Kokopelli will never die

Ah yes, one of the several life-sized Kokopelli figures at the El Colorado Lodge, a hotel just inside Manitou Springs city limits. Kokopelli was all the rage in the 1990s. You could find him on t-shirts, ashtrays, bumper stickers, keychains, you name it. He was everywhere. Heck, one of my acquaintances even got a Kokopelli tattoo (I bet she regrets that now!). If you ask me, he's a bit passé now, but don't tell the owners of this hotel! ;^) 

The Lonely Manitou Indian

Manitou Springs is known for its natural mineral springs (surprise!). Several of them are still active around town, and if you've ever sampled the water, you know it's very distinctive tasting. On and off over the last century, there have been attempts to bottle and sell Manitou's mineral water. Case in point is this guy, more or less known as the "Manitou Indian", who lives in front of the building at the west edge of town where the water was once bottled. I've blogged about him before (HERE). Water used to flow from the jug in his hands, but for some years now he's just been crouching there silently, waiting for the next entrepreneur to come along and peddle Manitou's famous natural resource. In the meantime, it looks like the building remains empty -- or maybe not, since it's now posted "Private Property", with signs warning of security cameras. It's entirely possible that it now houses a marijuana growing operation, which, as you know, is legal here. Who knows? I'm glad the old Indian is still there, even though he looks a little glum these days!

Follow the yellow dot

Another photo from rainy Sunday afternoon. This is one of a pair of identical garage doors on the long-empty building that once housed a hardware store near downtown. Both doors feature a large yellow circle. Miraculously, this one, unlike its twin, has escaped graffiti. I've used it as a backdrop for photo shoots in the past, but it's been a long time since I've done that. Photographing it for the blog made me want to style a fashion shoot just for this big yellow dot.

Rain, rain, go away... on second thought, stay.

It rained all day yesterday. The sun never made an appearance. But weather be damned; when the refrigerator is empty, to the grocery store I must go, and so I went. Afterward I decided to brave the soggy weather for a few minutes so I could take some pictures for the blog. This sculpture lives right in front of the Fine Arts Center, at the entrance to the parking lot. I didn't stick around to find the name of the artist for you -- I don't like getting wet! The family in the sculpture doesn't seem to care too much, though.

I don't mind the rain. We need it. Rain down here in the city means snow up high in the mountains. Our snow pack isn't quite where it should be to get us through the hot summer months, so April showers, keep on coming!

Sunday Style!

This is Kimmie, whom I found while out shopping on Record Store Day last weekend. I think I like her look so much because she reminds me of myself a few years ago! Head to toe black clothes... okay, I still dress like that. Old habits are hard to break! ;^) I love her style. She's exactly the kind of cool girl you'd expect to find shopping in a record store.

It's a bokeh thing

You may wonder what kind of camera and lens I use for this blog. For the first few years, I tended to use a little Canon point and shoot. I still employ it from time to time, most recently in my post about Record Store Day. It's handy because it's small, but it's strictly a snapshot camera. At some point a couple of years ago I started favoring one of my older DSLR bodies, a Nikon D300. It's ancient and has about a million actuations on the shutter, but it's reliable. I pair an old Nikkor 18-135mm zoom lens with that body. It's versatile but it's definitely not the sharpest lens in my camera bag (it's sadly mediocre, actually). As you know, I'm a full time professional photographer -- but I rarely use my professional camera bodies and lenses for this blog. So the old D300 and the 35-135mm generally suffice, even if they are frustratingly limiting at times. The last few weeks I noticed that the lens was getting, well, mushy. There was a lot of fall off at the edges of the frame, and the focus was getting more and more questionable. A couple of weeks ago, having just come from a shoot, I happened to be using my professional gear to take the pictures of the Garden of the Gods that I posted here the last couple of days. I had my old D300 slung around my neck. Suddenly I heard something hit the ground, and I looked down to see some glass and small parts at my feet. At first I panicked, thinking the Very Expensive Lens on my Fancy Camera had just fallen apart, but then I realized that it was the trusty old 35-135mm that had broken instead -- the front element had literally come right out! It was hilarious! To make a long story short, that lens is now in the "hospital", and in the meantime I've decided to use a pro lens on the old D300 body. A zoom lens is convenient but it will make you lazy. A prime lens, with a fixed focal length and a large aperture, will force you to work a little harder for the shot, but as you can see from these pictures, the results are far superior. HERE is a picture taken with my crappy 18-135mm. Compare it with today's pictures and you'll see the difference. The lens used for these, taken in Monument Valley Park, and most of other the pictures I've posted this week (except for the Garden of the Gods and Record Store Day shots), was a 50mm f:1.4. This lens is a lot more difficult to use. Mine is particularly persnickety, but when it decides to cooperate, the images taken with it are so sharp and bright and pretty! They also have what photographers call bokeh, which is when the background goes very soft and any out of focus bright spots are round. I've had this particular lens for over 20 years, and it's still one of my favorite pieces of glass. As a personal creative challenge, I plan on limiting myself strictly to the 50mm f:1.4 for the blog until my trusty old zoom lens comes home from the hospital, so expect more pretty bokeh pictures for the foreseeable future!

The eastern redbud are in full bloom right now.

This photo would have been much better if I had laid on the ground to take it, but I wasn't in the mood to get dirty, so this is what you're getting!

The brunnera are starting to bloom. Such a beautiful, rare blue.

Skywatch Friday

Another photo taken in the Garden of the Gods last week (see yesterday's post for more). I thought this image was gorgeous in color, but it's especially striking in black and white.

For more Skywatch Friday images from bloggers the world over, click HERE. Have a great weekend!

Being a tourist in my own city

Last week we had a dreary, snowy day followed by a nice and sunny day. The Garden of the Gods with a mantle of snow makes for great sightseeing on a bright day, so I went by and snapped a few pictures for you. Even though it was the middle of the week in the middle of April, there were lots of people out and about, enjoying the scenery. I guess I'm not the only person who appreciates the Garden of the Gods the day after a storm!

The birds also appreciated the sunshine.

Can you spot the two hikers in this shot?

A house for a Hobbit

I love what they've done with this big old tree stump in the Demonstration Garden at Monument Valley Park. There's even an ant sitting on the "roof". So creative!

Drive Time Now

Yesterday afternoon I was driving down Weber Street when I came across these protesters in front of KRCC, the radio station of the Colorado College. When I stopped to take a picture they explained their cause to me: they are advocating on behalf of Democracy Now, a popular nationwide daily syndicated radio program. KRCC is public radio, supported by donations. It's where you get your local daily dose of NPR, All Things Considered, A Prairie Home Companion, Car Talk, and so on. Apparently the station is considering dropping Democracy Now from its programming. Currently it airs at 7:00pm. In effect, in a world with 24 hour news, airing it at 7:00pm is airing it half a day too late according to these protesters, Eric, Codie the dog, and Nazli, representing Occupy Colorado Springs. They are demanding that Democracy Now be aired at 7:00am, morning "drive time", giving it a much larger local audience. The logic follows that the program won't be cancelled if it has a chance to reach more pairs of ears. [And completely aside from all of that, Eric is someone I've known for years -- it was so funny to run into him like this, though not unusual to find him agitating!]

Amy Goodman, one of the two journalists behind Democracy Now, will be speaking at the Colorado College on Thursday, April 23rd, about the importance of social movements. I think that this little group of protesters, advocating on her behalf, proves her point quite handily! For more information on her upcoming appearance, click HERE.

Record Store Day 2015

Saturday was Record Store Day! We stopped by the Independent Annex and Pat bought an Off LP. I didn't buy anything because they didn't have the records I was specifically looking for. I'm sure they will the next time I drop by. There was a lot going on at the Annex for Record Store Day, including live music. While we were there, a band called Redraw the Farm was playing. I'm not a huge fan of the current trend of folk music (banjos... no), but I really liked these guys. They were peppy! It enhanced our shopping experience.

I'm so glad vinyl is still alive and well. You can still get pretty much everything you want on vinyl, whether it's old and used or brand new. I love that.

Some things never change :^)

Sunday Style!

Wednesday was tax day, dreaded tax day. As I was standing in line at the Post Office, waiting to mail my forms (and looking pretty schlubby, I admit), this stylish woman came in and queued up behind me. I usually don't find my Sunday Style subjects at the Post Office but there's a first time for everything! She told me her name was Karen and cheerfully posed for a couple of pictures. She looked great! I love the groovy earrings and cute jeans. The blingy belt works well because her t-shirt is so basic and unadorned. I think the scarf is a nice touch too, especially on a day that could turn chilly at any moment. We should all look so good on tax day!

Spring takes a step forward!

Yesterday's post was about snow, and today's post is about sunshine, because that's the way we roll in Colorado Springs. Friday started out with snow, accompanied by tremendous booms of thunder that seemed to last forever. Eventually the snow gave way to rain, then by noon it was sunny and warm. Even by Colorado Springs standards, the weather was weird! Of course by nighttime it had gone chilly and rainy again, so who knows how today's weather will play out. But I certainly enjoyed the brief few hours of sunshine during the afternoon. Here's a reminder that spring will eventually prevail. I found these cheerful tulips in front of a beautiful old Craftsman home on Nevada Avenue in the Old North End, just north of Van Buren Street. You can see the remnants of Thursday's snowstorm on the lawn beyond the white picket fence. I won't kid myself that we won't see another snowstorm before winter takes a bow, but it's sure nice to see some signs of life here and there!

Spring takes a step back

It's been warm and sunny for the last two or three weeks, but on Thursday we woke up to wind, snow and graupel. Typical fitful spring, Colorado-style! As you can see from this picture, the mock orange in our backyard had started to awaken from the long winter, only to be covered in snow. I'm sure it doesn't mind a little chill -- or at least I hope not!

Springtime at Red Rock Canyon Open Space (Part 2)

Just a few more pictures from Monday's hike at Red Rock Canyon Open Space. I'm so  lucky that this beautiful park, formerly the site of a quarry, is only a 10 minute drive from my house!

Charron, my hiking buddy. That's Pikes Peak in the background.

"Contemplative Trail" -- I'll tell you what I was contemplating as I hiked this trail: I was contemplating not falling on my butt!

Springtime at Red Rock Canyon Open Space (Part 1)

I went for a hike in Red Rock Canyon on Monday with my friend Charron. There were plenty of people out and about. I'm glad I brought a camera, because it was a beautiful day and I got some nice pictures for you! I'll blog a few more tomorrow as well.

We ran into this nice lady, Judy, and her sweetheart of a dog Chloe at the beginning of our hike. Look how cute they are! She told us that Chloe is a good doggie citizen and is in training to be a therapy dog.

Cutie-pie!

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The cupola of the Pioneers Museum on an early spring day (March 31st, to be exact). It looks like our nice, sunny springtime is going to revert to winter for a few days later this week. Enjoy the warmth while you can!

House fire near Academy and Constitution

There is a small townhome community northeast of Academy Boulevard and Constitution Avenue called Georgetown Square, and it's been there are long as I can remember. Apparently a fire broke out in one of the units on Saturday afternoon, and though firefighters were able to extinguish it before it spread to the other townhomes, two people were injured and one person was killed. Very sad! There is still no news on what caused the fire.

Sunday Style!

Today's post features my friend John, who owns a hair salon on Bijou Street. In the thirty years I've known him, I've never seen John looking less than 100% perfectly put together from head to toe. I ran into him the other day as he was dashing into his shop. As always, he looked fantastic!

Signs of spring in my kitchen window

The Christmas cactus that lives in my kitchen window has been giving us quite a nice display in the last couple of weeks. Just when you think you can't take any more winter, Mother Nature reminds you that spring is on the way.

Skywatch Friday

I found this white building with the word LOV3 painted on it south of Fountain, out in the boondocks. What a random thing to come across. I LOV3 it!

For more Skywatch Friday images from bloggers everywhere, click HERE. Have a great weekend!

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A blocked road in rural Pueblo County. I like the symmetry of this photo.

Suspicious bovine

Driving home from Pueblo on Sunday afternoon, we took the scenic route through ranchland via dusty roads. This young bull looked quite suspicious of me as I tried to capture a decent photo of him!

The Riverwalk in Pueblo (Part 2)

More from our afternoon at the Riverwalk in Pueblo on Sunday. They are thinking of doing a similar thing here in Colorado Springs, with Monument Creek downtown. I had actually dreamed up the same concept many years ago, long before the Pueblo Riverwalk came into being (and I'm sure I'm not the only one who's come up with it), and lately when the city government seriously started discussing the idea, I really pondered whether it would be a good thing or not. I've concluded it would be a real benefit, even though there may be some environmental disruptions for the wildlife that live in and along Monument Creek -- but I think the problems would be minor and could be worked around. I hope the idea grows legs and becomes a great public space for everyone to enjoy. I think Pueblo is lucky to have the Riverwalk and it'd be pretty cool if we had something similar here.

The Riverwalk is lined with public art, like this sculpture of Canada geese, almost every step of the way.

This is the spot where the Riverwalk ends and the Arkansas reverts back to its natural state.

A tribute to Zebulon Pike, for whom Pikes Peak is named.

The Veterans' Bridge.