My photo is also feature on the Tower Center at Unity Square website https://www.unitysquarebville.com/ 

Painted blankets sculpture and Price Tower in Bartlesville, OK

Built in 1903 and the sole survivor of  332 “2-10-2” engines, the 940 served as a workhorse for over 50 years in the early 1900’s for the AT&SF Railway.  She travelled through Bartlesville for several years pulling freight cars.  After she retired in 1954, the 940 was donated to the City of Bartlesville as a display unit until 2009.  At that time several volunteers along with the expertise of Service & Technology Corporation formulated a unique plan to move her to its current location on a a 200-foot-long display track.  The move took engineered lifting mechanisms, specialized 64-wheel trailer, and cranes to transport her on a cold snowy day.  Since the move she has been equipped with a caboose and oil tank car.

Visit this century-old steam train in downtown Bartlesville.  You may even get a chance to ring the bell and blow her whistle.

AT&SF Locomotive 940 in Bartlesville, OK
 

Our family has an interesting history and special relationship with these majestic birds.  In 1984, my wife and her father built the first incubator in their garage to assist Sutton Avian Research Center securely transport bald eagle eggs from Florida to Oklahoma as part of their rehabilitation process.  The incubator had to be designed in such a way that it can be carried to a tree top to the eagle's nest, safely store the eggs, maintain a certain temperature inside, rotate the eggs so that the yolk won't settle and transport them from Florida to Bartlesville, OK.  After many years of use, the incubator (now a historical piece) resides with my father-in-law.

I highly recommend that you take the time to visit the Tulsa Zoo.  Even though it is relatively small compared to the more popular zoos in the US, they have a great selection of birds, reptiles, aquatic animals, insects and mammals.

Bald Eagle 4

After transferring the image to my laptop, it looked more like a painting of rich colors.  Upon exploring the ever trusting Internet, I found a way to convert a photograph into a digital painting!  It only took a bit of trial & error and a few mouse clicks to create a unique perspective.  Hope you enjoy it as much as did creating it.  

Photograph, Painting or Combination?

Last week, I strapped on my camera and rode my bike on Pathfinder.  It was a great evening to be riding and capturing some fall colors along the route.  As I neared the falls, I was greeted by a picturesque sunset behind the waterfall and Cherokee Bridge.  Since my interest was to capture the waterfall in a "silky" flow pattern, I had to slow down the shutter speed to a point that is not recommended to be taken without a tripod (not handheld.)  Since I didn't lug my tripod on the bike ride, I had no choice but to hold the camera close to my chest, literally stop breathing, while clicking the release button. Took half a dozen shots with various shutter speeds, with the hope that one of them may turn out okay.  They looked decent on my small 3" camera screen, but wasn't counting my chickens.

To my surprise, when I downloaded them to my laptop, I was amazed by the quality of the images.  A shutter speed of 1/5 second turned out to be the best. I was impressed by the "image stabilization" feature of my camera. The backlighting on the fall foliage and the river were near perfect.  An added bonus is that I was able to capture the Cherokee Bridge, which will soon be taken down as she has withstood the test of times.  Sad to see such beautiful bridges not lasting forever. 

Glad to share the end result here with you.  Hope you enjoy it as it was the most pleasant surprise in my photography to date!  

Cherokee Bridge, Bartlesville, OK

The AccompliceNikon D7500

Within a mile we were quickly greeted with dense fog as we drove up the Ouachita Mountains.  We decided to turn around and go to Talihina to spend some time and to get some info from the Talihina Scenic Drive Visitors Center.  To our surprise the center was closed, perhaps since it was a Sunday. 

After spending a little time in Talihina, we took the drive from there to Mena, AR.  All along the 54 mile journey, we encountered dense fog with poor visibility.  For the most part, we were unable to view the vistas around the mountains.  We did stop at a few lookouts and camping areas to walk and capture nearby tress that displayed the colors.

Autumn foliageTalimena Scenic Byway

We were forewarned by our friends that the entrances to Rocky Mountain National Park is limited to those with vehicle passes only, due to the wide spread forest fires.  The passes are issued on a daily basis and its based on first come, first serve.  Our friends made a great effort to get the pass, but could only get one that allowed entrance to the park at 3 PM.  As a result, they suggested that we leave their house at 5 AM to enter the park before 6 AM which do not require a pass.  That's what we did and spent the entire day in the park. 

We traveled through Estes Park, visited Sprague Lake, Alberta Falls and Alluvial Fan. We also drove up on Trail Ridge Road to the visitors center atop and returned to catch the sunset over the Rockies.  From the visitors center, we could see the fires burning in several spots as far north as in Wyoming. 

Overall it was a fantastic day, even though most of the Aspen in the high mountains had already shed their leaves.  We were about two weeks late getting there to enjoy the Fall colors in full swing in the mountains.  We were also able to catch sunset in Loveland and a small waterfall there.

Subsequent to our trip, we were told that the fires have spread even further and that RMNP is completely closed.  The fires have been exasperated by the millions of acres of forest scarred with dead trees infected by pine bark beetles. It is sad to see such beauty being destroyed and wild animals being displaced or killed.  We hope and pray that they get some relief and this settles down soon. Sunset near Loveland, Colorado