View allAll Photos Tagged July2024
Have a great weekend all my Flickr friends and thank you for all your kind comments and faves. Taken in my garden.
Have a lovely weekend all my Flickr friends and thank you for all your kind comments & faves. Bob on my garden table.
A lovely old barn photographed in NW Polk County, Iowa. The setting sun provides some wonderful backlight on the clouds to the east here.
Developed with Darktable 4.8.0
Have a lovely weekend all my Flickr friends and thank you for all your kind comments and faves. taken in Little Common Stanmore.
Black bear in Woburn Safari Park on a very hot day. This was taken on an off road experience in aid of a tiger charity. We only saw one sleeping tiger but the wonderful guide extended the 30 mins to an hour and more or less did a safari of the whole park. Got unbelievably close to the bears and lions . It was a fantastic experience for my 7 yr old grandson Jack.
A rather tatty one but butterflies are few and far between here this year. Have a great week ahead everyone.
Warm-up your winter day with this photo of the fishing pier on the east side of Big Creek Lake taken just before sunset last summer. Construction started in autumn of 2023 and it opened in the spring of 2024. A moment in time, showing people enjoying summer splendor at it’s best.
Developed with Darktable 4.8.0.
A sunset photo taken at Lake Ahquabi last summer. The wispy clouds almost look like colored brush strokes across the evening sky. Lake Ahquabi State Park is in Warren County, Iowa and features a 115-acre reservoir for swimming, fishing, boating and other activites.
Developed with Darktable 4.8.0
A lovely daylily photographed at the Enabling Garden in Altoona, Iowa.
Developed with Darktable 4.8.0.
... Bugs & Co.
A Male Thick Legged Flower Beetle ~ Oedemera nobilis.
Delving into those archives again, too much going on to get out for a proper photo session.
Maybe view large, and thank you for your favourites. :)
Otter Creek Lake in Tama County, Iowa has been bone-dry for a couple of years. Due to the lake restoration project, there’s been nothing but dried mud, weeds and a just a trickle of water. I stopped by here in 2022 and it looked absolutely terrible. However, this 70-acre lake is now completely filled with water again and restocked with fish. I don’t think the word is out yet, there were only about 8 campers in this entire County Park (and there are about 60 campsites).
Developed with Darktable 4.8.0
A photo of the Rhodes Mill on the Winnebago River in Fertile, Iowa. Built in 1868, this was originally a saw mill and then later converted to a flour mill. It ground-out about 50 barrels of flour per day in its prime with a business revenue of $10,000 per year by 1884. Today, what remains of this historical mill is now a private residence.
I took this photo from the William Rhodes Island Park, but I could not drive into the park since the access road was completely flooded-out. So instead, I parked in town by Café Mir and crossed the river on a pedestrian bridge to get over to the island and capture this cloudy, early afternoon scene.
Developed with Darktable 4.8.0
My first stab with a Lensbaby Sweet 50 from earlier this morning. In this capture I used F4, no bend and no marco lens or extension tubes. Not too bad. I did add a light touch of a textured vignette in post-processing to complement the artsy effect of the lens.
Developed with Darktable 4.8.0
A view of a cloudless sunset as I stand just outside a pavilion near the beach at Lake Ahquabi in Warren County, Iowa. The lake and park here are named after the Sauk and Fox word 'Ahquabi' meaning “resting place.”
A beautiful lily photographed at the Des Moines Botanical Center with a Lensbaby Sweet 50. I used F5.6 on this shot with no bend or macro lens/tube. I lost some sharpness on the tips of the stamen, but I still thought it was a decent photo.
Developed with Darktable 4.8.0
A minimal landscape photo taken at dawn yesterday morning on N 83rd Ave W about 1.5 miles east of Farrar, Iowa. I'm shooting north across a soy bean field towards the lowlands and fog around Indian Creek.
Developed with Darktable 4.8.0
A Lensbaby photo taken in the summer of 2024 at the Enabling Garden in Altoona, Iowa. I had a slight bend ‘up’ on the lens that focused on the red flowers in the back. I did color-pop that high center area and also increased the contrast equalization a bit using a mask in Darktable. I think this was my very first attempt at bending or tilting the lens with the Composer Pro II.
Lensbaby Sweet 50 optic, set at F4.0
Composer Pro II with a Canon EF mount
No additional macro lens or extension tube used
Developed with Darktable 4.8.0
I hope all my purple coneflower photos don’t bore you too much. They are my favorite summer flower and I do enjoy photographing them. I did switch-up on this one to force myself to try something new and different. The bottom side isn’t quite as elegant as the top, but it does make an interesting photo.
Captured yesterday morning just after sunrise at the Enabling Garden in Altoona, Iowa.
Developed with Darktable 4.8.0
A close-up shot of a nearly perfect Ox Eye Daisy photographed at the Enabling Garden in Altoona, Iowa.
Developed with Darktable 4.8.0
A side view of a wonderful orange lily photographed at the Enabling Garden in Altoona, Iowa.
Developed with Darktable 4.8.0
A wide angle shot of Union Grove Lake in Tama County, Iowa. This is the north and marshier end of the lake looking south towards the beach and spillway. This State Park opened in 1938 and is near the city of Gladbrook.
Developed with Darktable 4.8.0.
Got this photo, just at the right time, we had some really bad weather after I'd taken these, and they never picked up again.
Some of the few photos I've managed to get out to take since we moved. We've had no 'phone, Internet or TV due to Orange - basically France Telecom being a pain in the backside.
Got connected today to the Internet, but still no phone or the TV. Might get there one day.
We're both fine, but tired and sadly still not completely organised, but we'll get there - slowly. Thank you for all your good wishes. It's great to be back.
Maybe view large, and thank you for your favourites. :)
This colorful display of purple coneflowers was captured last summer at the Enabling Garden in Altoona, Iowa.
Developed with Darktable 4.8.0.
I remember when I was growing-up, Mom had a large patch of these beautiful Tiger Lilies on the sunny side of our farm house. This one was photographed last summer at the Enabling Garden in Altoona, Iowa.
Developed with Darktable 4.8.0.
Miniature Sunflowers planted out in the public flowerbeds by the Town Hall.
Sadly, this was the only year I found them, but so glad I did.
Maybe view large, and thank you for your favourites. :)
We’ve had a lot of rain lately. On Monday we broke the record for the most rain recorded on any calendar day in May history, 3.84 inches (and another inch on Tuesday). I’m ready for summer. This scene was photographed last summer just before sunset at Big Creek Lake in Polk County, Iowa.
Developed with Darktable 4.8.0.
A majestic little orange zinnia floret just beginning to blossom. Photographed just after sunrise at the Enabling Garden in Altoona, Iowa.
Lensbaby Sweet 50 optic
F4.0 with the 4X macro lens attached
Composer Pro II with a Canon EF mount
No bend or tilt used
Developed with Darktable 4.8.0
A photo of a lovely sunset as the sun’s last rays begin to descend below the treetops on the far side of Maffitt Lake near Cumming, Iowa. You only get to enjoy the lovely colors for a few fleeting minutes before darkness and then you have to leave the park anyway since it closes at 9pm.
Developed with Darktable 4.8.0
A lovely sunflower just getting ready to bloom. Photographed at Badger Creek State Recreation Area in Madison County, Iowa.
Developed with Darktable 4.8.0
A colorful patch of red and gold zinnias photographed at the entrance to the Des Moines Water Works headquarters building on George Flagg Parkway in Des Moines, Iowa.
Lensbaby Sweet 50 optic, set at F4.0
Composer Pro II with a Canon EF mount
No bend or macro lens/tubes used
Full afternoon sun with a light haze
Developed with Darktable 4.8.0
Some wild verbena photographed with a Lensbaby in Story County, Iowa. I cropped this shot since the sides didn't really add much to this angular shot, but there's still some nice blur at the top & bottom.
Lensbaby Sweet 50 optic at F4.0
Composer Pro II with a Canon EF mount
No bend or macro lens used
Developed with Darktable 4.8.0
The cloudbank over this distant farm initially caught my eye. I also liked the way the setting sun was casting golden tones over the tops of the tall grasses in the foreground. Together they seemed to create a very warm and peaceful end-of-day country scene. Quintessential Iowa.
Photographed in rural Story County, Iowa looking south across a vast soybean field just a few minutes before sunset.
Developed with Darktable 4.8.0
"What was all the fuss about?
"Off we went to Auntie Vet this morning for our jabs and check up, before we move house.
"As usual, I sang in the back of Evelyne's car at the top of my voice all the way there. Which annoys Auntie Evelyne no end. It does Mum too, but she just knows me better.
"Luckily for me, I was up-to-date with the jabs, from the last two times I'd had to visit, so I just got a treatie biscuit and loads of cuddles and put on the table to see how much I weighed. But that was after they looked after Izzy."
Me: Both these photos are from the archives and as for a Macro Mondays photo or a Flickr Friday one, forget it. I'm just too busy and am shattered.
Maybe view large, and thank you for your favourites. :)
A close-up of a colorful lily photographed at the Enabling Garden in Altoona, Iowa with a Lensbaby Sweet 50 lens. I used F4.0 on this shot, so I did lose some sharpness on a few of the stamen, but I thought it was still a decent photo.
Lensbaby Sweet 50 optic, set at F4.0
Composer Pro II with a Canon EF mount
No bend or macro lens/tube used
Developed with Darktable 4.8.0
I have photographed this old grain tower before. It’s a magnificent old agricultural structure in Fernald, an unincorporated community in Story County, Iowa, Over the years, there always seems to be a little activity here and I’m never sure if it will be there the next time I drive by. I think this scene seems much more majestic in black and white.
Developed with Darktable 4.8.0.
I grew-up on a farm, so this simple scene brings back nice memories. All those animals were hungry, so you had to get-up early and start the day with your morning chores. As a teenager, I worked on a neighboring dairy farm and milked cows before going to school. And when you had the chance to take a break, it was always nice to watch the sunrise.
Developed with Darktable 4.8.0
Another photo of the Sweet peas that I found back in July. A kaleidoscope effect done un Lunapics.
Maybe view large, but thank you for your favourites. :)
Black-Eyed Susan and prairie grasses mix together creating a natural bouquet of lovely flowers. Photographed at the Enabling Garden in Altoona, Iowa.
Developed with Darktable 4.8.0
A mobile photo of the Salisbury House in Des Moines, Iowa. The massive manor is a mix of Tudor, Gothic and Carolean styles and modeled after the King's House in Salisbury, England. The 42-room home measures just over 22,000 square feet and is built on a wooded hill with a commanding view over the 9.4-acres of the estate’s property.
The home was built by cosmetics magnate Carl Weeks and his wife, Edith Van Slyke Weeks, between 1923 and 1928. It was constructed and furnished with an original budget of $150,000, but the final cost was $3 million. The Weeks Family amassed extensive collections of fine art, decorative art, rare books, musical instruments, historic documents, weapons and sculpture, and most of these items remain in the Salisbury House to this day.