2020: Year in Review

To say 2020 was a challenging year is an understatement. From the pandemic caused by the coronavirus and resulting new terms to deal with on a daily basis (“social distancing,” “mask mandate” and “lockdowns” among others), to social unrest, continuing drought in our area, riots/protests and political upheaval – 2020 had it all.

Brutal. Weird. Lonely. Surreal. Unprecedented. About sums it up, right?

Because of the aforementioned lockdowns and travel restrictions due to COVID, I couldn’t travel about as freely as I normally do. I did hike a LOT more than in previous years, which is great, although it didn’t result in any weight loss! In fact, due to the added stress, I gained weight. The restricted travel also limited my photographic opportunities to some extent, though when I started looking at my photos for the year, we did try to make the best of things a little closer to home. The technical quality of my images suffered some this year, mostly due to stress and honestly not trying very hard. My heart just wasn’t in it this year, sad to say. These photos therefore may not be perfect technically, but most of them do create an emotional response for me in some way.

Anyway, enough complaining. Let’s get on with the count down!

#20 – Red Mountain Ghost Town

#20 – Red Mountain Ghost Town

As you likely know, fall is my favorite season and this is the first of several fall images that made the list. My husband and I spent a few days in the Ouray area the first weekend of October, and one morning I drove up Red Mountain Pass to Silverton and turned around. On that day, I saw a weasel dragging his breakfast around and a moose grazing just outside Silverton. I also, unfortunately, saw a lot of smoke filled skies. This was to be the case the entire time we were there. Ah well… I’ve always wanted to get out of the car and walk around these old buildings near the top of the pass, so this year I took the time to do it. I liked this view with three different buildings in view with colorful foliage behind.

#19 – Dillon Pinnacles

#19 – Dillon Pinnacles

I passed by this spot on Blue Mesa Reservoir on my way back from a day trip to Cottonwood Pass, a day filled with interesting passing weather and a hike that kept getting interrupted by rain and hail. I caught a few cool clouds in the sky and some nice rabbitbrush bloom in the foreground.

#18 – Pine Gulch Fire

#18 – Pine Gulch Fire

Late summer was BAD for wildfires in Colorado. It was an unprecedented year for fire in Colorado. (Didn’t I say “unprecedented” above?) The Pine Gulch Fire was ignited on July 31 by lightning and burned until fall, engulfing 139,000+ acres, becoming the largest wildfire in Colorado history – until not one but two huge fires on the front range overtook it within weeks. The Cameron Peak Fire burned 209,000 acres, while the East Troublesome Fire scorched 193,000 acres. The Pine Gulch fire was roughly 20 miles straight north of Grand Junction, burning in the Book Cliffs. I went out several nights to try and capture some flame action, and got some on this night. I was both fascinated and frightened. Shortly after this night, ash starting falling in town and the smoke was choking for several days. I have never been this close to a large wildfire, and in reading daily updates from the internet, learned a lot about how huge fires like this are managed.

#17 – Collared Lizard

#17 Collared Lizard

I love these lizards!! Unlike other lizards, which scurry away at the very first sight of you, these guys stand their ground, watch you, and try to intimidate you with “push ups”. Sometimes they even stand on their rear legs and run away. But you can almost always get in pretty close to take a photo before they get spooked. Look at the color on this guy as he poses on a juniper stump. Beautiful!

#16 – Incoming Storm

#16 – Incoming Storm

I was up at the Monument on this day when a storm front was pushing through. Dust was swirling in the valley below, and the red sandstone was catching some nice stormlight.

#15 – Yucca Abstract

#15 – Yucca Abstract

I got a new macro lens, mostly to shoot flowers. Unfortunately, the wildflowers (both in the desert and the mountains) were scarce in 2020 due to our ongoing drought, but I did play a bit with this yucca plant. I think yuccas have such interesting patterns with the spines and the fuzzy little fibers coming out. This might be a bit abstract for some, but I like it. This is also the lone black & white image that made the cut this year.

#14 – Ventana Canyon Saguaro Forest

#14 – Ventana Canyon Saguaro Forest

In early February, before the pandemic really hit and started shutting things down, we were able to visit Tucson, Arizona for a few days. The trip was a bit rushed, and we tried to cram too much into too few days, resulting in not having time to make the greatest photos. I did hike with some friends into Ventana Canyon and captured this nice image of the saguaros in the Sonoran Desert. Sadly, this canyon was hit by a large wildfire over the summer, so I don’t know how much of what I saw burned. Saguaros are so cool! We definitely want to visit Tucson again.

#13 – Aspen Pond

#13 – Aspen Pond

Here’s another one from the Ouray trip. This is a pond near Woods Lake outside Telluride. The pond was gorgeous, and no one was at this spot except me and a few geese. Due to the drought, I was not expecting the colors to be very good this year, but they turned out better than I hoped. Capturing decent sky was a challenge, both because of lack of clouds and presence of smoke/haze. This one was better than most because of the direction I was facing.

#12 – Nuclear GJ

#12 – Nuclear GJ

WTH?! Did a nuclear bomb detonate north of town?!! No. It’s just a pyrocumulus cloud from the Pine Gulch Fire. When I saw this cloud developing after I got off work, I grabbed my camera and made a beeline to the Monument. Surreal.

#11 – Pinion Mesa Leaves

For the first time since I’ve lived in the Grand Valley, I headed up to the nearby Pinion Mesa to check out fall color this year. I did a short hike on the Turkey Flats trail, and also spent some fun time shooting masses of fallen leaves on the ground. I liked this arrangement – although I admit I did place some of the more vibrant leaves into the scene. Hey, it’s art!

#10 – Aspen Triangle

#10 – Aspen Triangle

Another San Juans image. Because the haze was pretty bad at this location, I slapped the 70-200 mm lens on my camera and didn’t include the sky, focusing on this triangle of yellow aspens lit by early morning sunlight.

#9 – Hoarfrost

#9 – Hoarfrost

This is a first for me – a phone photo included in my favorite images of the year. I bought a used iPhone late this summer and have used it quite a bit on my numerous hikes. And the old saying “The best camera is the one you have with you” is so true! I was headed to City Market on a Saturday morning when I noticed fog up at the Monument and it was lifting. I knew I wouldn’t have time to go home and get my big boy camera, so took a chance and just shot with my phone. And what a good decision that was. Had I been 15 min. later, I would have missed all the hoarfrost as it would have been vaporized by the sun’s appearance.

#8 – Hike!

#8 – Hike!

I hiked the Three Lakes trail up on Kebler Pass, and at one of the lakes, someone had put their pack, hat, etc. against this tree. The scene really drew my eye, and when I processed it, I added an artistic filter in Topaz. I used it for my profile pic on Facebook for a while as I really like how it turned out.

#7 – Wedding Canyon Sunset

#7 – Wedding Canyon Sunset

After the Pine Gulch Fire started, I made several trips up to the Monument to capture smoke columns and/or flames with limited success. On this night, I saw some regular smoke (but not dramatic a-bomb clouds), however, I did catch a pretty darn nice sunset!

#6 – Leaves on Log

#6 – Leaves on Log

While walking around the Woods Lake area, I again spent some time looking down at leaves on the ground. I found these four leaves on a log and rearranged them a bit. I added an artistic filter in Topaz to make them more vibrant and bring out the texture in both the leaves and the log.

#5 – Days Gone By

#5 – Days Gone By

Another one from the San Juans trip. I really liked this old relic, and added an artistic filter in Topaz to emphasize the rust and different colors.

#4 – First Day of Spring

#4 – First Day of Spring

On the first day of spring, I went up to the Monument. A passing front created these dramatic draping clouds which glowed right before the sun went down. I literally RAN from my car down to my favorite spot at the Grand View overlook and hurriedly snapped about three images before the light disappeared. No time for a tripod! Storm light is amazing.

#3 – Grand Mesa Lakes

#3 – Grand Mesa Lakes

The Grand Mesa is one of my favorite haunts when fall comes around. This year just as fall started to tinge the aspens I captured this image near the Mesa Lakes Lodge. I did wait for a bit for the water to calm down and was rewarded with this image.

#2 – Garden of Eden

#2 – Garden of Eden

This one was barely shot in 2020 – it was December 27. I did a couple short hikes and waited for sunset. I was rewarded with some awesome glow on the golden grasses and the sandstone monoliths in the Garden of Eden area, looking toward the Windows (you can see Turret Arch near the middle of the frame). This is my favorite view in the park, especially when the La Sals are coated with snow!

#1 – Woods Lake

#1 – Woods Lake

Again, a fall image from the San Juans. This was a view of Woods Lake near Telluride. What to do when the sky is hazy with smoke? Just don’t include it! There’s a small brown bridge right on the rule of thirds mark on the left. This was another one where I waited until the surface of the water was calm to get my shot.

Ok. I have one image left. It’s how I felt about the year 2020.

No explanation needed!

I have a feeling many of you out there feel the exact same way about 2020! This is a small portion of an image I took in the Tucson area, to which I applied an artistic filter to make it more fun.

I hope you have enjoyed my 2020 images. Feel free to leave a comment here, or on my Facebook page. I hope 2021 begins to look up for all of us.

 

2019: Year in Review

I can’t believe how fast time flies!  Another year is already in our rear view mirrors.  In fact, another decade is now in the past as we head into 2020.  2019 was a challenging year for me photographically as the worst possible disaster happened – my hard drive gave out.  Fortunately, I had my older photos backed up to another source, but I had issues reinstalling my older versions of Lightroom (which I use to process my RAW images) and other post-processing software.  Thanks to my computer guru stepson, who visited us in October, he was able to get my Lightroom back up and running.  Unfortunately, I have to re-download most of my images I took in 2019 as I had not backed them up.  Anyway, then the holidays hit and, well – let’s just say I still don’t have all my photos from 2019 downloaded to my new computer yet.  Hopefully this winter I’ll get things organized and back up and running like normal.  Hopefully…

I’ll quit complaining and get on with this post.  From the images I do have, these are my favorite ten from 2019.  As usual, these may not technically be the best, or have the most dramatic light/mood, but they are ones that resonate with me and I’m proud of the finished product.  Here we go:

#10 – Sego Heaven

#10 – Sego Heaven

Spring 2019 was pretty phenomenal in terms of wildflower bloom in the desert.  I captured this image on the eastern side of Rabbit Valley one afternoon in early May.  These hills, just a stone’s throw from Interstate 70, were absolutely blanketed with sego lillies – white and pink.  It was stunning!  I love sego lillies but find them very hard to photograph as they are short in stature and normally grow as a single bloom.  This year’s crop was very prolific and I did find many multi-bloom specimens while I was out exploring.

 

#9 – Rock Star!

#9 – Rock Star!

In late April, my all-time favorite band, Styx, made a visit to the Avalon Theater in Grand Junction.  I was fortunate enough to sit in on a telephone interview with the lead singer, Lawrence Gowan, that was conducted by a local radio station (KWSI-LP 100.3 FM).  Ok, I’m being a little modest.  I was instrumental in making contact with the band’s publicist and putting them in contact with the station manager, who arranged the interview.  Sitting in on the interview was SUCH a blast!  The concert was also a total blast!  It was sold out, and I don’t think I sat down the entire time.  I got this photo of Tommy Shaw as he was totally rockin’ it.  I love the expression on his face as he plays but wish I would have caught the entire neck of the guitar.

 

#8 – Twisted (Yet Again)

#8 – Twisted (Yet Again)

If you follow my photography, you know of my fascination with twisted trees, especially junipers.  This specimen is at Colorado National Monument at the Grand View overlook.  It’s notoriously difficult to photograph due to its placement and proximity to drop offs.  I was very pleased with this version that I captured in May 2019, with some cool clouds behind it and early evening sun.

#7 – Mesa Sego

#7 – Mesa Sego

Due to the late start of summer in 2019, the wildflower bloom started a bit later than I’m used to.  I made several trips up to the Grand Mesa once things got rolling, and I captured this image of a Gunnison Sego Lilly.  Although they are related to the sego lillies seen in my favorite #10 above, they are a bit different – taller, and they grow in higher altitudes.  I love photographing wildflowers – they just make me happy!

#6 – Dead Horse Winter Sunrise

#6 – Dead Horse Winter Sunrise

I love Dead Horse Point at sunrise – taking a photograph there years ago literally changed the course of my life.  Therefore, I visit DHP fairly often, and early last year shortly after a snowfall, I headed over for sunrise.  I made a huge faux pas on this photographic journey and somehow accidentally cranked my ISO up to 6400.  Oops!  The photos I took that morning had a little grain and noise, but with a little help in post-processing, several of them turned out not half bad.  This one was taken about a half hour after sunrise, as the sun started to illuminate the juniper hanging on the ledge.

#5 – Bryce Canyon

#5 – Bryce Canyon

In April, we took a trip down to southwest Utah, which we had not explored yet.  We spent a magical afternoon at Bryce Canyon, then also spent part of one day at Zion, and the remainder of the time exploring around Hurricane, Utah.  The day we were at Bryce, the sun kept peeking in and out of the clouds, creating awesome spotlighting on the myriad of hoodoos.  I’m sure Bryce is beautiful any time of year, but add some white on top and it’s off the charts amazing.

#4 – Raber Cow Camp

#4 – Raber Cow Camp

The historic Raber Cow Camp is located on the Land’s End Road on the Grand Mesa.  I took the afternoon off from work on this day to check out the wildflowers and was disappointed when the weather didn’t cooperate.  It rained on me almost the entire time I was up there.  But very late in the afternoon, a magical break appeared in the sky and that’s when I captured this image.

#3 – County Road 9

#3 – County Road 9

This is one of my favorite roads for fall foliage – County Road 9 just outside Ridgway.  It encompasses incredible views of the Dallas Divide area.  Last fall, I got up at oh dark thirty in order to reach this spot before sunrise.  Although I got a few sunrise images that were great, this one (which was taken probably a half hour after sunrise) was one of my favorites and made my 2019 list.  I really like how the light is hitting that little bunch of aspens in the lower left of the frame.

#2 – Grand Fall

#2 – Grand Fall

The Grand Mesa is another of my favorite fall-time haunts.  It turns a bit earlier than the area around Ridgway.  On this day, the sun was playing peek a boo, creating some pretty cool lighting.  I was up above the Mesa Lakes area when I captured this one.  The light and my use of a telephoto lens to compress the background really created a lot of depth and interest in this image.

Ok, now for my very favorite of the year!

#1 – Turret Arch

#1 – Turret Arch

Only one black & white image made my list this year, and I captured it pretty early in 2019.  I was at Arches National Park one afternoon (midday-ish of course) and was walking around the Windows area when I got this.  When I downloaded the images onto my computer, I liked this one but the color version wasn’t really doing it for me, so I converted to black & white and BOOM!  Suddenly those layers and bands of thin clouds popped out at me.  That, along with the the diagonal composition, gives this one a very dynamic flow.

As for accomplishments, not a lot to talk about.  I did continue my consecutive streak (now up to 10 years) of getting at least one photo in the Colorado National Monument’s annual calendar.  For the 2020 version, I have one large monthly photo and two small grid photos.

I hope all of you have a great 2020 with great light, clouds & drama – and no computer crashes or glitches!!

 

 

 

 

2013: Year in Review

As is my tradition, it is time to count down my favorite images from the past year.  Since it is 2013, I’ll share 13 of my favorites with you.  Let me tell you – it was incredibly difficult to narrow the choices down this year, so I have 13 favorites and one honorable mention.  I had a spectacular photographic year, with trips to Arches, Canyonlands, Crested Butte (TWICE during PEAK wildflower bloom!), Rifle, Glenwood Springs, Steamboat (twice), Mesa Verde, Maroon Bells, and countless visits to my backyard gem, the Colorado National Monument.

Let’s get started, shall we?

Honorable Mention – Blue House Lights

I went out once to shoot Christmas lights with 3 other members of Thunder Mountain Camera Club and finally figured out how to do them the right way.  It was extremely cold (temps hovered near zero the entire time we were out) but it was fun.  Dawn Morrow, the organizer of the outing, had pre-scouted some awesome places for us to visit.  My favorite place was the “blue house” on 26 Road right off I-70.  The next weekend, I went back and reshot a few things I missed the first time.  I got this shot that time.  I really liked the composition and how the lighting turned out.

#13 – Foggy Kissing Couple

I’ve wanted to capture fog up in the Colorado National Monument and finally had a chance early in 2013.  It was eerie to sit and watch the fog move though the canyons, almost like a live being, and the silence was overwhelming.  I captured this image at one of my favorite shooting spots, the Monument Canyon view.  This image was selected for the CNMA annual calendar as a grid photo and was also selected by the Bank of Colorado for their 2014 scenic calendar.

#12 – Monument Rainbow

Several of my camera club friends started chasing lightning when the monsoon arrived.  I finally decided I should try, and went up to the Monument chasing a small cell that was throwing off a little lightning.  Unfortunately by the time I got up there, the storm fizzled…  I drove past Independence Monument, then Kissing Couple, hoping the storm would fire up again, but it didn’t.   A little past Kissing Couple, I decided to turn around.  I came around this corner and WHAM! This rainbow was right in my face.  Luckily, there was a spot just big enough for my car so I pulled off and started firing furiously.  The rainbow never did fully form, but in this context it really didn’t matter.

#11 – Aspen Leaf

I had planned to visit Steamboat the first weekend in October and man, did I time that right!  I arrived on Friday and it was still snowing – AND colors were at peak!  What an incredible weekend I had – probably one of my most memorable.  It was made better by the fact I got to hang out with several photographers from Nature Photographers Network (Rod Hanna, Monte Trumbull, Ken Henke and Stephen Trainor).  They graciously let me tag along (actually, they drove which was great because an experienced 4wheeler – in snow to boot – I am not), we ate several meals together, talked shop, and shot hundreds of images together.  Rod has lived in the Steamboat area for decades and knows the area like the back of his hand.  He knew exactly where and when to go.  This image was shot literally roadside on the second day.  I spied the leaf lying in the snow and noticed the big water drops, so out came the macro lens.  I love how the leaf has all colors in it – green, yellow, orange and red.

#10 – Lupines & Aspens

We went to Crested Butte twice during peak wildflower bloom.  It was nothing short of amazing, but the locals said it wasn’t that good…  I thoroughly enjoyed it though!  This was taken up on Kebler Pass, near the top close to the Horse Ranch Park area.  Although I couldn’t quite capture the beautiful sidelighting I saw, it still remains a favorite of mine for the year.  I really liked the strong vertical lines created by the aspens and the lupine spikes.

#9 – Mesa Co. Fair Ferris Wheel

Thanks to Thunder Mountain Camera Club, and especially Dawn Morrow, I expanded my photographic horizons a bit this year with some night photography, which I had never really tried.  In addition to Christmas lights, and attempts to shoot lightning, I also tried my hand at the Mesa Co. Fair and the midway after dark.  Again, several camera club members attended and we had a blast first shooting the rides as it got dark, and fireworks after dark.  I really liked this image – it just looks fun!  I posted this on Nature Photographers Network in the POP (People, Objects & Places) category and received an Editor’s Weekly Pick, which was exciting for me.

#8 – Crested Butte Sunflower

I loved the color combination of yellow sunflowers and purple lupine and tried to shoot the two together as much as I could.  This was my favorite wildflower image of the year.  The lupines provided such a pretty background to this happy, cheery sunflower.  Sunflowers, of course, are my favorite flower.

#7 – Maroon Bells

This fall I decided to brave the crowds and headed up to the Bells, just shortly before the government shutdown.  I left home at around 3 am and arrived at the parking lot, to discover there weren’t many spots left.  I grabbed one and waited, hoping it would warm up a little.  Finally, after watching dozens of photographers heading down toward the lake, I decided I should go too.  It was terribly cold, and unbelievably crowded.  I knew it would be bad, but didn’t realize HOW bad until I witnessed it in person.  I was standing literally elbow to elbow with hundreds of other photographers, and vying for space where tripods wouldn’t show up in my shot.  (Actually, I had to clone out a tripod in this shot near the rocks.)  Sunrise over this location was incredible.  It is a photographic icon for a reason – it’s drop dead gorgeous with the dramatic peaks and a mirror lake in the foreground.  After the sun rose, I hiked up to Crater Lake, which was very windy.  If I ever do this again, I’ll get there even a bit earlier and stake my spot out on the lake shore sooner.  I was pleased I got what I did and made the best of it.

#6 – Mesa Arch Sunrise

Yet another highly photogenic icon spot I can cross off my bucket list!  I’d been here numerous times, just never at sunrise.  Silly me, I decided to head there on a day when the temps were about 5 degrees BELOW zero!  The good news was I didn’t have to fight so hard for a spot.  Although there were 5 photogs set up by the time I arrived about 10 min. before sunrise, I managed to get some decent shots.  It really is quite amazing to witness the underside of the arch glowing as soon as the sun peeks over the horizon.  Again, it’s an icon for a reason.

#5 – Flat Tops Fall

I couldn’t have timed my trip to Steamboat better.  Fresh fallen snow AND peak color combined for the most amazing day of photography I’ve ever had.  This was shot on the road up to Crosho Lake.  What caught our attention was the combining lines of frosted evergreens and vibrant foliage.  Although not touted as a prime fall foliage location in Colorado, I was amazed.  The Flat Tops are gorgeous, as is the Buffalo Pass area, Hahn’s Peak, etc.  You owe it to yourself to check it out next fall.

#4 – False Kiva

Once again in May, I went to the spring fling event put together by my friend and fellow NPN’er Bret Edge.  It was a small group this year, but we had a grand time shooting sunrise at Canyonlands, eating lunch together, then meeting up again in the evening.  The evening location was False Kiva, which involves a hike down the cliff on an unmarked trail.  I would not recommend trying to find it on your own, but would suggest you find someone who has been down it before and go with them as it looks like you could easily get lost in the rocky sections in places.  We ran into a French photographer who was coming back, and he told us (in his very snotty French accent) that “Ze light is gone.”  We all chuckled and kept trudging on.  Although the light wasn’t the best when we arrived, it did burst through some clouds right at sunset!  Shutters were clicking away wildly.  The clouds in the background were the perfect backdrop for the sunlit cliffs and formations.  This alcove and ruin is absolutely amazing, almost spiritual.  I almost didn’t go on this hike as I thought it would be too much for me, but with some gentle encouragement and not so gentle arm twisting from Bret and the others, I decided to go for it.  Am I ever glad I did!  It was a tough hike, but blessedly it wasn’t very long so it was totally doable.

#3 – Ute Canyon Sunrise

Those who know me well know that I’m really not a morning person.  However, when properly motivated, I can get up early for a photo shoot.  I shot this from the Ute Canyon overlook in Colorado National Monument.  On my way up here, I had already witnessed a morning rainbow so I knew something special was going to happen.  The light and clouds combined for a gorgeous shot of Ute Canyon, which is a really fun hike as well.  This year I also started using NIK HDR Efex on some of my images, including this one.  The program is awesome because you can totally control all the sliders and make it look as garish, or as natural, as you’d like, while boosting the saturation, contrast and making clouds pop.  (Since I prefer a more natural look, I really dial back a lot of the HDR elements.)  I also used HDR on the False Kiva image as well, which really made the sky look incredible.

#2 – Pothole Sunset

On yet another outing with the Thunder Mountain Camera Club, we went up to the Colorado National Monument in early May for a sunset walkabout and shoot.  Naturally, the group had fun exploring the rim of Wedding Canyon and shooting from the Book Cliff View areas.  A rainbow appeared just shortly before sunset, then the light show exploded!  We were all speechless as the colors reflected and changed.  What incredible pinks and purples!  The potholes had just a tiny bit of water in them too, which definitely added interest to the scene.  This image has been selected as one of 50 pieces to show in the Monumental Art Exhibit, which will be at the Grand Junction City Hall from January 10 through March 31.  I’m very proud this image passed muster with the jurors and will be a part of this show.  I also used HDR on this image to make the clouds and colors stand out a bit more.

#1 – Dead Horse Point Rainbow

Finally, we’re down to my favorite image of the entire year!  In late August I decided to head to Dead Horse Point State Park in Utah.  I was dismayed when it started to sprinkle on me on the way there, but the clouds seemed to be breaking up.  When I got there, I was very happy to see I’d have enough clouds in the sky to make the view more interesting.  As the sun started to rise, I was absolutely ECSTATIC when the short little rainbow appeared!  I only saw one other photographer there and I’m sure he was stoked too.  (I almost did a happy dance but was afraid I might fall over the edge!)  Sunrise at DHP is always amazing, as the sun hits the different levels of cliffs and lights them up in succession.  It really is quite a spectacle, one that was enhanced by the great rainbow this day.  I also used HDR on this one as well with what I think is a very natural look to the finished image.

I joined Thunder Mountain Camera Club this summer and have had a blast!  I love the networking with other local photographers, the learning opportunities, the competitions, and especially the outings.  We went to the Monument, Grand Mesa, the county fair and several locations for Christmas lights.  Hanging with new people has challenged me to try different things and techniques.  I can’t wait to see what next year brings!

2013 was an awesome year for me.  I received two Editor’s Weekly Picks from Nature Photographer’s Network for my Mesa Co. Fair image in the POP photo category and my Horsethief Ranch image in the Weekly Challenge category.  In November, my portfolio was chosen as NPN’s Gallery of the Month, which includes the cream of the crop of photographers on the forum.  I feel very honored I was chosen.  The Colorado National Monument Association selected 5 of my images for their annual calendar (which is their big fundraiser for the year), and one of those images was used for the large photo for June.  (This was the first time I got a large monthly photo.)  I received an Honorable Mention in the “Behind the Lens” contest sponsored by the Daily Sentinel for my Horsethief Ranch image.  The Mesa Land Trust used my Horsethief Ranch image on their printed and internet invitations to their annual open house.  The Bank of Colorado selected Foggy Kissing Couple for the large January photo in their annual scenic calendar.  Three of my images were selected by Thunder Mountain Camera Club to be entered in PSA competition, and one of those images received an Honorable Mention from PSA.  I was asked by Larry Bennett of Aspen Photo Art Gallery to exhibit my images, which will start in January.  And last, but not least, Pothole Sunset was selected by the jurors of the Monumental Art Exhibit to be one of 50 pieces to exhibit at City Hall beginning on January 10.  Yes, it has been a good year for me, and I hope I can somehow top next year, but that’s going to be a tall order!

I don’t really like resolutions, but I do have a few goals photographically this year.  I need to continue to broaden my horizons, try new things, and keep learning and improving.  I believe my involvement with the local camera club will help in obtaining these goals.  I must go through my catalog of images and DELETE, DELETE, DELETE!  My poor hard drive is groaning from all the weight of the thousands of images I’ve shot in the past 3 years.  I’d like to break out my “how to” books and learn more post-processing techniques for Photoshop and especially for my new NIK suite of programs.  I’ve used the HDR a little and love it!  I also need to keep submitting images for consideration in calendars, magazines, contests, etc. and learn how to better market myself and my images.  Again, I have a couple of “how to” books that I’ve browsed through, but really need to dig in and read them.  Last, I hope to start posting more on my blog this year.

I hope all of you had a great year, and I wish you another successful photographic year in 2014!

 

Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad

As Meatloaf sings in the song of the same name, two out of three ain’t bad.  I entered three photos in the Shawnee Co. Fair Open Division Photography contest this weekend and came away with two 2nd place ribbons.  I realize county fair probably isn’t “real” competition, but it’s fun to get ribbons nonetheless 🙂

I’m honestly a very modest person (just ask anyone who knows me personally) and my blog is really the only outlet where I can toot my horn a little bit.  Sorry if this is offensive to anyone.  I like to cherish my life’s accomplishments, small though they may appear to others.

Summer frog

Indian blanket flower