Prairie Burn
Last Saturday turned out to be the coldest day of the week and my wife and I were scheduled to participate in a Photo Workshop hosted by Craig McCord and Jason Soden. The workshop was included both a day and night prairie burn in the KS Flint Hills. We dressed in layers and had enough clothes on that made it difficult to move with ease. We left home about 09:30 am and arrived in Wamego, KS about 2 hours later and had lunch in this old Western town. Then we met Craig and Jason and about 18 other participants at a pre-designated location and then headed off to a 1,000 acre family cattle ranch about 25 miles NE of Manhattan, KS. When we arrived the winds were too strong to do the afternoon burn so we sat around the fire for a couple hours trying to stay warm. We subsequently had a Cowboy style pulled-pork dinner cooked over hot embers and finally about 6:00 pm, a late afternoon burn was initiated before sunset; the burn continued into the 9:00 pm hour. During this time it never rained but it did hail . . . boy was it cold. My camera batteries lasted fine, though.
We drove home after the shoot and got there about 01:15 am on Sunday. The below slide show depicts some of my 1st attempts at photographing a prairie burn . . .
Unity Village
Wow! Friday February 19th and we tied a record high of 74 degrees with sun and light clouds! I’ve lived in Kansas City most of my adult life and I have never visited Unity Village until this Spring-like Friday in Mid-February. I have to admit that I’ll be going back in a couple months for both day and night photos. This place is truly a treasure and I can’t believe I’ve not been on the property previously.
“In 1919 Charles and Myrtle Fillmore, founders of the Unity spiritual movement, bought 58 acres of land about 15 miles east of downtown Kansas City, MO. In the 1920’s Rickert Fillmore, son of the founders, designed Unity Village’s English Cotswold and Italian architecture. In 1953 the farm became the incorporated township Unity Village. Today, it’s the world headquarters of the Unity movement, which promotes a positive path for spiritual living through prayer, publishing and education.”
When the rose gardens are in bloom and the fountains are turned on, I will post more images of the property.
Please enjoy the slideshow of images and for more about Unity Village visit www.unityvillage.org.
Celebrating an Annivesary and the End of an Era
My wife and I just celebrated our 21st Wedding Anniversary by having dinner at the famous ebt Restaurant in Kansas City, MO. We had a great meal and shared memories in the lounge listening to Candace Evans, Pianist/Vocalist who was accompanied by a very accomplished cellist. The General Manager, Ed Holland gave me permission to take pictures in the restaurant so I did just that. You see, the fabulous ebt Restaurant, a landmark in Kansas City is closing it’s doors at the close of business on December 31, 2015. The restaurant was first established in 1997. By the way, Manager Ed Holland is the person pictured making Bananas Foster and Caesar Salads at the dinners’ table . . .
Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge
Took a trip to Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge in NW Missouri Today (Wed - Dec 9th). I was on the road at 05:30 am and arrived at 07:00 am, just as the sun was rising. I haven't been up there for 2 years and this year I saw more wildlife than ever. The counts or estimates for the birds as of 12/07/2015 total more than 270,000 geese, 85,000+ Ducks and 85 Eagles. I think I saw more geese than the estimate but I certainly don't know how to count them. I saw about a dozen bald eagles and a number of hawks. Take a look at the slide show, below, for some of the images I was able to capture. The 1st image of the sunrise is straight out of the camera . . . no saturation or hue added!
2015 World Series Parade in Kansas City . . . . Celebrating a Royals Success!
No, I have not passed on to the Great Beyond . . . I've just been very busy since we've returned from the Yellowstone - Grand Tetons Vacation. Currently I'm taking 2 photography courses at a local College and those demands along with other issues have not lent me sufficient time to do much posting in my Blog or posting images in various portfolios on this web site. I spent the day yesterday (Tuesday-Nov 3, 2015) in the middle of approximately 750,000 people who attended the World Series Parade/Rally to celebrate the KC Royals wining the World Series. I got lucky and found myself in one of the more ideal places to watch and photograph the activities. I will post a few of the images from this event here in the Blog, however, if you are interested in seeing additional images of the parade just click this hyperlink and it will take you to my Portfolio Titled 'Events'. You will have to go to page 9 of the Events Portfolio and look for Photo 160 (Holding mouse over photo shows the image sequence number.
While at my secret location I was introduced to both Bobby Bell and Trent Green . . . both former KC Chief's players. Bell was inducted into the Football Hall of Fame in 1978 and played as a Linebacker for the KC Chiefs from 1963 thru 1972; Green was the Chief's Quarterback from 2001 thru 2006. A couple pictures of them are included in the Blog. What a Great Day for me!
