My online journal where I share my interests in photography, nature, coffee life, journaling, fountain pens, bicycling, spirituality and asking deep questions.
This is the side of a metal building someone has painted a mural on. It is massive in size and depicts a couple of hummingbirds that must be 10 feet tall. I am standing along the path leading to the bus stop and can’t step back any further. It was the abstract essence that called me when standing this close. Bright colors!
While enjoying a walk in a different neighborhood I discovered this interesting graffiti then realized it was a small barbershop.
It is Friday morning about 7:30 am and sitting at a computer on campus at Morgan Library. Yes, I have a mocha in hand from Morgans Grind, the coffee shop located in the library. 
A light snow is falling and has been, with mixed rain, since Thursday night. We have received about 2-3 inches of snow but with lots of moisture. Winter is still with us in Colorado.
As I walked from the bus stop to the library I noticed a student riding their bicycle in this 20 degree weather without gloves. How do they do that? Anyway, back to the weather. They are predicting lows for the next two nights somewhere from the single digits to mid teens. Time to make chili again and check on airfare to Phoenix. Stay warm and enjoy the weekend!
Austin just graduated this past December from Colorado State University with a Fine Arts degree and wants to work as a print maker. We met at one of the coffee shops I frequent where he worked as a barista during college. I was privilege to take a few images of him as he made prints at the lab on campus. Of course this one was taken after the print was made and therefore the happy grin on his face. I think he likes it.
If you’re not familiar with print making here is some info on it from Wikipedia. Printmaking normally covers only the process of creating prints that have an element of originality, rather than just being a photographic reproduction of a painting. Each print produced is not considered a “copy” but rather is considered an “original”. This is because typically each print varies to an extent due to variables intrinsic to the printmaking process, and also because the imagery of a print is typically not simply a reproduction of another work but rather is often a unique image designed from the start to be expressed in a particular printmaking technique.
Prints are created by transferring ink from a matrix or through a prepared screen to a sheet of paper or other material. Common types of matrices include: metal plates, usually copper or zinc, or polymer plates for engraving or etching; stone, aluminum, or polymer for lithography; blocks of wood for woodcuts and wood engravings; and linoleum for linocuts.
Photography is not about cameras, gadgets and gizmos. Photography is about photographers. A camera didn’t make a great picture any more than a typewriter wrote a great novel.
Peter Adams
Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures.
Henry Ward Beecher
My role as an observer of an image is much different as I practice and mature with photography. I am grateful I’ve come to see the world with new eyes when I look through the viewfinder of my camera. I contribute this with time, practice and learning to be present to life. Likewise, my role as an observer of another person’s image has changed. There has always been the draw of colors, patterns and especially the light and shadows. But, the story an image expresses is becoming a greater interest within me.
I’m posting this image because it says something about me at this time in my life. It tells a story: it tells you I wear a favorite hat on an almost daily basis, it tells you I have established a routine of writing almost daily basis for many years using a small collection of fountain pens, it tells you I allow the words from sacred texts of many faiths, poets, mystics, and creatives transforms me as a person. And, since I’ve taken the image myself it tells how a camera is always with me and used as a creative tool and inspiration in my life. It says something about my life and more.
I do not have a grill back in Colorado at my condo because of a city fire code. Anyway, now that I’m house sitting I have been able to use my brother-in-law’s grill, twice. Last night it was spicy sausages.
While things were cooking I was drawn to the neighbors back yard and the little fountain they had. The scene was beckoning me to grab my camera, step over near their wall, kneel down, compose and press the shutter. To me it represents the life people live down here.
Let me tell you, I am not used to this heat at night. Back in Colorado we cool down at night, but not here. It can still be 85-90 when I go to bed. It would take some adjustment for me to live here.
Oh, and in case you care to know, the sausages were Awesome!