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}

Happy New Year!

It's the last day of the year, I hope you are enjoying it.
Cheers!

Aeris per Annum

Fell in love with this tree last year when it was foggy.  Took a look outside this mourning and heard her call.

Gaggle Storm

A snowy morning at City Park Lake. I get the strangest looks from the joggers on mornings like this... go figure.

Lunar Eclipse 12-20-2010

How many people do you think were witness to this event?  How many, again, were moved in some way, to think of things greater than themselves?  The possibility of an answer greater than zero moves us a little closer to understanding one another.  Next time, however, I'm going to try to position myself in a place that will allow me to do shadow puppets.

Natural World Show at C4FAP

In keeping with my self promotion style, I'd like to announce that I had an image selected for the Natural World show at C4FAP.  Yep, it's that goddamn tree at Fossil Creek Res., choke on that haters!  The show is nearing completion, so you'll have to hurry if you want to deface it!  (All sarcasm aside, I am very proud to have been selected to be part of the show.)

Luckily, I was using my Nikon P(oS)7000 which refused to focus on any object in the room.  Maybe it's some kind of built in copywrite protection.

Terraspectrum

This is a full terrestrial rainbow!  Every colour is present and it's still an hour before sunset.  This is the time of year you can smack a sagebrush and the incredible dust carries forever on the wind.  I wonder if there's a way to print this as a scratch-n-sniff?

Wandering Watershed

Sand Creek trickles through the Boxelder Watershed in Bent Rock Canyon, Red Mountain Open Space, Larimer County, CO.  An old quad identifies this as Sand Creek, but a sign on the property identifies this as Boxelder Creek.  I'm going with Sand Creek because the old quad matches the actual geography and there's is another creek to the south.

Paladin's Grope

Strikes me as something sinister spreading out.  I can feel fingers twitch toward the grasses.  Far, far from home.

Devil's Canyon

A mix of great spirits are whispering truths, their messages lay as the alpine snow.  Slaps from the wind call your attention to what's riding on waves and repeatedly carved into stone.

After Dawn

In the beginning of the year, I made a photograph of this relic gate and horizon line.  In that image I was moved by an internal voice recanting the passage of time that all things face.  Now, several months later, while hiking along the ridge above this object I noticed it's lintel was broken.
          Just an old gate, studpidly
          stuck in the mud,
          you wasted your time
          on the sunrise you loved.
          Neglected and sold
          to wither and fall,
          but stand there you do
          making fools of us all.

Two Buttes

The Pawnee Buttes glow before the coming night.

The obscenity of turbines in the background is sprawl from the Cedar Creek Wind Farm, LLC.  A joint venture between Babcock & Brown (Austrailia) and BP Alternative Energy (GB).  Contrary to local myth,

McF Studios Gallery

If any of you are traveling outside this blog's bounding box you may have found the McF Studios front page, and from there perhaps you dove into the Image Galleries link.  About a month ago that would have landed you on the doorstep of my reseller.  Then, as if planned, a week ago, you may have seen a 404 style error page.  Hmm...  I won't get into the particulars, but that situation didn't make me very happy.  Whose fault it was isn't important, but since this is my business and my name it's ultimately my fault that the link suddenly didn't work.

The New Gallery Page at mcfstudios.com

It works now, but you will no longer be taken to a reseller.  Instead you are presented with a gallery of my photographs.  These are all taken very near my home of Fort Collins, CO.  I think they are some of my best work.  Please take a minute to enjoy.  Web based print sales will return, until then if you'd like to purchase a print, please drop us a line at contact@mcfstudios.com.

Thank you, have a pleasant weekend.

-r.
P.S.  It's a flash based gallery, so it won't work on your iPad.  I'm working to rectify this, but it may take a few weeks.

Pinion's Perch

One little pinion perched on a hill / Comes a storm to break your will / Not my problem, I don't care / I can move from here to there / You're all alone up on your perch / Tell me now what is it worth / We'll face this rain but seperately / Hope you last this calamity.
(it's that mockingbird song, and it sounds much better if you sing it)

Fuzzes

Ok, enough with the pseudo painting.  It's fun and there's probably an application out there for the technique, but sooner or later you gotta get back to work... right?  Work?  That doesn't sound like fun at all.  Maybe just another few minutes in the grass... it's sunny and warm right now, the winter is coming, too, so let's enjoy the little bit of fall we have left. 
I have a few projects that are commanding a lot more of my time than I want them to, but they must be finished, and soon.  So in the coming weeks the blog may get a little lighter, I'm thinking, three times a week.  We'll see how it goes.

The Melting Pumpkin

Walking past my neighbor's door, I couldn't resist this shot.  Plus, it's seemed to beg for my new painting technique.  Fun for me, hope it's fun for you as we head into the spooky season.  Cheers to all and happy Friday!

City Park Fauxtumn

Then I got really bored and whipped this up with my favourite oil paints.  Mmm... linseed...
Not really, it's a 100% digital creation.  In the beginning of the year, I photographed several of these magnificent trees in City Park.  Before the horrendous wind started, I took a trip to see how they were getting along in Autumn.  Gorgeous as ever, I wasn't satisfied with the greater atmospheric occurrences and just took some snapshots to record the locations.  Enter the new painting technique...
Enjoy!

Fauxtumn Leaves

 Always time to play.  I'm sitting in the studio for the sixth day in a row.  It's starting to get to me and affect my mood.  But there's just too much dang wind to go out and play.  It's gusting over 60 knots, and after ten minutes it's unpleasant and boring.  So, I'm playing inside instead.  The new release of Photoshop contains some interesting painting tools.  I processed these photos through my normal parameters, then started pressing buttons and pushing sliders until I got this result.  It's a bit garish, I realize that, but my toolbox just got a little bigger and now when I head out to photograph, I may be shooting certain subjects to utilize this technique.  The photo below is the result of a new masking technique I discovered that allowed precise selection of background and foreground.  This seems to get closer to my desired effect.

As a finishing step I added a canvas texture to these images.  Knowing they were destined for the blog I thought the texture would aid the viewer's perception of the digital image.  However, if I decide to send an image for printing, it would certainly be printed on canvas and therefore I'd have to remove the texture.  I've done a few of these now and you can expect to see a few more, soonish.

Thought Weeds

I'm very intrested in the sun, have a look though my portfolio and you'll notice a prominent solar motif.  It kind of makes sense, to me, since we have over 300 days of sun in this part of the world.  There's not much to block the sun, either.  Well, not out on the Front Range, you have to head into the mountains or move back to the wasteland East of the Mississippi.  So, when the sun is out and you're out in it, you become very aware of it.  Rambling logic is my speciality (exactly how it sounds in my head).
The point is, when I choose to include the sun in an image, I try to present it in the way I perceived it.  Here, I was ankle deep in mud and looking for interesting high contrast patterns, but constantly fighting the sun to see any detail.  It would be perfect to hear that people are squinting while looking at this image. And, maybe I should start taking bets on what gets a blind spot first... me or my D3?

One Hundred!

Today is my one hundredth post!  Glad it's a happy colourful image.  Finally put the studio back together and got most everything plugged in again.  The new layout didn't come together the way I wanted, but it's certainly better.  Feels good to be back to work!
Saw this tree the other day after I had pack up to hike back tot he Jeep.  The sunlight in the leaves and all those colours, I had to stop and shoot more!  Who could give this up?  Yellow, green, red, blue... what'd I miss?  Pretty sure if it's a colour it's in the photograph... gonna be a pain to get this one printed correctly.

In Eddies Gone By

Yikes!!! It's Tuesday morning, again, already!  Yesterday I decided to tear my studio apart in order to add some much needed insulation.  (Wonder how the apartment complex would feel about that?)  This turned into a bigger project that originally envisioned.  As is my style, after disconnecting my computers, then moving my desks, I started to see new ways of arranging the work area to create a more efficient space in a comfortable environment.  Well begun is half done, but I have a feeling I'm creating a backlog of work for myself.  So, let's call it an experiment.  If I commit enough time to make the space more efficient, I should be able to gain some of that time back, right?  Hmm... seems specious at best.

Today's photograph is a shining example of how a little extra energy can make a lasting impression.  This creek bed is long since dry, but the eddy pools left deep scars that provided a little needed contrast to the environment.  If you dig deep enough here, you may just find water, probably not enough for a human, but the lizards and insects and anything with roots can find a full bounty of moisture.
The blog may be sketchy for the rest of the week.  I'll do my best to post at my regular schedule, but that will depend on how deep the hole I'm digging gets!

Leaf & Rock, Plate 7 of 9

This little broken rock is in the middle of a hiking trail, which made it really easy to find a wide, level place for my tripod.  Turns out it's also the preferred trail for an even less socially adept group of entheusiasts, Joggers!  Before I knew it, my artistic pursuit was an impediment to all of Western Fort Collins!   No one ran into me, but I was reminded of the local etiquette regarding stationary objects and pathways.  Whatever.  These results were absolutely worth it... just look at that texture!  This kind of stuff isn't found every day, so you silly joggers can run in the road, I'm doing important stuff here!
(image notes:  Nikon P7000, tripod mounted, 5 shot bracket, tonemapped in Photomatix Pro4, black and white conversion in LR3)

Stick It On A Pin

Checking out the macro capabilities on the P7000. Handheld 1/125 @ f/7.1, ISO 100.  Lit using an SU-800 on camera and SB-600, blew out the background in post for effect, I was only going for "proof-of-concept" kind of results, anyway.  You are looking at two velvet ants (display pinned) and something as yet unidentified (because we're busy, not that it's new or rare).  Looks cool, thought I'd share.

Symmetry on the Prairie

Everything seemed to line up on the prairie this morning.    Maybe it's a face telling us an ancient story?  I love the sun here in CO, makes it difficult to find a decent exposure, but sure feels great!
Here's to a warm spot in the sun this weekend!

Rabbitbrush and Horsetooth

An early morning view along the Cathy Fromme Prairie Natural Area in Fort Collins, Colorado.

False Promises

Sorry about the late post... um... my dog forgot to set the alarm clock?

Trying to find a composition before dawn, I shivered in the weeds with the rodents.  This scene was lit entirely by light pollution.  Thirty seconds of sodium vapour, the best light of the morning, if not for the breeze.

Riverbend, Plate 4

Ideas, like leaves, scattered to the floor

Lay clumped in effluvial eddies.

Swirling away, in a breath of air

Will they walk or do they drown?

Nikon P7000 Field Test - UPDATE!

UPDATE:  November 2011  I noticed this page has received a bit of attention lately, and thought I'd let you all know how I'm getting on with this camera.  Well, it went to Nikon Service in April for repair of the lens blades, then it was replaced after developing the same lens blade problem, then replaced again, and then replaced once more all for the same lens blade problem.  When the camera worked it worked well.  Unfortunately, the five different SNs I used exhibited the same physical defect.  I could rant for a month about my frustration with this camera.  But our affair has ended and not at all too soon.  I'm taking recommendations for a new compact camera.  Supposedly the P7100 fixed a lot of the shortcomings of the AWFUL P7000.  Someone else will have to review that one, I'd rather go back to disc film!


Now back to the original post.
When the Nikon P7000 arrived a couple of days ago, I charged the battery and headed out for an eight mile hike.  Out of the box and into the field.  I didn't read any of the manual, didn't learn the buttons, tied a piece of webbing to the strap attachments and started using it.  This isn't a super technical review, just my reactions to being handed a new camera and trying to make interesting images while out enjoying the big bright Colorado sunshine.

Click through for samples and some running commentary.

Closer

Sometimes you have to tell yourself the story.  It's alright, though, I'm certain you can hear it.  All sound begins with silence.
Have a pleasant weekend.

October Morning

Mountains make their own weather.  I woke under clear skies and cursed through the dawn for some drama.  Didn't happen until I finished dressing and packing up for a long hike.  Ok, better late than later.  Instead of hiking, I dodged bursts of rain and wind and chased little hits of sunshine around the aspen groves.  I carry an umbrella as a standard part of my camera gear, it's the best for keeping both rain and sun off your lens.

Cementotem

"The spotted hawk swoops by and accuses me, he complains of my gab and my loitering.
I too am not a bit tamed, I too am untranslatable,
I sound my barbaric yaws over the roofs of the world.
The last scud of day holds back for me,
It flings my likeness after the rest and true as any on the shadow'd wilds,
It coaxes me to the vapor and the dusk.
I depart as air, I shake my white locks at the runaway sun,
I effuse my flesh in eddies, and drift it in lacy jags.
I bequeath myself to the dirt to grow from the grass I love,
If you want me again look for me under your boot-soles.
You will hardly know who I am or what I mean,
But I shall be good health to you nevertheless,
And filter and fibre your blood.
Failing to fetch me at first keep encouraged,
Missing me one place search another,
I stop somewhere waiting for you."  from Song of Myself -W. Whitman

Something For Galen

Not that he needs anyhting, but he was a great inspiration to me as both a climber and artist.  When I saw these pudgy rocks and their colourful lichens, a connection was made immediately.  I know there's a compositional rule or two being broken with this, but all my other framing efforts lacked the same sense of whimsy.

In The Last Of The Sun

Blackfoot-Pawnee-Cheyenne-Crow!

Ap-a-che!

Ar-ap-a-ho!

...sheesh!  If anyone reading this can remeber the post-punk, new wave song that chant is from, you're too old to be reading (or writing) blogs with fonts this small.  Anyway, whenever I venture to roam a bit in this Fort Collins Natural Area, that silly song pops in my head and won't leave.  Any guesses?  Here's a hint:  I'm adamant that in natue is the key to our survival.  Might even contain the fountain of youth.  Drink deep and howl into the night with the Kings of the Wild Frontier!

City Park Fauxtumn

Obviously, I'm really starting to have some fun with these digital painting tools.  If this dang wind ever stops, there are a few places I think I can find new subjects to apply this technique.  Hopefully, a few leaves will be spared, but there are whole branches (literally) blowing through the neighborhoods.

Elias

As often as possible I'll take the long way or the dirt road or the "hey, what's over there" route and that's how I found this cemetery.  There are less than a dozen markers, two of which are modern.  Mostly they are broken or very well weathered, like this one, which looks both.  I wonder what is more interesting, the life Elias led or what happened to his gravestone.
It's Friday and October... take the long way home.

A Forest Fall

If you ever get the chance to camp in the center of an Apsen grove, do it.  Even in the height of summer it's a rewarding experience.  If you have trouble finding a good place, remember, "X" marks the spot.

Cubic Frost

I told you the nights got really cold!  After the light of dawn had faded into another disconcerting overcast morning, I hung my head (which helps me find stuff) and saw the frost was still around.  Since I wanted to laydown anyway,  I got down to about an three inches off the leaves to shoot this at 1:1.  The DoF was tricky, I wanted all the frost in focus and none of the ground.  After throwing a medium sized tempertantrum (awake and working for three hours w/o the benefit of coffee) I decided on a 7mm exposure stack 1mm apart, all at f/45.  The Nikon R1C1 and a well made focusing rail really made doing this a lot easier.  Had to keep finding new subjects, though, because I couldn't stop breathing on them and melting the frost. (Duh!)