On the road again

Driving home from Austin, Texas recently, a trip that takes about 14 hours, we went through quite a few small towns. Well, some of them were more like villages I think!  I captured this larger than life, dinner bell-wielding cowpoke high above a restaurant in Brownwood, Texas. This level of corniness just makes my heart smile :^)

At almost 19,000 people, Brownwood is a bustling burg in comparison to the many little hamlets we passed through. If you check out the map HERE, you'll see that it's quite literally deep in the heart of Texas.  Something tells me that the food in this restaurant is both heart-stoppingly fattening and stick-to-your-ribs hearty. Too bad we didn't have time to stop and try it out!  I suppose my arteries are thanking me for that right now.

...To see other Skywatch Friday pictures from bloggers all over the world, click HERE.

The view from Mount Bonnell

I captured this image while I was in Austin, Texas recently, visiting family. My cousin Omar wanted me to see the great view from Mount Bonnell. I was warned that there were some lung-busting steps from the parking lot to the top (99, actually), but since I live at 6,000+ feet I just cruised right up, which was nice -- not something I could do so easily in Colorado Springs, that's for sure! Lots more oxygen in Austin!  This is the Colorado River (i.e., Lake Austin). Look at those houses right on the water. It'd be nice to live in one of those! I'm guessing that this is where the more affluent people of Austin must live. Pretty swell.

A canine hitchhiker

At a street party one night in downtown Austin recently, I spied this guy walking around with a pooch perched on his backpack. I thought it was so funny, I stalked them until I could get a decent picture. Now that's a unique way to walk your dog ;^)

Do you have any questions?

A sign above a comedy club in downtown Austin, captured while was visiting family there recently. Now this is unique advertising -- keep the customers guessing!

I love you so much

During my recent visit to Austin, Texas, I was told that I should spend explore the neighborhood called South Congress (or SoCo for short). I was promised funkiness, great shopping, and stylish people. And that's exactly what I got. It was fun hopping from store to store, browsing all the cool and unique fashions and accessories (and spending too much money), and people watching.

The graffiti in the photo above is on the side of Jo's Coffee. I just caught it out of the corner of my eye it when we drove past, and though we ended up parking quite far away I insisted on walking several blocks downhill to find and photograph it. I did a little research when I got home: the story is that the owner of the cafe was having a bad day, and her girlfriend scrawled this on the side of the building to cheer her up. I think it's a sweet gesture.  Apparently it's become quite an Austin landmark over time.  As a wedding and portrait photographer, I can't help but wonder how many zillions of engagement and wedding portraits have been taken in front of this wall since! (I'm such a cynic, ha.)

Below, a couple more pictures I grabbed while exploring South Congress. So much character -- it really is a photographer's dream come true.  From the many pictures I took, I held back and limited this post to three.  It was hard, I tell you!

 

Personally, I thought this was hilarious. Take a close look.

The Frost Bank Tower

An image of the Frost Bank Tower in Austin, Texas that I snapped when I was there recently. I think it's a gorgeous building -- you can see its Art Déco antecedents -- although my cousin Omar thinks it looks like a giant owl! In fact, I became a little obsessed with it during my visit, and came home with far too many pictures of this edifice. I think it looks especially spectacular at night. Here it is at twilight. Dramatic!

Where the beautiful people go

They say the "W" in the name of the W Hotel doesn't stand for anything in particular -- or rather, it means whatever you want it to mean. Okay then, I think it stands for "where the beautiful people go". When I was in Austin recently, my brother Chuck and I went to the W just to hang out in the middle of the afternoon, and this guy was sitting in the lounge a few feet away from me. Look at him. He's just too good to be true. He's so comfortable with his look -- casual suede chukka boots, light-colored khakis, sport jacket, and perfect Ken doll hair -- that he manages to pull off wearing sunglasses indoors without looking like a total asshole. (Pardon my French.) I was impressed enough to sneak a picture of him. Hopefully he was too engrossed in his smart phone to notice.

Below, a picture of the W's bar.  It's so cool, and the bartenders there turned out to be really friendly and nice.  If I lived in Austin I'd dress to kill and go there every night.

Hello, Austin!

I was in Austin, Texas recently for a few days, to visit family. I've been there once before, but it was only for a couple of days so I didn't have a chance to explore the city at all. This time I was there long enough to really check it out. Everyone says Austin is such a cool and funky place. And they're right. I had a great time getting to know this vibrant city.

Here's a picture of a hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant in Austin called El Azteca. I love Mexican food. Just love it. And living in Colorado Springs, let's just say you can't swing a dead cat around here without hitting a similar hole-in-the-wall, family-owned Mexican restaurant, and they're always excellent. But the food at El Azteca is some of the best Mexican cuisine I've ever tasted. It was DELICIOUS. And cheap.  And they offer vegetarian options, which I appreciated.  My brother Chuck found the place on recommendation of our cousin Omar, who lives in Austin. Apparently celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain dined at El Azteca for his TV show, "No Reservations".  It turns out the place is a local institution that's been there since 1963. The decor is very kitsch (whether intentional or not) -- there are tons of hilarious tchotchkes that appear to date from the late '60s through the early '80s in there. I loved it.  Another thing we found is that quite a few celebrities have dined at El Azteca over the years. A case on the wall displays menus autographed by the likes of Anthony Bourdain (of course), Ricardo Montalban, Edward James Olmos, and numerous other luminaries and sports stars. Impressive! I highly recommend this place if you're ever in Austin and hungry. I'm already pining to go back and eat at El Azteca again!

The next several days I'll be blogging pictures that I took while on my trip. I'm currently swamped with family portrait sessions and holiday orders, so please enjoy my Texas photos while I take a brief respite from shooting for the blog in Colorado Springs.  (And since there's quite a bit of lovely blue sky in today's photo, why don't we go ahead and call it a Skywatch Friday shot to boot!)

Happy Thanksgiving!

For my readers in the USA, I hope you have had a wonderful Thanksgiving full of friends, family, food and football! And love, of course.  As we were shopping for Thanksgiving dinner supplies the other night I couldn't help but notice this heart-shaped potato. I thought it was very appropriate for today's post!

Look at me

This lady's bright colored hair caught my eye as I was driving west on Uintah Street a few months ago. That's a bold color indeed! She definitely doesn't fear attention.

A harbinger of good things to come

A small sign outside the building that houses Nosh, one of my favorite restaurant/bars in the city. I love the small scale but big style of it. It just screams coolness.

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Tejon Street by night.

Happy birthday Colorado Springs Daily Photo!

A shot of the Olympic rings that decorate the forecourt of the Olympic Training Center, not far from my house.  I think the OTC is one of the coolest things about living here.

And on a different note, my blog is four years old today!   I made my very first (excited) post on November 17, 2008.  It's hard to believe that four years have gone by so quickly!  I don't always manage to post every single day, but from the beginning this little blog very quickly became a big part of my life, and I've enjoyed every minute of being a part of the City Daily Photo blogging community.  I appreciate all my visitors and I relish the fact that I can share a little about my beautiful city with so many people around the world.  Thanks for visiting and keep coming back!

A spring in Manitou Springs

One of the many old springs that give Manitou Springs its name. The water is potable and has a noticeable mineral taste. This particular spring is located about half a block west of the Cliff House on Canon Avenue.

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Ivy snakes up the back wall of a building in Manitou Springs.

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One of the colorful decorations that decorate the sidewalk in front of Everest Tibet Imports on Bijou Street downtown. It definitely catches your eye as it spins in the wind.

The Odd Couple

Last month I came across this comical twosome while shooting some engagement portraits at the famous Penny Arcade in Manitou Springs. The woman on the left was modeling for the camera-toting woman on the right, who I suspect is vertically challenged no matter who she's standing next to! The extra high heels on the model only add to the rather adorable height discrepancy. I had to giggle. (And of course, I had to take a picture for you!)

Mentos and Diet Coke Explosion: the video!

Behold the mighty explosion that we created in our back yard the other day! (See Friday's post for details.) This video was shot by me and Pat collaboratively on two cameras, and expertly edited by Pat.

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I came home from a portrait shoot in Black Forest last Saturday to find that the greenhouse window in our kitchen was casting the most interesting shadows on the opposite wall, thanks to the dramatic sunlight that was pouring through it. The slate-colored wall turned a very odd color in the strong light. I must say, I've never noticed these shadows before, although I'm sure they must happen every day at the same time! I should be more observant of what's happening in my own kitchen.  And obviously I need to clean my windows! ;^J

Something to brighten your day

Who doesn't love a puppy?  Even if you don't like dogs, puppies are irresistable.  Heck, I'd go so far as to say that if you don't like puppies, there's probably something wrong with you! I was shooting a wedding at Cheesman Park in Denver last month when I saw this adorable little guy having fun with his human as I was heading for my car to go to the reception. Of course I had to take a picture. How could you not smile, looking at this? :^)

Mentos explosion!

Yesterday, after much advance planning, research and a bit of experimenting, Pat pulled off a Mentos and Diet Coke explosion in our back yard! What you're looking at is four one-litre bottles of Diet Coke into which seven Mentos have been dropped apiece (the fifth bottle, on the right, did not expode because the Mentos failed to drop). The chemical reaction was startlingly instantaneous and EXTREMELY dramatic.  Insane!  The stuff spurted at least 20 feet into the air.  The whole thing lasted only a few seconds. I photographed it, of course, and we also videoed the event with two cameras.

Stand by for video on this blog when Pat has time to get it fully edited. Pretty cool, huh?!?

BBC broadcasting from Colorado Springs

Pat and I went to the Olive Branch to celebrate voting on Tuesday (hey, we need very little by way of excuse to dine there!), and we noticed this large and impressive vehicle parked in front of the Ritz, a restaurant/bar on Tejon Street. Pat works in TV news so he recognized it immediately as a satellite truck, and since he works in TV news he was also able to inform me that the BBC was broadcasting from Colorado Springs this week, and that must be their truck. He was right. I asked the guy in the black jeans, who by the way does not get any points for being friendly or polite, and he confirmed that they were with the BBC and that they were, in fact, broadcasting from the Ritz. As it turns out, some senator or other was hunkered down in the Ritz awaiting election returns, and the BBC must have hitched their wagon to that particular race as a newsworthy event.

I spent all of Tuesday afternoon and evening nervously glued to the news watching the election unfold, but never remembered to check out the BBC, so I didn't get to see Colorado Springs' star turn. Oh well. I hope we looked good on TV!

Election Day 2012

Well unless you live under a big rock (or on another planet), you're probably aware that yesterday was the presidential election in the United States, and that Barack Obama has been elected to a second term. Colorado was one of the so-called "battleground" states, which essentially means that all of us here were subjected to relentless negative campaigning 24/7: bombastic commercial after commercial, vicious sniping, name-calling, fear mongering, misinformation and outright lies, not to mention the endless robocalls and telephone polls. In the hours before Pat and I went to cast our ballots around lunchtime, at least four different campaigns called our home, urging us to vote. And as we were leaving, one last canvasser was crossing our lawn to hand us flyers!

It has been a crazy and stressful time. My friends have been going after one another on Facebook for months, spouting off opinions, arguing and generally making everyone miserable.  It's been difficult to keep a positive attitude during all of this.  Whether you voted for the guy who won or the guy who didn't win, I'm sure you're as sick of politics as I am. I am, in a word, exhausted.  Spent.  I'm very relieved that it's finally over (I won't share here who I voted for), and I'm looking forward to being a citizen of the UNITED States of America again.

 

Here's me, after voting but before lunch :^)  Let's get back to normalcy again, shall we?

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The tide is turning. There are more leaves on the ground than on the trees now, I'm afraid. But the grass is still green and we've been enjoying mild, sunny days. I'll take it while I can get it.

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The fountain that sits in front of the historic Cliff House in Manitou Springs, captured on September 29th. In the background is the Manitou Springs Penny Arcade.

November theme day: the water's edge

Another month has gone by, and that means it's Theme Day again! On the first of every month, City Daily Photo bloggers worldwide post images with a specific theme. This month it's the water's edge. I captured this image of frigid North Clear Creek in charming and historic Black Hawk, about 100 miles from Colorado Springs, at the end of a long day shooting engagement portraits last weekend. Snow and ice formed jagged edges above the rushing water. Such a beautiful spot, but I was glad to get into my nice warm car after taking this picture! Brrrrr!

All over the world, City Daily Photo bloggers are posting their images of the water's edge.  Click HERE to see them all.