Guest blogger Todd Caudle

This breathtaking photo of the Garden of the Gods with mammatus clouds was taken by my extremely talented friend, Todd Caudle. Todd is a well known scenic photographer in Colorado, and has published three books of his work (I own two of them!). If you like this photo, you should see the rest of his work -- it's mind blowing!

I know I say this a lot, but I'm serious when I urge you to support small businesses, and Todd is exactly that (just like me). He makes his living from his art. He is the opposite of the big, corporate box store. When you are doing your holiday shopping this year, consider buying one of Todd's GORGEOUS books.  Here is a link directly to his publisher, Skyline Press, where you can have one for as little as $9.95:  http://www.skylinepress.com/books.htm. If you'd rather have a calendar, click here: http://www.skylinepress.com/calendars_2014.htm.

I have known Todd for many years. We go way, waaaay back to when I was in high school and I used to shop at the record store where he worked, Big Apple. (I don't even want to tell you how many years ago that was!) Over the years I've watched Todd grow and thrive as a photographic artist, and am never short of utterly astonished whenever I see some new photograph he's taken. He's extremely prolific, braving the elements almost daily to capture the amazing Colorado landscape around us. Todd will do almost anything to get the shot!

I hope you enjoyed this picture! To see more of his work, visit http://toddcaudle.com/. (And it goes without saying: please do not "pin", screen grab, download or otherwise appropriate any of Todd's images. They are copyrighted. If you'd like to own a print of his work, click on the "contact" link and get in touch with him.)