Favorite Photo, June 21

Old Gas Pump, Pulaska Iowa. June 21, 2017.

I was driving through the tiny town of Pulaski Iowa (population 260) on Iowa Highway 2 when I spotted this old gas pump, so I stopped to take a picture. I wanted exaggerated colors so I tone mapped the image using Photomatix software. This is my favorite image for June 21.

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Favorite Photo, June 19

Nina, Columbus Ohio. June 19, 2013.

Our grandson was playing with the neighbors in their back yard. The light was especially nice so I got down on the ground to do some portraits. This is my favorite of the afternoon, for June 19, and one of my all time favorite portraits.

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Favorite Photo, June 18

Tree Frog, Lamoni, Iowa. June 18, 2017.

Our grandson was quite excited when he found this frog in a tree in his yard. He wanted me to take pictures. The frog was climbing rapidly up the tree so there was not time to go inside and get my serious camera. I did my best with my iPhone. This is my favorite image for this date.

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Favorite Photo, June 17

Marmalade Fly
Marmalade Fly, Columbus Ohio. June 17, 2003.

I was trying out closeup equipment when I spotted this small, interesting insect in our yard. The Canon macro lens worked well and I got my image, but I had no idea what exactly what it was until I looked it up. I had never heard of a “Marmalade Fly” before. This is my favorite image for June 17.

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Favorite Photo, June 16

War of 1812 Ceremony
War of 1812 Bicentennial Ceremony. Queenston Heights, Ontario, Canada. June 16, 2012.

I happened to be in Canada for the War of 1812 Ceremony. It is a big deal up north of the border and I had a great time wandering around and taking pictures. When I photographed this man in period uniform I knew I had a keeper. This is my favorite photo for this date and one of my all time favorite portraits. In case you are wondering, the Battle of Queenston Heights was a major victory for the British.

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Favorite Photo, June 15

Baby Sparrows in a Birdhouse, Lamoni Iowa. June 15, 2019.

I sat down on the front porch to enjoy the morning breeze when the birdhouse in one of our trees exploded with noise. Baby sparrows were being fed and raising quite a ruckus. I grabbed a camera, flash, and lens and went to work. This is my favorite photo for this date.

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Favorite Photo, June 13

Three generations, Worthington Ohio. June 13, 2004.

One Sunday after church I was asked to do a three generation portrait. Instead of the usual approach to photographing three people, I decided to line them up in a row showing profile views. They love this image and I do to. It is one of my favorite portraits and my favorite photo for this date.

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Favorite Photo, June 11

Saibaba Dance Drama, Columbus Ohio. June 11, 2011.

It was so hard to pick a favorite photo for this date. I had so many to choose from. There are about 3400 images in my “favorite photos” folder. Evenly distributed throughout the year would mean an average of 9 photos per date. But some dates have a lot more and some a lot less (or none). June 11 has 25 photos.

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Favorite Photo, June 10

Orange Poppies, Nederland, Colorado. Tuesday, June 10, 1997.
Orange Poppies, Nederland, Colorado. Tuesday, June 10, 1997.

Bob, my brother-in-law and photo buddy, were driving through Nederland Colorado when we spotted these orange colored poppies in front of the Presbyterian church. We stopped and took pictures. This is my favorite photo for June 10. If this feels a bit like deja vu, I also drove through Netherland June 9, 1997 on my way to take what ended up being three of my favorite photos for that date.

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Favorite Photo, June 9

Venus and the stars over Lake Michigan. June 9, 2018.

I was leading my annual June photography workshop in Northern Michigan and we were on a night photography field trip. It was a gorgeous night. At just the right time we were able to catch the edge between twilight and night with the planet Venus and stars over Lake Michigan. This is one of my two most favorite photos for this date.

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Favorite Photo, June 8

Great Egrets, territorial dispute. SFBNWR.
Great Egrets, Territorial Dispute, Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Fremont California. June 8, 2015.

Two great egrets got into a territorial fight over a favorite feeding area. The upper egret is coming down at the face of the lower egret with his feet. The lower egret barely got out of the way in time. This is one of my two most favorite photos for this date.

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Favorite Photo, June 7

Janae, Portage Michigan. June 7, 2002.

A friend decided I might like digital photography and loaned me a point and shoot digital camera. This is one of my first digital photos. My daughter and I were at LoDo’s in Portage Michigan, a restaurant that is named for the LoDo area (lower downtown) in Denver Colorado. This is my favorite photo for June 7.

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Favorite Photo, June 6

Mareva and Bunde ordain Lach, Independence Missouri. June 6, 2016.

This is one of my all time favorite photos for several reasons. All three people are friends of mine. I have been in Lach’s home several times. My wife and I spent a week traveling in Tahiti with Mareva and her husband, and for several years I was in planning meetings with Bunde.

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Creating A Headstone Image: When Things Don’t Go as Planned

David H. Smith, Headstone, Lamoni Iowa. June 17, 2019.
David H. Smith, Headstone, Lamoni Iowa. June 17, 2019.

It sounded like a simple request yesterday morning. At least at first. Could I go to Rose Hill Cemetery and photograph the headstone of David Hyrum Smith? Of course! The request came from a very good friend who lives half way across the country, and Rose Hill is only a few miles from where I live.

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Dewitt Jones: Celebrate What’s Right with the World!

CWR Website The Film from Shervin Communications on Vimeo.

Life (and great photography) is about inspiration as much as it is about information. Whatever it is that moves you to do things is just as important as knowing how to do it. If you aren’t inspired, all the information in the world won’t help you very much. But if you are sufficiently inspired, you will move heaven and earth to find the information you need. It is about vision! This 22 minute video is about finding the kind of vision that inspires your life and your photography.

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Video of Ronald Reagan’s Speech On the 40th Anniversary of D-Day

President Reagan’s 13 minute speech at the U.S. Ranger Monument at Pointe du Hoc is considered to be one of the great speeches in American History. In addition to President Reagan, these world leaders were present: Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, Queen Beatrix of The Netherlands, King Olav V of Norway, King Baudouin I of Belgium, Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg, and Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau of Canada.

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The Text of Ronald Reagan’s Speech On the 40th Anniversary of D-Day

Ronald Reagan, 40th Anniversary of D-Day

President Reagan’s 13 minute speech at the U.S. Ranger Monument at Pointe du Hoc is considered to be one of the great speeches in American History. In addition to President Reagan, these world leaders were present: Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, Queen Beatrix of The Netherlands, King Olav V of Norway, King Baudouin I of Belgium, Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg, and Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau of Canada.

The text of Reagan’s speech follows.

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Favorite Photo, June 5

Jan Kraybill, The Auditorium, Independence, Missouri
Jan Kraybill, Independence, Missouri. June 5, 2005

Jan Kraybill is an exceptionally fine organist who performs all over the world. She is also a friend of mine and she happens to ride a Harley for fun. How can you not like a bike riding organist?

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Favorite Photo, June 4

The original, uncropped photo.
Kristina, Columbus Ohio. June 4, 2012.

We hit it off great from our very first photo shoot. She in college and majoring in business . We wanted to create some beautiful images. This is one of my most favorite photos for this date and it is one of her favorite images too.

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Favorite Photo, June 2

Jim and Janae, USMA, West Point, New York. June 2, 1995.
Jim and Janae, USMA, West Point, New York. June 2, 1995.

We were at West Point for the graduation of our son Jim from the United States Military Academy. I took this picture of Jim and our daughter Janae on the way to a graduation banquet. This is my favorite photo for this date.

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Favorite Photo, June 1

Gossen Luna-Pro F incident and flash light meter.
Gossen Luna-Pro F incident and flash light meter. Columbus Ohio. June 1, 2010.

I needed a manual incident flash meter to use at my first wedding. This is what I bought. I also used it to meter incident ambient light, one of the most reliable ways to meter that is not influenced by the reflectivity of the subject.

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