• Cityscapes/Urban

    Park Bench

    August 31, 2015
    Park Bench
    Park Bench

    I noticed a park bench while waiting on my daughter and decided to walk all around it, shooting from every angle and perspective I could come up with. A good exercise. However, I seem to always get my pants dirty from kneeling.  🙂

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  • Plants

    Field of Flowers

    August 29, 2015
    Field of Sunflowers
    Field of Sunflowers

    I had never noticed this field of sunflowers before and driven by several times. So, I’m not sure if its a new field or I’ve just overlooked before. Anyway I turned around and went back to explore the field of flowers. I was not the only one as I encountered three other vehicles all stopping to take photos. We do not know just how large these sunflowers really are until we walk among them. They are beautiful.

    And, since you asked: Sunflowers exhibit heliotropism — they follow the Sun’s daily round. Heliotropism most likely helps to increase the development of pollen — once pollinated the sunflower head remains facing east. This daily dance with the Sun results from motor cells in a flexible segment of the stem just below the bud known as the pulvinus. These cells enlarge or shrink according to the turgor pressure of the water against the cell walls. As pressure increases on one side and decreases on the other the stem responds by drooping or stiffening. 

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  • landscape,  sunsets

    The Fires Burn

    August 28, 2015
    Smoky Sunset at the Prairie House
    Smoky Sunset at the Prairie House

    As the fires rage in the Northwest the smoke drifts to the eastward, we are seeing the effects of these fires along the Colorado Front Range. Our sunrises and sunsets are turning the sun into a red ball. It is pretty to the eye but sad to know what is causing it. My sister and brother-in-law have been traveling in their RV. They say the smoke in Glacier National Park is very heavy. I took this sunset image last week while I was at the Prairie House.

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  • Candid Portraits,  coffee shops,  People/Portraits

    The Artists Hands

    August 27, 2015
    The Artists Hands
    The Artists Hands

    This past weekend a woman sat across from me at one of the local coffeehouses I patronize. After sitting down I noticed she pulled out a small sketch book from here purse and began to draw. Her hands and the task of sketching immediately perked my attention. After interrupting her she agreed to allow me to photograph her hands as she sketched. This then led to a short conversation and a chance to share something about one another.  A camera has the potential to allow for new encounters. Thank you, Betty!

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  • Cityscapes/Urban,  quotes

    Broken

    August 26, 2015
    Broken
    Broken

    We are coming up on September already. Students are back in school. Mornings are turning crisp so I’ll be putting the shorts away pretty soon. Not sure how many images I have of this broken fence. But, I take a photo just about every other time I walk past it. Anyway, if I’ve posted an image of it before, I apologize.

    “We are all broken and wounded in this world. Some choose to grow strong at the broken places.”
    ― Harold J. Duarte-Bernhardt

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  • landscape,  sunrises

    Sunrise at The Prairie House

    August 19, 2015
    This Mornings Sunrise
    This Mornings Sunrise

    I’m entering into my third day on the prairie. Yesterday was my first morning here and I woke to a clear sky with a slight haze on the horizon. The haze caused the rising sun to be a bright orange glob. Clouds moved in by mid-day and rained steadily into the night. As you can see the sun again decided to rise today and offered a good start to the day. This road leads on to their property with the Prairie House directly behind me. So, this is what they wake up to every day.

    The Prairie House
    The Prairie House

    This is a shot of the house with the Front Range in the background. Longs Peak is just to left of the image. Dan has added a room to the original house and a sunroom/porch was added to west side. I think their place is wonderful. I am amazed at the quiet here and realize how appealing the isolation can be. The chicken coop, where the lovely ladies are, is just to the left. So, this mornings breakfast was a fresh two egg cheese omelet with a side of guacamole. Now, on with the day!

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  • clouds,  landscape

    Chasing Clouds

    August 16, 2015
    Chasing Clouds
    Chasing Clouds

    As the storm clouds were building up in the northeast yesterday afternoon, I grabbed the camera and tripod and headed that way. This storm had some strength as the tail winds were quite powerful making it difficult to steady the camera. There were lightening strikes in the mists of the clouds which gave me an idea on capturing them. I decided to make an experiment with my camera using the interval timer. I closed my aperture down to f22 and set my ISO to 200 to get as long an exposure as I could for each shot. I then was set up my camera to shoot an image every 5 seconds for as many images as I wanted.  No such luck but I think it will work and I’ll try it again some time. Has anyone ever done this before? I did enjoy my time away from the city noise and watching nature show off.

    Next week I will be house sitting for a couple of friends in their straw bale house and 40 acres of prairie. Just me and the chickens for a week at The Prairie House.

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