A Good Crop - 2020

 Late, as usual, but here's my "good crop" review of 2020:

Ansel Adams is credited with saying "Twelve significant photographs in any one year is a good crop". In that spirit, I've tried to pick my 12 favorite photos each year, and post them here.  (I don't claim anything I've done to be "significant, especially by Ansel Adams standards.  So we'll stick with favorite)...

If you're interested, here's previous posts (I missed 2015):

2019 - A Good Crop 

2018 - A Good Crop

2017 - A Good Crop

2016 - A Good Crop

2014 - A Good Crop

2013 - A Good Crop

2012 - A Good Crop

Or you can use the tag:  AGoodCrop

So here you go, my crop for 2020.  I've arranged them semi-randomly, but no "ranking" should be implied.  If you have a favorite (or two), let me know in the comments!  Click though to see larger versions over at my 365project site. 

Just Hanging Around

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St. Louis

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Bighorn Sheep, Badlands National Park

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Female Cardinal

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Ludington Breakwater Lighthouse

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Abridged #6283

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Look Through Any Window

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Viceroy

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36 - Farm to Table

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Bluebird

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MOTEL

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People will be tired ...

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There you have it, hope you enjoyed!

Squirrel Appreciation Day

 So, last Thursday (January 21) was apparently Squirrel Appreciation Day.  Bah humbug.  I'm not a fan of the furry fellows, as they raid my bird feeders and run off the birds.

Oh well, I figured I should be a good sport and shoot one of the irritating guys...  so here ya go, a couple of days late:

January 1971

As we move into January 2021, my "50 years ago" Top 40 review moves into 1971.  My gut feel is that '71 was note quite as good as '72 or '71, but still very very good.  So what was January 1971 like?

During the 4 weeks of January 1971, there were 54 songs that spent time in the Top 40. As usual, lots of great stuff.

Three songs made #1 during the month.  Only 2 songs topped the charts though.  George Harrisons "My Sweet Lord" held the first 3 weeks, continuing from the end of 1970.  And Tony Orlando and Dawn took over the last 2 weeks, with "Knock 3 Times".

Here's the top 10 songs of the month, ranked by average chart position over the 4 weeks of the month:

• My Sweet Lord - George Harrison - 1.4
• Knock Three Times - Dawn - 1.8
• One Less Bell To Answer - The 5th Dimension - 3
• Black Magic Woman - Santana - 6
• I Think I Love You - The Partridge Family - 8.4
• Lonely Days - Bee Gees - 8.6
• Stoney End - Barbra Streisand - 9.4
• Groove Me - King Floyd - 9.6
• Stoned Love - The Supremes - 11.4
• It's Impossible  - Perry Como - 12.4

Eighteen (18) songs made their Top 40 debut, here they are (listed by entering position):

• Remember Me - Diana Ross - 31
• Let Your Love Go - Bread - 33
• Stop The War Now - Edwin Starr - 33
• One Bad Apple - The Osmonds - 34
• (Don't Worry) If There's A Hell Below We're All Going To Go - Curtis Mayfield - 34
• I Really Don't Want To Know - Elvis Presley - 35
• Born To Wander - Rare Earth - 36
• If You Could Read My Mind - Gordon Lightfoot - 36
• Amos Moses - Jerry Reed - 36
• Amazing Grace - Judy Collins - 37
• 1900 Yesterday - Liz Damon's Orient Express - 37
• Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved (Pt. 1) - James Brown - 38
• Watching Scotty Grow - Bobby Goldsboro - 39
• Precious, Precious - Jackie Moore - 39
• Mr. Bojangles - Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - 40
• (Do The) Push And Pull Part I - Rufus Thomas - 40
• Somebody's Watching You - Little Sister - 40
• Most Of All - B.J. Thomas - 40

Instant Throwback Pt. 5

 Continuing the series of images from my 365project entries over the past 6 years that received a designation of "Popular" and/or "Trending".  I'm posting them to Instagram, trying to (as much as possible) match the day of the month.   Here's where I've posted batches.   

These were posted to my instagram between December 28, 2020 and January 4, 2021, the dates below are when they were posted to 365project:

12/28/2017

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12/24/2015

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12/30/2018

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12/30/2018

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01/01/2020

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1/02/2018

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01/03/2017

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01/04/2020

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Games - Redeye

 So, I was working on the post for January 1971's Top 40, and "discovered" the song Games, from the band Redeye.  It didn't ring a bell, so I looked it up on YouTube.  Pretty decent, pure 1971 pop.  Games peaked at #27 in January 1971

Certainly worth a listen:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLB0hnpW6R0

Before and After

 A simple image, but one I rather like.  Taken during a mid-day walk at Drost Park in Maryville, IL:

Taken with my iPhone, which I rather like for this kind of image, low perspective, emphasizing either the foreground or the sky.  Despite being a simple phone photo, there's quite a bit of post processing here, digital darkroom.  But subtle, not looking for something painterly, or wild.

I was inspired by a challenge over at 365project, from an informal group called "TheDarkroom".  They challenged: "This week we're showcasing our Photoshop, Snapseed, Affinity, and any other programs out there, skills to alter, enhance, change a photograph taken this week...  Be subtle to enhance or be bold and experimental.".  I went with subtle to enhance, but did a little more than I would usually do.  

In the spirit of showcasing my "skills" I also put together a before and after diptych:

Instant Throwback Pt. 4

Continuing the series of images from my 365project entries over the past 6 years that received a designation of "Popular" and/or "Trending".  I'm posting them to Instagram, trying to (as much as possible) match the day of the month.   Here's where I've posted batches.   

These were posted to my instagram between December 23 and December 27, the dates below are when they were posted to 365project:

12/17/2019

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12/24/2018

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12/20/2020

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12/17/18

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12/22/2020

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12/19/2018

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12/18/2020

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12/20/2019

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Where Eagles Dare

 So, last Sunday, my daughter texted me that her family had seen eagles at Ellis Island that day, and that they were arriving back in the area.  So my wife and I decided to do an eagle watching outing the next day.  

Of course Monday dawned socked in by fog.  But we decided to head out, with the expectation that the fog would lift as the day progressed.  When we arrived at Ellis Island, it was thicker yet, no chance to see much of anything.  We took the opportunity to fill up with some Missouri gas (which is $0.20/ gallon less than Illinois due to taxes), bounce back across the Alton Bridge, and decided to head up the Great River Road and see if we could see anything.

When we got to Pere Marquette State Park, we could see across the Illinois River to the far shore, which was an improvement.  And we did see one juvenile Bald Eagle.  It was hanging out in a tree by the river, but as we got close, it took off, did a circle over the river, and returned to the tree.  So I was able to get a series of decent photos:

So it wasn't a total loss, and we enjoyed the time.

Yesterday was bright and sunny and warmer (high 40;s), so my son and I headed back over to Ellis Island for a hike.  We did see 1 eagle; passing by high overhead.  I took a quick shot just to prove it was there:

Or, super blown-up:

I'll declare Eagle season open! 

2020 Review - 365project Themes / Challenges

 So, one of my photography goals for 2020 was to continue a focus on their ongoing themes.  I selected 9 ongoing challenges to target:

• Scenes From the Road
• Album Cover Challenge
• Edit The Stuffing Out Of It (ETSOOI)
• Song Title
• Eye Of The Beholder (EOTB)
• What Would You Do (WWYD)
• Black and White
• Technique
• 365project Monthly Theme

So how did that work out?

Winner - Eye Of The Beholder #122

Of  the 9 targeted challenges, there were 101 editions which were completed in 2020.  I entered 74 of them (73% rate) which is slightly below 2019 (80% participation in the 9 categories targeted that year).  I was selected as Finalist 33 times (45% of entries), and was voted Winner 6 times.  That's a slight improvement in Finalists (up from 42%), and doubled the number of winners from 2019.  So all-in-all its pretty good.

Winner - Macro - In Nature

My best challenges were: Album Cover Challenge (7 finalists, 1 win), B&W Themes (6 finalists, 1 win), ETSOOI (6 finalists, 0 wins), and EOTB (6 finalists, 2 wins).  My worst were:  365-monthly (1 finalist in 7 entries), Song Title and Scenes of the Road  (Each with 2 finalists, and 1 win), and What Would You Do (2 finalists).

Winner - BW-54 - High Contrast

I also tracked 7 other ongoing challenges at the site.  Predictably, my participation rate and my finalist rates were both lower (56% participation, 30% finalists, 2 wins).  

Winner - Scenes Of The Road #17

Not bad, and an improvement over 2019.

So, what about 2021?  I'm not sure.  I will continue to do challenges, but will probably tweak the ones I focus on.  I've been disappointed in the way that Would You Do has evolved, with focus shifting away from darkroom techniques towards adding elements.  And Scenes Of the Road has shifted, after a bit of "controversy" over whether it sould be Scenes OF or Scenes FROM, and what those terms meant. Anyway, I'll probably deemphasize those, and step up on Macro, Minimalist and/or Mundane.

Backyard Birds 2020

 So, the last day of 2020, and I photographed a new-to-me bird in the backyard.  Today's addition is a Northern Flicker:

That makes 20 bird species seen and photographed in my yard over the course of 2020.  I feel like that's a pretty good crop, and I'm particularly pleased with several of the images.

There's 32 images of the 20 bird types in a Facebook Album:

Backyard Birds 2020

And here's the list of birds:

• American Goldfinch
• Blue Jay 
• Brown Headed Cowbird
• Cardinal 
• Carolina Chickadee
• Carolina Wren
• Dark Eyed Junko
• Downy Woodpecker
• Eastern Bluebird
• House Finch
• House sparrow
• Indigo Bunting
• Mourning Dove
• Northern Flicker
• Pileated Woodpecker
• Red Shouldered Hawk
• Red-bellied Woodpecker
• Ruby Throated Hummingbird
• Tufted Titmouse
• White Breatsed Nuthatch

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Now Would Be A Good Time To Laugh More

 I was poking around my image file folders, and foud this one in a subdirectory labeled "blog".  The EXIF data says the photo was taken  mid afternoon on February 28, 2008, with my (since retired) Nikon D70.  

This was taken along main Street in Edwardsville, but I don't remember what was happening in the world to inspire the sign, but suspect it was related to the Global Financial Crisis.  Or maybe the US presidential primaries?  

Anyway, I thought the sentiment was apropos now, as we slog though a global pandemic and slog past a divisive US Presidential election.

This small version is all I can find, my unprocessed (straight from camera) files from back then seem to have disappeared, or are (more likely) languishing on a long retired computer somewhere in the basement.  If this was posted on this blog, I can't find the previous post...

Instant Throwback Pt. 3

 Another in the continuing series of images from my 365project entries over the past 6 years and logged all of the photos that received a designation of "Popular" and/or "Trending".  I'm posting them to Instagram, trying to (pretty much) match the day of the month.   Here's where I've posted batches.   

These were posted to my instagram between December 16 and December 22:

12/16/2019

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12/17/19

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12/05/2020

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12/19/2019

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12/20/2018

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12/20/2020

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12/03/2018

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12/14/2018

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