Happy Halloween!

It's Halloween! What better picture to post than this one of "Elvira" that I took at the Zodiac last Friday night during the "Monsters of Mock" show? This woman, Leslie, pulled off the best-looking Elvira costume I've ever seen! And if you're wondering what Monsters of Mock is, it's three tongue-in-cheek tribute bands covering, in this order, the Beastie Boys, the Replacements, and Van Halen (complete with assless chaps, "cocaine", mullets, M&Ms, Jack Daniels and an over-the-top lead singer). On Friday there were plenty of costumed revelers at the Zodiac taking in the show, but I expect tonight will be the really big Halloween blow out. If you're in town and you want to see the Monsters of Mock and wear a goofy costume at the same time, hit Jack Quinn's.

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A photo to accompany yesterday's post:  a branch casts graceful shadows on a wall of the Garfield School. How I love late afternoon light, especially in October!

Garfield School

A photo I captured of the Garfield School on the northwest corner of Willamette and Wahsatch Avenues yesterday, after I finished with a portrait shoot at nearby Shooks Run Park. I think that Garfield School was in use well into the 1970s.  I used to live across the street from it when I was in college, but I don't know what the building was being used for (if anything) during that time, the mid-eighties. Now it's a charter school called Community Prep. I'm glad it's back in use as an institution of learning, although I once read that it's haunted by the spirit or spirits of long ago students!

Here's a picture of what the Garfield School looked like around 1902 (source: PPLD).  Other than the fact that there is a house (probably at least 90 years old) directly to the left of it now, it hasn't changed much.

Rabbit, rabbit

I caught this cute little guy outside a church where I was shooting a wedding last month. I don't think I'm particularly terrifying, but he froze like a statue when he saw me (which allowed me to get this great shot of him). Remaining motionless must be a natural self-defense mechanism that works really well when a predator is in the immediate vicinity, but it's not so effective when a car is bearing down on you. I've found that animals who freeze in the middle of the road as you're approaching respond really well to NOISE, so the next time you come across a frightened squirrel in your path, honk your horn and it'll get right out of your way!

Halloween is almost here!

Do you have plans for Halloween? It's just around the corner!  My good friend Jennifer and I went to lunch at PF Chang's yesterday, and afterward we took a few minutes to browse around Sephora, a store that specializes in cosmetics. All of the sales staff there had decorated their faces with elaborate Halloween makeup. This cute salesgirl let me take her picture for the blog. I like her makeup (and her smile)!

Three, two, one... BLAST OFF!

Pat and I spent Sunday afternoon at Memorial Park near our house, enjoying the sunshine and launching a rocket! I got him an Estes rocket for Christmas, and this was the first chance we've had to actually play with the thing. Of course I had to photograph the whole process.  We launched the rocket three times, and I managed to capture the sequence pretty well on the second attempt.  I made a little animated GIF for you, what do you think?

I must say, this was a really fun way to spend an afternoon and I can't wait to do it again!  If you haven't tried launching a rocket, you should -- especially if you have kids.

Seven Falls

A section of Seven Falls that I captured while on a portrait shoot last Tuesday (see yesterday's post). These are two of the seven (of course!) waterfalls that cascade down into the canyon. I cannot stress enough that there's barely any water in this picture! Normally, any time of year, there is a much, much higher volume of water in these falls. We are definitely in a drought year in Colorado Springs.  Hopefully we'll get some decent snowfall this winter in the mountains, so Seven Falls will be back normal next year.

The Grandest Mile of Scenery in Colorado...

Lucky me, as a photographer I have so many beautiful locations around me! On Tuesday I went to Seven Falls to take engagement portraits for some clients. It's such a beautiful place, and I'm ashamed to admit that I haven't been there in years, even though it's only about a 15 minute drive from my house! Here's the archway that marks the entrance. I like the kitschiness of it. In case you can't read all the signs, here is what they say: on the left, "The Grandest Mile of Scenery in Colorado," and on the right, "The Most Beautiful Canyon in the World." If you ever make it to Colorado Springs, definitely put Seven Falls on your list of must-see places.

I've seen it raining fire in the sky

One last image from our day at Rocky Mountain National Park. This is the very last moment before the sun slipped behind the mountains. I know I am lucky to live in this beautiful place. How I love Colorado!

Rocky Mountain high

A gorgeous, wide view of the mountains at Rocky Mountain National Park two weeks ago. (I believe that's Longs Peak in the distance.) If this doesn't make you want to spontaneously burst into a John Denver song, I don't know what will!

Golden aspens

Pat and I took a little day trip to Rocky Mountain National Park a couple of weeks ago. There were tons of elk everywhere, and tons of shutterbugs following the elk around and documenting their every move. This proved to be a little boring for me after I captured the trophy shot I was hoping for (see yesterday's post) -- I knew I wasn't going to top it! And besides, I hate getting the same picture as everyone else.  As we stood at the side of the road with dozens of camera-wielding tourists snapping away at yet another herd of elk, Pat turned around and spotted this incredible grove of aspen trees in full fall color just a few yards away, and everyone was so focused on the elk that they didn't even notice it. So we abandoned our elk hunt and went aspen hunting instead. It was that perfect time of day when the sunlight comes slanting through the trees and makes long, dramatic shadows. Gorgeous.

A magnificent beast

It doesn't get any more Colorado than a 12-point elk standing proudly in his ruggedly beautiful domain, Rocky Mountain National Park! I captured this image two weeks ago when Pat and I scheduled a day trip to photograph fall color and wildlife.  I know it looks like we were the only ones there, but actually there were hordes of people all over the park armed with every kind of camera and lens, lining the sides of the roads as the elk did their best to ignore us.  I actually got a one-of-a-kind shot here though -- a crowd of people was photographing this elk from the other side, but clearly they didn't understand how much better the light was over where I was standing. Not bad, eh?  He looks simply magnificent backlit with the mountains in the background!

My favorite time of year

Two weeks ago Pat and I made a day trip to Rocky Mountain National Park, over three hours away, to capture the fall color of the aspens and hopefully see some wildlife. The park is famous for its incredible scenery as well as its large herds of elk, which are restless at this time of year because it's mating season. There are several giant meadows where the elk congregate, and if the light is nice and you have a sufficiently long lens, you can play at being a wildlife photographer for a day.

Here's a grove of aspen trees in high color. As you can see, we had a beautiful day for our excursion -- the gold leaves contrasting so beautifully against the brilliant blue sky. It's stunning!

I'll blog a few more pictures from our trip in the coming days, so make sure to come back and look for them!

Confessions of a childhood bookworm

I grabbed this shot yesterday, in front of the downtown branch of the PPLD (Pikes Peak Library District). There are a handful of sculptures there but this one speaks to me the most, because it might as well have been me between the ages of eight and twelve! I was a real bookworm as a kid. I'd spend my summer vacation days at the library, checking out a dozen books at a time, mostly chosen based on the thickness of each tome (the more pages, the better!). I'd join the library's summer reading club and blast through the entire season's books in a week. It was my escape. I wish I had time to read like that now. About the best I can do is one book per month, but I suppose it's better than nothing at all!

How about you? Do you like to read?

Traditional chili ristras

Every year around the end of summer, little stands pop up on local roadsides selling fresh roasted chili peppers. I never indulge, mostly because I have been suffering from severe GERD and was forbidden to eat spicy foods until I had surgery last month! But the smell of roasting chilis is very tempting indeed. If freshly roasted peppers is not your cup of tea, you can always buy them unroasted in these traditional ristras -- that is, strung up in bunches like you see in the photo above. It's a very southwestern thing. (By the way, these are hatch chilis, in case you were curious.) You can find ristras like this all over the American southwest, especially New Mexico, where hatch chilis originated.  Where to buy ristras in Colorado Springs:  at Camino Real in Old Colorado City on the corner of 27th and Colorado, where I took this picture last week.

Blue skies and golden leaves

It's that time of year, my favorite time of year! Every day I'm enjoying my drive to work more and more, as the leaves turn glorious shades of gold and the skies look even bluer than usual in contrast.

Good news and bad for the Pioneers Museum

In the last couple of weeks, scaffolding has crept up the facade of our beloved Pioneers Museum. Yes, it's finally getting some long-needed restoration work! Unfortunately the museum has been in the news lately for a less positive reason: it was broken into and vandalized last week. Some person or persons broke in and destroyed antique furnishings and cabinetry, and worse yet they smashed several historic windows, part of the building's original 1903 architecture. Unfortunately the glass cannot be replaced with any kind of reproduction and the furniture is probably beyond repair, which means we've lost a part of Colorado Springs history with this senseless act. So while the outside of the building is getting a facelift, the inside is a little worse for wear right now.

P.S.  While the sky isn't the subject of this photograph, it does look awfully nice, doesn't it? I guess this means I can call it a Skywatch Friday photo.  To see more Skywatch Friday images from bloggers all over the world, click HERE.

Skywatch Friday

I actually took this photo while leaving my studio last Saturday. The clouds looked so interesting and dramatic, I dug my camera out, trotted across the street and took a picture, even though I really just wanted to go home -- but I couldn't resist! They say every cloud has a silver lining.  Well here's your proof!  Colorado has the most beautiful skies.

To see more Skywatch Friday photos from bloggers all over, click HERE.

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A pretty picture of Fountain Creek, which runs west to east through Manitou Springs and into Colorado Springs. I captured this photo on the west edge of Manitou on Saturday afternoon. This is my favorite time of year. How about you? What's your favorite season?

Moonrise

Friday night's moonrise, captured from the southwest corner of Bijou and Tejon, facing east.

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A shot I grabbed during a family portrait shoot in August. This is between Canon City and Westcliffe, a very beautiful part of Colorado indeed. My clients are lucky enough to own a parcel of land in this area, on what was formerly a giant ranch, and this is one of the old outbuildings.

October Theme Day: Silhouettes

By George, it's already October, people! The first of the month means it's Theme Day for City Daily Photo bloggers. This month's theme is silhouette. I decided that the group of statues that grace the entrance of the Olympic Training Center would be excellent subjects, so Pat and I went down there on Saturday evening to grab a few shots.

To see more silhouettes from City Daily Photo bloggers all over the world, click HERE.

 

This sculpture is called Olympic Strength.

 

 

 A detail (in silhouette, of course!).

 

 

This photo shows what Olympic Strength looks like with front lighting instead of back. It's really an impressive piece. And it's HUGE.