• landscape,  moon,  mountains,  quotes

    Sacred Path of the Warrior

    December 30, 2023

    Cool loneliness allows us to look honestly and without aggression at our own minds. We can gradually drop our ideals of who we think we ought to be, or who we think we want to be, or who we think other people think we want to be or ought to be. We give it up and just look directly with compassion and humor at who we are. Then loneliness is no threat and heartache, no punishment. Cool loneliness doesn’t provide any resolution or give us ground under our feet. It challenges us to step into a world of no reference point without polarizing or solidifying. This is called the middle way, or the sacred path of the warrior.

    Pema Chödrön

    I enjoyed my drive to Windsor for coffee and conversation with Eric this morning. Clear blue skies, sunshine and cold. I saw a half dozen hawks and one with a mouse, the mornings special. I have also seen at least one eagle the past three weeks. Last Saturday I saw four. May have to take my longer lens next week. I needed to stop and accept this scene with our Rocky Mountains draped in a pink alpenglow and the moon looking out over it all.

    Pema Chödrön’s quote again reminds me of those images I have of who I am or what I ought to be. I also like how she suggests we look directly with compassion and humor at ourselves and walk that sacred path of the warrior. Hope you have a wonderful Saturday!

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  • clouds,  landscape,  mountains,  Rocky Mountain National Park

    Apocalypse

    October 22, 2020
    East Troublesome Fire seen from Running Deer Natural Area

    This is my second post today because I wanted to share the sad affairs we are experiencing due to the fires in Colorado. I took this image today about 1:00 pm. The East Troublesome fire that began a week ago, erupted on Wednesday afternoon due to high winds, plenty of beetle killed pine and very dry conditions. It jumped from 19,000 acres to over 125,000 acres by Thursday morning, a rate of about 6,000 acres an hour. The town of Grand Lake was evacuated yesterday evening. As of 1:00 pm this afternoon the fire had jumped the Continental Divide and was burning in the upper reaches of Rocky Mountain National Park. They have confirmed active flames in Forest Canyon just west of Moraine Park. It has now clearly jumped the Continental Divide and is burning on both east and west sides of the Divide. Estes Park has been put on mandatory evacuations. People are evacuating so Highway 36, 34 and 7 are a mess. I saw a video a while ago of elk heading east, they’re evacuating also. The sky looks apocalyptic.

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  • architecture,  Barn,  clouds,  landscape,  mountains

    It’s Gone

    November 17, 2016

    The Barn
    The Barn

    Loss is a part of life. We experience loss through declining health, jobs, marriages, and children who move off to school.  There is a sadness within as I look at this image taken back in June of 2006. I made visits to this older barn and it’s open view of the Colorado Rocky Mountains. It is is gone now and a large executive housing complex is going up. 🙁

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  • landscape,  sunsets

    Smokey Sunset

    September 1, 2015

    A red sun over the Rocky Mountains
    A red sun over the Rocky Mountains

    I took this image last Friday evening and as you can tell we still had smoke sitting along the Rocky Mountains. However the smoke does give the setting sun a red glow.

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  • clouds,  HDR,  landscape,  quotes,  sunsets

    A Hoot in Hell

    July 10, 2013

    Sunset on 26th
    Sunset on 26th

    “When I first became interested in photography, I thought it was the whole cheese. My idea was to have it recognized as one of the fine arts. Today I don’t give a hoot in hell about it. The mission of photography is to explain man to man and each man to himself. And that is no mean function.” – Edward Steichen

    Yes, this is a manipulated image. It is composed of three images and run through HDR Efex Pro and then processed with Silver Efex Pro. No plants, clouds or sky were touched. I did remove about a half dozen dust spots. 🙂

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  • mountains,  sunsets,  trees

    Don’t Waste the Moments

    November 12, 2012

    Summer Senset

    “You’ve got a handful of years to do your work, don’t you dare waste those moments whining instead of creating something amazing.” David Duchemin

    Just few words about the above quote. Some statements or quotes will mean nothing while some are essential moments, shaking the sandy foundation we are standing on.

    I’ve been passionately pursuing images for the past ten years. Prior to that I shot to record family events such as birthdays, vacations and an occasional flower. Admittedly, at one time I envisioned living a career as a photographer, raking in the money, but let that fall to the wayside as I focused my attention on raising a family and pursuing a career in engineering. I have no regrets there as I needed to be on that path.

    I listened to those voices within telling me I was not good enough or worse yet I would never be good enough to make it as a photographer. To me photography as a career was for a select few with talent I did not have. I definitely did not look at photography as a creative outlet for me. And, I do not remember having a positive voice around me to offer support and encouragement. These dreams were kept buried within me, suppressed. The world around me suggested I work for a corporation to make sure I had medical benefits, put in 40 hours a week, put away 10% in a 401k and take my 2-3 weeks vacation each year. I now see photography as a work, my work, a way to express my creativity and has taught me about life, how to see it and be present to it. So, before the final sunset in this life I hope to inspire myself and others to pursue dreams and discover more dreams. We don’t need to wast the moments.

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