Nothin' but net

Or not. I took this photo of a decrepit basketball net a couple of days ago, behind a building on 8th Street.

The Peterson Air and Space Museum

Did you know that there's a museum on Peterson Air Force Base? It's called the Peterson Air and Space Museum, or the Edward J. Peterson Museum. There are a number of really cool aircraft in the airpark, from bombers to fighter jets to cargo planes. There's even a missile launcher! I had completely forgotten about it until recently, when some clients requested to do their engagement portraits at the airpark (he's an Air Force pilot so it made perfect sense). We went there late one Saturday afternoon and I snapped a few pictures of the beautiful Art Déco building for you. I didn't get any pictures of the individual aircraft, or at least not any that didn't include my clients. I'll have to go back when I'm not working and get a few more pictures one of these days. Maybe in the winter when I'm not so busy!

IKEA -- yay!

On Monday my mom and I spent the afternoon at IKEA in south Denver. We waited a long, long time to get an IKEA in these parts, and when it opened in July it was a big deal! This was my second trip to the new IKEA. Honestly, I could go there every week!

Summer wanes

As summer slowly fades into autumn, I find myself doing more portraits of all kinds in lovely outdoor locations. During a portrait session in one of my favorite parks a couple of weekends ago, Mr. Squirrel paid us a little visit, hoping for a snack. Since he posed so nicely for me I rewarded him with a cracker :o)

A room with a view

A view of Manitou Springs, that is. Yesterday I spent most of my day at the Cliff House, a very large, beautiful Victorian hotel, doing a series of boudoir shoots. I had reserved a posh room at the top of the hotel for my boudoir marathon -- the Clark Gable Suite, to be exact. I'm told Mr. Gable actually slept there! How cool is that? While I was waiting for my last client to have her hair and makeup finished (cute/funny aside: my 23 year-old makeup artist did not know who Clark Gable was and had barely heard of Gone With the Wind), I peeked out the window and saw this nice view opposite me, which I captured with a telephoto lens. You can see how hilly Manitou is, and how quaint. It's a nice place to live.

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A row of coffee mugs at the East Coast Deli on Tejon Street.

Shall we dance?

This rotating sculpture of a life size, waltzing pioneer couple sits on the corner of Tejon and Colorado downtown. I've been trying to research what it's called and who created it, but so far have been unsuccessful. I like this sculpture. The first few times I saw it, I didn't notice that it was revolving. When I finally did take note that the couple was slowly twirling around and around, it reminded me of a jewel box.

The Cheyenne Mountain Country Club

Yesterday I shot a wedding at the Cheyenne Mountain Country Club. Did you know that it's the oldest country club in the U.S. west of the Mississippi? It's a beautiful place! Here's a close up shot of the ornate front doorknobs.

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Another image of PPCC, captured on Wednesday, September 7th.

Pikes Peak Community College

Pat took an online class from Pikes Peak Community College recently, and yesterday we had to pay a visit to the campus. I've never been inside there, although a few of my friends have taken classes at PPCC over the years. Every time I enter an institution of higher learning I have a strong urge to matriculate. Somehow I resisted the urge to enroll at PPCC yesterday, but I snapped a few pictures for ya ;o)

What the heck is this?

I spotted this creepy crawly in the park the other day as I was finishing up with some family portraits. I had a big telephoto lens on so I had to stand pretty far away to capture this shot -- amazingly it's somewhat sharp, considering the lens situation and the fact that this critter was moving at a pretty good clip! Anyone want to venture a guess as to what it is? I have no idea!

Dale Chihuly at the Fine Arts Center

I took this photo last fall while covering a wedding at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center (and I of course promptly forgot to blog it until now). This enormous blown glass chandelier is by famed artist Dale Chihuly. Imagine putting this together -- look at all the parts! It must take days! The FAC has two or three large Chihulys in its permanent collection, and they never cease to amaze me. Beautiful.

What's going on?

While shooting some engagement portraits at the Garden of the Gods on Saturday, my clients and I noticed some kind of gathering happening on the formation above us. I had to take a picture, even though I still can't figure out what the heck was going on up there! I once shot a wedding in that spot, I'm serious. It was definitely a "wear your sturdiest shoes" kind of job.

Run, rabbit, run!

So sorry to have been away from the blog for the last week or so. Weddings and portraits are taking my full attention at the moment. I was doing some engagement portraits in the Garden of the Gods yesterday afternoon, and as my clients and I were walking back to the car we saw this cottontail rabbit jumping through the brush. Very cute! I just managed to snap off a few frames of him before he disappeared.