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Snowy Kansas City
It has been a relatively mild winter with regard to snow in Kansas City. Some of the area's meteorologists actually predicted a slow snow season after last year's 41" of snow; the predictions are accurate so far. However, the past two days have delivered the first significant snowfall we've seen this winter. Now that the snow has stopped we can prepare for Arctic air with highs in the teens and wind chills below -10°F. At least it's sunny outside.
These photos were taken while driving snowy roads downtown the past two mornings.
Jackpot!
An Unexpected Late Season Visitor
While preparing to powerwash the deck this morning, I noticed a recently bloomed Purple Coneflower in the butterfly garden. It's unusual to have new coneflower blooms this late in the year but there it was along with other new buds.
A butterfly that looks to me as a variety of skipper (I could be wrong) landed and began feeding while I inspected the plant. I was somewhat surprised to see it considering Kansas City reached the freezing mark for the first time yesterday but this little guy was working away. The skipper fed long enough to allow me to run into the house and grab my Droid X for a few photos.
While watching the butterfly feed, a second skipper came to the coneflower. It did not stay quite as long.
I decided to test the macro feature of the Droid X. I was pleased to be able to zoom in so far with a phone, and pleasantly surprised to be able to see individual hairs on the skipper upon magnification. This far surpassed my expectations of what a smartphone could do.
Not to be outdone, a bumblebee of some variety visited the coneflower and fed for a few seconds. Both the butterfly and bee left soon after I snapped this, but each helped me appreciate being outside on a sunny, cool morning.
Autumn Leaves In The Yard
Monterey Bay Aquarium Behind the Scenes
One of the first things Aimee showed us was a Black-footed Penguins, also known as an African Penguin. Karoo was a male we got to spend a few minutes petting and watching explore his environment. The penguin was much softer than I expected. He was incredibly curious about everything. He didn't get off his cart, but was sure to investigate everything within reach. Getting to see a penguin up close was really special.
Karoo initially didn't especially want to leave his chums on the display, so Aimee had to take matters into her own hands.
The other bird Aimee shared with us was a Laysan Albatross. Makana was part of a pilot program to help reintroduce a breeding population of Laysan Albatross into part of the Pacific Ocean. Her family group nested in an area that had been contaminated over several years by U.S. military activites. The plan was to raise youngsters and introduce them to a new island and determine if they would use it as their nesting ground instead of the old island.
During the process Makana got hurt and became unreleasable. However, she became quite the attraction. She is comfortable around people though apparently she generally prefers men. While spending a few minutes with her she began her courtship dance ritual. To keep her happy I attempted to mimic her actions, though I'm sure I failed miserably. She didn't seem to mind however and provided several minutes of entertainment.
Here I'm beginning to match her head bobs and trying to whistle:
The courtship becomes more serious as Makana adds several new motions and sounds to the process. Though her bill is massive and it looks as though it would hurt, the nibbling tickled more than anything. It felt like someone was running their index finger over the palm of your hand. Considering the grip she could've demonstrated it was incredibly gentle.
After I became tired of bobbing up and down I grabbed the Flip to get this super-short clip of her up close. I'll probably never get to experience this again, so it was a genuine treat.
We spent a significant amount of time exploring all the exhibits around the aquarium with Aimee . There were many neat creatures to learn about and view including a special exhibit on seahorses (extremely well done). Time spent at Monterey Bay Aquarium is definitely worth it, whether you have a friend on the inside or not!
KC Royals Opening Day
Today was the opening day for the Kansas City Royals season. Though the team was facing the ace of the Detroit Tigers staff, Justin Verlander, there was reason for optimism as the Royals Cy Young winner from last year, Zack Greinke, was starting.
The Royals had a 4-2 lead when Greinke exited the game. The bullpen immediately gave up six runs and the Tigers had all the offense they would need to defeat the Royals 8-4.
It was another unfortunate day in the latest chapter of the Royals. For all the optimism and personnel changes today's result looks suspiciously like some from previous years. It's only one game though; things can only get better.
My Spring Fling: the Bronica ETR-Si Camera
Every so often one comes across a great deal that simply cannot be ignored. It was just the case with my newest camera, this Bronica ETR-Si. Even though I should have probably ignored the call, I stumbled upon this setup and simply could not walk away.
The Bronica ETR-Si is a medium-format film camera. The basic ETR family has been around for many years and there are several on the used-camera market. I've never used a Bronica before, but have used other similar cameras.
The body, lens, and film back on this particular example are in excellent condition. There are a few scratches on the AE-III prism finder, but certainly nothing that will affect performance. Naturally, now that I have this I'll have to acquire other bits of gear to complement the set. That's just how it works for men and their toys, right?
With spring seemingly arrived, I'm excited to load this with film and head out to test the performance. Based on what I've found online and in flickr groups, this camera should be a lot of fun. Here's hoping I'm up to the challenge!
The First Hint of Spring
The temperature reached 50°F in Kansas City today. That doesn't sound like a big deal, but after the winter we have been having it most certainly is.
I took the opportunity to take Kaya out for a walk this afternoon while it was still sunny and the air was warm. School had let out and kids were playing in backyards. I heard cardinals and wrens singing. It seemed all creatures were appreciating the respite from the cold, no matter how brief it may be.
It got me to thinking how much I enjoyed spring as a kid in Quincy, Illinois. There was something about the time between school letting out and when it was required to come in for dinner. The days when the air would start to warm and I could play outside again, no matter how hard the ground may still have been. Sure, summer had the advantage of being able to go out and play after dinner, but spring had its own allure, even in its early days. There was something of that in the air today and it added a bit of a levity to my mood.
Spring is on the way. The forecast is for snow tomorrow.
(The photos of Kaya were taken last year with my Minolta Autocord on expired Kodak Ektacolor Pro 160NC.)
Stages of a Photographer's Development
As a photographer I found this depiction of a photographer's development humorous and fairly accurate. There is definitely a love/hate relationship with the camera sometimes, and probably more often than we'd care to admit.
