Category Archive: SmugMug Appreciation Sunday

SmugMug Appreciation Sunday — No. 069

In brief, these posts serve to introduce new readers — and reintroduce regular readers — to photos from the early days of this blog and, occasionally, to photos from days before this blog came into existence.

Today’s photos are from a fairly large gallery documenting our visit to Barr Lake State Park in Colorado.

I should warn people that this is a big SmugMug Gallery; 146 photos. Here’s the LINK for them who just want to visit directly without reading this post. That gallery is from a time when I used to annotate all the photos, so you won’t miss out on my brilliant writing about the park, its views, and its denizens.

The original post is HERE for them who just can’t get enough of my writing, but beware I authored that post when I was recovering from my second rotator cuff surgery (the one that prompted me to give up on racquetball).

Since I didn’t have the use of my right arm, I was using a piece of software called Dragon Naturally Speaking to ‘write’ (dictating instead of typing). Hence, the writing might be a little stilted . . . or, it may be even better than my regular offering; you decide.

As a side note, the speech recognition on my phone is loads better than Dragon’s software, but neither is well adapted to someone who stutters.

Anyway, Barr Lake.

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SmugMug Appreciation Sunday — No. 068

In brief, these posts serve to introduce new readers — and reintroduce regular readers — to photos from the early days of this blog and, occasionally, to photos from days before this blog came into existence.

Today’s photos are from three SmugMug Galleries documented in two posts. I’ll give the links at the bottom, so if you don’t care to read this post, you can go directly there.

A little background . . . in 2011, I came across the idea of blended layer focusing . . . which some call Focus Blending or Focus Stacking Images. I called it Blended Layers in my post, but the other terms are likely more accurate than my made-up shorthand. Click on the links to read a description of the process . . . or read the next paragraph.

You can use the technique for anything, but I was interested in it because when shooting macros, I struggle with getting the entire subject in focus. The problem with Macro lenses is they have a small depth of field, meaning the area in focus is a narrow band; things further away and things that are closer than that narrow band are out of focus.  The closer one focuses, the smaller the band becomes.

Now, ‘real’ photographers like the resulting shallow depth of field, but I prefer having the entire subject in focus.

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SmugMug Appreciation Sunday — No. 067

In brief, these posts serve to introduce new readers — and reintroduce regular readers — to photos from the early days of this blog and, occasionally, to photos from days before this blog came into existence.

Today’s photos are from THIS SmugMug Gallery, and they’re not documented in any post. Wait . . . a few have appeared in various posts for a variety of reasons, but the entire galley used to be marked private, accessible only via a direct link.

A little background . . . in 2015, while living in Colorado, we became concerned about the water situation, the fire situation, and the large influx of people in the area. In preparation for possibly listing the house (it would happen a year later), I snapped a portfolio for an eventual listing.

Don’t be misled; we loved Colorado, and were happy with our house, but felt a change was needed because of said issues. Or, perhaps, subconsciously, we were keeping with our pattern of moving shortly after getting the house just like we wanted, or eleven years, whichever came first.

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SmugMug Appreciation Sunday — No. 066

In brief, these posts serve to introduce new readers — and reintroduce regular readers — to photos from the early days of this blog and, occasionally, to photos from days before this blog came into existence.

The photos are from THIS SmugMug Gallery and are documented in THIS post. That post covers one of the stops in our flight from the Mainland, the Joshua Trees National Park.

It might be worth reading the original post since I’m writing this in a hurry because it’s late and I’m tired. Plus, the post is from seven years ago, when I was much cleverer, funny, and creative.

The gallery opens with the namesake.

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SmugMug Appreciation Sunday — No. 065

In brief, these posts serve to introduce new readers — and reintroduce regular readers — to photos from the early days of this blog and, occasionally, to photos from days before this blog came into existence.

The photos are from THIS SmugMug Gallery and are documented in THIS post. That post covers a 2008 very short trip to Chicago’s Millennium Park and The Bean (a. k. a. the Cloud Gate).

It might be worth reading the post since I’m writing this in a hurry as we prepare for a quick trip.

The gallery opens with the Crown Fountain.

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SmugMug Appreciation Sunday — No. 064

In brief, these posts serve to introduce new readers — and reintroduce regular readers — to photos from the early days of this blog and, occasionally, to photos from days before this blog came into existence.

The photos are from THIS SmugMug Gallery and are documented in THIS post. That post is part of a series documenting our 2004 trip to Washington (the state). That trip was the first trip out West, and it had a purpose … we were looking to move from Michigan, and Washington was a consideration.

As many might know, we eventually ended up in Colorado.

The gallery documents our day trip to Mount Rainier in between looking for potential places where to live (it was almost the farthest we could get away from the auto industry while still in the continental US).

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SmugMug Appreciation Sunday — No. 063

In brief, these posts serve to introduce new readers — and reintroduce regular readers — to photos from the early days of this blog and, occasionally, to photos from days before this blog came into existence.

Today’s stroll on memory lane continues the recap of my two-hour drives.

The photos are from two small Galleries (HERE and HERE), and are documented in THIS post. That post is the last of four posts documenting said Two-hour Drives, occasions when I went for a drive specifically with the purpose of taking photos. Colorado was a great place for such drives because most of the roads I drove on were well-suited for stopping and taking photos. Here, in Illinois, not so much.

Or, perhaps, I just don’t have the eye for vast corn and soybean fields.

These galleries are about Canada Geese and a fence.

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SmugMug Appreciation Sunday — No. 062

In brief, these posts serve to introduce new readers — and reintroduce regular readers — to photos from the early days of this blog and, occasionally, to photos from days before this blog came into existence.

Today’s stroll on memory lane continues the recap of my two-hour drives.

The photos are from THIS Gallery and are documented in THIS post. That post is the Third of four posts documenting said Two-hour Drives, occasions when I went for a drive specifically with the purpose of taking photos. Colorado was a great place for such drives because most of the roads I drove on were well-suited for stopping and taking photos. Here, in Illinois, not so much.

Or, perhaps, I just don’t have the eye for vast corn and soybean fields.

Anyway, this gallery is about trains and a railroad trestle.

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SmugMug Appreciation Sunday — No. 061

In brief, these posts serve to introduce new readers — and reintroduce regular readers — to photos from the early days of this blog and, occasionally, to photos from days before this blog came into existence.

Today’s stroll on memory lane continues the recap of my two-hour drives.

The photos are from THIS, and THIS Galleries and are documented in THIS post. That post is the second of four posts documenting said Two-hour Drives, occasions when I went for a drive specifically with the purpose of taking photos. Colorado was a great place for such drives because most of the roads I drove on were well-suited for stopping and taking photos. Here, in Illinois, not so much.

Or, perhaps, I just don’t have the eye for vast corn and soybean fields.

Anyway, the first gallery is again small . . . six photos of an abandoned cabin.

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SmugMug Appreciation Sunday — No. 060

In brief, these posts serve to introduce new readers — and reintroduce regular readers — to photos from the early days of this blog and, occasionally, to photos from days before this blog came into existence.

Today’s stroll on memory lane is another quick one . . .

The photos are from THIS, and THIS Galleries and are documented in THIS post. That post is the first of four posts documenting some of my Two Hour Drives. Meaning, occasions when I went for a drive specifically with the purpose of taking photos. Colorado was a great place for such drives because most of the roads I drove on were well-suited for stopping and taking photos. Here, in Illinois, not so much.

It’s not just the roads, though . . . I can go on a two-hour drive here and not see much meriting stopping and deploying the camera. And, as stated, even if I did, there’s no place to safely pull over.

It’s one of the reasons most of my local photos are either from my backyard or the nearby refuge. Two places where the incidence of inconsiderate demented drivers is much lower than in most other places.

When we’ll be looking to move, scenery and photogenic areas will play a larger role in our decision-making.

Anyway, the first gallery is very small . . . three photos of a brick silo.

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SmugMug Appreciation Sunday — No. 059

In brief, these posts serve to introduce new readers — and reintroduce regular readers — to photos from the early days of this blog and, occasionally, to photos from days before this blog came into existence.

Today’s stroll on memory lane is another quick one . . .

The photos are from THIS, and THIS Galleries, and both are from my pre-WordPress blogging days. That means that while a few of these photos might have appeared on random blog posts, there is no specific post related to these galleries . . . I think.

All the photos are from 2009 . . . it seems like ages ago, certainly more than saying “14 years” . . . I mean, yes, it’s more than 5,000 days ago, but so much has happened that it’s difficult remembering what we were doing (we were living in Colorado, I had a full-time job driving 90 miles a day — Monument to Woodland Park, Melisa worked part-time at William-Sonoma, we had a cat, I was still playing racquetball and golfing, my camera was still the Nikon D100, my phone was a Palm (the Centro, I think), and probably other things I don’t remember).

At the time, we thought the world was going to shit . . . while now we know it is.

There’s a lesson buried there . . . don’t fret about what’s currently happening because ten years from now, things will be worse, and these will be “the good-ole days!“

Anyway, the first gallery is about a John Deere Model “B” that I used to see in an open field near where we lived (it’s now a subdivision).

John Deere Model “B”
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SmugMug Appreciation Sunday — No. 058

In brief, these posts serve to introduce new readers — and reintroduce regular readers — to photos from the early days of this blog and, occasionally, to photos from days before this blog came into existence.

Today’s stroll on memory lane is another quick one . . .

The original post for these photos is HERE, and the photos are from THIS Gallery.

These photos are from ten years ago, so some of the items might not currently be on display.

I’m referring to photos from the National Air & Space Museum, A. K. A. the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.

Museum’s Main Hangar

So, here we are . . . summarizing the wrap-up post of the National Air & Space Museum series.

Note: I just found out that all the links to the Smithsonian’s own catalog changed. That means that — in the original posts and the seven previous Sunday posts about the museum — any link referencing the museum’s database will return a dead link error (error 404). I fixed the links in this post, but I’m not going back through the original or recent Sunday posts to update the links. One, because it’s a lot of work, and two, because no one mentioned it. If you’re looking for the Smithsonian’s entry for a plane, just search under the name.

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SmugMug Appreciation Sunday — No. 057

In brief, these posts serve to introduce new readers — and reintroduce regular readers — to photos from the early days of this blog and, occasionally, to photos from days before this blog came into existence.

Today’s stroll on memory lane is another quick one . . .

The original post for these photos is HERE, and the photos are from THIS Gallery.

These photos are from ten years ago, so some of the items might not currently be on display.

I’m referring to photos from the National Air & Space Museum, A. K. A. the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.

Note: I just found out that all the links in the Smithsonian catalog changed. That means that — in the original posts and the previous Sunday posts about the museum — any link referencing the museum’s database will return a dead link error (error 404). I’m not going back through the original or recent Sunday posts to update the links. One, because it’s a lot of work, and two, because no one mentioned it. If you’re looking for the Smithsonian’s entry for a plane, just search under the name.

Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star

A very nice-looking aircraft first flown in 1948, the Lockheed “T-Bird” T-33 Shooting Star remains in service worldwide. For them who be not inclined to click links, the Cuban Air Force used T-33s during the Bay of Pigs Invasion, scoring several kills.

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SmugMug Appreciation Sunday — No. 056

In brief, these posts serve to introduce new readers — and reintroduce regular readers — to photos from the early days of this blog and, occasionally, to photos from days before this blog came into existence.

Today’s stroll on memory lane is another quick one . . .

The original post for these photos is HERE, and the photos are from THIS Gallery.

These photos are from ten years ago, so some of the items might not currently be on display.

I’m referring to photos from the National Air & Space Museum, A. K. A. the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.

Note: I just found out that all the links in the Smithsonian catalog changed. That means that — in the original posts and the previous Sunday posts about the museum — any link referencing the museum’s database will return a dead link error (error 404). I’m not going back through the original or recent Sunday posts to update the links. One, because it’s a lot of work, and two, because no one mentioned it. If you’re looking for the Smithsonian’s entry for a plane, just search under the name.

Shuttle Discovery

The original post and the SmugMug gallery are all about space stuff, with the Shuttle Discovery in prominence. Tell the truth . . . doesn’t the front of the shuttle look like the face of a mouse? A giant mouse, but still a mouse.

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SmugMug Appreciation Sunday — No. 055

In brief, these posts serve to introduce new readers — and reintroduce regular readers — to photos from the early days of this blog and, occasionally, to photos from days before this blog came into existence.

Today’s stroll on memory lane is another quick one . . .

The original post for these photos is HERE, and the photos are from THIS Gallery.

These photos are from ten years ago, so some of the items might not currently be on display.

I’m referring to photos from the National Air & Space Museum, A. K. A. the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.

Note: I just found out that all the links in the Smithsonian catalog changed. That means that — in the original posts and the previous Sunday posts about the museum — any link referencing the museum’s database will return a dead link error (error 404). I’m not going back through the original or recent Sunday posts to update the links. One, because it’s a lot of work, and two, because no one mentioned it. If you’re looking for the Smithsonian’s entry for a plane, just search under the name.

Sikorsky YH19A

That is the Sikorsky YH-19A.  Introduced in 1950, it has many variants, and a later model was already showcased in my post documenting the Weisbrod Museum in Pueblo, Colorado.

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