Summer Days

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Waldo Canyon Fire II

This is the last image I took of the Waldo Canyon Fire. A few minutes after this was taken, we had to evacuate. For the rest of the week we stayed with some wonderful friends well south of the fire.

We got back safely home on Saturday. I feel extremely fortunate.

Sadly, more than 340 houses were destroyed the evening that this photo was taken. My heart breaks for all those families who lost their houses. If you are interested in helping those effected by this fire please point your browser to http://helpcoloradonow.org.

Waldo Canyon Fire

It seems like all of Colorado is burning. This is a 16-shot panorama from the Waldo Canyon Fire. The photo covers almost 90 degrees from west to north and up and down.

Balloon

Apres Eclipse Blue: At the Colorado Classic Balloon Festival.

Be sure to visit Skywatch Fridays.

Different Perspective

The last post was a view of Pike's Peak and some of the rock formations in the Garden of the Gods. In that image the rock formations really dominate the image framing the peak.

Today's photo is also of Pike's Peak and the Garden of the Gods, but from a very different and distant perspective. In the lower right quadrant of the image are the rock formations of the Garden of the Gods.

This photo is a panoramic consisting of 6 images stitched together.

Shadow Sandwich

Here is one of the frames from the time lapse experiment that I posted about last week. One of the things I learned is that one need not take the photos at the full RAW camera resolution in order to create an HD video. I glad that I didn't know that when I made the time lapse. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to have a full resolution version of this image.

Flare

I used a little arch in the formations to create this star burst flare (actually, 2 flares, can you see the smaller one?) during a recent sunrise in the Garden of the Gods.

Be sure to visit Skywatch Friday!

Time lapse experiment results I

I've been wanting to do time lapse photography for a long time. After watching the sun rise and light up Pikes Peak and the Garden of the Gods many, many times. I thought that it would be the perfect location.

This is my first attempt. I did this to test out equipment, software, and techniques. I've got lots to learn.

I took 60 photos at 1 min intervals. I had to throw out the first 16 because they were basically black. One of the things I need to learn is how to handle this transition between night and day.

The video was created to display the photos at a rate of 1 per sec.

Big Mountain, Bigger Sky

I got bored recently with photography. Or maybe, I should say I've gotten bored taking pictures of the same old thing. I mean how many photos of Pike's Peak and Garden of the Gods do I need?

I guess the answer is more! Truthfully, I never get bored of watching the many faces of the peak. I just have this personality that gets obsessed with something and focuses a lot of time, energy and learning on that thing (photography, a game, dancing, poker, birding, etc). I devote myself almost solely to that subject. At least until the next interest comes along. It's all about ebb and flow. Time to catch that wave again.

Be sure to visit Skywatch Friday!

Peakview

Pikes Peak crowned in clouds, hidden by red rocks at Garden of the Gods

Sailors Warning

Red sky in morning, sailors warning. Red sky in night, sailors delight.

Luckily both are a photographer's delight.

Be sure to visit Skywatch Fridays!

Ballons

Labor day weekend in Colorado Springs means the Colorado Balloon Classic. This year was the 33rd edition of this balloon festival. Apparently, its the largest and longest running balloon festival in the rocky mountain region.

I attended the event on Saturday. Unfortunately, the weather was such that they canceled the mass ascension. However, they did inflate most of the balloons. Watching a lot of crews inflate their balloons was very interesting.

Although I've lived near a few different balloon festivals, this was the first time that I've actually attended one. Walking around in a field surrounded by a dozen or more inflated hot air balloons is an impressive experience. Anybody out there with a balloon willing to give me a ride? :)

That was my world this weekend. Be sure to visit My World Tuesdays

The Storm II

This photo was taken about 20 minutes after Storm I. The small rainbow in the lower right corner is well camouflaged by the rich sunset colors.

Be sure to visit Skywatch Fridays.

Pikes Peak Marathon

The Pikes Peak Ascent and Marathon were held this weekend. On Saturday, the race starts in Manitou Springs, elevation 6,300' (1,920m) and finishes at the Pikes Peak summit, 14,115' (4,302m). That's a 13.1 mile climb of 7,815' (2,382 meters) with an average grade of 11%. On Sunday, the Marathon is held. It's pretty much the same route, except that, at the summit, the racers turn around and run back down.

If you think the marathon is hard, consider that a number of people complete both the marathon and the ascent in the same weekend.

The photo above shows both the starting line and the summit house on top of the peak.

Kelly ran the marathon this year and finished in 7:09:41. That's about 1 hour improvement over last year. Awesome!

Sunrise on the peak before the Marathon start

That's part of my world. Be sure to visit My World Tuesday!

Red Rock on Blue

As I'm sure I stated ad nauseam, I spend a lot of time with my camera in Ute Valley Park and Garden of the Gods. That may seem boring. But, I believe that constantly returning to the same place helps the creative process. I see the grand vistas everyday. I've taken the iconic pictures of Garden of the Gods that everyone else has. However, there are millions of other shots that require only the vision to see them. For some things, familiarity does not breed contempt, but rather it breeds appreciation.  Hopefully I'm learning to open my eyes and see what is in front of me.

Be sure to visit Ruby Tuesdays.

Stark

One of my learning processes is to take some concept or technique and concentrate on it for awhile. In photography, that means that I look for images which enforce the thing that I'm working on. For example, over the last few months, I've been working on getting images with back lighting. That doesn't mean that I ignore other principles and techniques that I've learned. For example, I few months ago, I was concentrating on monochrome. I think this example successfully incorporates the two.

I think that the next concept I want to play with is minimalist landscapes. I ran across this idea on flickr (see Best of Minimalist Landscapes). Very interesting stuff.

The Storm I

This is a photo I took a few weeks ago during an early evening storm. This was an incredible storm to watch. During the course of the storm there was much lightning, a rainbow and a sunset. Later shots depict the deepening sunset going through yellows, oranges, and reds. I’ve never seen a rainbow during such a deep red sunset (not to mention the lightning). What a sight.

I sat at this location for about 1hr. Because of all the lightning, I didn’t feel safe standing outside with my camera on a metal tripod. So, I stayed in my vehicle. I have a Joby Gorillapod that I use as backup, lightweight tripod. In this case, I used it to attach the camera to the partially open window. It was very unsteady and required constant adjustment, but it did let me get 2-3 minute shoots. After that experience, I’m now looking into getting a car window mount clamp that sports a tripod mount.

Be sure to visit Sky Watch Fridays for more images of the sky from around the world.

Not the stargate?

This is the Julie Penrose Fountain at America the Beautiful park in Colorado Springs. The park is named after the poem that Kathryn Lee Bates wrote after visiting Pikes Peak. The most prominent features of the park is the Julie Penrose Fountain which "is a sculptural fountain representing the life-giving movement of water between the atmosphere and the earth."

Due to budget constraints, the city of Colorado Springs cannot fund the operation of the fountain. If you're interested in donating some money to help the fountain, please visit The Friends of Julie Penrose Fountain.

That's my world! Be sure to visit My World Tuesdays for others.

Prickly

This beautiful specimen is a Prickly Poppy (Argemone pleicantha? - There are a lot of similar varieties of Argemone).

I find it very interesting to look at due to the juxtaposition of the delicate papery petals and the prickly appearance of the rest of the plant. But, the sight of all that pollen is almost enough to make my eyes water and nose itch.

Be sure to visit other Mellow Yellow site.