and Bugs (oh my?)

A little bit of a break in the heat / heat index yesterday.  Still hot, but better.  So I managed a late afternoon (~6pm) excursion to Watershed Nature Center.  Still loving my Fujifilm X-T3 and zoom lens:

 Goldfinch (male)

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Pollinating Bee!

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Dragonfly, not quite crisp

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Quotated

"Well she was an American girl 

Raised on promises 

She couldn't help thinkin' that there 

Was a little more to life 

Somewhere else "

- Tom Petty, American Girl

Reflections: Color or B&W

This nice spot is at Drost Park, Maryville, IL, one of my regular haunts for lunchtime walks.  I've been thinking about taking a photo here for a while, and earlier this week, I did it.  My original thought had been to do it black and white, but after working with the file, I decided color was better.

So here's the color version:

I posted it to 365project, on 7/16/2019, and it was pretty well received, garnering the "popular" designation.  During the discussion, I noted that I wasn't a big fan of the green tint in the reflection, and someone said they'd've done a black and white version. 


Well, since I started with a black and white version, I decided to post it to one of my secondary albums there (today, 7/18/2019).  It'll be interesting to see how it is received there.

 Which then led me to decide to post both here.

So here's the black and white version:

So....  what're YOUR thoughts???  Let me know in the comments section!
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Happy Birthday Geezer Butler!!

Terence Michael Joseph "Geezer" Butler was born on this day (July 17) in 1949, so he turns 70 today!

Geezer Butler, of course, was a founding member of Black Sabbath, and bassist for just about everything they've ever done, including the eight definitive "first generation" albums from 1970 through 1979.  Well, maybe the first 7 definitive albums, and Never Say Die.  And he's still touring with them now.

Geezer Butler is one of the first bass players I paid attention to, and I actually learned a little bit of some of their songs.  I had a music book for the compilation album "We Sold Our Souls...", adn one for "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" that included bass and guitar (rather than piano).  

Happy Birthday Geezer!

Over Alton Bridge

For some reason, I'm strangely drawn to photos with the sun in frame, and ofttimes dramatically underexposed.  I dunno why, I just dig it.  I don't linger too long, because I don't want t over heat my sensor.  But man I think it's cool.  It almost looks like moonlight reflected on the waters.

I remember way back in high school, reading that underexposing a couple of stops could increase the drama of sunset photos.  So of course, on my backpacking trip, I took the concept to extreme.  Back in the days of Ektachrome slide film...

Anyway, this was taken about 1/2 way between Melvin Price Lock and Dam and the Alton Bridge.  From the bike trail along the levee.  A little more than an hour before sunset.  I posted it to 365project, and 1 person presumed it was a moon photo (he-he-he!).

Happy Birthday, Linda Ronstadt!

Today (7/15) is Linda Ronstadt's birthday!

Linda Ronstadt has retired from performing, but remains one of the most successful women in popular music.  Bridging multiple genres, she released 24 solo albums between 1969 and 2004.  Plus a lot more, including work with The Stome Poneys, Emmylou Harris and Dolly Parton.   Throw in numerous awards (including 12 Grammy's), and an induction to the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame, and you have quite a career.

Linda Ronstadt was one of my favorite artists back in the day, and I was able to see her in concert twice (in the 2nd half of the 70's).  And I have a rather lot of her music, including the 5 classic albums she released between 1974 and 1978 (Heart Like A Wheel, Prisoner In Disguise, Hasten Down The Wind, Simple Dreams, Living In The USA).

Ronstadt's covers were my introduction  to several cool artists/ bands.  From Lowell Goerge to Warren Zevon.  And she's covered everybody from Buddy Holly to Neil Young to the Rolling  Stones to Elvis Costello. 

Happy birthday, Linda Ronstadt, and thanks for the music!
 

What would you do?? (#183)

One of the fun challenges over at 365project is called "What Would You Do?.  The concept is that the host selects a photo, and posts it.  Participants then tweak it however they like, and post back to the site.  Some folk go really crazy, some not so much.  After the prescribed time, the host selects finalists (usually 5) and folk vote for their favorite.  the winner gets the honor of hosting the next round.  This is one of the challenges I try and do all along.

Here's the current starting point:

WWYD183

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Here's what I came up with.  Not exactly what I envisioned, but close:

Cropped to square, exposure adjustments, convert to B&W, a little red filter....  some burn and dodge....  then overlaid with a texture.  I thought about adding a frame to approximate a polaroid, but didn't.
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And if you're interested, here's all the entries (so far):

https://365project.org/tags/wwyd183

Summer

The corn is somewhere between knee and waist high, the heat index is at (or above) 100 degrees... blue skies and fluffy clouds (which will give way to storms before the day is out).

ACC-106: Ray Manley - Has never been found...

Time for my latest entry to the Album Cover Challenge over at 365project.  This is one of my favorite challenges over there, as it combines two of my passions:  Photography and music.  Yee-Haw!  Details on the challenge here.

Anyway, my randomly generated band name was "Ray Manley".
And my randomly generated album name was "Has never been found..."

As with challenge #104, I decided to start with an old image.  Here's how it turned out:

(click for larger version)

Check out all of my album cover challenge entries here.

Rough Around The Edges

I tend to be drawn to old and worn things.  Especially scenes where "nature" is taking back the land from humans.

This is not an abandoned place, but is one that could use a little TLC....

Summer Day

Scene from one of our local parks, "Greenspace East". Painterly effects added in Topaz Impressions. Frame effect added in Photoshop Elements.



For comparison, here's the starting point, after basic adjustments:

I See you

I took a bit of a walk yesterday afternoon, from the Old Troy Rd. Entrance for Glen Carbon Heritage Bike Trail, down to Greenspace East, the loop around there and back.    A tad over 2.5 miles, but we're talking July in St. Louis area, I think the Heat Index was 97.  Still, a nice outing, though I was a bit wet / sticky at the end.

Anyway, I was about 2/3 of the way around the loop when I noticed this deer maybe 30 years off in the overgrowth.  It held still long enough for me to manager a few photos, trying to shift to get the clearest shot.  The one here was the best:

This deer seemed pretty young to me, or was at lest a bit small (by deer standards).  Bigger than a fawn, but not full grown.

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Below is a bit more than 1/2 of the way around the park, the spot where I saw the seer would be off to the right, maybe 350-400 yards.

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Besides wanting the walk, I was hoping to see some birds.  Only one cooperated enough for a photo, a very cool little blue bird.  I wasn't able to get very close, but as best I can tell, I think it is a male Indigo Bunting.

Here's what I managed:

Happy Birthday Greg T. Walker!

Born today (July 8) in 1951, Greg Walker is 68 today!

Best know as founding member and bass player for the band Blackfoot.  For me, Blackfoot was the second wave* of Southern Rock.  Or maybe third, depending on how you slice it.  I discovered them with the album Strikes which came out in 1979, which came out about a year and a half after the Skynyrd crash.

Strikes is a very solid album, and includes two iconic songs:  Train Train, and Highway Song.  

I saw Blackfoot in August '79, when Strikes was pretty new.  They were support act for Marshall Tucker Band.  Seem to recall they were pretty good....

I must admit that I really don't know much of their later work, by the end of the 80's I was moving away from southern rock...  But they're on Spotify, I'll be checking them out!



An interesting interview with Greg Walker here.



Bands I would consider "2nd wave" would include Molly Hatchet ('78), Blackfoot ('79), Henry Paul Band ('79), and .38 Special ('80)  [dates are from key albums / singles, not inception]

House or Purple? Finch that is...

Just some more backyard birds, and just another question about identification. 

First off, I'm presuming this is a breeding pair, with the male on the right.

My first thought was Purple Finch.  But after some more digging, I'm leaning towards House Finch.  But that's just a guess.  I posted to Facebook, and 365project, opinions seem pretty evenly split, but an edge to House Finch.  Any expert opinions out there?


Here's a photo from Tennessee Wildlife Resource Center, House Finch:

And from the same site, Purple Finch:

365project Challenges

One of the fun things at 365project are the ongoing projects.  At any given time they'll have 10-15 challenges going on, of various types, duration, etc.  I've participated sporadically over the past 4+ years, but decided at the start of 2019 to pick several and focus on consistently participating.  I selected 9 ongoing challenges, and started tracking.  So, 6 months into the year, how's it going??

The 9 challenges I follow have had 48 rounds started after 1/1/19 and completed by 6/30/19.  That's an average of 8.1 challenges per month, which is pretty good.  I've entered 40 of those challenges (or 6.8 per month).  So my overall participation is 83%.  Not bad, considering Life The Universe and Everything.  Of the challenges I've entered, I have 14 finalists (35%, not bad) and one (1) win (2.5%, not too good).  Here's a breakdown, sorted by most entered / best performance:

Scenes From The Road
Editions:  5     Entered:  5 (100%)    Finalists:   3    Winners:   1

This challenge started 1/11/2019, so it is the newest of the list.  Definition is "Capture a scene off the road, of a road, next to a dirt path, of the traffic during your commute, from the platform of a train station, people waiting at a bus stop, out the window of a plane, or the scope of a submarine... "

My winning image:

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Edit The Stuffing Out Of It (ETSOOI)
Editions:  5     Entered:  5 (100%)    Finalists:   2    Winners:   0

This challenge has been around a while, the current version is the 110th edition!  ETSOOI "basically means editing your picture in any way you like."  Sort of the opposite of "Straight From The Camera".

My favorite of my finalists:

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Song Title
Editions:  5     Entered:  5 (100%)    Finalists:   1    Winners:   0

As it sounds, the point of this challenge is to "take a picture that could be appropriately titled with the title of a song".  Currently on the 52nd edition.

My finalist:

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Eye Of The Beholder (EOTB)
Editions:  6     Entered:  5 (83%)    Finalists:   1    Winners:   0

The theme of the challenge is to "capture something most people would not consider to be beautiful or interesting"...  Another long standing challenge was 109th.  The next edition should kick off any day now.

My finalist:

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Album Cover Challenge
Editions:  7     Entered:  5 (71%)    Finalists:   4    Winners:   0

Create a mock album cover, using randomly generated band and album names.  Last edition was #105, #106 should start soon.

Abstract
Editions:  7     Entered:  5 (71%)    Finalists:   0    Winners:   0

Just like it sounds, this challenge is  to take an abstract photo.  The 25th edition is currently open.  I enjoy this one, but apparently I'm not so good at it!

What Would You Do (WWYD)
Editions:  5     Entered:  4 (80%)    Finalists:   2    Winners:   0

Something different.  Challenge is:  moderator (previous editions winner) submits a photo, entrants get creative and modify.  A real oldie, currently on 183rd edition.

Minimalist
Editions:  5     Entered:  4 (80%)    Finalists:   1    Winners:   0

Another straightforward concept.  But it has evolved.  There is a monthly theme that used to rotate between a couple of categories, but as of current challenge is picked by the moderator.

Landscape
Editions:  3     Entered:  2 (67%)    Finalists:   0    Winners:   0

Again, simple concept.  Sadly this one seems to have fallen in a hole, which can be a problem with rotating  moderators using previous round winners.  Last edition was #14, and submissions closed 5/31.  Still waiting for the moderator to pick finalists and start voting....

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There you have it.  I highly recommend getting involved in something like this.  It keeps me thinking, on my toes, even. 

Half The Way There

Photographically, summer is probably my least favorite season.  At least here in the middle of the USA.  Everything is green, often including the ponds and lakes.  And so much green, with trees fully in leaves, bushes and undergrowth exploding...  Few vistas and the skies are more likely to be hazy and washed out....  Now, don't get me wrong, Green is probably my favorite color.  It's just that it gets a bit overwhelming this time of year, perhaps oppressive.

Or maybe I'm just complaining because it is hot and humid.

Anyway...  this is from last Sunday (6/30), taken at Watershed Nature Center.  Back in the North-West corner.  I rather liked the contrast of the dark, wooded part with the little clear area (I guess it qualifies as a meadow?),  with the trail leading into the light.  I was able to catch a little bit of sun-flare which I hoped accentuated the contrast.   blah, blah, blah.

When I took this I had in mind to use the Simplify filter to try and emphasize the shapes, hopefully offset some of the overall "green-ness".  After normal adjustments (crop / levels, etc),  I applied the filter to a layer, tweaked around the settings to get where I wanted, and then lowered the opacity of the layer until I was happy with the blending.

Overall, I'm satisfied with how it all turned out.

RIP Creve Coeur Camera

No, no, not me.  I plan to stick around.  BUT. I received an email yesterday (7/1/2019) from Creve Coeur Camera, announcing that they were closing, After 40+ years in the STL area.  At one point they had 8 locations, but have been dwindling down to just the main store.  And now it will close.  Sad, but not all that surprising.  The timing is a little surprising since it has only been 2 weeks since their last Photopalooza event (which I attended).

Through the years we've purchased several cameras from them, including 2x DSLRs, and at least 3x compact digitals.  Some accessories, and a few print jobs.  But nothing in a probably 2+ years. 

One big issue (for me) was the closing of the Edwardsville store, which was <5 35="" all="" an="" and="" as="" at="" average="" be="" business="" but="" classes="" closed="" convenience...="" do="" easy="" evening.="" events="" fairview="" far="" from="" further="" get="" going="" green="" heights="" held="" home.="" house.="" i="" is="" it="" liked="" main="" miles="" mount="" moved="" my="" nbsp="" never="" not="" of="" office="" on="" p="" point="" rd="" really="" same="" seemed="" so="" something="" still.="" store="" technically="" the="" them.="" them="" then="" time="" to="" was="" weekday="" were="" which="" with="">
Another (long) example:  Last fall, I was looking to upgrade my Nikon DSLR.  I decided to consider more than Nikon, and made a weekend trek down to the Green Mount store, to see what they had.  I explained to the clerk exactly what I was looking for, in great detail.  And he proceeded to show me what they had in the store, which was rather explicitly NOT what I described.  Ticked me off.  So I did some internet research and got my thoughts in order.  A couple of weeks later, I attended the fall Photopalooza (at the main store) where I was able to do some hands on research, talk to the company reps, and some of the teachers.  This was a HUGE value, helped me decided on Mirrorless (rather than DSLR) and a change from Nikon (to Fujifilm).  But I wanted to do a bit more research, and wrap my brain around the investment.  Two weeks later, I called the main store to confirm they had the camera in stock, but they did not.  I explained exactly what I wanted, and asked when when they could get it in stock.  They would have to let me know.  I called back a couple of times, but never got an answer.  Since I needed to have the camera in hand before Christmas (since it was technically a gift from my wife), I gave up after 2 weeks and ordered it on line.  About a week after I had received it, Creve Coeur finally called me back to say it had arrived.  I really wanted to buy from them, but they didn't have it in stock, and were not able to communicate when they would have it.  SO I went elsewhere.  I was actually quite disappointed.

I've been in brick-and-mortar specialty retail (been a 10+ years now), and I can't imagine doing it these days. 

A Good Crop (Half Way)

Over the past 7 years, I have posted year end lists of my favorite images from the year,  The concept is loosely based on Ansel Adams' quote that "12 significant photos in a year is a good crop".  At the end of March, I decided to do a "Quarter Turn" edition of the list.  In that spirit, I decided to repeat the effort for the 2nd 3 months of 2019.  My 6 favorite images from the last 4 months.   Hopefully, it will all make my year end list easier....  maybe.

  Again, I don't begin to claim any are "significant", but these are my favorites.  Listed chronologically:

Spring Is Sprung - 4/20/2019

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Slow Down - 4/23/2019

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Great Egret - 4/26/2019

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American White Pelicans, Rolling On The River

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Hontoon Island State Park - 5/13/2019

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Purple Coneflower - 6/8/2019

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Here's the links to prior yearly reviews:

2018 - A Good Crop

2017 - A Good Crop

2016 - A Good Crop
2015 - A Good Grop

2014 - A Good Crop

2013 - A Good Crop
2012 - A Good Crop