Category: Observation

Tell Tail Hawk

I’m back with another request for bird identification help.  I shot this Hawk while on a shoot along the Mississippi River up in the Quad Cities.
Credit Island Hawk

To be more specific, I took this on Credit Island in Davenport in the December 2012 timeframe.  Yeah, yeah, I’m waaaay behind but the good news is I’ve been able to start processing again (now completed Jan and Feb of 13 in a desperate attempt not to fall more than two years behind).  Enough about my struggles … we have a bird to talk about!!!

Credit Island Hawk

This particular Hawk was a surprise find while out on the island looking for Eagles.  They tend to congregate along the Mississippi providing an excellent opportunity to expend the portfolio.  Having hit our standard shooting spot, we took our normal loop through Credit Island.  The Eagles along that stretch of the island have figured out they can hunt in peace in the large trees across the channel so pickings there are usually thin – from the Eagle opportunities.  That doesn’t mean there isn’t opportunities for other feathered friends and sometimes even those with fur.

Hit the jump to read more about this Hawk.. oh, and my guess to what it is

Continue reading Tell Tail Hawk

Seeing Red

Figured it was about time to tear myself away from robotics and animatronics for a bit to at least get a quick post out.  I’ve been spending a lot of time working up some new Halloween prop structures to add to my Haunted Trail collection next year.  I know, I know it is a long way from now (Linda reminded me of just that fact earlier today), but my new PVC form structures design is now fully jointed and just begging to have some servos added to it.  I haven’t worked with this stuff since college so a little rusty on – watching a lot of videos and reading what I can to figure out what options are out there.  Tomorrow is a run to Menards to get some materials to make a few motion sensors as a start.  When I noticed it was suppose to snow (again) tomorrow including our first accumulation. I thought it was fitting to feature a post on one of my favorite Winter subjects.

Cardinal

That’s right, the Northern Cardinal.  There are a few things I always find very pleasing from a composition perspective and one of them is photographs of Cardinals in the Winter months.  Typically the Winter days can range from a rather drab day to an all out white out depending on how the season is going.. oh sorry, maybe I should refer to it as “how the ‘climate change’ is going” just to fit into the cool crowd that doesn’t realize climate is suppose changes when you move out of California.  The best part of photographing Cardinals is it doesn’t matter how bad the weather is, the Cardinal always stands out against whatever backdrop you happen to be around.

Cardinal

These happened to be taken in our backyard a year or so back.  If there is one bird we have plenty of here in the Midwest it is the Cardinal.  I think my record for number of those fiery birds is 26 at one time.  They definitely like our feeders with Sunflowers.  By nature, these birds tend to hit the feeders, grab some seed and then fly back to the safety of the branches in the trees just off the porch – definitely not at the same skittish degree as the Nuthatches or Chickadees).  It is always better for us nature photographers when you have a predictable subject.

Cardinal

Hit the jump to see some more shots of this beautiful bird .. and maybe I’ll throw in bonus bird!

Continue reading Seeing Red

A Screaming Redemption

Screaming Pumpkin Race 2014

Greetings all!  I bet the doubters out there were all a buzz about it being soooo late in the month and the post count was stuck at FIVE.  No worries although for the record the amount of pictures and text in those five easily exceeded a standard month’s output.  I even told you the theme of this offering during the last.  Of course, those long time followers assuredly know that the end of October typically brings with it the last official race of the year.  Once again, I was able to field a team to compete in the Screaming Pumpkin Half Marathon Relay (link here).

Screaming Pumpkin Race 2014

Hit the jump to see more pictures and reveal how this race went for us!

Continue reading A Screaming Redemption

No Porcupines, but At Least a Deer

Guessing those who read my last post may need some Um to counteract the scary Yang from the last post.  I was looking through my queue of posts and noticed this set of shots.  Nothing says calm and tranquility like a shot of a harmless deer!
Deer in the Porcupines

There, your nerves should be returning to normal.  This also seemed appropriate due to the fact that my local park, where all my training occurs, is loaded with people trying to kill these creatures.  Nothing says a training run like jogging past a person coming out of the woods in a Ghillie suit.  One thing for sure is the deer population is down in our specific area which is often referred to as Big Buck Country.  In fact, I have not seen a buck this year at all and just a few does that have crossed the road ahead of me while coming home from work.  In the past Chronic Wasting has been pretty hard on them, but as of late the main killer has been Bluetongue which is a particularly nasty insect born viral disease.

Ooops, I think it heard me say that.

Deer in Porcupines

Hit the jump to see and read a bit more about this particular shoot – oh, and see something I haven’t done for a loooooong time.

Continue reading No Porcupines, but At Least a Deer

How Far Will You Go – The Haunted Trail 2014

Time to get back on the path.. the Haunted Path that is!  As mentioned in previous posts, we held our Annual Halloween Cookout October 4th.  This was earlier than usual thanks to a race I participate in being moved from a Friday to a Saturday.  Although it was stressful in the past having the race on Friday night it allowed me just enough time to get everything in place to have the party the following night.  Then we were overlayed with a friend’s party that pushed us to the early October slot.  One thing for sure, it was definitely better going not having run a half marathon the night before.  Unfortunately there was a lot of rain leading up to the party date, but luckily it broke on the 3rd allowing me to finish clearing the trail and getting at least the danger areas cautioned off.  That left me an early morning to start getting things in place for standard elements (firewood, torches, general cleanup).  My friend Paul came over at noon and we started the long process of setting up the trail.  This year we made a couple of key changes.  The first thing we did was cut the path short and utilized a loop back to the start.  That essentially eliminated a very steep hill our guests had to navigate at the end.. in the dark – we definitely got some thanks for that.  The second major change is this year we took a different approach to the decoration order.  Last year, you may recall, we produced some tears (link here).  A badge of honor for us.. but probably not the nicest thing to do to your unsuspecting guests.  To address that we opted for a “How Far Will You Go” approach.  Translated – the farther you go .. the scarier it is likely to be.  Your choice, turn back whenever you start getting uneasy or the kids start shaking.

For starters, the path has grown over the years and now has more decorations than I can feature in this post.  Instead, I’ve picked out a few shots of new decs or wanted to provide a few comments on.  The full trail can be found on the EddieSoft Gallery Site (link here).  Be sure and check that out to experience the full Haunted Trail experience.

So, the start of the trail was filled with the tame air-blown decorations.

Haunted Trail 2014

Nothing too scary here and something the kids will have no problems with.. unless they happen to be afraid for large purple arachnids in which case maybe not so good of a start.

Haunted Trail 2014

Hit the jump to experience more of the trail .. if you dare!

Continue reading How Far Will You Go – The Haunted Trail 2014

Little Boy Blue

Like the old adage says “All Scary and No Aviary Makes the Heart Grow Wary”  So that doesn’t happen to all my precious readers out there I’m going to give you a break from the recent batch of Halloween posts to bring you a bird shot.  This particular set of shots was taken  during our Red Rock Canyon visit back in November 2012.  Now I’ve featured the Mountain Bluebird before (link here) and the Eastern Bluebird (link here) has even made an appearance once or twice, but this is the first time I’ve brought out the Western Bluebird!

This little bird was hanging out not far from the side of the road fairly close to the entrance.  This happens to be another one of those classic times when I really thought I was just shooting an Eastern Bluebird and really didn’t think much of it at the time.  The Eastern was already checked off my list, but I NEVER pass up a bird in the field.  Time and time again I go into the digital darkroom thinking one thing only to come out fully surprised.

Hit the jump to read more about this colorful bird!

Continue reading Little Boy Blue

Throwing for a Loop

Guess I’ve waited long enough to get this post out.  Time to close this month out on the blog quota and might as well get this one over with.  At the beginning of this month I participated in the annual running of Springdale Cemetery.  Think this might be my fourth running of this grueling half and I knew this one was going to be tougher than usual before the starting gun ever went off.  If you recall this was the first long race since the heat stroke incident.  I was back up to 12 miles a couple of times in the weeks leading up to the race, but none of those did I really feel good about.
IVS Half Marathon 2014

Either the splits were way off or the body would panic at the 7 or 8 mile mark and just drench my entire body with sweat almost instantly – likely overreacting to internal temps.  The doctors informed me that my body would be impacted by the incident and I’d even be more susceptible to heat issues in the future.  All things considered, I had the training miles in so there was some confidence I could finish buuuuuuut…..

IVS Half Marathon 2014

The second to last week before the race I caught the Peoria Plague.  Somewhere around 12 days before the race I lost my voice.  A few days later came down with a sore throat and thing I started feeling awful.  Still tried to get some of the taper runs in but skipped a few and cut the others down in hopes of preventing it from sinking too far in.  No luck, 3 days before the race I was dead on sick.  In a last ditch effort I stayed down all day Friday and Saturday in hopes of maximizing whatever energy I had for the race Sunday.  The morning was at hand, went through all the pre-race prep activities and even made a point to grab the shirt my brother had made for me.  In recognition of my incident and  my distaste for Globull Warming, he got me this!

IVS Half Marathon 2014

In case you can’t read it, it says “Victim of Global Warming” – the front has a two people carrying a person on a gurney – LOVE IT!  By start time I was feeling okay. The race packet indicated they changed the course this year and based on my calcs there was not enough water stops and the ones they had were spaced further than I wanted.  One of the changes I had made since the incident was to take a lot more water and more frequently.  To compensate for that I decided to carry my own water with me.

… and the traditional start picture – even not feeling 100% doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy at least the start – obviously the lady to my left did not approve of my carefree attitude hehehe.  Oh, and race skirts need to go just for the record.

IVS Half Marathon 2014

Hit the jump to see how this one turns out (hint .. not good)

Continue reading Throwing for a Loop

One Awesome V-Day Gift

For all those Globull Warmers errr Climate Change .. or how about Season Deniers out there, figured I’d go with a little SNOW in September (and celebrate 17 years and 11 months of NO Globull Warming – not to mention NOAA having to restate that 2012 was NOT the hottest year ever instead it was something like 1937).  I’ve actually been meaning to get to this post for some time now and finally found a few cycles to do some badly needed work in the digital darkroom.  This happened to be one of those rare times when I get so excited during a shoot that I overlooked some essential techniques.  The result is a slightly soft set but that is a small price to pay for the huge smile that it generated then and every time I get the chance to look back on the products.  To cut through the suspense, I give you a cherished new checkmark in the Ol’ Bird List!
Snowy Owl

In case you for some reason you don not recognize this particular bird of prey, it is the Snowy Owl.  Let me add some emphasis on that … my #2 on my most wanted list Snowy Owl!!!  Well, technically it became my #1 on the list having checked off the previous #1 on a trip in 2013 (someday I’ll get to that post as well).  Two of my highly coveted birds checked off in less than a year Woot!

Snowy Owl

As you might have figured out from the title, I owe a big thanks to Linda for this prized bird.  On Valentine’s Day, Linda hands me a notecard with some writing on it.  Thinking that was kinda of an odd gift I started to read it and about had a heart attack.  She had found a sighting online of this majestic bird relatively close to us and was willing to help hunt it down.  How cool is that – what can I say, somebody loves me.  We had talked a number of times about going up to Chicago where some people were posting pictures of one they found up there.  That is a fairly long drive for us especially if we were to fail to locate one.  We were actually waiting for my brother to make a quick walk down there and snap a photo for us since he already lived in the City … save us the hassle of driving all the way up there… hmmm we are actually still waiting for those pictures .. some lame excuse about it being too cold or something (he is an avid reader of this blog so feel free to use the comments to chastise him for that elitist Chicago attitude.)

Snowy Owl

Hit the jump to read more about this uber cool bird of prey!

Continue reading One Awesome V-Day Gift

When a Wren Isn’t Just a Wren

I’m having some serious concerns about a race I have this Sunday.  It’s time for the annual IVS Half Marathon in the hills of Springdale Cemetery.  Even when I’m healthy this race can take its toll on me, evident by last year’s struggle in the frying pan (link here).  Unfortunately I fell victim to the Peoria Plague last Saturday and I just can’t seem to shake it.  This week was a big project at work which didn’t give me much time to nurse it, so it sunk its teeth in deep.  Hit my last 12+ miler last Friday, missed my 8 miles taper last Sunday, did hit my 6 mile taper Tuesday but felt like crap afterwards and then decided against the 4  mile run  scheduled for yesterday.  Suck Suck Suck.  Topping it off I messed up my back sometime this week .. Suck Suck Double Suck.  I worked from home today to force myself to keep down and opted for a quick adjustment at the chiro in an attempt to get that calmed down.  Back feels much better now (legs were an inch off.. would have been running in circles ha) and some light at the end of the tunnel on the plague.  I primarily breathe through my mouth during the run so that mitigates some of the stuffiness.  One more day of doing nothing (which absolutely kills me) and hopefully my temple will be whole again – keeping the fingers crossed.  Figured I’d crank out a happy post to keep my mind off of the race.

Noticed this bird while reviewing the Red Rock Canyon shots in the digital darkroom.  I initially passed it off as a House Wren and set it to the side noting the execution on the shots was less than stellar.  I have them around here anyway and even featured one during Project Chekov (link here).

At the time I didn’t really think much about it until one day I was looking through the bird references when I came to the House Wren section.  Something caught my eye which made me hesitate a bit.  Something was amiss but couldn’t put my finger on it.  Tail up, wings sharp and down.  Even had the spotting on the wings and tail feathers.  Nothing to strange but the spidy senses were on full on alert.  What the hell?  Decided there was a kink in the system and started turning the page….and then it came to me.  Quickly flipping back to the House Wren confirmed my deduction.  The page I turned to featured the Bewick’s Wren.

Find out the details on this bird after the jump!

Continue reading When a Wren Isn’t Just a Wren

A Vegas Photo Drive

It has been awhile since I’ve brought out a Phoadtography post!  So far you’ve been subjected to shots from the Vegas skyline, shots of Vegas from a photo walk and it just seems fitting that I close out the Vegas scene with a traditional “photos from the road” collection.  For those not familiar with the concept of Phoadtography, it is pretty simple.  Linda drives and I take shots of interesting things – in between my expert navigation duties of course.  To start us off on our little excursion I bring you the prototypical Sin City billboard…

I marveled at the genius of this particular advertisement.  It has so many alternative takes – are they talking about the Vegas Strip, the common theme of stripper shows in Vegas, how to strip a gun down and put it back for cleaning or don’t even think about stripping me of my Second Amendment rights.  This sign must make gun control advocates shake in their house slippers.  One goal activity Linda and I have not been able to cross off is to hit the Gun Store and fire off some (okay, maybe A LOT) of rounds from an automatic rifle – yummy goodness!

“Who ya’ Gonna Call?”

Clearly this was taken closer to the downtown area where these kinds of businesses are everywhere.  Almost as common as drive up wedding chapels.  Based on the vehicle outside of this place, business is good.  What happens in Vegas .. stays on your arrest record.

Hit the jump to see a few more shots!

Continue reading A Vegas Photo Drive