Eagle Watching

 Sunday was a great day for Eagle watching.  Not a pretty day, 8 degrees (F) with a wind chill of -16 (F).  Grey and trying to snow.  But we saw lots of eagles, and they were very active.  I didn't actually count, but I'm guessing 2-3 dozen easily.Here's the best (or at lest my favorite) photo:

Taken along the Great River Road, just a bit north of Alton.  There were 4 eagles hanging around this particular bit of open water.  This one cooperated with  a nice pose.

Or even this juvenile, who was circling around just below the Alton locl and dam, with 5 or 6 friends.

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Of course, the reality it that photo is far from typical.  The photo below is more normal.  Taken on the upstram side of Alton loack nd dam, that's the point of Ellis Island:

Yep, there's 5 eagles in this photo.  The trees with the 2 eagles  are about 750 yards away from our vantage point.  See below:

Anyway, Eagle watching is always fun, and the photos are just gravy.  After all, my "biggest" lens is a 55-200mm zoom (which translates to 300mm max with the 1.5:1 crop size).  

Now, it would be cool to have the kind of lens that gets you the really stunning photos.  Lenses like these:

Yeah, I'm envious, but I'd have to win the lottery twice.

February 1971

Time for the next in my ongoing series of reviewing the Top 40 songs from 50 years ago.  I've been doing this version of the review for For 14 months, plan to continue indefinitely.  

  So what was February 1971 like?

During the 4 weeks of January 1971, there were 56 songs that spent time in the Top 40. As usual, lots of great stuff.  But some not-so-great stuff, I think more than prior months.  It'll be interesting to see if that's a trend for the year.

Only 2 songs made it to #1 during the month.  Dawn (before Tony Orlando's name was split out) started the month at #1 with "Knock Three Times", finishing a 3 week run at #1.  It was followed by the Osmonds' "One Bad Apple" which spent the rest of the month at the top of the charts (on the front end of a 5 week stay).  I usually don't editorialize, but while "Knock 3 Times" is a fun bit of fluff, "One Bad Apple" is not.  Maybe if they had used the Wrecking Crew to record it; it might've had the charm of Jackson 5's "ABC".

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

• One Bad Apple - The Osmonds - 1.25
• Knock Three Times - Dawn - 2.00
• Rose Garden - Lynn Anderson - 3.75
• I Hear You Knocking - Dave Edmunds - 5
• If You Could Read My Mind - Gordon Lightfoot - 9.75
• Groove Me - King Floyd - 9.75
• Lonely Days - Bee Gees - 10.25
• Mama's Pearl - Jackson 5 - 10.75
• Watching Scotty Grow - Bobby Goldsboro - 11.5
• Mr. Bojangles - Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - 11.75

Eighteen (21) songs made their Top 40 debut, here they are (listed by entering position):

• Sweet Mary - Wadsworth Mansion - 15
• She's A Lady - Tom Jones - 24
• Mama's Pearl - Jackson 5 - 25
• Me And Bobby McGee - Janis Joplin - 25
• Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me) - The Temptations - 29
• (Theme From) Love Story - Henry Mancini And His Orchestra - 30
• Temptation Eyes - The Grass Roots - 31
• Have You Ever Seen The Rain - Creedence Clearwater Revival - 32
• Cried Like A Baby - Bobby Sherman - 32
• Theme From Love Story - Francis Lai And His Orchestra - 33
• Burning Bridges - The Mike Curb Congregation - 34
• (Where Do I Begin) Love Story - Andy Williams - 35
• Jody's Got Your Girl And Gone - Johnnie Taylor - 36
• Proud Mary - Ike & Tina Turner - 37
• Doesn't Somebody Want To Be Wanted - The Partridge Family - 37
• D.O.A. - Bloodrock - 38
• Don't Let The Green Grass Fool You - Wilson Pickett - 39
• For All We Know - Carpenters - 39
• Help Me Make It Through The Night - Sammi Smith - 39
• Your Time To Cry - Joe Simon - 40
• Just Seven Numbers (Can Straighten Out My Life) - Four Tops - 40

There were a lot of notable songs breaking into the Top 40, look for them in next month's Top 10!

Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?

 Anybody out there know about old watches?

I have an old wristwatch that appears to have belonged to my maternal grandmother (it has her initails monogrammed on the back).  The watch is labeled "Smith Patterson" followed by what looks like a number, perhaps "06",  or perhaps "CO" as in Company...   The word "Swiss" also appears on the face.  The face appears to be quite yellowed.

Based on the fact that it is engraved with my grandmothers maiden name, I'm presuming this was made prior to 1924 (when she married).  She was born / grew up in Quincy Massachusetts, I found a note on the internet that " Smith Patterson was a retail jeweler in Boston"

I can move the hands by raising the knob, but it does not move when down (to wind?).  I don't want to force anything, of course.

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Any information would be apprciated!

Lost In A Dream

 

 

Late afternoon, finishing a hike at Silver Lake Park in Highland Illinois.  Intentionally underexposed to give more "pop" to the sky, and to resolve the tress to silhouettes.  

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.