• Bench,  Self-portraits

    Watching the Sunset

    Self-Portrait

    It is not only the tool that makes a good photograph. It is the person behind it. – Norman J. Piluke

    I have invested good money into my tools for photography and I hope to spend the rest of my life investing in the person behind those tools and every once in a while in front of those tools. Anyway, it’s Friday and another week has quickly come and gone. I’ve gotta quit blinking so much these weeks are blazing by.

  • Self-portraits

    From Above

    Me From Above

    As Willy Nelsons’s lyrics go, “I’m on the road in the air again.” Started a 4-day trip yesterday flying all over the place. I am working with a young lady I haven’t seen in a couple of years so it will be a good trip. Anyway, here is another self-portrait with a twist in both perspective and post processing. This is one of the presets in LR4. Gotta try different things to see how they turn out and also another example of listening to the muse.

  • rants,  Self-portraits

    Just Me

    Just Me

    In case you don’t know my name is Monte. I do reside or occupy a home but my name is still Monte. It is not resident or occupant. So I do not want my mailbox filled with junk mail that does not have my name on it. Any mail that says occupant or resident does not make it past the trash bin. Yes, you can call it a pet-peeve, a sore spot, a waste of paper, whatever but it causes the hair on my neck to stand up. This idea of flooding our mailboxes with advertisements makes me feel hounded. I wish there was a way to stop it. Anyway, here’s my Friday self-portrait.

  • rants,  Self-portraits

    Just Me

    Just Me

    In case you don’t know my name is Monte. I do reside or occupy a home but my name is still Monte. It is not resident or occupant. So I do not want my mailbox filled with junk mail that does not have my name on it. Any mail that says occupant or resident does not make it past the trash bin. Yes, you can call it a pet-peeve, a sore spot, a waste of paper, whatever but it causes the hair on my neck to stand up. This idea of flooding our mailboxes with advertisements makes me feel hounded. I wish there was a way to stop it. Anyway, here’s my Friday self-portrait.

  • quotes,  Self-portraits,  sunrises

    Watching and Waiting

    Watching and Waiting

    Morning light,
    Soft light,
    It’s colored light
    But isn’t bright.,
    I wait and watch,
    Then slowly I let my film soak up this light.

    Steve Coleman

    I prefer to be early, get setup and watch and wait for the morning sunrise rather than being in a hurry. Relaxed, I sat on a small boulder and nibbled on some grapes. Soon the sky began to lighten, the horizon began to appear, the sky and clouds took on a different hue, the birds sang a morning song, a rooster crowed on the farm just below me and dragonflies zipped past me. I think it’s worth getting up early. I’m standing near one of the three dams on the Horsetooth Reservoir and looking out over the sleeping city of Fort Collins. Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

  • Self-portraits

    Back Home

    Looking out the bay window of my bedroom

    Yes, I’m back in Fort Collins and home from the hospital. Okay, here’s the story. I’m back in my condo in Fort Collins but what a tiring and exhausting experience it has been. I was able to move most of my Kitchen and bathroom stuff last Tuesday afternoon and slept on my couch with full intentions of moving the bigger stuff the next day with Eric’s help. Just before going to bed I stepped on a wasp, which ticked him off. He therefore bore the stinger into my 4th digit on my right foot. Within 2 minutes my foot and ankle had swollen and turned a pretty shade of pink. Oh, and it hurt like hell.

    So the next day with less swelling but only able to get my sandals on comfortably, I picked up the the U-haul truck then Eric. The move actually went pretty smoothly. I had no discomfort with the foot and Eric was a God-send. When we returned to Fort Collins, Dillon arrived and helped unload. It was now time for pizza and coke then take the truck back. About 5:30 I started to feel sick at my stomach and assumed it was the pizza a coke, which I very seldom indulge in. By 6:30 I was under the covers in bed and spent the next 36 hours in the bathroom battling vomiting and diarrhea, and losing it, all of it. Finally, on Friday morning I drove to the ER where they gave me fluids and oxygen. Said my oxygen level was at 85%. Blood tests were okay so the prognosis is I most likely have viral gastroenteritis or stomach flu. Even as I write this on Saturday evening my stomach still rumbles and I need to keep a bathroom within site. Not fun!

    I still had to go back down to Denver and clean my apartment. I needed to bring back some food in the refrigerator plus a few cleaning supplies and turn my keys in. I moved in to the apartment last year on the 20th of May and it rained. I moved out the of apartment on the 19th May and it rained. 🙂 I heard the lightening, thunder and rain start about 4:30 in the morning. The rain was much needed as it helped put out the 7000 acre Hewlett Gulch forest fire we had burning west of town. And, the cool air and rain made it easier for me to move, keeping my body temperature cooled.

    Today I celebrate my grandsons high school graduation. Wow! He’s looking forward to college in the fall and has some goals to go after. Dang proud grandpa! And, he’s just as handsome!

    So, I’m back in my little condo, all 760 feet of it. A bachelors abode, easy to clean and keeps me from accumulating too many toys. I have much to be thankful for, health family, friends and a roof over my head ! Have a great day!

    Oh, and they had to close Trail Ridge Road yesterday due to snow. It’s Colorado in May.

  • Self-portraits

    Watching the Sunset

    Watching the Sunset

    Every once in a while we will read a post about someone struggling with posting or shooting, in a slump or busy with other things.And, I suspect we all can relate. For me this period has been longer than any from the past. I don’t carry my DSLR as much but prefer the smaller and lighter G12 in my small backpack with my journal and Kindle 2. Even my mood is in a funk. I found myself getting upset easier and sometimes at inanimate objects. Can you relate?