Confluence

Several ideas are coming together, but art making can have a timeline similar to geologic events.  It's a long, slow, grinding, pressured force, until the catastrophic moment of fractured release.  I know that doesn't really tell you much, but if you look at the image, you'll know as much as I do.

Tree Lights

Trees near the Fort Collins Public Lirbary.  I don't often shoot at super high ISOs, but I was in a playful mood and curious.  In order to hand hold this, I had to push up to ISO6400, f1.4 and that gave me 1/60th of a second.  Doubt it's going to be a go to setting, but in the right composition may yeild interesting results.

Color Study Tryptic: Shift, Pebbles, Veins

Taking advantage of the frozen conditions, I broke a "non-Photographic" rule and ventured out on the ice to make photographs of the awesome colour and texture happening in the the extended civil-twilight as the sun rose behind high thin clouds.

Even though I was a little dissapointed with the lackluster sunrise.  This progression of colour across the ice was fantastic and gave my creativity a boost for the day.

Happy Friday!

Edge of the Bend

The sun rose into high thin clouds providing very diffuse light.  I took this as an opportuniy to play with shape and colour.

Ponderance Place

These little benches dot the shoreline of Arapaho Bend Natural Area.  They are so small that, only one person can sit on them at any one time.  For me, it's always a choice of using it for my camera bag, or as a subject.

Horsetooth Rock

A lenticular cloud floats above the iconic Horsetooth Rock in Fort Collins, CO.  In my mind it's a graphic shape more than a geologic feature.  I've been up and down and all over the dang thing several times, but something has always prevented a connection being made.  Not sure what it will take, but I need to change my way of thinking.  The cloud was interesting, though, so I made a few snapshots.

As the Pine Cones

What a strange title, eh?  It reveals how I think.  A little idea swims in a tangle of others until it's ready to burst onto its own stage.  Photographed while hiking near Seaman Reservoir in Northern CO, I kept falling over the double entandras.

Northland

Spotted somewhere up north on the drive home.  I'm lucky to have the kind of friends who no longer seem to mind, if I'm driving, the ride home might take a little longer than normal.  Have to break them in right, I guess, and take the keys when you get out.

A Song About A Tree

This one involved a lot of playing.  Of course, I really liked the warm tree against the blue background and when I pointed the little camera at it the sunstar was brilliant.  Not too shabby, and a good way to bid you all a happy weekend!

Whose Seuss?

The quirkiest, quirliest, quackiest, quandry of a flower I've ever seen.  Shot as a record so I could identify it and plant oodles of them.

Two Trees, Redeux

After a long Autumn hike at Bobcat Ridge NA, I couldn't resist shooting my favourite trees.  You all know I'm a sucker for big blue sky and awesome yellow grasses.

Diagonal Blue Sketch

I headed out to this place somewhat hastily.  Pretty sure I owuldn't find much in the late afternoon worthy of dragging a lot of camera gear.  Wrong again.  The mid-winter late afternoon sun was playing like a five year old.  I tussled with the tree on the left of the frame for twenty minutes.  Walking all over the hillside trying to make this composition with my PoS P&S, finally I gave up and figured I'd crop it out later.  In the end, I liked the anchor it gives to this side of the photo allowing my eye to concentrate on the juxtaposition of yellow and blue.
This is the kind of winter day I love, kind of cold, but warm enough in the sun.

Gateway

A good walk can solve several problems. I find it takes a little more than a mile before compositions start to make sense.  Big open spaces usually dominate my photography, but moments like these are starting to draw my attention.  Making images like these is more like painting than photography, a comparison I hope is not lost in the translation.

Zipper!

I was giggling manically when I saw this image present itself.  It's peculiar, and not the sort of thing I publish, but if it makes me giggle, you might get something out of it, too.
Happy Saturday!

Prismatic Approach

Sorry for the delayed post, it's been a hectic mourning.  I managed to get out just in time for the colour to begin crawling across the land.

Photographing the dawn at Fossil Creek Reservoir Regional open Space, it can be a struggle to walk away from the infamous tree, but watching the colour develope, I decided to move toward the ice.

Come Hither, Come Hide

A beautiful female Argiope trifasciata posing with her quarry.  The Banded Garden Spider is quite common late summer and early fall, they make symetrical orb webs.  This one has hung a meal, she maybe gravid, and has another queued for immediate snacking.
{Shot handheld with tethered flash in the other hand.  I got so close on one attempt I knocked her off.  Luckily she reclaimed her perch while I was at the grocery.  ISO200, f/22 1/15}

Paladin's Grope on New West.Net

My photograph entitled "Paladin's Grope" is featured on the NewWest.Net website.  I recommend making a cup of tea before heading over to check it out, the articles they publish are engrossing.

Out in the Cold

What I wouldn't have given for a slight break in the clouds, or a cup of cocoa!

Fail to Fall Apart

The abstracted image has long been a favourite of mine.  In fact, the surprise of creating an abstract photo is what led me to photography from painting.  I don't post many of my experiments (art making shares something with sausage making) and this one is pretty close to the "what the hell is that?" line.
The encroaching ice was great a dramatic element, so I started shooting.  Looking through the lens, I saw the converging textural elements and that became the challenge, along with staying dry and warm.  I feel one out of three is a good start.
{ISO200, f/22, 1/8sec}