Friday, December 25, 2015

Merry Christmas

May your holiday be filled with cheer, good tidings, and a sense of wonder. While there is a negative news these days I recommend not focusing too much on it however. Most of us, including myself, have had many blessings during this year.
Yesterday, Susan and I, began giving each other a few of the gifts we'd gotten each other. Susan plays in a pool league and so one of the things I got her was a new pool cue bag. With one of her favorite colors being purple the color choice was obvious. Not so easy to find a purple cue bag however, but I managed to do so.

We went to the nursing home and gave Peggy, Susan's mother, a few gifts. As a joke I wrapped up some candy in one which is that little package on top. 

Here she is opening that little package which she opened first. When she got to the next couple of gifts she asked if they were filled with candy too which made us laugh. 

As I recall there was a shirt in this package. 


Something that can be used as a lap blanket is pretty much a natural gift for those staying in a nursing home. I got her one with puppies which she likes. 

Have a great day. A new year is just around the corner and is filled with many opportunities.

Thursday, December 17, 2015

Merry Christmas

I've been very busy these days. I was helping Susan get everything ready for Christmas. Then she got sick and I've been having to try to help take care of her. At the same I've been having to get a new health insurance policy for myself. As a result I've only been doing a few shots with my phone instead of the Fuji and those were of the lights and decorations we put up. As I'm sure you've noticed I haven't written this blog either. Slowly, Susan seems to be improving a bit.
   One other thing I've been doing lately is a lot of pleasure reading. I've also been posting reviews once more of what I've read. My last was Dan Brown's, "Inferno," and presently I'm reading Stephen King's, "Bag of Bones." Those thankfully I can get in e-books from my local library and read them on my tablet which I can increase the font size easily. 
   Apparently my eyesight isn't as good as it used to be. Maybe that was due to squinting at manuscripts too long. It could be. On that note, I'm glad I no longer write. I don't really miss it honestly. Still, I'm glad I made the effort and tried it out, which I did for three years. I was never what you'd call a smashing success by any stretch but that's not the point. The point is I tried it. Most can't say that. So, try out something new this next year you've never tried before. The worst that can happen is that you don't become a smashing success.
   I'd like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Try to enjoy yourself and don't take any of the political BS you see on social media, or the news, too seriously. Most of it's not really that important and it won't affect your life in the least. What is important is that you touch the lives of others positively. That is what will be remembered. Just maybe, if we all do that, we'll make the world a better place. The coming year is a blank page. Make it the best you can. This season can be magical if we allow it to be so.

Sunday, November 15, 2015

Sand Creek

If you're interested in history at all there was a massacre that happened on Sand Creek. It happened before the state became a state. At that time there wasn't a city. Where the creek is at now was open country.
The creek happens to flow through part of Colorado Springs. Many days I happen to drive by it on my way to work. My first frame wasn't all that interesting. Not bad, but not that interesting either.



Then I started noticing the rocks that have been inset and the water flows around them. Definitely a bit more interesting.

Still, it wasn't interesting enough. So, I got closer and began to study the water. The way it moved, the shadows, the ripples. Now, it was interesting. This is the image I uploaded to View Bug.

Friday, November 6, 2015

Garden of the Gods park 10/5

I finally got a set of filters for my Fuji and I've been steadily using them since. It's a really nice set with three neutral density filters, a circular polarizer, and a ultra violet. With the filters I'm able to expand the range the camera can do. 
   One place I've been wanting to visit again is Garden of the Gods Park since I haven't been there for several years. It's a rather large park on the west side of the city that has these fantastic rock outcroppings and can make for some interesting images. I probably would have shot more images but it was chilly. About 45F I think. Still, I can't wait to get some snow images which are coming up.


I've shot this particular scene a few before but was wanting to reshoot it with the Fuji. Each time I get the composition slightly different. 

This one was just an experiment. I was trying to get more used to working with the circular polarizer. It's nice how the circular polarizer pulls out the blue of the sky. Luckily I bracketed this image so I could layer one frame over the bottom one and get greater range in the resulting image.

This is the horseback trail on the west side of the park.

I should have bracketed two frames for this image so I could have pulled out the trees better.

This image I shot on the fourth and I think is the first image where I used all three ND's, the CPL, and the UV filters for one frame. I was very pleased with the results.

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Calm Within

Today I heard a wonderful new age album that's due out next month. The publisher gave me a copy to check out. It's "Calm Within" by Laura Sullivan. It really is quite relaxing and I'll be able to utilize it during my yoga, and meditation, sessions when I start them up again. 
   As I listened to it while I was at work I can easily see why she's gotten at least one grammy. It'll be available on Amazon and on iTunes. If you like New Age music this is definitely worth a listen to.

Thursday, October 29, 2015

10/29

This morning I had two more teeth pulled. It's just a matter of time until all of my teeth are out. Anyway, they told me at the dentist that I needed to wait about 15 minutes before taking out the gauze. I decided to shoot a few frames at a park nearby, and here are the results. I used to live about half a mile from this park, and it isn't too far from where I'm working. 
I've walked across this bridge many times.


 This is taken a short ways upstream from the foot bridge. The stream is Fountain Creek.

This creek feeds into Fountain Creek. The bridge is Mark Dabling Road.


 This bridge has always fascinated me. To the right is a trail that leads from the park to Centennial Blvd. and Garden of the Gods Road.

I'm now going to lie down. My head is a bit woozy from the Novacain they used when they were deadening my lower jaw.

Saturday, October 10, 2015

Pueblo Reservoir 10-8

   On the 8th we went down to the Pueblo Reservoir. We did some fishing and I, of course, captured a few images with the Fuji. 
   This is a breakwater made out of old tires. The curves, the bit of island, and water was rather interesting to me.

I decided to try to get one of the various birds and this lovely female Mallard obliged me nicely.

   The ripples was very interesting and caught my eye. This part of the lake is a no wake part. Basically, if you have a boat, you have to go very slow so you aren't causing waves. Any that do occur therefore are most likely from the breezes actions on the water.

This was later in the day as the sun got lower and all of these wonderful reflections began showing up. The bit of breeze slowed too.



This shot just appeared idyllic to me. I had to capture it.

Soon, we will be heading down to Pueblo again. I'm wanting to photograph the river walk downtown. I think we'll visit the Pueblo Zoo also.

Saturday, October 3, 2015

Moving

This has been a big change in my life, and it's the reason why I don't have any photography to post on the blog. Recently I listed my house and it sold rather quickly. One of the main reasons for that is the house is furnished. The washer, dryer, kitchen table, bed, etc. all went with the house. I figured the ad would generate more interest, and it did.
   Today I should be getting the payment for the house and sign over the title. Then I get to pay down a bunch of debt, some of it accrued while preparing the house for sale. It's like I've reached the end of an era.
   Next week, I believe we're headed down to the Pueblo reservoir. On the way I'm going to try to go to the riverwalk in downtown Pueblo where I'm planning on shooting a few frames. I've been wanting to go there a long time and it should make for some good shots. 
   This last summer has been amazing for me. I've rediscovered love. Susan has been wonderful and I'm glad I've met her. I also got my driving privileges back, and a car which happens to be a minivan. During all of that I managed to pick up a camera again. So, while part of my life has come to an end I've also started on new beginnings. I guess that's one of the points of life. Every time you reach an ending you also reach a new beginning.
   There are times I do miss writing a bit. Other times I don't. It's now almost eleven months since I spent most of my time away from work stuck in the room I'd set up as an office. I can tell you I won't make that particular mistake again. For too long I let life pass me by.

Friday, September 25, 2015

9-24 Cripple Creek

On the 24th we went up to Cripple Creek to look at the fall colors. In the high country the aspens are in full change. We did a little gambling too BTW. I actually made enough off the casino to pay for our lunch.



I thought the way the sap hung looked cool on these spruce cones. 

This was just outside of a Cripple Creek museum. 

This decrepit house was across the street from the casino. It looks so forlorn there.

We drove around Cripple Creek a little more and I found a couple of other decrepit pieces of history. 


Hopefully we'll be able to get out a bit on next Thursday, or Friday. I sold my house and therefore have to move everything. That might take precedence therefore.

Saturday, September 19, 2015

Eleven Mile 9/17

Susan likes to fish so I took her to Eleven Mile Reservoir again. It was bright and sunny and breezy. For once I even got a little bit of a sunburn on my legs since I was wearing shorts as I went wandering to capture some images. It's now very dry there which is more normal for the area. Parts of the surroundings was rather desolate in appearance which you'll see a little of in some of these images. You'll also see the effects of wind and rain erosion. The hillside gets sculpted out and becomes new beach. 



A little later we moved to another part of the lake where I went wandering again. This is one of the first images I captured.
There's a trail called "Ponderosa" that I discovered. It's not very long, about 3/4 mile, but there's a lot of scenery available. Since the area elevation is about 8700 feet the aspens had started to change color.



After hiking I came back down to the shoreline where Susan was at. Finally I'd started doing a little fishing of my own, Since I wasn't catching anything I began looking for something else to photograph. Well, this little guy came along. He was so cute.


Friday, September 11, 2015

Manitou Lake Shoot 9/10

There's the Manitou Lake Recreation we went to on the 10th. As usual I helped Susan get set up for fishing and I went off on a jaunt with my SLR. These rocks caught my eye and I had to try to capture them.

This is the dam works. Thought it was interesting.


Then I got closer. This image would be great in black and white.


I managed a little ways down from the dam so I could get the spillway.


I laughed when I was walking along the shoreline and noticed the bobbers caught in the tree.


These are those rocks from earlier though at a different angle.


I liked the symmetry and the fact that the pathway is leading you somewhere.


These ducks were sitting there resting and they just about disappear into their surroundings.


A dragonfly had flown to low and had gotten caught in the water. It made for an interesting composition with the little waves.


This is the dragonfly that had been caught. Susan rescued it and I guess it wore itself out trying to get free from the water.