A few weeks back I took Rodan139 out to the Jay Carlson Wildlife Are for a quick flight around before the sun went down. It is a great place for flying the drone. I should really go out there more. At least before weather shuts drone season down for a… Read More »Rodan139: Jay Carlson Wildlife Area
A few weeks back I went out to Ledges late in a Sunday evening and flew Rodan139 around and where Peas Creek empties into the Des Moines River. Here are a few pictures: On Sunday nights I send out a “Cool” Drone Video of the Week to a couple of… Read More »Rodan139: Peas Creek
A few weeks ago I took Rodan139 on a flight around the Mackey United Methodist Church. The church recent closed its doors after 134 years. It will still be used for weddings, funerals and other gatherings. Here is a few bits about the closing of the church from a recent… Read More »Rodan139: Mackey United Methodist Church
A couple weeks back Jen invited me to come out and do some drone photography on the last day of harvest on the Ensley farm. It was a very windy and blustery day, but I still managed to get the image I ultimately wanted and several others to boot. Next… Read More »Rodan139: Harvest Time
Remember to go out and vote today. If voting wasn’t important, Republicans wouldn’t be trying so hard to take voting away from so many people. Photoshop has recently released a few new set of tools that are somewhat controversial in photography circles. They are controversial because many photographers don’t like… Read More »Sky Replacement
A couple weeks ago I followed the trail from the Kate Shelley Railroad Museum to the remains of the bridge that she crossed to save all those lives all those years ago. If you don’t know the story of Kate Shelley, it goes something like this from the Wikipedia page:… Read More »Rodan139: Kate Shelley’s Bridge Remains
Boone County has a handful of country churches. But the one that is my far the most beautiful, photogenic, and set in the best location is Saint Paul Lutheran Church that is north and east of Boone. I plan on taking the drone to all of Boone County’s country churches,… Read More »Rodan139: Saint Paul Lutheran Church
I need to start today with wishing Dae Hee a happy birthday. Happy birthday Dae Hee! I hope your birthday is as amazing as you want it to be. +++++++ Mike The main collection of pictures from today are alternates for last week’s THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme SELF-PORTRAIT. A… Read More »Tell of Who You Are
I need to start by wishing everybody a happy Indigenous Peoples’ Day. I don’t have a picture to represent this holiday, but I do have a suggestion on a way to celebrate it. I suggest listening to THIS LAND podcast by Crooked Media. It is pretty incredible and infuriating and… Read More »WPC – WEEK 265 – SELF-PORTRAIT
A couple Saturdays ago I had a couple of less successful drone flights with Rodan139 than I was hoping for. One was my messup with a battery charging situation that I mismanaged. The other one I cut short because of tourists. Ugh! Tourists! Have a look at what I did… Read More »Rodan139: Three Bridges
I need to start today by wishing Shawn a happy birthday. Happy birthday Shawn! I hope your birthday is as wonderful as you want it to be! +++++++ I do love pictures of SIGNS. My sister-in-law Laura once told me that this makes me a hipster. She is wrong about… Read More »Maybe I’m a Man and Maybe I’m a Lonely Man
Sorry that this is several minutes late today. I went to cast my ballot for the 2020 election during my lunch break from the mine: A reminder that if you live in Iowa, early voting starts today! It might be easier and safer than voting on November 3. But you… Read More »WPC – WEEK 264 – SIGNS
One of my goals when I was on vacation was to hit 5 State Parks that I’ve never been to before. I made this goal, but not quite like I anticipated. The two parks I definitely wanted to hit were Mines of Spain and Preparation Canyon. The other 3 were… Read More »Rodan139: Loess Hills
I need to start today off by wishing my Mom a happy birthday. Without here, none of this would be possible. Not only would I never exist, she also bought me my first camera. A Minolta Maxxum 450si. Happy birthday Mom! It hope is as amazing a birthday as you… Read More »Rodan139: Water Alternate
Can you believe it? 51 straight weeks of double digit submission! 1 week short of a full year of double digit submissions! WooHoo! But you didn’t come here to hear me talk all tommyrot about participation rates. You came to see the submissions! ELIZABETH NORDEEN ANDY SHARP CARLA STENSLAND CARLA… Read More »WPC – WEEK 262 – WATER
Last Friday Andy wanted me to come to the Boone High football game and take a few photos. I wasn’t really ready to be in a crowd that large yet. Then, he suggested I bring the drone out and take a couple of photos. Now strictly speaking, that isn’t 100%… Read More »Rodan139: Goeppinger Field
I suppose I should report on how I did on my vacation goals from last week: 1. I want to visit 5 state parks I have never visited. Including Mines of Spain and Preparation Canyon. I DIDN’T EXACTLY HIT 5 STATE PARKS. BUT I DID HIT 3 STATE PARKS AND… Read More »Rodan139: Mines of Spain
Last Monday, I took Rodan139 out for a quick flight in Ledges to test it with Teresa’s spare phone. I wanted to use her spare phone for a potential road trip I was planning for Labor Day. That way I could save the battery on my old timey Pixel 2… Read More »Pixel 3 Test Flight
Last Saturday morning I was able to take get up at the crack of dawn and drive down to the High Trestle Trail to take Rodan139 on a flight around the Des Moines River Valley. Well, we didn’t go much around the valley as a I was pretty cautious with… Read More »Morning in America
When I went out in the middle of nowhere Boone County to fly the drone around an old country church to take my RELIGION picture for last week’s THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. I took several photos. Some of the church. Some of the little park across the road. Some of… Read More »It’s Hard for Me to Weep When I’m Strong
47 STRAIGHT WEEKS! 47 straight weeks of double digit submissions! This week even includes the first, the second, and the third ever submission by local legend Kio Dettman! Glad to have you onboard Kio. Hopefully is just the beginning of great things! But you didn’t come here to listen to… Read More »WPC – WEEK 258 – RELIGION