Untitled

The arched gateway to the footpath that serves the Weidenhaft Apartments, 515 North Tejon Street. I've always thought this sign had a very 1940s, film noir-ish/Black Dahlia look to it.

And on a side note, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my mom!!! Love you!

Untitled

Walk, don't run. (Or skateboard, or bike.)

Ember

A girl with a very individual sense of style! Originally I just wanted to take a quick picture of Ember for the blog, but somehow that morphed into a full blown photo shoot. I got lots of great pictures (to see them click HERE), but this is the shot that I visualized for the blog, so this is the one you're getting ;o)

Colorado Springs By Night, Part 7

An industrial building on Chestnut Street north of Garden of the Gods Road, at 2:48 A.M. I hope you've enjoyed my series of Colorado Springs by night!

Colorado Springs By Night, Part 6

A shot of the Martin Drake Power Plant captured from the summit of 8th Street at 2:17 A.M. The steam makes for a dramatic image.

Colorado Springs By Night, Part 5

A night view of the city's skyline looking eastward, 2:07 A.M.

Colorado Springs By Night, Part 4

Tejon Street looking north from the intersection at Bijou Street, 1:59 A.M.

Colorado Springs By Night, Part 3

Across the street from the Pioneers Museum, the Terry R. Harris Judicial Complex with its prominent mural visible even at night.

Colorado Springs By Night, Part 2

The Pioneers Museum, captured at 1:50 A.M. on February 17th.

Colorado Springs By Night

Pat and I went out after midnight yesterday to capture our city in the dark. I got a handful of great images that I'll share here over the coming week, starting with this one. This building is located on Colorado Avenue between Nevada and Weber. I've always been attracted to the purple neon "Colorado Springs" over the entry, and the symmetrical 1930s architecture. In fact, this building is the home of an architecture firm, and you can see that it's been lovingly maintained (in a past life it was an auto parts store). I'm glad I finally got a photograph of it.

The Colorado Springs Bike Shop

A snap of the unique Colorado Springs Bike Shop building, located at 622 W. Colorado Avenue. I've never been inside, but after browsing their website I can see that I'm really missing out by never having visited! What an amazing place! I'm definitely going to stop in there the next time I need anything bicycle-related. And yes, it's a locally owned business (yay!).

Walking on water

Frozen water, that is. I spied the resident waterfowl hanging out on the frozen duck pond at Monument Valley Park the other day, and returned yesterday with Pat to snap a picture. Very cute! And why don't their feet get cold?!? Mine are cold just looking at them.

Red roses

I hope you had a wonderful Valentines Day! Today's picture is a close up of some of the lovely roses that Pat surprised me with. Everyone should get a nice surprise on V-Day!

The Four Continents Figure Skating Championships

On Sunday night I took my mom to the Four Continents Figure Skating Championships "Skating Spectacular", which happens after the actual 4-day competition has ended. All the athletes put on a show for us. It's great to see literally the best figure skaters in the world out there just having a great time, without the pressure of competition. It was so much fun. My mom and I had a blast, and as an admitted skating nerd I was thrilled to see some amazing athletes, such as two-time world champion Mao Asada, newly minted US national champion Ashley Wagner, and ice dancers Meryl Davis and Charlie White, who were breathtaking. Adam Rippon was exhilarating to watch, as was Patrick Chan. I just had my little pocket camera with me, and I was kicking myself for not bringing a real rig because we had rinkside seats, literally at eye level with the skaters and in the first row (the last time Colorado Springs hosted Four Continents, in 2007, cameras were forbidden, so I didn't think I'd have a chance of getting in with a "real" camera this time either). The photo above is Kanako Murakami. Below, a brief clip of Amanda Evora and Mark Ladwig, who were amazing together. If you'd like to see the final results of the competition, click HERE.

A very wintry day

In contrast to yesterday's post and Friday's weather, Saturday was bitter cold and snowy, and beautiful in an entirely different way.

A sunny winter day

Friday was mostly gorgeous, so I found a minute after my photo shoot to dash outside my studio and grab a shot of the ornamental grasses in the last of the afternoon light.

Nosh

The bar at Nosh, one of my favorite Colorado Springs night spots.

Untitled

A couple of nights ago Pat and I stopped by the library to pick up some books. I thought the entrance to the building looked beautiful contrasted against the deep blue twilight sky.

Untitled

Snow-capped Pikes Peak, captured yesterday in late afternoon light.

Hide and Seek

I noticed this distinct shadow the other day while driving Pat to work. The late morning light really created a dramatic contrast. So after dropping Pat off I doubled back, parked my car and trotted across busy Colorado Avenue to get a shot of it. The building that's served by this alley actually had a big part in my previous life: it used to house a great gay bar called the Hide 'n' Seek, or H&S for short. Everyone knows that gay bars have the best dance music! When I was in college and going out clubbing every single night, we used to hit the H&S on Saturdays for "after hours" dancing after our regular hangout, the Annex, would close. "Wanna go H&S-ing?" was a familiar question, and the answer was always YES! So we'd leave the Annex and go straight to the Hide 'n' Seek for two more hours of crazy dancing and partying, and then if we had any money left we'd hit the 24-hour Denny's around the corner for greasy french fries. Oh to have that kind of energy (and metabolism) again! Those were the days!

The GOCA

On Thursday Pat and I went to the Gallery of Contemporary Art at UCCS, my alma mater. Since I majored in art, I can say that I've participated in a few student shows in that very gallery. It's been years since I went to an opening there. This one was special though -- it's the retrospective of Louis Cicotello, my favorite art professor and all around great guy. Louis died last year in a climbing accident at the age of 70. Everybody loved Louis, so the turnout for the opening was huge, despite inclement wintry weather. It was great to be surrounded by his art, and great to see some familiar faces as well.

Pat took this photo of the party after the crowd started to thin out. I like how it shows a lot of the art, and the people enjoying themselves.

Untitled

A bumper sticker that I noticed in a parking lot the other day. I tend to agree!

Colossal carrots

These larger than life carrots adorn the entrance to the Margarita at Pine Creek, which is located off the frontage road to the west of I-25, north of Woodmen Road. It's a wonderful fine dining restaurant. I've never had a bad meal there. And I love the giant carrots!

With apologies to Chuck Tutt

As I was driving through the Colorado College campus the other day, I had to stop to get a photo of this -- it's the statue of Charles Tutt II that lives in front of the Tutt Library, covered in flyers. I must say, I like the bowtie and the pocket square. Nice touch!

Antique train engine

Back to our regularly scheduled programming! Here's the antique steam engine that lives across the street from Giuseppe's Depot, in Antlers Park. I periodically get requests for senior portraits in front of it. And although I've always complied with said requests, I must admit I've never really taken a good look at it until now. It's pretty cool! To me it looks like something out of Harry Potter.

Theme Day: animals

It's the first of the month, which means it's theme day for CDP bloggers! This month's theme is animals. I had every intention yesterday of photographing a very specific animal statue for the blog, but got caught up in a photo shoot that took up most of my day. By the time I was finished the light was gone and it was dinnertime! So instead I've cheated a little and pulled out this 2009 image of my sweet cat, Lilo. Isn't she adorable? Usually the night before I have to shoot a wedding, I get all my gear together and take a few test shots. Lilo is always at the ready to lend me her modeling services for these moments. Even though they're supposed to be test shots, I can never delete these cute pictures of Lilo! Of course I'm a little biased, but I do think she's very photogenic! :o)

If you would like to see more animal pictures, check out City Daily Photo blogs all over the world! Click here to view thumbnails for all participants.