Water cascades over the top of the Evergreen Lake Dam, driven by high winds.

Gears to control a spillway or other valve at Evergreen Lake Dam.

As seen through the trees at the base.

This is one of the two major sandstone formations that comprise the Red Rocks Amphitheater in suburban Denver, Colorado. To me it looked like a guardian, protecting the lonely pine tree struggling to survive in the rocks. Order your copy today.

People look at the above photo and almost immediately ask “what’s up with those funky clouds?” I tell them that this isn’t a straight picture, it’s a reflection out of a mud puddle. “Ooohhhhhh, now I see.” The inversion of this image so that the mountain is pointing up totally throws people off. It’s kind of funny to me, but it also makes me wonder how good of an idea it was to flip it 180° to satisfy my feelings on what looks better.

Compare the shot above to the original below:

Which works better for you? Or should I not have gone through all this, and instead used a different image I captured, from a little further out, that really puts the scene in context?

Me being me, I naturally continue to like the first the best. I think if it makes people talk, then it can’t be all bad, right?

We received about 10″ of snow recently, so I took that opportunity to go get a new view of my normal surroundings (luckily my Sorel’s are good to about 12″ of snow). Got what I think is a great shot of this creek near my home. Converted it to a high contrast black and white in Lightroom. I wish it snowed more often.

The image above is of a braided hose line on the primary lift motor of a Titan II missile. In September of 2008 I had the opportunity to visit the Titan II Museum outside of Tucson, AZ. The museum is actually a decommissioned Titan II complex, a relic of the Cold War. This photo is available for purchase as a print or digital download in my Art Gallery.

I took several interesting pictures on that day. It was one of the more fruitful photography days I have had, most likely because that’s all it was supposed to be. No doubt more of those images will make their way here as photos of the week.

More information about the museum can be seen at their website.

Hard to believe, but on this day 68 years ago, Pearl Harbor was attacked, throwing us into World War II. But you didn’t need me to tell you that. The only reason I am posting about this today is that I was recently going through some old photos I have taken over the years, and came across this group from my trip to Hawaii in 1984. I was 13, and armed with my Kodamatic instant camera. Anyone old enough to remember it knows that this was the Kodak version of the Polaroid, and that the film production had to cease because of a lawsuit from Polaroid. I think I got a rebate check for $30 from Kodak as a way of saying “sorry, we shouldn’t have sold you this camera.”

Nearly everyone agrees that a good photo should evoke some sort of emotion. In that regard, I love these pics. I can’t remember much of that weeklong trip (except the Dole pineapple cannery tour, Hilo Hattie’s signs everywhere, the beach), but these pictures remind me vividly of what it was like on the Arizona Memorial that day. It was a strange feeling, standing on the monument, straddling the remains of the Arizona, and knowing there were still people (their remains anyway) in there. There were also reminders that the ship is not done settling in, as there were small oil slicks (maybe a few inches across) hanging out near the rusted gun turret mounts. It’s a powerful mood, being out there and seeing these things. No, these Kodamatic pics don’t do it justice, but if you have been there, maybe these are all it takes to bring your memories back. If so, let me know by commenting below.

My daughter is one of the hardest kids to get a good picture of. At 3 years of age (4 in a couple weeks), she is a non-stop dynamo of energy that never seems to stop. That energy is magnified even more when we are exploring a new (to her) place.

This past weekend she decided she wanted to go see Red Rocks - as in the Red Rocks Park & Amphitheatre, but famous by the U2 video in the 80’s. It is actually a pretty popular hangout among people in Denver, there were a lot of people using it for a workout today (running up and down the stairs and “seats” is a popular workout).

Natalie was in explorer mode today, so she wanted to go all the way down to the bottom and look around. I was able to convince her to pose for me a little bit at the top first though. As she gets older, she is starting to enjoy being in front of the camera. Later in the day she told me I should be taking pictures of her splashing in the puddles left by the rain.

I haven’t shot any families with little kids other than my own, but my advice would be to be patient, follow the little ones around, and shoot a lot of pics to get the keepers. It’s kind of like shooting sports. They are that unpredictable and fast paced.