My online journal where I share my interests in photography, nature, journaling, fountain pens, bicycling, coffee life, spirituality and the mystery of it all.
“Photography, if it is anything, is about experiences…You cannot photograph what you have not experienced.”
David duChemin
I encountered this young lady sitting on the porch waiting patiently for them to open. I stopped and asked if I could take her photo. With a big smile she said yes so I took one photo. This experience gave me this gift.
Some days I feel like it’s only a few strands of wire holding me together.
Colorado State University is having their graduations this weekend. Since I live only four blocks from campus I decided to vacate the area and avoid the traffic. I spent the earlier part of the day at the Fossil Creek Reservoir Nature Area. It is a massive area of almost 1,400 acres reserved for birds. You will find geese, eagles, grebes, hawks, ospreys, meadowlarks, robins and those cute little birds that dart everywhere. I walked to one of the viewing sites and just spent quiet time there. Later on in the afternoon I drove out east for more quiet and to have a grand view of the mountains and our afternoon storm clouds. It’s been a good month for clouds. Each and every day we are given a new set of clouds to enjoy.
The second image was farther east along a farmer’s field. You can see the rain falling as the system moves eastward.
The weatherman was right. They predicted thunderstorms for yesterday afternoon and sure enough clouds built up in the west over the mountains. It began to rain along the foothills then moved out out to the east. I took the above image at the Cathy Fromme Nature Area then drove out east in anticipation of some good clouds. But I watched the storm build up and obscure the mountains with a refreshing half inch rain. And the plants are loving it. It was all good and the weatherman was right.
“The virtue of the camera is not the power it has to transform the photographer into an artist, but the impulse it gives him to keep on looking.” Brooks Atkins
Slouching: To sit, stand, or walk with an awkward, drooping posture.
This young man remained in this position for an hour and a half at the library. His right hand is permanently attached to his mouse and his left hand is working some keys as he plays some video game. He is also wearing ear plugs in as he listens to some music on an ipod or phone. I would not be able to stand up after spending 5-10 minutes in that position.
It has been raining for the past several days. Thankfully it has been a gentle and refreshing rain and much needed moisture. We have seen severe weather conditions over the past few days. There have been tornado warnings, hail warnings, flash flood warnings, and winter weather warnings. Temperatures started to drop down to freezing yesterday afternoon. As it dropped the rain changed to snow, heavy wet snow. My understanding is some areas of Colorado had as much as 6 inches of snow.
Fort Collins is reporting over 2.5 inches of moisture the past 3 days. The 1 to 3 inches of snow they predicted for last night fizzled out. We only received a dusting of snow as you can see in the above image taken this morning of a favorite cottonwood along the Fisher Nature Trail. The image below was taken yesterday afternoon from my bedroom window during some heavier rain.
And, Happy Mother’s Day to all!
A saguaro in contrast to a blue sky. It is also in contrast to our weather here in Colorado. We are in our 4th or 5th day of rains, gentle rains. Ponds and rivers are full and muddy. The ground is soaked and feels like you’re walking on a sponge. It is cold with temperatures dropping down to freezing tonight which means we have the potential for snow. Weather man says 1-3 inches of snow by tomorrow. Stay warm!
It’s been raining for the past 4 days or so and they are saying we can expect a couple more days of it. Have not shot an image in those 4 days, either. So, here’s one taken from this past October. It has some red in it.
This past week I encountered three young people in Old Town enjoying a jam session. One young man was on the piano and the other two were playing guitars and singing. I just stood there and listened to their music with no intent to shoot. I finally took five shots then moved on. This image reminds me of Johnny Hahn who has played the piano at Pikes Market in Seattle for years. We need artists like this in our world who work at their craft for the love of it not the popularity and money.