Apollo & Annie

Along the banks of the Scioto River in Grandview, there is a pair of Bald Eagles; Apollo and Annie and their 2 eaglets.

I headed over to World of Photography at their new store at 1104 Goodale Blvd and prepared to make a purchase.
I walked out with a used Sigma 150-600mm lens. Now to our second stop a few blocks away; the nest.

Parking was easy, you want to park in the small lot across from Camp Bow Wow. Then strap on the hiking shoes, you walk back to the road and walk the back side of the guardrail. BE CAREFUL!!! even though the volunteer group has cut back the brush, there are stumps sticking up, many are spraypainted bright orange but many are not. Keep walking until you find some benches and then look across the river and up in the trees.

4/15

Shooting a concert

So as you may or may not know.  I volunteer to cover media for a local Christian radio station.   I just finished shooting their largest concert, a 3 day event.    If you’ve attended a concert that they sponsored, you’ve see me.  I’ll be the guy loaded down like a pack mule with over 20# of camera gear, probably blocking your view (sorry, I need my shots).

This year it was HOT!!!!  I sweated so much that my ballcap was soaked in every inch and I never got in the lake or got wet.  I got sunburned good, not as bad as I have in years past… but with all the sweat I cannot put anything on my face as it would just run into my eyes anyway. Continue reading “Shooting a concert”

The sun comes up how early? and you want to see it….?

Those who know me know one thing…. I am NOT a morning person.  I mean I can be if work makes me be there at 8:00, and I’m getting better too, I now have to be at work at 8:45 and I used to only take 11-8 shifts.

That being said I got it in my head that I was going to get a sunrise photo.  Now just to find the perfect location.  I am not one for scouting out my locations; I’d rather just slam on the brakes and park the van and take what I can find. This does not usually work with things that you cannot see at the time of setup….. like a sunrise.

Continue reading “The sun comes up how early? and you want to see it….?”

Don’t look into the sun, you’ll go blind!!!!

It was talked about for weeks on every newscast.  Worse than when they warned Ralphie that he’d shoot his eye out with the Red Rider BB gun… You’ll burn your eyeballs out if you look into the sun without the special glasses….”    Yes, we are talking about the freaking eclipse of 2017.

Droves and droves of people flocked to a 70-mile-wide strip of land that covered places in the USA that you would never think of ever visiting.  Motels filled up and gouged travelers who dared to get into the path of totality, all leading up to a 2 minute 40-second-long moment where the moon passed in front of the sun and blocked its light.

I’m a sucker too!  On August 21. 2017 mom and I drove down to Cincinnati, while not in the path of totality, it would be 90% coverage.  Not knowing what we would encounter as we headed out to Ault Park.  What we found at 10:30 am was a group of volunteers and sky watchers from the Cincinnati Observatory setting up a canopy and 2 telescopes.  We left to find food and came back at 12:00 with there only being a few more people.

Continue reading “Don’t look into the sun, you’ll go blind!!!!”

John Bryan State Park – June 21, 2015

Went to John Bryan to see if I could find some waterfalls or streams to try to get that foggy white water look.  This is done by using a neutral density filter, and long exposure.  The results are kind of varying and it did take some time to get a result that was somewhat acceptable.

Want to see how those photos came out…. Continue reading “John Bryan State Park – June 21, 2015”

Get Your Kicks on Route 66 – Illinois Edition

Memorial Day weekend mom and I took a little trip to Illinois to drive on old Route 66

Route 66 begins in the heart of Chicago and travels south through Illinois, before entering Missouri and going Southeast, taking a small jaunt into Kansas.  Across Oklahoma, through the Texas Panhandle. Through New Mexico, Arizona and ending up in California.

Mom and I took a trip Memorial day weekend 2015 to explore south of Chicago to about an hour outside of St. Louis Continue reading “Get Your Kicks on Route 66 – Illinois Edition”

Trips to “God’s Country” in Pennsylvania

For vacation in April 2015, mom and I went to a long-time friend’s house that lives in “God’s Country”; seriously, when you enter the county it says “Welcome to Potter County, God’s Country”

Here are a few photos of that week. Continue reading “Trips to “God’s Country” in Pennsylvania”