A last look at Christmas

Last night Pat and I finally took a few minutes to drive around and appreciate some of the great Christmas decorations adorning the homes downtown. This little house on Dale between Cedar and Custer is a perennial favorite. I've blogged about it before, but this video is a little better than the one I posted a couple of years ago (see the end of THIS post for that video). This time we approached the home from the alleyway and drove slowly around to the front. I absolutely love how the Knull family decorates their house every year, and every year I look forward to it eagerly. It must take a lot of work, planning and upkeep, but I'm sure they understand the happiness they bring to anyone who sees their home during the holidays. It's impossible to drive past this scene without smiling!

Boxing Day

On December 22nd we got quite a bit of snow. In my neighborhood it looked to be eight to twelve inches, in fact. Beautiful! I actually had a portrait shoot that day, and after braving the snowy streets to get home, I really couldn't put my cameras away until I had captured a few images of the pretty whiteness all around. Here's a photo of the stone maiden head in my garden. She wears a tall chapeau, below which you can see the curls of her hair and the beginnings of her eyebrows. Alas, her eyes, nose and mouth are smothered in fluffy white snow. She doesn't seem to mind, though. Next spring I'll plant something nice in her chapeau and take a picture for you.

Christmas Greetings From Colorado Springs Daily Photo!

Peace on earth, goodwill toward men. Here's wishing you a beautiful and joyful Christmas day, wherever you may be!

Christmas Eve in Colorado Springs

Ah, Christmas is nearly upon us! In a few short hours, Santa will alight upon the rooftops of the world, dispensing toys and goodies to nice little girls and boys. And hopefully nice adults as well ;^) My mom, brother and I had our annual Christmas Eve lunch earlier today at Mimi's Cafe on the north end of town. There were plenty of last-minute shoppers out and about, and Mimi's was doing brisk business. We were seated across from this table of Christmas sweater clad couples.* I thought they were so adorkable, I had to take a picture. How's this for guerilla photography?!? I very slyly set my camera on the table, crossed my fingers and pressed the shutter. They didn't notice me at all. Whew!

*Please note that faces have been blurred to protect the fashion-challenged ;^)

A rather strange diversion

Pat and I were at the Citadel Mall last night doing some last minute Christmas shopping when I noticed this large kiosk. At first I thought it was a photo booth, but as we approached it I saw that it was actually a "hurricane simulator". Yes, a hurricane simulator. Although it's probably not wise to make light of real hurricanes (see THIS very recent news story for grim proof of what a hurricane can really do), I do think it would be a riot to actually try this thing out. I'd love to get a picture of someone in there getting the hurricane "experience"! Ha ha!

Domino

Only a few more shopping days to go! Yesterday I stopped in at Domino, an extremely groovy shop in Old Colorado City that specializes in all things Midcentury Modern. If you're a regular reader of this blog, you know that Pat and I are fanatical about Modernism. So is my brother Chuck, Pat's brother Gene, and my best friend Jenn. So who was I shopping for yesterday? Well since all of the aforementioned loved ones read my blog too, I can't tell you! But I can tell you that I bought something really, really cool for them!

Thank you for shopping at locally owned businesses this holiday season!

A thing of the past

When is the last time you used one of these? I can safely say it's been years, probably a decade or more, since I've used a pay phone.

Lucy and Louise

Only nine shopping days until Christmas! I'd like to recommend this fabulous boutique, Lucy and Louise. I went in there the other day with my mom, and I just about died. I wanted to buy EVERYTHING in it! Beautiful, unique and stylish clothes, jewelry, accessories and goodies for the home. The best I can describe it is that it's like Anthropologie, only ten times better. And it's not a chain -- it's a locally owned business, which is my point. Take a look at this fabulous coat, for example. There is no way you're going to find something like this at Target or Macy's. Totally unique and dead chic.

Please buy at least one gift this year from a local business! You can find Lucy and Louise in the Shops at Briargate, or visit their website at http://lucyandlouise.com/.

Birthday sunset

Just like last year, I got a beautiful sunset for my birthday yesterday. I had a wonderful, memorable day, including the fulfillment of a long-held desire to photograph a certain elderly friend of a friend in Black Forest. (When I say elderly, I mean she's 100 years old!) On the way home from the portrait session I was rewarded with this spectacular view, so I pulled the car over for a few quick snaps. Beautiful!

Birthday bears

Today is my birthday! Yesterday my mom took me to lunch at PF Chang's to celebrate, and afterward we did a little shopping at The Shops at Briargate. This adorable, life-sized bear was stationed in front of Williams-Sonoma. I just love that he has his own little teddy bear to cuddle.

Seascape Aquatics

I mentioned in THIS post a couple of weeks ago that I would be blogging about local businesses this holiday season, in an effort to make everyone more aware that there are far, far more options than big box stores for your Christmas shopping. If you happen to have an aquarist on your shopping list, get thee to Seascape Aquatics right now and pick up a gift certificate! I love this place. They have everything for the aquarium hobbyist, both freshwater and saltwater. Not only does Seascape Aquatics have a large selection of fish, they have coral, live rock, and tons of plants, plus every kind of fish food you can imagine. It goes without saying that they also stock tanks, filtration systems, hoods, pumps, decor, substrate, and all the other doodads and gewgaws that make an aquarist go ahhhhh! Oh and the staff is extremely knowledgeable, of course. I go there frequently and they are always so nice and helpful! Here's a little video I shot for you yesterday while I was there buying water for my tank.

Untitled

Along with a handful of other professional photographers, I have a small selection of photographs hanging in the atrium of the posh Antlers-Hilton hotel dowtown. I haven't been there in ages to check on my artwork, so the other night Pat and I dropped in to make sure everything was still there and in good repair. As we were leaving, I looked up and saw the the traditional double Christmas tree decorations that adorn the entire front face of the building. I had to snap a picture for the blog. Happy holidays, everyone!

I will never get it

This beast of a truck has been parked near my studio almost every day lately. It's absolutely enormous. I think it belongs to one of the guys that work in the establishment next door. Sigh. I will never understand why anyone would want a vehicle like this. It's just so.... obnoxious. Truly, it boggles the mind. But I won't bore you by repeating myself -- you can read my feelings about ridiculously macho-fied trucks in THIS post from July of 2009.

Go Spartans!

One last image from the Festival of Lights parade. When the Doherty High School marching band went past, I had to take pictures -- it's my alma mater after all! Doherty has a great band that routinely wins huge competitions. I thought they all looked very fetching in their natty uniforms strung with Christmas lights. Oh and they sounded great too!

Olympians on parade

As you know, the US Olympic Committee is located in Colorado Springs, as is the Olympic Training Center. Thus many of our Olympic teams are centered here as well. I thought Team USA had the best float in the Festival of Lights parade on Saturday night. You can tell they're well-funded ;o) The float was followed by dozens and dozens of athletes smiling and waving. It was very cool to see our Olympians marching down Tejon Street!

A very punny name

I got a laugh out of this participant in Saturday's Festival of Lights parade downtown. It's the blood drive vehicle. Notice it's called the Blood Vessel. Ha!

The Festival of Lights Parade

Every year there's a big holiday parade that runs the length of Tejon Street downtown, usually on the first Saturday in December. It's called the Festival of Lights. Years ago I worked at a camera store called Shewmaker's located at 30 North Tejon, so of course every year we'd watch and photograph the parade as it went past -- and when we got too cold, we'd run back in the store and enjoy a nice cup of cocoa (or maybe a beer, depending on the boss' mood). I quit working there a long time ago, and in the intervening years I've taken in the parade once, maybe twice. Every year I make a resolution to go, then somehow I manage to talk myself out of it. Not this year, though. My friend Angie convinced me to go the the Festival of Lights with her, and along with thousands of other Colorado Springsians I stood on Tejon Street and shivered, cheered and waved as the parade passed by. Yes, it was cold! It was 21 degrees (-6 Celsius) and windy. But it was also very fun. I smiled the whole time! I took a few pictures for you. Here's a funny snowman sauntering down the street to the delight of the crowd. He seems to be enjoying himself immensely!

Arrested motion

This shot was my #2 choice for Theme Day (see previous post). This is my friend Jennifer mid-swing at the bowling alley on Thursday night. I think it's an interesting picture. Take a look at the other bowlers behind her, and that bright orange ball which was just at the right point of its arc to be frozen by my flash just so. Very cool!

December Theme Day: Action Shot!

The first of every month is Theme Day for City Daily Photo bloggers. Admittedly it's 12:15am on December 2nd as I type this, but I was so excited to participate in Theme Day that I am going to cheat a little and backdate this post to 11:59pm so it'll be dated the first of the month. Shhhhhh! Don't tell anyone! ;o) This month's theme is action shot. I'm on a bowling league, so naturally I decided that bowling would be a great candidate for an action photo. I'm a lousy bowler but it's fun to try anyway, week after week. It's a good thing my teammates are all excellent bowlers. They make up for my lack of natural ability!

This is an animated GIF so it may take a few seconds to load -- it's a combination of six photos sandwiched together. It was actually my teammate Jennifer's idea, so let's give credit where credit is due. Thanks Jenn, you're brilliant!

If you'd like to see other action photos from City Daily Photo bloggers around the world, click here to view thumbnails for all participants!