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?

Untitled

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.

Untitled

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.