Photographer in Colorado

Here are some images that I captured in November. Leaving work, an amazing sunset had started to develop. This is the first image that I made as walking uphill from the office.

November Sunset No 1

As I got closer to the next building, the orange skies were reflected from the office buildings.

November Sunset No 2

Here is the next cluster of buildings…

November Sunset No 3

Later that week, ice had started for form on the ponds at Tuscany Plaza. Soon after sunrise, I made this image that captured some of the reflections in the pond.

Pond Reflections, Tuscany Plaza

This ice on the surface of the pond was more interesting. The distant buildings were reflected from the ice.

Pond Ice Reflections, Tuscany Plaza

Looking back towards the plaza, the main building was reflected reflected in the ripples of the water. I like the effect of the ripples breaking up the fabric of the reflection.

Building Reflections, Tuscany Plaza

Enjoy.

This week, I headed off to California, to visit Death Valley and the Coast. The following images were made at Death Valley Junction, to the east of the National Park. The Amargosa Opera House is the main feature in the Plaza.

Amargosa Opera House

These front doors have a fun design.

Amargosa Opera House Doors

To the side of the Opera House, I included the two benches on either side of the blue door.

Death Valley Junction, Blue Door

Here is another image of the corner of the building in the plaza.

Death Valley Junction, Hotel

One wing of the plaza buildings is a hotel. At this point all the windows have red drapes to contrast against the blue windows and doors.

Death Valley Junction, Hotel Doors

The following day, I hiked up the Titus Canyon for about a mile. This is a canyon that may be navigated by one way traffic by vehicles. This image was made about a mile from the canyon “exit”.

Titus Canyon

On the way back to the campsite, I stopped by the Playa, to make some images close to sunset. This year the playa had plenty of white salts that had crystallized from the saline waters. This is quite different from images that I made in previous years.

Death Valley Playa

Yesterday morning, I headed out from Death Valley to the Alabama Hills, located near Lone Pine. After making images in the hills, I returned to Lone Pine soon after the sun sank behind the Sierra Mountains. The cloud formations at this stage were absolutely spectacular.

Alabama Hills Clouds

This morning, I made my way to Bakersfield through the road to Canebrake, that follows the course of the Kern River. The fall colors along this road were spectacular.

Fall Colors, Road To Canebrake

Across the road, was this lone Joshua Tree…

Joshua Tree, Road To Canebrake

In this image, I positioned the Rabbit Brush bush in the foreground.

Road To Canebrake

Later, as I made my way past Lake Isabella, I left the road to capture some more fall colors along the Kern River valley.

Fall Colors Along Kern River Valley

All for now.

During the month of October, fall colors came down to the metro area. Here are some images that I made while commuting to and from work.

Fall Colors, Greenwood Village

A couple of days after making the above image, we got a snow storm and a big freeze. Many of the trees dropped their leaves before the colors changed from green to yellow. I made this image of one of the green leaves that fell to the snow.

Victim Of The Fall Snowfall

Within a couple of days, the snow had melted and many of the fallen leaves had been cleared. At Samson Park, the early morning sunlight lit up the trees that were captured as reflections in the pond.

Fall Colors, Samson Park

Arriving at Arapahoe Station yesterday at the end of the day, I saw these two trees. The setting sun caught the colors of the red and orange leaves at the treetops.

Fall Colors Near Arapahoe Station

That sight was a fabulous end of a great autumn day.

Earlier this week I spent a couple of days camping in the mountains and viewing the fall colors. At sunrise at Lost Lake, I headed to the water’s edge. With no wind blowing during the early morning, the lake behaved like a mirror, reflecting fall colors in the water.

Morning Reflections At Lost Lake

I found these tree stumps at the shore, and created this image with East and West Beckwith Mountains reflecting in the background.

Tree Root Stumps At Lost Lake

Later in the afternoon, I explored the area at the base of Ohio Pass. These aspens caught my eye because they turned orange-red instead of the more common yellow-gold.

Red Aspen, Ohio Pass

The following morning I headed towards the Silver Jack area, where I knew there are plenty of aspen trees in the area. I made this infra-red image of the aspen trees lining the dirt road.

Aspen Near Silver Jack Reservoir

This final image was made as I headed up Ohio Pass that afternoon. The strong sunlight creates intense colors when back-lighting the aspen forests.

Aspen Forests, Ohio Pass

Enjoy.

Last month, we headed up to Como for the Boreas Pass Railroad Days. Como was the major hub for narrow gauge railroad over the Boreas Pass to Breckenridge. This was a branch line from the railroad that ran from Denver to South Park and beyond. The railroad was dismantled in the late 1930’s. In recent years, various preservation societies have been working to restore some of the railroad infrastructure in Como. Here is Klondike Kate, the one steam locomotive that is housed in Como.

Klondike Kate Engine, Como

Originally, the Roundhouse could house six locomotives. The original structure was built by Italian stone masons; the town got its name from Lake Como in Italy. After years of disuse, the Roundhouse was restored.

Como Railroad Roundhouse

In recent years, the turntable was restored. Here is Klondike Kate being turned on the table.

Klondike Kate On Turntable

Another view of the engine.

Klondike Kate Engine

Another image of the engine on the turntable.

Klondike Kate On Turntable, No 2

One of the attractions in the Roundhouse was a letterpress that had been used in South Park. Here is Tom, inking the press.

Tom, Inking The Letterpress

Here he is setting up a sheet of paper to be printed.

Tom, Setting Up Paper

Later in the morning we headed out to Boreas Pass (along the road that originally carried the railroad track to Breckenridge). After pancakes at Section House, we returned to Como. The Denver Brass Band were scheduled to play in the Roundhouse during the afternoon. During the performance, I found this hat being worn by one of the audience members.

Hat, In Roundhouse, Como

There were two trombone players in the band that I captured in this image. The band members were dressed in period railroad costume. That is the drummer in the background.

Trombone Players, Denver Brass

These two tuba players were enjoying playing their massive horns.

Tuba Players, Denver Brass

Moving around the Roundhouse, I made this image of the two tubas.

Two Tubas In Roundhouse

Towards the end of the band’s performance, I captured this image of the trombone player in action.

Trombone Player, Roundhouse

Soon afterwards we headed back home in the late afternoon after an enjoyable day in Como.

Day 3 of the conference was an early start because I had enrolled for an early class. On the way to the University Center, I passed the Washington Library. Above the main entrance is a huge sculpture.

Washington Library Main Sculpture

At each corner of the building is a huge sculpture of an owl that I captured in this image.

Washington Library Corner Sculpture

Across from the plaza from the library is the Bar Association. I made this image showing the reflections of an adjacent building in the morning sun.

Bar Association Window Reflections

After lunch, I headed outside to explore the area around the University Center. The Roosevelt University is located adjacent to a red building. This contrasts with the blue of the university building.

Blue And Red Windows

The “L” passes next to the University Center. At the rear of the building are colorful letters along the side of the parking lot. I composed this image of one of the “L” support columns with the lettering as part of the background.

Color Under The “L”

I could not resist another image of the blue and red buildings, this time against the blue sky.

Red And Blue Windows… And Sky

Another nearby building was decorated with white squares.

White Square And Reflections

At this point I walked under the “L”. There was some interesting shadows cast on the street from the overhead steelwork. I could not find a decent composition of the shadows, so I turned my attention to steelwork.

Steelwork Under The “L”

I discovered this blue mural along one of the nearby alleys.

Blue Mural

The harsh midday sun made for a challenge to find some images. In the following image, the sun light shone directly onto a bush growing on near the top floor of the buildings. The sun also lit up the shadowed areas of the building.

Room At the Top?

Those white squares grabbed me again. Here is a tighter composition up close.

Three White Squares

Returning to the conference, the were another two presentations to catch up with and a studio photo session that was really interesting. The conference was a really fun event and well worth the time spent among fellow photographers.

Angela had made her way downtown and we arranged to meet. On the way to meet her, I found this big exclamation point on the sidewalk.

Exclamation Point Shadow

We met and then headed over to Buckingham Fountain. Later we made our way to Crown Fountain watch the spout of water that periodically gushes out onto the pool before the portrait changes on the pillar. This was a popular attraction for the kids who run under the water spout.

Here are a couple of images of reflections to end this post.

Crown Fountain Reflection, And Foot

2151-0201-Crown-Fountain-Reflections

Day 2 of the conference was spent with lectures at the University Center. During the afternoon, I took a break to walk through the streets downtown. Close by was the Roosevelt University that had striking blue windows.

Roosevelt University

The architecture of the downtown area is unique because various different styles that have evolved over the years. This image shows a montage of several layers of buildings.

Downtown Chicago Window Montage

I made my way to the Crown Fountain. Here there are two pillars of glass tiles with a water flowing down from the top.

Crown Fountain Water Spray

Each of the two pillars have an animated face projected onto the pillar. Between the pillars is a pool where many kids were enjoying playing in the water.

Crown Fountain Pool

Here is another image of the kids splashing in the pool.

Crown Fountain Pool Reflections

I headed back to conference. Another image of the blue windows on the university building.

Blue Diamond In The Sky

The sun was low in the sky, casting long shadows on the sidewalk.

Sidewalk Shadow, Chicago

Later that evening, was another photowalk. I had enrolled in a walk with Aaron Nace. The plan was to visit the Calder Flamingo, Palmer House and the Bean. The Flamingo is a public sculpture located in Federal Plaza.

Calder Flamingo, Federal Plaza

Here are some images of the Flamingo.

Calder Flamingo, Federal Plaza, No 2

After sunset, the sculpture was lit by lights.

Calder Flamingo Detail

I made this image lying on the ground under the sculpture, pointing upwards.

Calder Flamingo Detail, No 2

Later we got back to the Crown Fountain. The pool continued to be a source of interest for kids late into the night.

Face On The Pillar, Crown Fountain

Finally I made this image of a young girl who found something of interest on the pillar.

Girl, Watching The Pillar

By this time, it was getting late. I found some dinner and headed back to the apartment on the “L”.