Squirrel No. 2 of 2009

BACKYARD SQUIRREL, EVANSTON, ILLINOIS, MARCH 29, 2008

Pentax K10D
SMC Pentax-F* 300mm f4.5 ED (IF)
1/180 sec. f11
ISO 400

For long seconds this specimen stood stock still, eyeing me suspiciously, as if I was the first human he had spotted close up all winter. By the end of spring he and his kin will think of us folks like comfortable old backyard furniture to be neglected and ignored, unless we feed them regularly.

Foraging

SPARROWS AND SQUIRREL, EVANSTON, ILLINOIS, MARCH 29, 2009

Pentax K10D
SMC Pentax-F * 300mm f4.5 ED (IF)
1/125 sec. f11
ISO 400

The first backyard squirrel shot of 2009 may not be the last of this long, long winter. It was taken on a snowy, overcast day with a gift 300mm lens that is considered one of the half dozen best lenses Pentax ever made, and the frame was cropped by about 50 per cent.

Pollock of the taillights No. 2

NIGHT ABSTRACT, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, MARCH 16, 2009

Pentax K10D
Sigma 17-70 at 70mm
15 sec. f22
ISO 400

Through a windshield, darkly: It may not be Velazquez, but it's mine.

Pollock of the taillights No. 1

NIGHT ABSTRACT, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, MARCH 16, 2009

Pentax K10D
Sigma 17-70 at 70mm
10 sec. at f19
ISO 400

We were driving home over potholes in traffic Sunday night when I idly put the camera to my eye and pressed the shutter. This was the result. I am sure a talented chimpanzee could replicate the image without difficulty, but doesn't the dedicated photographer seize whatever moment comes along?

Sunup

DAWN ON GANDER MOUNTAIN NEAR ANTIOCH, ILLINOIS, MARCH 15, 2009

Pentax K10D
Sigma 17-70 at 70mm
HDR composite at f11
ISO 100

The sun was just rising over the frosty woods at Gander Mountain Forest Preserve in Lake County, Illinois, hard by the Wisconsin state line, when I drove by and stopped to catch this shot.

Pincushion

SWAN LAKE CLEANERS, EVANSTON, ILLINOIS, FEBRUARY 17, 2009

Pentax *ist DS
SMC Pentax-DA 18-55 at 20mm
1/45 sec. f5.6
ISO 800

No. 13 in Deborah Abbott's Central Street series

Alley hoops

BASKETBALL BACKBOARD IN ALLEY, EVANSTON, ILLINOIS, MARCH 6, 2009

Pentax K10D
SMC Pentax-DA 50-200 at 80mm
1/3000 sec. f8
ISO 400

I had just emerged into a grungy commercial/residential alley from an Office Depot when I spotted this backboard affixed to a garage that badly needs a coat of paint but is unlikely to get one any time soon.

Last defiant remnants of 2008

WITHERED MAPLE LEAVES, EVANSTON, ILLINOIS, MARCH 14, 2009

Pentax K10D
Sigma APO 135-400 at 320mm
1/2000 sec. f8
ISO 400

There's a contrary maple tree in our back yard that refuses to shed its leaves -- any of them -- until mid-December, and a few exceptionally stubborn individuals manage to keep their grip through howling winter storms and into the first few days of spring.

Stationery shopfront

PAPER SOURCE, EVANSTON, ILLINOIS, FEBRUARY 24, 2009

Pentax *ist DS
SMC Pentax-DA 18-55 at 50mm
1/2000 sec. f6.7
ISO 800

No. 12 in Deborah Abbott's Central Street series.

Trio of orientals

RUG DISPLAY, APELIAN CARPETS, EVANSTON, ILLINOIS, FEBRUARY 16, 2009

Pentax *ist DS
SMC Pentax-DA 18-55 at 31mm
1/125 sec. f4.5
ISO 800

No. 11 in Deborah Abbott's Central Street series.

Come on in

SIDEWALK SIGN, LINZ & VAIL GELATO, EVANSTON, ILLINOIS, MARCH 3, 2009

Pentax *ist DS
SMC Pentax-DA 18-55 at 21mm
1/125 sec. f8
ISO 400

No. 10 in Deborah Abbott's Central Street series.

Old Glory on the front stoop

FRONT PORCH, EVANSTON, ILLINOIS, MARCH 6, 2009
Pentax K10D
SMC Pentax-DA 50-200 at 63mm
1/500 sec. f11
ISO 400

Many people in our neighborhood fly American flags on their front porches year-round . . . or maybe some of them put them up for the Fourth of July and just forget to take them down afterward, just as lots of folks leave their Christmas displays up until Easter.

Writing materials

STATIONERY DISPLAY, PAPER SOURCE, EVANSTON, ILLINOIS, MARCH 3, 2009

Pentax *ist DS
SMC Pentax-DA 18-55 at 24mm
1/30 sec. f6.7
ISO 400

No. 9 in Deborah Abbott's Central Street series.

Curbside sphinx

DOMESTIC CAT, EVANSTON, ILLINOIS, MARCH 6, 2009

Pentax K10D
SMC Pentax-DA 50-200 at 150mm
1/60 sec. f22
ISO 400

This disdainful and haughty creature, striking a regal pose in the shade of an automobile, refused to give me the time of day. He must have sensed that I'm a dog person.

St Patrick's spectacle(s)

SEASONAL WINDOW DISPLAY, SPEX OPTICIANS, EVANSTON, ILLINOIS, MARCH 3, 2009

Pentax *ist DS
SMC Pentax-DA 18-55 at 23mm
1/1000 sec. f4
ISO 400

No. 8 in Deborah Abbott's Central Street series.

A street lamp to love

TALLMADGE STREET LIGHT, EVANSTON, ILLINOIS, MARCH 6, 2009

Pentax K10D
SMC Pentax-DA 50-200 at 88mm
1/4000 sec. f5.6
ISO 400

Thomas Tallmadge, a Prairie School-trained architect who lived in Evanston, designed the Chicago suburb's street lights during the 1920s. Every once in a while anti-crime interests urge the city to install brighter lights, but Evanstonians always say no -- they cherish the distinctive Tallmadge design and its soft illumination.

First cardinal of spring

CARVED WOODEN CARDINAL AT ETIENNE'S, EVANSTON, ILLINOIS, MARCH 5, 2009

Pentax *ist DS
SMC Pentax-DA 18-55 at 50mm
1/180 sec. f5.6
ISO 800

No. 7 in Deborah Abbott's Central Street series.

Mating dance

AMOROUS MOURNING DOVES, EVANSTON, ILLINOIS, MARCH 4, 2009

Pentax K10D
Sigma APO 135-400 at 400mm
1/500 sec. f9.5
ISO 1600

The season's first foray onto the backyard deck with the big Sigma found the local mourning doves carrying on as if spring had already arrived. The male seemed eager and persistent, but the female wasn't having any of it, not just yet.

Winter puddle

SIDEWALK, EVANSTON, ILLINOIS, FEBRUARY 10, 2009

Pentax *ist DS
SMC Pentax-DA 18-55 at 33mm
1/180 sec. f9.5
ISO 800

No. 6 in Deborah Abbott's Central Street series.

March of the toe shoes

BALLET SHOP WINDOW, EVANSTON, ILLINOIS, FEBRUARY 24, 2009

Pentax *ist DS
SMC Pentax-DA 18-55 at 18mm
1/250 sec. f8
ISO 800

No. 5 in Deborah Abbott's Central Street series.

Spicy shopfront

WINDOW DISPLAY, SPICE HOUSE, EVANSTON, ILLINOIS, FEBRUARY 24, 2009

Pentax *ist DS
SMC Pentax-DA 18-55 at 57mm
1/3000 sec. f8
ISO 800

No. 4 in Deborah Abbott's Central Street series.

Sidewalk colors

DISPLAY IN FRONT OF THE MILLE FIORI, EVANSTON, ILLINOIS, FEBRUARY 24, 2009

Pentax *ist DS
SMC Pentax-DA 18-55 at 52mm
1/2000 sec. f8
ISO 800

Another shot of the Central Street shopping area by Deborah Abbott. Mille Fiori sells all kinds of colorful gimcracks and gewgaws for the garden as well as the interior. Third in a series.