Geotagging

Here's a shot I look over Memorial Day weekend while traveling around Crested Butte. I'm not entirely sure exactly where I took the photo. I've been playing around with a new method of Geotagging my photos. I really enjoy being able to look at Google Earth and seeing where I was when I took a shot. Unfortunately, my geotagging system got messed up with this series.

I suspect that, one day, all digital cameras will have an internal GPS to handle geotagging. Just as long as they don't put a cell phone in my camera. I already have a useless camera in my cellphone.

What did ya'll think of the slideshow post (Edit: Fixed link)? I'm trying to decide if I should post more slideshows. Look in my side bar for a poll on this subject.

I'm about to head up to Cripple Creek to play another Texas Hold'em tourney. I'll be taking my camera in case I have time to walk around town. Actually, I'm taking two cameras: My usual Canon 40D and my old Nikon F70 (a film camera). I've filled it with some B&W film and put a 50mm lens on it. That should be an interesting challenge! I'm sure I've forgotten how to use film.

That's today's Scenic Sunday. Take a stroll over to Scenic Sunday's site, and look around!

Cormorant

Here it is 4:54AM. Ugh. I'll be leaving in a few moments to try the capture the sunrise at Garden of the Gods. What a week, I should be in bed. I'm still trying to catch up from last week!

A few weeks ago, we went up to Denver's Colfax Marathon. Kelly ran a leg of the relay, and I watched and cheered her on. The finish line was in the Denver City park. The park's Duck Pond has a little island with a big tree that is a cormorant rookery. Amazing sight. This photo is an individual that was nice enough to give me a fly-by.

Have a great weekend!

Fly over to camera critters to see other great animal photos.

Thunderbirds

May 27th was the final day of the Air Force Academy graduation ceremonies for which the US Air Force Thunderbirds puts on a demonstration.

I live fairly close to the AFA. On Monday and Tuesday, I got to watch the Thunderbirds practicing from my office. Those two days were very overcast and did not lend itself to photographing the planes. Luckily, Wednesday was a beautiful, fairly cloudless day.

I found a place at a small park where I had decent 360 degree view of the sky. I thought I would be under the fly path, but I was a bit off. There was a huge crowd at the park, including a number of people with very large lenses.

I've been to an Air Force football game where they have a fly-over at half-time. That was impressive. I can't imagine how impressive it is to be in Falcon stadium during this 45-min show...

Be sure to fly over to Skywatch Friday for other great views of the sky.

Sugarbowls

This weekend, there were a few flowers out in the Crested Butte area. This one is of a type I've never seen before. It is a Sugarbowl (also known as a Leatherflower) and belongs to the Buttercup family.

Crested Butte is known as the Wildflower Capital of Colorado. We plan to return for the Wildflower Festival held July 6th - 12th.

I'm not really happy with my skill at photographing flowers and hope to improve. I'm also thinking about renting a Canon 100mm macro lens to play with while I'm there. Should be fun!

This is my first entry in the Purple Photo Passion meme. I've been looking for purple things to capture for a few weeks so that I could join.

Barn

We're back! We had a great time in Crested Butte. It is a very beautiful place! There is a lot of ranch land in the valleys, surrounded by gorgeous mountains. Sadly, we only got a few glimpses of the mountains due to the clouds and rain.

Here's a shot of a barn seen along the Kebler pass road. We tried to get to Irwin lake, however, the final few miles to the lake were still covered in deep snow. At the top of this image, you can see the beginnings of the low layer of clouds.

I'll be posting a few other images from this trip during the next few weeks.

Don't forget to visit Sepia Scenes for other great sepia images.

EDIT 5/31/09 - I had a request to post the original color version. Here is a link to it...

Ghost Post

Juniper in Garden of the Gods. If you've followed my blog for awhile, you may notice that I really like stark images of individual plants and rocks. Here's another example found in the Garden of the Gods.

I put this post up on early Saturday morning and scheduled it to be posted Sunday morning. Hopefully I am having fun and capturing some great images at this moment. It's kind of nice to get away from the computer for a few days.

Red-Winged Black Bird

One of Ute Valley Park's resident red-winged black birds.

Pink and Blue

Sunset at Mueller State Park, Colorado. The shot was taken using a telephoto (320mm effective) to isolate. I applied the Orton Effect to give it a soft, dreamy feeling.

We are heading to Crested Butte, Colorado for memorial weekend. Unfortunately, the weather this weekend looks to be rather rainy. In terms of photography, this will be challenge for me as I'm not good creating images in those conditions. The practice will be good for me. Still, I'd rather have sunny weather.

To ensure a happy Friday, be sure to go to SkyWatch Friday.

Mind's Eye

I've been "stalking" this tree for awhile. It lives in Ute Valley Park near where I live. I've photographed the tree many times in different weather and lighting conditions. I'm still waiting for the perfect combination of lighting (sunrise) and weather (partial clouds) and/or the moon. This combination is fairly rare. I got the sunrise on this one, but no clouds.

There are a few other scenes that I repeatedly shoot. In my mind's eye, I can see an image. But, I've been unable to fulfill that image with the camera. Yet...

Keep shooting!

Be sure to visit Thursday Challenge where the theme to day is "TREES" (Leaves, Branches, Bush, Forest, Pinecone, Seeds,...)

A Place to Hang my Hat

Hat and gear hanging at Bent's Old Fort National Historic site near La Junta, Co. This is from the collection of photo's I took when I visited there about a month ago.

I'm using some older photos in the blog because I don't have a lot of new ones. For the last month, I've been doing a lot of experimenting and don't have a lot of new photos worthy of sharing. I've been playing with candids, portraits, learning how to use a flash, different techniques, and unusual (for me) subjects. It's been a lot of fun, and I'm learning a lot.

I'm looking forward to the Memorial Day weekend here in the US. We'll be heading up into the mountains for the long weekend of hiking, photography and relaxation.

Be sure to visit Sepia Scenes!

Lonely

Click the link for other photos from Wordless Wednesday.

Red Rock in Black and White

Here's another shot from Red Rock Canyon Open Space. The textures present in this rock formation look a lot like wood.

For other monochrome photos, visit Monochrome Maniacs.

Edit May 21: Some how I had the wrong link to Monochrome Maniacs. It is now fixed.

Narrow Margin

Yesterday I awoke very early to capture some sunrise shots. Rather stupidly on my part, I didn't check the weather report when I made these plans. The morning turned out very cloudy, misty and, ultimately, rainy.

My buddy and I threw our plans away and headed for Red Rock Canyon open space here in Colorado Springs. That's right, yet another Red Rock Canyon. I got very few photos worth keeping, but we had a great morning of hiking.

It's been a few years since I've visited this park. I'm now really eager to return as I saw lots of potentially interesting shots.

Hike over to Scenic Sunday for some other great scenes.

Young'un

I'm guessing that this young mule deer was born last year. Hopefully we'll be seeing some new fawns soon - but probably, not as bold as this one.

Hoof it over to Camera Critters for more photos of animals.

Tree vs Storm

I had a hard time with this image. If not keep in check, I tend to lean towards dark, low key images. I fight that impulse by consciously adjusting towards the brighter end of the spectrum if I feel exposure adjustments are needed. Quite often I'll save a dark and a light version of an image. Later, after 'sleeping' on it, I'll usually end up liking the brighter image when compared side-to-side.

Not this one. It seems to call for a dark, brooding mode.

Don't forget to visit Sky Watch Friday.

The Bridge

I seem to have this weird luck. Often, there will be construction happening near where I live that either causes great inconvenience, or that I look forward to for some other reason. The Folsom American River bridge (pictured above), is such an example. Towards the end of my first stint living near Folsom, CA this bridge was being constructed. I was really looking forward to it because it would've eased my commute.

It opened a couple of weeks before I left. The second time that I lived in the area, it was another bridge. I never got to see that one completed. I'm sure it's all confirmation bias on my part.

For other large things, cross over to Thursday Challenge where the theme is "BIG" (Massive, Tall, Roadside Monuments, Buildings, Trees, Animals,...)

Arrested Decay

Here's another image from the ghost town of Bodie, California. This is the backside of the Boone Store and Warehouse. It still shelves many items. Including, according to the bodie.com site, several original Edison light bulbs that are and have been continuously burning for several years.

Bodie is a very interesting place to visit. If you ever find yourself in the eastern sierras, it would be well worth your time to stop at Bodie.

Click over to Sepia Scenes for other sepia toned photos.

Elvis has left the building!

On Saturday, we went down to Canon City (about 40 miles south of Colorado Springs) to the fifth annual Brew Ha-Ha festival. The festival is a celebration of micro beers and featured a number of comedy and music acts (including as the opening act, this very young Elvis impersonator.) And, if that's not enough, it's also a fundraiser for the Fremont Center for the Arts.

While I've had a number of the beers at the tasting, I did get to try a few unfamiliar brews. By far my favorite of these 'unknowns' was the Milk Stout brewed by Left Hand Brewing out of Longmont, Co. It a rich, creamy, malty stout without being overwhelming. In a word, tasty! Left Hand brews have yet to let me down.

Canon City's McClellan’s Grill & Brewing featured a very smooth IPA. After the festival, we stopped in for pint and dinner. I had a wonderful plate of Corned Beef and veggies followed by a ginormous chocolate cake.

Needless to say, I slept in late on Sunday.

That's my world - head over to My World Tuesday for a taste of other worlds.

Lanterns

Yellow and red lanterns against the blue of a building at the Kek Lok Si temple in Penang, Malaysia.

I was in Malaysia last year on a business trip. Luckily I had the opportunity to do some sight seeing and my co-worker Lai was good enough to take me around.

The architecture and colors of this Buddhist temple are amazing. I would love to return and see the place when all the lanterns are light.

For other objet de blue, point your browser over to Blue Monday.

Morning in San Francisco

Early morning is the best time in which to visit the city. The light is beautiful and the traffic is light.

Go to Scenic Sundays for other great scenes.

Butterfly

Butterfly at the Denver Butterfly Pavilion. Its a really fun place to go if you like butterflys and other bugs.

Be sure to flutter over to Camera Critters.

Nothing but sky

For today's Skywatch Friday, I present nothing but sky. Well, that and the moon. Oh, and the clouds. But, other than that...

Be sure to go sky gaze these other sites at Sky Watch Friday.

May Flowers

All of those April (snow) showers we had are finally paying off in the proverbial May flowers. Spring is really here!

For other signs of spring, step over to Thursday Challenge where the theme is "SPRING" (Birds, Flowers, Puddles, Trees Budding, Spring Cleaning, Young Animals,...)

Old Sign

Wordless Wednesday

Pinon Valley Park

Here's a view of a section of Pinon Valley Park in NW Colorado Springs, CO as seen from the top of a ridge that runs through Ute Valley Park. Even though Ute Valley Park is surrounded by suburbia, there are many places in the center of the park where you'd think you were in the wilderness. I spend a lot of time hiking around the park (and photographing in it).

Click on the link to see my other posts about Ute Valley Park.

This photo was taken with an old Canon G2. It's fairly small and light, yet gives full manual control and shoots in RAW. I use it when backpacking and other occasions when I want to travel light. It has been a while since I last used it. Since backpacking season is coming up, I pulled it to refresh myself on its operation. In comparison to my 40D, its very slow and cumbersome, but it can still take some descent pictures.

The other, possibly, interesting aspect of this photo is the style. I wanted this shot to look like a model. To accomplish that, I replicated the narrow DOF by selectively blurring areas, and jacked up the saturation and contrast. Since we've been trained to associate the narrow DOF with macro photography, this effect makes it seem as if we're looking at a photo of a small model. The other way to accomplish this is to use an expensive tilt/shift lens.

Hike over to That's My World Tuesday to sightsee elsewhere around the planet.

Thanks for your vote!

Thank you to everyone that voted on the issue of LinkedIn. I personally think that it is a bit slow. But, the people have spoken, so its here to stay (at least until I get tired of it...)

How do you get to Carnegie Hall?

Here's a shot of my brother practicing his guitar. I think I surprised him, because he jumped when the flash went off. He also makes some pretty tasty beer - it's hard to capture that because I'm too busy drinking it!

For other great monochromes, use your keyboard and play Monochrome Maniacs.

From the Westering Sun

Here's another sunset shot from the series that I took at Mueller State Park. The park is just west of Pike's Peak. One cannot see the actual peak in this image, only the western slopes.

Be sure to visit Scenic Sundays before the next sunset.

PS: As is was a drizzly rainy day and I'm a bit of a desert rat, I created a banner for the blog. What do you thing?

Cruising

Male and female Blue-Winged Teal at Old Bent's Fort National Historic Site near La Junta, Co.

Original photo had flat grey, hazy sky. I replaced it with a sky with some interesting clouds.

I like the feeling that the viewer is flying along with the Teals.

Be sure fly on over to Camera Critters.