Photographer in Colorado

A couple of weeks ago, we had the night shoot meetup group. Here are some images that I made prior to joining the group for the night.

Denver Downtown Building Reflections, No 1

These are some of the building reflections in Downtown Denver.

Denver Downtown Building Reflections, No 2

This curved roof has some interesting reflections.

Curved Roofline

Here is another different roof line.

Building Corner

This final image has a reflection of the “Cash Register” building that is a well-known landmark in Denver.

Reflection Of The Cash Register Building

Sunday was a hot day. This artist had been working in the sun for most of the day. After completing his artwork, I made this candid shot of him relaxing.

Relaxing, After A Hot Day

Of course, I had to make an image of his artwork. Here is some of the detail from his work.

Chalk Art Detail

This lady in yellow, had spent most of the day’s working on a tiger’s image.

Artist, Detailing The Tiger

I found this image really image really amusing. Have you seen a tiger playing with a ball of wool?

Tiger Playing With Ball Of Wool

There were crowds of people in this image that I titled “Art Watchers”. I caught Angela, as one of the Watchers in this image.

Chalk Art Watchers

And here is another pair of Watchers…

Chalk Art Watchers, No 2

Of course, we also have a group of inevitable “Smart Phone Watchers” that I captured in the image.

Smart Phone Watchers

I started this collection of images of the “Chalk Arts Festival” with an image of the “The Chalk Ratz”. Here is a closeup image of the “Chalk Rat” on the sidewalk. This is the closeup of the subject of the first image that I presented.

Chalk Rat

Enjoy.

This last weekend was the annual Chalk Arts Festival, downtown at Larimer Street. This year, Angela joined me and headed downtown on Sunday afternoon. By the time we arrived, most of the artists had completed their artwork. This first image gives the title of this post.

We Are The Chalk Ratz

The “Chalk Ratz” team completed this work of art.

Chalk Ratz Image

In the image below, we see the typical area on the sidewalk behind the artwork; the artist has laid out all the chalks in bowls, ordered by color.

Artists And Chalk Bowls

Several works by the artists are sponsored by various organizations. In this image, the artist is modeling her work — or, rather, herself — for the “Denver Museum of Nature and Science”!

Modeling The Denver Museum Of Nature And Science

After two days of drawing, artists have been taking a break to chat with fellow artists and spectators.

Chalk Artists

This image of Renaissance Artists, who gave their names to “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”, was one of the more creative images. When viewed at normal height, looking down, the head appeared stretched vertically. However, when viewed from the artists viewpoint, close to the ground, each of the figure heads looks normally proportioned. Their names are Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo and Raphael. Don’t ask me which figure belongs to each artist!

TMNJ, Renaissance Artist Turtles

Several artists had taken a food break during the afternoon. This couple were deep in conversation while munching on their food.

Taking A Food Break

Making of photographs of some of the artwork can be really challenging, especially when the art work is in sun and shade. The artist was working on this image under a canopy, where part of the image was in sun. I found this interesting portion, that was in total shade, and shows some of the chalks that were used for making the artwork.

Two Red Heads

More images to come.

Last week, Angela’s birding group headed out to Westerly Creek. After hearing about the birds, I decided to pay a visit on Sunday. Maybe I would get to some of the same species? And get some practice making some images. I heard that Avocets were present along the creek. What luck! They were the first birds I noticed, at the edge of one of the ponds.

Avocet, Westerly Creek

They were a mating pair of Avocets. This was only the second time that I had seen these beautiful birds. I was pleased make some images of the pair.

Avocet Pair, Westerly Creek

Here is another image of the pair.

Avocet Pair No 2, Westerly Creek

Moving around the pond, I found this little guy. After much discussion, we identified this bird as a Western Wood Pewee.

Western Wood Pewee, Westerly Creek

There were two Swainson’s Hawks along the creek. I made this image of one before it flew off.

Swainson’s Hawk, Westerly Creek

Red-Winged Blackbirds were calling all along the creek. I captured this male in mid-call.

Red-Winged Blackbird, Westerly Creek

Cinnamon Teal were pairing up in the creek. I made this image of the male.

Cinnamon Teal Male, Westerly Creek

I was pleased to see all these species, and fortunate to get some practice making some decent images of some of the birds.

Really! Read on. This last month was the biennial “Month Of Photography” in the Denver Area. I took the opportunity to visit several art galleries that were hosting photography exhibits. After visiting CPAC, this green door called out to me.

Green Door, Denver

The next gallery on my list was in the Rino District. This area is full of murals. Here is one I haven’t seen before…

Humming Bird Mural, Rino District

As I was making my way back to the car, I found this dumpster outside the “Cleaners”. I could not help myself. Who knows when the dumpster with this post’s message will be towed away!

I Love A Good Dump Myself

Last weekend, I visited the Helikon Gallery (and Studios). This gallery had some really interesting image on exhibit. Also, there are several studios, rented by artists, in the building. These had some interesting art. This location is well worth a visit.

The gallery is located across the road from some grain elevators and silos. Leaving the gallery, I spotted this reflection in the water that pooled from the previous day’s rain. This pool is not guaranteed to be there for long — so time to capture the image.

Grain Elevator Reflections, Rino District

The day was overcast, so I chose to make these two images as monochrome, with the cloudy sky as a backdrop.

Silos, Rino District

Rounding the corner of the silos, I noticed the ladders climbing up the grain elevator. Those four orange bollards caused me to leave this image in color.

Grain Elevator Ladders

During the trip to Monte Vista, I found this male Red-Winged Blackbird among the cattails. Like many of the blackbirds, he was calling out. It was fascinating to watch these birds. They have to take a big breath of air to vocalize their call. So their bodies and wings spread out, as we can see in the image below.

Red-Winged Blackbird Calling, Monte Vista

For much of the day, clouds were stacked up above the mountains to the west. As the sun set, the colors of the clouds warmed with the setting sun.

Clouds Over Western Mountains, Monte Vista

To the east, a single cloud caught the last rays of the sun.

Sunset Light On Single Cloud, Monte Vista

Early the following morning, I headed out to the Wildlife Refuge before sunrise. As the sun rose, I made this image of the sunlight streaming in front of Blanca Peak.

Spring Sunrise Blanca Peak, From Monte Vista

I spent a couple of hours near the wetlands that morning. The Coots were very active that morning. I am not sure whether the Coots were establishing their territory or whether they were courting. This image was made as one Coots was chasing another across the water.

Coots Chasing… Monte Vista

The Canada Geese were out to be found everywhere. I found this courting pair.

Canada Geese Courting, Monte Vista

What big tongues geese have!

Two weekends ago, I made a trip to Monte Vista. At this time of the year, many birds stop at the National Wildlife Refuge during their annual northern migration to the summer breeding grounds in the northern States and in Canada. On this visit, I planned to make images to hone my skills of birds in flight. Sandhill Cranes are large birds and their flight through the air is very graceful. Monte Vista is located in the San Luis Valley of Southern Colorado, situated between mountain ranges to the east and the west. I have always wanted to capture Sandhill Cranes, in flight, against a backdrop of the mountains.

Sandhill Cranes In Flight, Monte Vista

In the image above, I managed to capture these magnificent birds in flight and am very satisfied with the result. The lead crane is in sharp focus, and the two cranes on the right are a little soft. They are slightly farther away and just out of focus.

Here is another image of one crane, doing sentry duty, while other cranes are feeding.

Sandhill Cranes, Standing Sentry

Another group of cranes were busy calling out to one another.

Sandhill Cranes, Calling, Monte Vista

In this image, another group of three cranes are busy calling out.

Sandhill Cranes, Three Cranes Calling

Another image of a very attentive crane.

Sandhill Crane, Monte Vista

Sandhill Cranes usually create a mating pair for life. Every year they perform a dancing mating ritual. I captured one pair in the following image.

Pair Of Dancing Sandhill Cranes

Finally, I managed to capture another three cranes in flight. In this image, all three are in sharp focus against a blue sky.

Sandhill Cranes In Flight, No 2, Monte Vista

There were many other species in the Refuge — another time.