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.

 

2016: Year in Review

How can it be possible that 2016 is now history? It FLEW by. So, it’s time again for my annual “Year in Review” where I post my personal favorite images from the past year. Here are my top 10, plus 6 “bonus” images (to see larger versions of the photos, just click on the photo):

#10 – Splash!

#10 – Splash!
Thunder Mountain Camera Club had a “splash” class in July. Several members had stations with different techniques of shooting water and/or water drops set up for us try. One of them was a “drop” station, which was my favorite. The water was dripping at a constant rate and different backgrounds were placed to change the light in the water pan. It was challenging to get the timing right, but I came away with a few really neat images, and this one was my favorite. I can’t remember how we got the water blue, but I love the contrast of it against the reddish background of the water.

#9 – American Basin Wildflowers

#9 – American Basin Wildflowers
For quite some time, I’ve wanted to make the trek to American Basin (near Lake City) to check out the wildflowers. This year, I finally did it. Although the weather conditions weren’t the best and peak bloom had just happened, it was still an amazing place to see in person. This was one of the first shots I made that morning, near the stream that goes over the road. Even though peak bloom had happened about a week prior, there were still a lot of flowers and it was just amazing to see this beautiful place in person, finally. I plan to go back, if not this year, then the next. We’ll see how wildflower season shakes out this year. I’m keeping my fingers crossed!

#8 – Red Mountain Panorama

#8 – Red Mountain Panorama
This year, I’ve played quite a bit with panorama shots. It’s so easy to create them in Photoshop, and the resulting image is more like what your eyes see, encompassing a much wider range of view. I went down to Red Mountain Pass the day after a light dusting of snow, and as I wound my way up, I found this viewpoint. It’s such a sweeping view, and the bright foliage and new snow was a great combination. It was the perfect view for a pano.

#7 – Mt. Garfield Claret Cup

#7 – Mt. Garfield Claret Cup
Every spring I anxiously wait for the claret cup cactus to bloom. Their bright scarlet blooms are absolutely gorgeous and seem so out of place in this dry terrain. Last year I learned of a huge claret cup near Mt. Garfield (several camera club members have shot this cactus so I have to give credit to them) and managed to capture it at or near peak this year! In post-processing, I applied a “Georgia O’Keefe” filter in Topaz Impressions and voila! This image made the top 10.

#6 – Griffith Lake View

#6 – Griffith Lake View
Fall begins a little earlier on the Grand Mesa than in the San Juans, which is perfect so I have time to hit them both! My husband graciously pulled off in what I call the “avalanche area,” which is above Mesa Lakes. It’s a tiny pulloff but big enough. There was no wind on this late afternoon, so I pulled out my 70-200 mm zoom lens and captured aspens reflecting in Griffith Lake with the Book Cliffs lined up behind. I think the compression caused by the big lens really makes this a neat shot as the Book Cliffs appear so much closer than they actually are.

#5 – Book Cliff Sego Lilly

#5 – Book Cliff Sego Lilly
My husband took me up into the Book Cliffs one evening in May, and we had fun exploring and hiking a little bit of the Sarlac Trail. On that trail, I found this beautiful combination of a white sego lilly and purple chainpod. I love sego lillies but find them very hard to photograph. Because the sego was still mostly curled up and I shot it from the side and had some nice lighting, I was very happy with this image.

#4 – Independence Rimlight

#4 – Independence Rimlight
I spent quite a bit of time at Colorado National Monument this year, exploring new viewpoints and experiencing some really cool weather conditions, so it’s not a surprise images from the Monument are on the top of my list. I shot this one in August from the Grand View overlook area. I managed to capture the sun’s last rays on the rim of Independence Monument, as well as the rocks in the foreground, which contrasts nicely with the dark, stormy clouds. I was disappointed to find that the awesome juniper snag at this location (to the right of this image) has now disappeared – not sure if it was the victim of theft or if it simply was washed over the edge during a rainstorm. It was such a great foreground subject.

#3 – Gothic Sunflowers

#3 – Gothic Sunflowers
I went to Crested Butte in mid July to check out the wildflower bloom. Unfortunately, while trying to shoot some ferns up on Kebler Pass on the way there, I fell and twisted my knee, which really hampered my efforts that day. However, I did capture this image of nodding sunflowers on Gothic Road that made the trip worthwhile and the pain in my knee subside for a few minutes!

#2 – Independence Light

#2 – Independence Light
Here is my second Monument image in the top 10. Again, pretty much the same perspective as #4 from Grand View, shot in late August. I got there in time to catch some very nice, warm light on the vegetation in the foreground, which I feel adds so much depth to this image. I also again captured nice rim light on the main monolith.

#1 – More Twisted

And so, we are down to #1 – my favorite image of the year!

#1 – More Twisted
I went to Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park in late August for sunrise. Although sunrise didn’t quite pan out as I had hoped, in exploring the Dragon Point overlook, I found this amazing, twisted juniper tree. I was lying on the ground, using my wide angle lens to capture this. I wish the starburst in the top of the branches were a bit larger, but it was the best I could manage. I took this later in the morning on my second stop at this overlook, so the light was harsher and I decided to convert it to black & white. While I was at this viewpoint that day, I saw at least 15 other people take a photo of this tree. Guess I wasn’t the only one awed by its twisted, gnarled trunk!

Here are 6 “bonus” images that almost made the cut:

#16 – View from Above

#16 – View from Above
On the same evening as #5 was taken, while coming down from the top of the Book Cliffs, I saw this amazing layered view back into the valley. I made my husband pull over so I could take the shot before the light was gone. The lack of any vivid color naturally made it a candidate for conversion to black & white.

#15 – Desert Bloom

#15 – Desert Bloom
The spring bloom near the Rabbit Valley area was nothing short of incredible this spring. I made the trip out there several times and explored and found some great spots in the future for claret cup cactus photos. This image consists mostly of orange globe mallow, which were particularly profuse this year. It looked like an orange blanket in places – so beautiful and stunning to see in this normally arid place!

#14 – Arrows at the Ponderosa

#14 – Arrows at the Ponderosa
We camped for a couple days near Pagosa Springs in May. Our campsite was surrounded by ponderosa pines. I captured this image of some arrowleaf balsalmroots framed by cinnamon colored ponderosas fairly early one of those mornings, while listening to an Abert’s squirrel chewing me out for being in his territory. I really liked the color of the pines framing the wildflowers and greenery.

#13 – Dallas Divide Sunrise

#13 – Dallas Divide Sunrise
I headed to the San Juans a day after a light snowfall (same day as #8), hoping for a fabulous sunrise at Dallas Divide. Well, as it happened so often in 2016, it didn’t happen. I’m still pretty happy with this image though, because the foliage colors were spectacular even in the muted light, and after sunrise some nice color bounced around on the peaks and in the clouds.

#12 – Electric

#12 – Electric
I didn’t get out much to try my hand at shooting lightning this year, but on this night, I happened to be up at the Monument anyway when a storm rolled through the valley. I managed to capture this one really cool bolt as it struck west of Fruita.

#11 – Balanced Rock Fog

#11 – Balanced Rock Fog
In early February, I headed to Arches National Park for sunrise only to discover it was totally socked in with fog. This was ok by me, so I had fun all morning shooting moody foggy scenes. After having lunch at Milt’s in town, the fog started to break up so I went back up. This image of Balanced Rock was shot shortly after the fog lifted. There’s still enough there to give it a little mood, but the sky was clearing out which contrasted nicely with the snow capped red rocks. I also like the little stump I caught in the foreground.

So there you have my personal favorite images of 2016. This year was better for me on the personal front (I started a new job, again), so I traveled more, hiked more, and shot many more photos than in 2015. In 2016, I made trips to Goblin Valley, Arches/Canyonlands (numerous times), Black Canyon, Crested Butte, Telluride, Steamboat Springs, the San Rafael Swell, Pagosa Springs, American Basin, and the Grand Mesa (multiple times). I hope to travel (and shoot) a lot in 2017.

As for personal accomplishments, 2016 was rather quiet. I exhibited several photos at Two Rivers Convention Center and Tiara Rado Golf Course, as well as participating with my camera club in First Friday Art Walks in June, November and December in downtown Grand Junction. Once again, I had two small photos selected for the Colorado National Monument annual calendar. I also led a Fall Walk & Talk into Echo Canyon on behalf of Colorado National Monument Association. And last, but not least, I had a photo of a cowboy shack in Devil’s Canyon published in the January/February issue of “Colorado Life.”

Jan./Feb. Colorado Life spread

I was really lazy on the education end and spent no time learning any new processing techniques. I just renewed my KelbyOne membership so I plan to do something about that in 2017. I really need to learn layers and masks in Photoshop as I feel they would take my photos to another level.

I wish you the best in 2017 – happy image hunting, and may you be blessed with just the right amount of clouds and fantastic light! Feel free to leave any comments about my images, or ones you think should have been included.

 

2015: Year in Review

Honestly, 2015 was one of the most difficult of my life. My mom was diagnosed with colon cancer in the spring and that pretty much killed my desire to photograph much this year. Around the same time, I was downsized and let go from my job and was unemployed for nearly two months, and was afraid we would have to make the move to the Front Range to find a job. One would think the extra time to shoot photos would have been welcomed but it was not. I had all the time in the world to get out, but only felt like hiding at home like a bear in a cave during winter hibernation. Therefore, even more so than last year, I had an extremely hard time choosing my favorite photos for 2015 because there were not nearly as many to choose from. But, here they are, my favorite 15 from ’15:

#15 – Up, Up & Away!

#15 – Up, Up & Away!
I had so much fun last year at the Snowmass Hot Air Balloon Festival I definitely wanted to go again, and ended up hitching a ride with my buddy Jeff Stoddart. After some “adventures” finding a place to shoot, we wandered around the field where they took off and I got this inventive composition as several balloons took off. You can’t beat the colorful balloons rising in a blue sky with gorgeous mountains as a backdrop! I’ll definitely go again.

#14 – Pothole Storm

#14 – Pothole Storm
As most of my followers know, my favorite spot in the Colorado National Monument is up on the rim of Wedding Canyon near the Bookcliff viewpoint. I absolutely love the view of the monoliths and the numerous potholes that are found there. I took this image in late April as a spring storm raged over toward the Palisade area, while the sun shone in the Monument.

#13 – Fay Canyon

#13 – Fay Canyon
In March, we went to Sedona, Arizona. What a beautiful place on Planet Earth! The red rocks are absolutely amazing. We did a short 2.2 mile hike into Fay Canyon, which basically ends in a box canyon. When we reached the end, my ever-adventurous hubby climbed on higher and yelled “You’ve GOT to come up here and see this view!” Me, being not-so-adventurous, decided to follow him anyway and I was glad I did. From that vantage point, you could see out of the canyon and beyond into the valley. What a view! It was a beautiful, fun, easy little hike, one I would not hesitate to do again in a heartbeat.

#12 – Dallas Divide Sunset

#12 – Dallas Divide Sunset
In October, we spent several days in the Ouray/Telluride area, one of the most spectacular places in the state of Colorado. Fall this year was a bit muted compared to prior years, due to abundant moisture which caused some type of fungus or blight on many aspen trees (and as I later discovered, in the cottonwoods in lower elevations). I did capture one decent sunset shot from the parking lot pullout looking onto the Dallas Divide west of Ridgway. It was a popular spot – probably at least 50 other photographers were there right next to me.

#11 – Fall Creek Road

#11 – Fall Creek Road
Fall Creek Road near Telluride goes to Woods Lake, which was lovely but very windy. This shot was taken near the switchback going up to the lake.

#10 – Mesa Wildflowers

#10 – Mesa Wildflowers
The Grand Mesa is sort of hit or miss with wildflowers. Some years the wildflowers go nuts; sometimes not so much. The yellow flowers in the front are sneezeweed and are definitely the most prolific flower to be found up there. I used a Topaz creative filter on this one to give it a special glow and feel that I like much better than the straight-out-of-the-camera image.

#9 – Cathedral Rock

#9 – Cathedral Rock
Cathedral Rock is likely the most photographed formation in the Sedona area, and with good reason. It is absolutely stunning, especially at sunset! I had done a fair amount of research and knew a spot I wanted to photograph from, where the rock would reflect in the river with a ledge of rocks in the foreground. Unfortunately, I hadn’t counted on the fact that it was spring runoff down there (it was March!) and the view I had in my head was covered up with extra water! But, I made the best of it.

#8 – Twisted

#8 – Twisted
Arches National Park is one of my favorite places to shoot, and I’m always looking for something different and unique. This spring, I found a very cool, twisted juniper tree near the campground and took a few shots. After deciding I didn’t like the light, I converted to black and white and loved the result. Lone trees are often a favorite subject of mine and this one turned out great. It netted me a 2nd place finish in my camera club’s black and white competition as well. I played more with black and white this year, as you’ll see later.

#7 – Garden of Eden

#7 – Garden of Eden
And back to Arches with this one – one of my favorite viewpoints in the park, the Garden of Eden. I love this spot because the view is filled with fins, arches and the La Sal Mountains. I took this shot in mid February right before the sun sank below the horizon. The rock always glows a magnificent shade of orange, and I had some decent clouds as well.

#6 – All Aboard!

#6 – All Aboard!
While my husband was taking a mountain bike ride on Engineer Pass, I made it down to Silverton, just in time to catch both trains! This was the 11:30 as it sat, unloading passengers. The conductor got out of the cab and was doing his post-trip check. I thought that human element and the black smoke against the bright fall foliage in the background was pretty cool.

#5 – Faux Falls Detail

#5 – Faux Falls Detail
In July, I had a job interview in Moab – of all places! (I didn’t get the job…) After my interview, of course I had to make use of my time and take some photos. I hadn’t been down to Faux Falls (which is near Ken’s Lake south of town) in several years so decided to go check it out. There are so many composition possibilities of the waterfall and stream, and I spent probably 2 hours walking around and shooting. This was one of my favorite shots of that day, a more intimate shot of the lower part of the fall where it dumps into the stream.

#4 – Sunbeams

#4 – Sunbeams
In February while snowshoeing around Sunset Lake on Grand Mesa, the day after a fresh snow, the wind would occasionally come up and blow snow off the trees. I was in the right place at the right time to capture this one – the blowing snow created beautiful sunbeams in the trees. Converting this one to black and white was a no brainer.

#3 – Arches Lightning

#3 – Arches Lightning
Another shot from my “interview trip” in July. After I shot sunset near Balanced Rock, I happened to turn around and see that a storm was coming in from the southwest, and there was lightning! A lot of my camera club buddies go out shooting lightning but thus far I have been too chicken to try, except from the inside of the car. This storm was far enough away that I felt safe, so I gave it a whirl. I took probably a hundred images and only caught lightning in 3 frames, and this was the best one with multiple strokes! As I left the park and the storm got closer, the lightning really ramped up and I definitely did not feel safe to stop and shoot it. The storm followed me all the way home. It was an interesting end to the day, I must say.

#2 – Aspen Leaf

#2 – Aspen Leaf
While driving around on the Grand Mesa, I found a great spot where I could backlight some aspen leaves. I broke out my macro lens for this shot. I like all the details of the veins in the leaf and the pleasing colors in the background.

And at long last, here is #1!

#1 – Straight Up

#1 – Straight Up
I drove up Kebler Pass in late September only to find many aspens had been hit with the fungus/blight. There were some nice pockets of color at the top, but the west side was very disappointing. I always hope to find some ferns up there that haven’t turned brown yet and thought I had found a spot and got out to check it out, only to discover they were browner than they appeared from the roadside. However, I took the time to look straight up – and found a shot I’ve been wanting for many years. I ran back to my car and put my wide angle lens on, found a log, and sat down to shoot this. The mid-day light happened to be just what was needed for this shot and I’m very pleased with how it turned out. It is my favorite shot of the year, hands down.

My photographic year was fairly quiet as due to my dampened mood, I did not seek out places to exhibit this year. I did have three photos displayed at Tiara Rado Golf Course (in the clubhouse) as part of the City of Grand Junction’s “Hot Air Balloon” display there for three months, but that was about it as far as displays. I did get one large photo (September) and one small photo (July) in the Colorado National Monument calendar which is always great. I had a photo published in the March/April issue of “Colorado Life”, and I got the cover image for the October issue of “Colorado Lawyer”, the official journal of the Colorado Bar Association. I was very quiet in my internet groups but did receive one Editor’s Weekly Pick over on Nature Photographers Network (in the Weekly Challenge category for “Seasonal Transitions”). With all my “free” time during my period of unemployment, I did manage to get my photo library keyworded, which was a huge undertaking. Now that it is done, however, I find it much easier and quicker to find photos, and I’m now automatically doing that upon import. I got my money’s worth out of KelbyOne by watching a number of videos (most of them were pretty basic) and decided to renew again for next year (hopefully I’ll get into more advanced applications such as masks and layers).

I hope all of you had a great 2015, and I wish you great light and good luck in 2016!

 

2014: Year in Review

I see that I did NOT manage to obtain at least one goal from last year, that is:  posting more here on my blog.  It’s been almost a year since my last new post.  I intend to do better this year!

That said, it’s time for the annual year in review.  This year was in sharp contrast to 2013.  In 2013, I had a very hard time narrowing down my favorites because I had quite a year.  For 2014, I had a very hard time finding 14 favorites.  I seemed to miss the best weather, peak wildflower bloom and peak fall colors, plus I did not travel around nearly as much.

Let’s begin the countdown.  You will see a rather varying range of images this year, due to my experimenting with things other than landscapes and flowers.

#14 – Play Ball!

#14 – Play Ball!  I went to quite a few baseball games this summer and enjoyed watching our local minor league club, the Grand Junction Rockies.  One of my camera club buddies is also a big baseball fan and one evening she scored us tickets right behind home plate!  It definitely tested my skills since I’m not a sports shooter and don’t have a big enough or fast enough lens to really catch the action.  But, I had a lot of fun trying at the various games I attended.  The night I was behind home plate, if I leaned in close enough I could make the net disappear but it was hit and miss.  This was one that turned out.  I was amazed that I caught the ball suspended, with the seams visible!  This image earned me a weekly Editor’s Pick award on Nature Photographers Network in the POP (people, objects and places) category.

#13 – Colorado River Trail Sunset

#13 – Colorado River Trail Sunset – The Colorado River Trail continues to expand, and late this fall the latest portion (an addition to the Monument View section) opened.  I got a bike this spring so I was excited to have a new place to bike and gawk at the scenery.  This section goes from the Walter Walker Wildlife Area all the way to Fruita.  Although I haven’t made it all the way to Fruita yet, I plan to work up to it this summer.  The second time I rode this section of the trail, I brought along my trusty little Canon S100 and shot this where the trail is nearly right on the river.  This is a great spot and I hope to get back there more times this year to shoot some sunsets.

#12 – Ferris Wheel

#12 – Ferris Wheel – Last year I tried my hand at some night photography by going to the Mesa Co. Fair on opening night, which has fireworks.  I had a blast (literally!) and went back this year with the camera club outing, plus an extra night just to shoot the carnival rides again.  This ferris wheel is so cool because the lights change colors as it spins, creating a myriad of colorful designs.  This was one of my favorites, and this one also earned me a weekly Editor’s Pick in the POP category on NPN.  (A different image of the ferris wheel earned me a third weekly Editor’s Pick in the POP category.)

#11 – Professor Valley Cottonwoods

#11 – Professor Valley Cottonwoods – After the color in the high country had faded, I continued to chase colors in the lower valleys.  I went to Moab in search of color but unfortunately the extremely windy conditions had pretty much stripped the trees.  I did manage to find this beautiful scene in the Professor Valley on the scenic river road on the way back.  There was a storm front moving in but the sun peeked out long enough for me to catch this.

#10 – Mesa Cascades

#10 – Mesa Cascades – I love to shoot waterfalls and cascades, so this cascade behind the Mesa Lakes Lodge captured my attention.  I spent a lot of time finding different compositions and enjoying the gurgling of the water as it spilled down the hillside.  I found the “S” shaped creek to be a pleasing component to the composition of this image.

#9 – Summer Sun

#9 – Summer Sun – On my way back home to Kansas, I stopped at the Denver Botanic Gardens and took in the Chihuly glass exhibit and wow! I must say, I’m so glad I did.  It was absolutely amazing.  The glass glowed and sparkled in the sun and totally intrigued me.  This is an abstract close-up of one large piece called “Summer Sun,” a tree-like structure.  The shapes, textures and colors mesmerized me.

#8 – Incoming

#8 – Incoming – This spring brought an incredible display of bloom out on South Camp Road (near the Colorado National Monument).  One afternoon while I was shooting some of the lovely primrose, I found some blanket flowers and noticed bees buzzing around.  I was lucky enough to capture this one as he came in for a landing for a sweet snack.

#7 – Fish Creek Falls

#7 – Fish Creek Falls – After the opening of my exhibit at the Steamboat Art Museum, I couldn’t resist making a quick stop at Fish Creek Falls for a little photo therapy.  As I arrived, some storm clouds moved in, eliminating some harsh shadows and providing even light while I shot.  This was shot from the safety of the footbridge across the creek.  It was near peak runoff and I couldn’t believe the volume of water coming over the cliff, or the resulting roar! It was deafening.

#6 – Rocky Mountain Iris

#6 – Rocky Mountain Iris – My husband and I camped in a little cabin on the Uncompaghre this summer, and while he and his buddy went mountain biking, I drove around and shot some photos.  I found a really nice grouping of Rocky Mountain Iris near a campground.  I loved the patterns of this iris petal and broke out my macro lens to get some nice close ups.

#5 – A Grand View

#5 – A Grand View – One of my favorite viewpoints in the Colorado National Monument is Grand View.  It offers great views of not only Independence Monument but also the Kissing Couple.  On this spring day, I headed up to the Monument hoping to catch some great clouds and storm light.  It’s always incredible to watch storms move in over the Book Cliffs and into the valley from up on the Monument.

#4 – Mesa Aspens (black & white)

#4 – Mesa Aspens – I didn’t snowshoe a lot last winter; in fact, I didn’t even go until late February/early March.  These two clusters of trees caught my eye because of the strong vertical lines as well as horizontal lines created by the shadows.  A conversion to black and white was a no brainer with this scene as there was little color anyway and aspens in snow just look cool in black and white, don’t you think?

#3 – Mesa Garden

#3 – Mesa Garden – I found some great pockets of wildflowers on the Grand Mesa this summer, one of them right off the highway just north of Land’s End Road near a lake.  This year, there was a brilliant display of rosy paintbrush, sneezeweed, lupine, and I even found some elephant heads.  This combination of brilliant colors captured my eyes immediately.

#2 – Red, White & Blue

#2 – Red, White & Blue – I shot this on July 3, as I was headed toward the west side viewpoints to find a place to shoot the Fruita fireworks show from the Monument.  Even though I knew I was losing out on any good parking spots, I couldn’t tear myself away from this brilliant pre-fireworks light show!  This view into Wedding Canyon is my favorite spot in the whole park and I often just sit here, gazing in wonder at the views.

And now, for No. 1!

#1 – Mesa Aspens

#1 – Mesa Aspens – I did have one great day shooting fall foliage, up on the Grand Mesa, which put on the most fantastic display I have seen since I moved here.  The day I went up, there was a storm front coming in, which pretty much killed all the color over the next few days so I’m glad I got out.  I did a bit of exploring on the southern side of the Mesa and came across the Old Grand Mesa Rd., which had some of the most beautiful groves I have seen, including brilliant orange aspens.  As the clouds spilled in, it provided even lighting in this grove.

So there are my favorite images of 2014 – perhaps not the most technically or compositionally correct, but ones that touched something within me personally.

Now for my highlights from last year and goals for this coming year.  2014 began with a solo show at Aspen Photo Art Gallery here in Grand Junction, as well as a piece being on display at the Monumental Art Exhibit at City Hall.  I attended the majority of First Friday Art Walks with a couple of pieces on display each time at Aspen Photo Art Gallery.  In June, I had five pieces on display at the Colorado Nature Photography Invitational Exhibit at the Steamboat Art Museum.  This exhibit contained images from ten other amazing Colorado based photographers – Todd Caudle, Rod Hanna, Joshua Harding, Jason Hatfield, Jack Brauer, Scott Fricke, Monte Trumbull, Anne Rusk, Rich Voninski and Jim Steinberg.  I can’t tell you how overwhelmed I was to be included with these amazing artists!  I also exhibited some images with Thunder Mountain Camera Club at City Hall later this summer and at the United Way office.  One of my images made it into the GJ Daily Sentinel’s annual “Behind the Lens” issue; I have 4 small images included in the 2015 Colorado National Monument Association calendar; and Brown Trout has licensed one of my Kansas images for the 2015 “Wild & Scenic Kansas” calendar.  As I noted in the photos above, I received three weekly Editor’s Pick awards from Nature Photographer’s Network, and I was thrilled to learn my “Dead Horse Rainbow” image (taken in 2013) was picked as one of 25 finalists in Outdoor Photographer’s American Landscape photo contest. I had a very busy year!  I also feel I broadened my horizons a bit by trying my hand at shooting something other than flowers and landscapes.  I went to the Fruita Rodeo one night and enjoyed trying to shoot the fast action of the cowboys, bucking broncs and barrel racers, as well as shooting numerous baseball games, three fireworks shows, carnival rides at the fair, and Christmas lights.

My goals for this year are pretty much the same as last year.  I need to re-organize and keyword images after my devastating hard drive crash.  (Thank goodness I had recently backed up my photo data.)  I plan to set aside more time to learn post-processing techniques and have signed up for a KelbyOne account.  KelbyOne has tons of instructional videos on Photoshop, Lightroom, etc.  When I feel more comfortable with Photoshop, I’ll then dig into the Tony Kuyper series of videos and Photoshop actions on luminosity masks.  Really looking forward to that!  I hope I can snowshoe more this winter and hike more this spring, summer and fall.  I want to travel more, and time my visits right this year so I catch peak wildflower blooms and fall foliage.

Thank you to everyone who follows my work and for your continued support.  I’ll try to be more active here on my blog this year and share some of the things I’m going to learn along the way!  I wish you all great light and stellar images for your 2015!

 

2010: Year in Review

Last year I posted my 10 personal favorite images of 2009, followed by some photographic goals.  I guess it’s only fair to review those goals and see if I achieved any of them.  Unfortunately, I didn’t do so hot…

I did try to work on my technique so my photos are sharper, with some success, but I need to keep at it.  I did try to find markets for my work, with minimal success.  Largely due to our move to Colorado (and the accompanying extra work and stress), I was not able to sit down and spend time learning Lightroom and Photoshop, and definitely did not have time to get through my digital library and delete the bad images and catalog the good ones.  One goal I did achieve was shooting more flowers.  I shot hundreds of images of wildflowers, in addition to all the great tulip shots I got during Topeka’s Tulip Time.  I had a total BLAST shooting wildflowers in the Flint Hills in early June.  The wet winter we had created phenomenal blooming conditions, and I enjoyed every minute of it.  As with all goals, I’ll just have to keep trying.

Here are my personal favorites of 2010.  It was very hard to narrow them down to 10, so I have 10 plus 2 “bonus” images.  Even getting it down to 12 was extremely difficult:

#12 - Divine Dallas Divide

For two days in early October, I attended a photography workshop near Ouray, Colorado.  I was treated to some insane fall color!  Since this was the first year I’ve been in Colorado in the fall, my eyeballs kept falling out of my head with all the color I was witnessing.  It was the most gorgeous spectacle I had ever seen!  This photo was shot on the last morning of the workshop at the oft-photographed Dallas Divide area.  I used my 70-200 mm lens to try and isolate some more intimate scenes in the grand landscape and loved how this little “island” of bare aspens was framed by vibrant bushes and brush. 

#11 - Prairie Rose

I spent a great afternoon in the Kansas Flint Hills while my husband was mountain biking.  The skies were overcast, and a shower had moved through shortly before we started. It was almost perfect for shooting wildflowers because the light was diffused and eliminated harsh shadows and saturated the colors.  I found this wild prairie rose along the roadside, dappled with raindrops.

#10 - Mountain Shack

Another one from my Ouray workshop.  While everyone else’s attention was focused on shooting the fabulous Wilson Peak as the sun prepared to rise, I took a look around behind us and discovered this cool old shack just a short way down the road.  I loved the texture of the wood, and the way the bright aspens framed the shack.  I was the only person in the workshop who shot this structure, and I can’t figure out why no one else even saw it but maybe it’s because I have such a fondness for old run-down buildings like this.

#9 - Mt. Craig

In early March, my husband landed a job interview in Granby, Colorado.  We decided to take a couple extra days and enjoy some mountain scenery while we were there.  We rented some snowshoes in Grand Lake and took an early morning snowshoe trip into Rocky Mountain National Park up the East Inlet Trail.  I was transfixed and almost hypnotized by the beauty of the fresh fallen powder on the evergreens, and couldn’t stop saying “God, this is so beautiful!”  It definitely gave me a better appreciation for winter conditions.  The snow somehow transforms the landscape into something magical.  I made this image of Mt. Craig later in the day when we returned for round 2 (my husband wanted to take a long trip further up the trail, so I shot photos while waiting for him).  Because the scene didn’t have much color anyway, I decided to convert to black and white, and think it turned out rather well.

#8 - Incoming Storm

Another day that I spent in the Kansas Flint Hills presented yet another opportunity – storm clouds!  My husband was again mountain biking, and thankfully it was more clear the direction he was headed.  This old abandoned stone barn on old K-18 Road west of Alma is always an interesting photographic subject, but with the addition of the cattle and the incoming storm, I couldn’t resist shooting – and glad I didn’t!  When we went back home, we had to drive through this storm and it was a doozy – a real “toad strangler” as my dad would say.  The skies opened up and absolutely dumped on us.  I’m glad my husband didn’t get caught in this on his bike.

#7 - Fallen Rock Cottonwoods

After the leaves had fallen from the trees up in the mountains and on the Mesa, I turned my attention to fall color in the Grand Valley.  One day I went up to the Colorado National Monument and spied this scene, with the vibrant cottonwoods in the wash creating a pleasing “S” curve, with the shadow play on the canyon walls.  With most of the tourists already gone from the Monument, it was a peaceful, quiet scene.

#6 - Fall Bouquet

Yet another one from my Ouray workshop.  We stopped on the Silver Pick Rd. at an aspen grove that was beautifully backlit by the late morning sun.  The workshop leader told us to not only look up but to look down as well.  It’s amazing sometimes what can be found literally at your feet.  I always try to do this anyway, and I hit paydirt on this day.  I loved the contrast of the bright red leaf with the golden aspen leaves, and the aspen twig added some nice texture.

#5 - Colorado National Monument

We made our almost annual trek to Grand Junction a little later in the year (late July) and I was treated to some monsoon moisture in the form of clouds!  We went up to the Monument a couple nights during our stay, and I captured this image which highlights the Kissing Couple formation and views of the Book Cliffs off to the north, all with some awesome clouds and lighting.  This was the first time I’d been to the Monument and had good clouds and light, so I was pretty excited to capture this image.

#4 - Three Gossips Sunrise

While staying in Moab in late July, I made myself get up early one day to do a sunrise shoot and chose the Three Gossips area.  I parked in the Courthouse Towers parking lot, and walked across the road and down into the wash.  Using my iFoto Guide: Arches, together with my GPS, I found the spot I wanted with the yuccas in the foreground.  Then I just waited for the sun to come up and do its magic!  It was very peaceful, and afterwards I walked around the wash quite a bit, looking for different perspectives and views of the Gossips.  However, this one was my favorite of the morning.

#3 - Lone Sentinel

The Kansas Flint Hills are one of my favorite places on earth, especially in late May after the annual burns and the new grass comes in like a velvet carpet.  I made several trips into the Hills this spring to take photos of the burns and the new grass, and had quite the adventure on this particular day.  You can read more about it in my prior post: “Lost & Found”.   I love to find solitary cottonwoods with nothing but wide open prairie behind them.  I had some nice puffy clouds to work with on this day, along with some great rocks in the foreground.  I also thought the broken, irregular part of the tree gave it a lot of character.

#2 - Oxeye Daisy

By far, my favorite wildflower shot of the year.  My husband found huge fields of beautiful oxeye daisies in the Kansas Flint Hills this year while he was biking.  I had never seen such prolific fields before.  This wasn’t one of the huge fields, but a small field on old K-18 Road just west of Alma.  I used my 70-200 lens to isolate the blooms.  I had such a blast shooting these wildflowers!  The light was perfect and the wind was light (a rarity).

#1 - Tulip Time!

I shot so many flower images this year and had an awesome time doing it, so it’s no surprise my personal #1 favorite this year is a flower image.  I spent the better part of two weekends shooting tulips during Topeka’s annual “Tulip Time” festival, which was slightly different from years past.  For many years, Tulip Time was held at the private residence of Gerald Binkley and was the primary annual fundraiser for the Topeka Beautification Association.  However, Mr. Binkley was getting rather elderly and simply could not keep up with the planting and care of all those thousands of tulips.  The city stepped up and planted thousands of tulips at various locations throughout town, and they were able to still do the fundraiser.  I went to the Old Prairie Town, Gage Park and Shawnee Co. Lake sites to take in the tulips, and they didn’t disappoint.  I shot hundreds of images those two weekends.  This one stands out because of the vibrant color combination, and the selective focus on the front row of blooms using my 70-200 mm lens.  The tulips were just incredible to see and loads of fun to shoot!

Now, my goals for 2011:

1.  Sit down and really learn Lightroom and Photoshop.  Yes, it’s a “recycled” goal but a good one.

2.  Get all my images organized and delete the bad ones.  Again, “recycled” but a necessity.

3.  Continue to look for markets for my work.

4.  Figure out how to properly use TPE so I can get great sunrise/sunset shots.

5.  Along with #4, get my lazy butt out of bed to be able to catch great sunrise shots.  I’m such a lazy slug on weekends.

Feel free to share your photographic goals for 2011 here.  I would love to hear what other photographers seek to achieve in the new year.  And you can comment about my photos too, if you want 😉