Carving the Crags

Went for a hike today along with my dog Chester up on the Crags. This is a popular hiking spot along Hwy 67 headed out towards Cripple Creek. Last time I was up there was about 18 years ago I believe. My life sure has changed a lot since then, but who's hasn't? I remember from the last time I was up there all the carving on the Aspens. I didn't like it then and still don't now. I understand why people do it but I don't think they realize just what they are doing to the Aspens up there. Seems their undying love is killing the trees. Here are a few shots from the Aspens that you go through towards the beginning of the trail.










You can see from this last picture how the bark is splitting off the tree from where it's been carved. People really need to quit damaging these trees.

Here's a last look up at these beautiful trees. No leaves left this time of year but they still have a cool look to them.



Well, off my soap box and on with the hike. Heading on down the trail you get some nice views as you go. A good part of the trail follows along a meandering mountain stream which still has running water this time of the year. I'm not sure if it runs all year or not. Didn't actually get a picture of the stream this time but Chester had a good time running around in it. Here are some sights along the stream though.







As you go down the trail this is a large landmark that guides you along your way.



Once you get to the top of the Crags you get a nice 360 degree view around you. You are also looking down at some of the reservoirs. It was really hazy today though. I'm not sure if it was from the fires off in California or just normal haze. I did take a couple of shots from the top but it was hard to get anything decent. While we were up there we also took a lunch break. Chester really chowed down on his food. Here's a shot of his face buried in his hiking bowl.



And last but not least here are a few shots from the top of the Crags. Didn't take very many while I was up there since the haze was so bad but I did get a few. Enjoy, I did.







I think this last one is the Manitou Reservoir if I was reading my map correctly. I use the Pikes Peak Atlas from Ormes and Houdek if you're curious. Love that map. It's taken me on a lot of trails in this area. Well, that's if for now until next time.

Winter is Here in Colorado Springs

Well, it seems winter is coming to Colorado Springs. It's been a cold and snowy day. Didn't have much to do and really didn't feel like being cold so I stuck close to the house most of the day. I did take a few shots though. It's a rare day I don't do something with my cameras. Mainly, I worked on lighting ratios with multiple flashes and my light meter. Got a pretty good handle on it.

The snow on my side of town didn't stick around very long since it wasn't cold enough. I did go out and get a few shots of it melting in the bushes around the house. Here's one that I especially like. The full size is pretty large. I made it 1280x1024 if you would like to use it as a wallpaper.



Towards the end of the day I could tell Chester was bored out of his head so I relented and got dressed and took him out to the 21st Street Dog Park. Did you know it's one of the top 10 dog parks in the country? Of course a camera came with! Here is a view from the back of the park looking towards the Front Range. This side of town is a little higher being more in the foothills so their snow was sticking around. Hope you enjoy this shot. It was a real pretty evening.




As you can see it was a little cool today. We should still have a little warm weather left but it's not long before Old Man Winter settles in for the duration here. Hope wherever you are it's warm.

Fall in Colorado

It's hard to beat the weather we have in the Fall out here in Colorado. Went up in the mountains with a group of photographers the other day. Mike had a pass that got us up Pikes Peak for free! I figured we would be up there for a few hours taking pictures. 12 hours later I finally got home. It's hard to make progress on a trail when it's a bunch of photographers all taking pictures. We did get some nice pictures though. Thought I'd share a few with you.

Few more from my last wedding

Saw a few more pictures that I wanted to post. The head shots are in what is known as the "One Light" style. It's a style that I really like for black and whites. I used a small softbox on a monopod which I carried around for a little while. I wanted to set up a Photo Booth outside but the wind came up and the rain started. Got busy after that and didn't have time to do it. The rest of the dance shots were done with bounce flash on camera. As you can see again, everyone had a blast.

Fun wedding up in Fort Collins

And what a great little town it is too. This was the first time I've been up that way. I second shot on this one along with my friend Patricia. This was a long but fun wedding. Jamie and Taryn were full of love and life and you could just see it shining out of them. They were also full of fun. Enjoyed hamming it up for the camera and were game for just about anything.






My first job of the day was to go along with the groom and his groomsmen while they went to a "real" barbershop to get shaves with a straight blade. It's been a while since I've seen one of those used. Used to get them all the time but in this day and age it's become a rare art form. At first the groom seem really relaxed and was having a good time. Of course, being the good groom, he wasn't having as much fun as the other groomsmen were.



But I noticed as time went by he seemed kind of quiet and subdued, I wonder why.



Before we all headed off to the CottonWood Club, I swung by the hotel the girls were staying at and and grabbed this shot of Taryn's dress. She had a beautiful flowing dress that suited her to a T!



Once we got to the Cottonwood Club the guys did the "march" that all guys seem to do before a monumental occasion such as this.



The ceremony itself was fun and upbeat. After the more formal vows Jamie and Taryn went into a Dr. Seuss rhyming style of vows which everyone loved. We did formals after the ceremony and as you can see from this shot, they weren't your average formals.




The reception, like the rest of this wedding, was just a blast also. I didn't get to photograph the first dance because I was holding a flash for Patricia, and she got some great shots but Patricia took a turn at the flash for me and I got this Father Daughter shot that I just love.



The rest of the dancing was to say the least, energetic. The bride got airborne more then once and from what I hear basically lost her voice from all the karaoke they sang. Here's one of her in the air. Almost didn't get this shot because I didn't realize she was going to do this.



At times, I almost felt like I had wondered onto the set of a musical!



As you can tell from this sampling, it was a great time for all. Let me just leave you with a shot of their rings as a symbol of their lasting love.

Fourth of July

Little behind on here and trying to catch up. I hope everyone had a good Fourth of July and stayed safe. I stood on a hill overlooking Colorado Springs and got to watch fireworks around the city. Here are a couple for you to enjoy.

Night of Fun

So, what did you do for fun tonight? I went and stood on a cliff and watched the light show that Mother Nature provided. We had a storm pass to the north of town tonight along a small mountain range with multiple lightning strikes for a good while. It's funny all the people that were out there watching and enjoying the show. Sunsets are popular around here and throw in an early evening light show and they will come. Here's just a couple of what I caught tonight. Enjoy!