Monday, November 22, 2010

Oak Alley

And here we have another shot from downtown Denver…  Yeah, actually this is another flashback to Louisiana. We took a day to drive around plantation country and take a few tours. Oak Alley is the classic Graceful Southern Plantation, dripping in graceful landscaping and old world furniture. Interestingly, the trademark oak trees were actually planted by some unknown person before the plantation was built.

And here we have another shot from downtown Denver…

Yeah, actually this is another flashback to Louisiana. We took a day to drive around plantation country and take a few tours. Oak Alley is the classic Graceful Southern Plantation, dripping in graceful landscaping and old world furniture. Interestingly, the trademark oak trees were actually planted by some unknown person before the plantation was built.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Tech Denver

Tech Denver

I call this shot “Tech Denver” because it makes me think of dystopian science fiction: William Gibson cyberpunk novels, gritty neon movies like Bladerunner, or maybe Shadowrun for you gamers out there. There’s probably a giant AI supercomputer in one of those corporate spires, and some deckers trying to hack in from another. Maybe there’s a rigger and a team of hired guns in that lit up car, waiting for the “go” signal. What it really needs is a few nice hovercars flying around up top, but there weren’t any out that night. Maybe I should just ‘shop some in there…

Monday, November 15, 2010

Public Parking

Another snowy morning in Denver gives me another excuse to pull out a snowy photo! I like the tire track patterns, and the obvious spots where people left early, trying to beat the downtown blizzard rush hour. I also noticed that the tracks at the exit, combines with the two arcs to right to form two letter P’s, which makes me think of the Public Parking signs I see around. Not my best photo ever, but at least it’s a bit different.   This was shot last spring. I took off a bit early from work and went for a long walk around downtown. After over an hour of getting pelted by big, wet snowflakes and chill winds I had just about had enough. I decided to head up to the roof of a parking garage, partially for a new perspective but mostly for a couple minutes in a heated elevator. The roof hadn’t been plowed, so it had drifts up to my knees. After slogging my way to all four corners in search of views, I’d had enough. I went straight to the bar to get a few pints of warmth before heading home.

Another snowy morning in Denver gives me another excuse to pull out a snowy photo! I like the tire track patterns, and the obvious spots where people left early, trying to beat the downtown blizzard rush hour. I also noticed that the tracks at the exit, combines with the two arcs to right to form two letter P’s, which makes me think of the Public Parking signs I see around. Not my best photo ever, but at least it’s a bit different.

This was shot last spring. I took off a bit early from work and went for a long walk around downtown. After over an hour of getting pelted by big, wet snowflakes and chill winds I had just about had enough. I decided to head up to the roof of a parking garage, partially for a new perspective but mostly for a couple minutes in a heated elevator. The roof hadn’t been plowed, so it had drifts up to my knees. After slogging my way to all four corners in search of views, I’d had enough. I went straight to the bar to get a few pints of warmth before heading home.

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Spearpoints

If you hike in the front range, you see a lot of dead pines. I got up nice and close to a bundle of needles still attached to a fallen branch to get a look at  these little spearpoints.

If you hike in the front range, you see a lot of dead pines. I got up nice and close to a bundle of needles still attached to a fallen branch to get a look at  these little spearpoints.

Tuesday, November 09, 2010

Step Up

We had a frigid early-winter storm today in Denver. I love these gray, rainy days – the light is nice and soft, I don’t have to change exposure settings much, and everyone looks more interesting when they’re miserable. Of course I’m out there getting miserable too, but it’s worth it.   This is actually from a storm during the spring. I spotted the new stairs at the Pavilions leading off of the 16th Street Mall. It took just a couple minutes waiting around before a few people obligingly went up on the stairs.

We had a frigid early-winter storm today in Denver. I love these gray, rainy days – the light is nice and soft, I don’t have to change exposure settings much, and everyone looks more interesting when they’re miserable. Of course I’m out there getting miserable too, but it’s worth it.

This is actually from a storm during the spring. I spotted the new stairs at the Pavilions leading off of the 16th Street Mall. It took just a couple minutes waiting around before a few people obligingly went up on the stairs.

Monday, November 08, 2010

Maple

On Sunday I walked out the door to head to the coffee shop. I made it about halfway down the block before I decided the leaves were just too good to miss, and headed right back to the house to grab my camera. It took me an hour to make it to the coffee shop, but it was worth it.

On Sunday I walked out the door to head to the coffee shop. I made it about halfway down the block before I decided the leaves were just too good to miss, and headed right back to the house to grab my camera. It took me an hour to make it to the coffee shop, but it was worth it.

Sunday, November 07, 2010

Red & Gold

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Yes, more fall color! Well, not exactly… I actually shot this last April, before the winter snow had entirely melted. These leaves somehow survived all winter and came out still looking good. I’ve been sitting on this photo since then, because it just didn’t seem appropriate to publish it during the spring or summer.

Monday, October 25, 2010

A Resting Place

On the drive down from INdependence Pass we stopped for some shots. Actually, we stopped so I could get a different shot, but luckily we parked at the top of a slope covered in aspens. At the bottom were these dark rocks with leaves fallen all around. I shot for probably 20 minutes, until Wendy finally shooed me back into the car. I'll definitely be going back to that spot next year!

On the drive down from Independence Pass we stopped for some shots. Actually, we stopped so I could get a different shot, but luckily we parked at the top of a slope covered in aspens. At the bottom were these dark rocks with leaves fallen all around. I shot for probably 20 minutes, until Wendy finally shooed me back into the car. I'll definitely be going back to that spot next year!

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Ready for Halloween

We took a trup to the Denver Gardens pumpkin patch near Chatfield. Most of the pumpkins were already taken, gone to some home to be turned into a jack o'lantern or a pie. Just a few were left, waiting for someone to take them to their destiny.

We took a trup to the Denver Gardens pumpkin patch near Chatfield. Most of the pumpkins were already taken, gone to some home to be turned into a jack o'lantern or a pie. Just a few were left, waiting for someone to take them to their destiny.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Sunday Drive

This was taken a few miles down from Independence Pass, on the Leadville side. We had driven up to the pass and not seen anything worth stopping for. But on the way back down the leaves were backlit from the sun, so they looked just amazing. Halfway down we drove through this corner and I just had to stop for some shots. We couldn’t find parking there, so I ended up walking a few hundred yards back up the road, but I’m glad I did.
This was taken a few miles down from Independence Pass, on the Leadville side. We had driven up to the pass and not seen anything worth stopping for. But on the way back down the leaves were backlit from the sun, so they looked just amazing. Halfway down we drove through this corner and I just had to stop for some shots. We couldn’t find parking there, so I ended up walking a few hundred yards back up the road, but I’m glad I did.
I gave this one a bit more impressionist look than I usually do (it might show up better if you click through to the larger version). I thought it worked out well for this one, but I’d be interested in hearing what all of you out there think.

UPDATE 10/24:
Based on the feedback I got here's an updated version.


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Monday, October 18, 2010

News

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I’ve been busy lately! Just a couple weeks ago I hung photos at Sports Optical for October’s First Friday. Then just yesterday I hung another set of photos at The Delectable Egg on Market Street. I'm very pleased with it; they’ve got a great space for photos. I also got to meet Glenn & Jane from Firemoon Images, who were hanging some of they’re great photos on the opposite wall. You should come down and check it out! Oh, and I think they may serve some sort of food there as well. (Actually, they’ve got great food, and if you sign up for their mailing list they’ll send you a buy-one-get-one breakfast coupon).

Both of those shows will be ending by mid-November, which means I’ll be looking for somewhere to hang photos after that. Do you have a favorite restaurant, coffee shop or other hangout that hangs art? Drop a note in the comments and let me know!

 

A light rail train leaving from Union Station whizzing past a stopped coal train.  In the background the Millenium Bridge and the Glass House apartments stand out  Taken on the day of the 2010 St Patrick's Parade, so the light rail was probably full of drunken leprechauns.

In the meantime, I’ve also been uploading a few images to Hotshoo, a new architectural stock photography agency based out of Boulder. They chose the photo above as their Editor’s Pick for October. Which I’m frankly a bit amazed by, considering the caliber of photos on their site.

Friday, October 15, 2010

Brett

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Walking down the 16th Street Mall I hear a lot of different music. There are the bars, the street performs, the occasional boombox. Most of it’s pretty standard, unremarkable. The hippie drum circle, the itinerant guitarist, even the bagpipe player isn’t that remarkable anymore. But tonight I caught something remarkable, both in kind and quality. Blues guitar, really good blues guitar, coming out of an alley between Champa and Stout. There was just the one guy down there, with a little amp. But that guy, Brett, played a mean guitar. Not a lot of people are willing to wander into a dirty alley on Friday night, but at one point there were 15 people down there listening to him, and more standing at the mouth of alley. In 30 minutes I’d guess over a hundred people stopped to listen to Brett play. He told me he plays every Friday while it’s warm enough. I’d go have a listen, if you get the chance.

Monday, October 11, 2010

Blue Smile

Close up abstract of a smiling chalk face.

Another somewhat-delayed post today. These shots were taken at the 2010 Larimer Square Chalk Art Festival (technically Piazza del Arte), just a few days after the last set of photos I had shot. We got home from our road trip halfway through the first day of the festival. Honestly, having just shot thousands of photos on the road, we almost skipped it. But I’m glad we didn’t – we got some decent photos this year!

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Apparently I had a bit of a thing for chalk faces.

 

Anyway, hope you like them! There are a few more below – as always click through for the full size.

   

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Rainy Day

Today is a gray, rainy day in Denver, so I thought I'd post photos from another gray, rainy day from our spring road trip. After New Orleans we headed west through Louisiana towards Breaux Bridge, LA. We had scheduled a swamp tour for the morning, before continuing on towards Texas.

Before we even got on the water we could see thick storm clouds blowing in from the coast. There hadn’t been any lightning, so our guide took us out anyway.

He was a pretty good guide, rambling on about cypress trees, the local wildlife and the ridiculous local politics.

Not too far in we managed to get very close to a gator, almost close enough to touch, before it slide off into the water.

 

Unfortunately it was only half an hour before we started seeing lightning. None of us liked the idea of sitting on the water in a metal boat during a thunderstorm, so we headed back in. I think everyone was a little disappointed, but overall it was still a nice time.

 

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Side story: We got a bit turned around finding the tour, so we stopped off at the local tourist information office. The ladies there knew all the local guides and where they launched from. It still took a while to figure out where were supposed to be, because their thick Louisiana accents were a little hard to understand. They finally decided that we probably needed to talk to a Mr…. umm, well it sounded like “Shaum-Pine”. That’s the best I could figure out after 3 or 4 tries, anyway. On our way out the door they found his business card; his last name was spelled “Champagne”, but apparently they pronounce it a bit differently.

 

 

      

Tuesday, October 05, 2010

Inversion

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This is the first of my photos from a morning aspen-hunting session near Twin Lakes/Independence Pass. The nice light initially attracted me to these two leaves. But I notice that they’re basically mirror images of each other. One is yellow with green spots, the other is green with yellow spots. They also have the exact same shape and vein pattern, though I suppose that’s not too surprising since they’re on the same tree.

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Showing This Friday

Sunlight Ski Area near Glenwood Springs

I unexpectedly lucked into a showing for First Friday! It'll be this Friday, October 1st, 6-10PM at the Sports Optical near the Tennyson art district. Stop by for some munchables, drinkables, and some nice photos to look at!

Update: The show went very well! I was very happy with the space, and absolutely amazed that we found somewhere to show all 25 prints. Thanks to everybody who came out!

Monday, September 20, 2010

Otherworldly

This is a quick teaser from my trip to Utah last weekend. This is part of our group winding their way through a section of Little Wildhorse Canyon. It's an amazing place. The shapes and colors of the rock feel truly otherwordly much of the time.

This is a quick teaser from my trip to Utah last weekend. This is part of our group winding their way through a section of Little Wildhorse Canyon. It's an amazing place. The shapes and colors of the rock feel truly otherwordly much of the time.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Blue Berries

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My parents were in town last weekend. My mom shoots photos too – in fact she inherited my trusty first dSLR, the Pentax K10, after I upgraded to the K7. The two of us snuck off for a pleasant afternoon of photographing at the gardens. There are fewer flowers blooming in the fall, but instead some of the plants are fruiting. We spent 20 or 30 minutes orbiting around this pretty berry bush.

Thursday, September 09, 2010

Cataract

I passed this wild little waterfall on a long springtime hike near Rollins pass. There was still lots of snow on the ground and tons of snowmelt flowing in the river.   Photographically, I reallyI like all the texture. I think it conveys how energetic this part of the waterfall was.

I passed this wild little waterfall on a long springtime hike near Rollins pass. There was still lots of snow on the ground and tons of snowmelt flowing in the river.

Photographically, I reallyI like all the texture. I think it conveys how energetic this part of the waterfall was.

Wednesday, September 08, 2010

Hideaway

This is a nice spot in Denver. The sound of the falling water echoes off all the walls and drowns out the city noises. You can sit in the cool spray, watch the water rush by an almost forget that you're in the middle of the city.

This is a nice spot in Denver. The sound of the falling water echoes off all the walls and drowns out the city noises. You can sit in the cool spray, watch the water rush by an almost forget that you're in the middle of the city.

Tuesday, September 07, 2010

Scott

This is Scott, a coworker of mine. We both happened to be heading out of the office at the same time in the same direction. While we stood on the mall shuttle I snapped off just this one photo. He asked me for a copy of it, but I haven't gotten around to doing anything with it in over four months. Uh, sorry about that Scott. Here you go!

This is Scott, a coworker of mine. We both happened to be heading out of the office at the same time in the same direction. While we stood on the mall shuttle I snapped off just this one photo. He asked me for a copy of it, but I haven't gotten around to doing anything with it in over four months. Uh, sorry about that Scott. Here you go!

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Traffic and Spire

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Normally I hate traffic. It drives me totally nuts. About the only time I like traffic is when I can stand above it and take some nice long exposures of it. I'm just a sucker for watching other people in traffic.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

The Gods Demand A Sacrifice

This shot puts me in a mind of some sacrificial altar. The orange/red light, the shrouding halo of mist (or is that smoke?) and the stepped stone monoliths - what else could it be for? The altar's acting up again, time to toss another virgin into the volcano!

This shot puts me in a mind of some sacrificial altar. The orange/red light, the shrouding halo of mist (or is that smoke?) and the stepped stone monoliths - what else could it be for? The altar's acting up again, time to toss another virgin into the volcano!

Monday, August 23, 2010

Coffee Under the Stars

A group of night owls having a late drink and conversation under the

A group of night owls having a late drink and conversation under the "stars." I had an absolutely great time shooting at the gardens tonight. I’m really annoyed at myself that I this is the first time I’ve been there since the spring. I’ll definitely be going back before they switch to their winter hours!

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Sunflower

I picked up some sunflowers a couple weeks ago, and couldn't resist making a few photos. I’m still trying to hone my macro photography skills, particularly with controlled lighting. It’s a fairly standard shot, but I still like it, and it was good practice.

I picked up some sunflowers a couple weeks ago, and couldn't resist making a few photos. I’m still trying to hone my macro photography skills, particularly with controlled lighting. It’s a fairly standard shot, but I still like it, and it was good practice.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Picture in Picture in Picture

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A nifty architectural abstract - shot through a window, at windows, which are reflecting other windows. This was shot standing in the atrium of 555 17th Street, looking up through the skylights at the tower itself.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Water Past and Future

Water vapor reflected in water liquid. The liquid came from a cloud, and someday will evaporate and return to the sky. (cue song

Water vapor reflected in water liquid. The liquid came from a cloud, and someday will evaporate and return to the sky. (cue song "Circle of Life")

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Party time New Orleans

Once we got past the mysteriously appearing Interstate Mattress the drive to New Orleans was uneventful. Just mile after mile of that lush greenery that’s taken for granted in the south, but looks shockingly green to refugees from the semi-arid mountain regions. After that we hit a few (dozen) miles of causeway over the swamp, drove through a nice thunderstorm, and took a quick jaunt down some narrow streets to our hotel. Wendy scored us a very nice place just off of Royal Street, which is about as close to Bourbon as we really wanted to be anyway.

Of course the first thing we had to do in the hotel was get out of it and go see the city! We took off for some real New Orleans food, three kinds of fried seafood with a side of French Fries and beer. Oh, and none of those scary green vegetables, if you please. This delicious grease-fest was served under the typically hyperactive New Orleans air conditioning, the kind that makes you wonder whether the hostess accidentally seated you in the freezer. After that, we were off to Wendy’s favorite Bourbon Street dive.

Yes, the (in)famous Pat O’Brien’s! We scored a seat in the courtyard, not far from their signature flaming fountain. But burning water is merely a sideshow, the main attraction at Pat’s is the firewater, for it’s home of the Hurricane. That fruity yet intoxicating concoction is possibly Wendy’s favorite drink of all time. She loves them to death – or would if she didn’t pass out first. It was my first encounter with the original article, and I liked them, but not with quite the same fervor. So I explored all the offerings of their bar. Since we didn’t have a menu, I’d just name a color and the waitress would bring me a neon alcohol in that color. Of them all I think I liked Green the best, though Blue was pretty good too.

We were seated next to a little strip of plants and trees bordering the courtyard. Apparently it’s a popular disposal location for the maraschino cherries and little slices of orange that come in the drinks. Unsurprisingly there are a lot of animals in the near-tropics, and they’re not above eating cast-off orange slices.

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So a little while into our drinking we discovered a good sized rat had joined us for dinner. I’d guess he weighed at least a couple pounds. We caused a bit of commotion, which attracted some other patrons who caused even more commotion. Soon enough one of the bars roving party photographers wandered over, squealed, and started snapping photos. By then there were actually two rats there, doing a little dominance dance over the prime feeding grounds. The south can be such a charming place sometimes. Somewhere along the way another couple was seated nearby. Since we were at a four seat table we invited them to join us. Thus did we meet Brian and Nadine. They were visitors like us, in town from Detroit to experience the local music scene. Having been to the Big Easy a few times before, they knew some of the spots to go. Since we were at loose ends and had no agenda, we tagged along with them.

First, to Fritzel’s, certainly the first German-themed jazz club I’ve been in. Pretty good music too, and a decent vibe. But we stayed for only a drink. It turns out that they’re big fans of zydeco music, so we caught a cab to a zydeco club somewhere away from Bourbon Street.

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Things get a little hazy at this point. You could say the photo matches quite well with the way I remember things. After a while we caught another cab back downtown and went to some other random Bourbon Street club. Then we staggered out into the street and continued to the only place we could go.

Cafe du Monde, of course! Because after a long night of drinking there’s nothing quite like donuts beignets and coffee. Oh, and a truly frightening bathroom – if you ever get the chance I definitely recommend avoiding it. After our sugary drunk food we wandered back to the hotel and collapsed into bed around 3 AM. We got some good New Orleans flavor our first night!

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Sun. Flower.

I caught this on a Meetup photo hike in Mayflower Gulch. We came upon the ruins of an old cabin, probably a mining cabin. There was lots of rusty metal lying about, including this bit.

I caught this on a Meetup photo hike in Mayflower Gulch. We came upon the ruins of an old cabin, probably a mining cabin. There was lots of rusty metal lying about, including this bit.

Friday, August 06, 2010

Lush

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I took this shot last summer in the Lost Creek Wilderness. It’s an uncharacteristically lush setting for Colorado – that’s what I liked about it. Tomorrow morning we’re heading up to the mountains for some shooting, and I’m hoping to find something just as pretty. Maybe posting this will fetch me a bit of good luck.

Wednesday, August 04, 2010

Step Away From The Camera

I went for two short photowalks today, and was confronted by security personnel three times. That’s a new personal record! But really, it’s pretty understandable. I am a pretty suspicious, scary lookin’ dude with my little camera bag and dirty orange baseball hat. And just look at these photos I took! Clearly they would be of inestimable value for corporate espionage, terrorist planning or your next Project Mayhem meeting.

 

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If only they hadn’t caught me, I would’ve been able to proceed with my plan to cut the support wires for this glass sculpture, dropping it on the fenced-off, deserted floor below.

 

My next dastardly scheme was to hide banana peels on these stairs, thus injuring unsuspecting passers-by. Then I was foiled by the security officer asking me if the support pillar (not pictured) was really that fascinating. Curses! (Though he didn’t actually ask me to leave, and admittedly I was sorta asking for it by taking pictures directly in front of the security desk.)

 

Here you see my most evil, villainous plot – picking all the pretty flowers so no one else could enjoy them! Mwaaahahahaha! Sadly my planning was again foiled by alert security personnel, who arrived a mere ten minutes after I started taking photos. Curses!

 

P.S. Despite my humorous tone above, I should point out that the security staff today were all very polite, apologetic even, and they’re just doing their jobs. Also, the property owners are well within their legal rights to disallow photography on their property. Today’s incidents were not nearly the most over-the-top encounters I’ve had with security – none of them shadowed me down the sidewalk or threatened to arrest me. Still, I think the restrictions are just a bit silly.