Strolling in LoDo

LoDo is an abbreviation for Lower Downtown and is a historic district in Denver, CO.  It is a great place to wander with a camera, and for me the main attraction is their wonderful Union Station with that awesome Beaux-Arts facade (yep, I had to look that one up!).  I love both architecture and train stations anyways, and this one is so cool looking that you just have to photograph it.  Sadly, the inside just doesn't measure up to the outside, but hey who's complaining?  The exterior is without peer.  Here's a closeup shot of the exterior that I have previously shared here on the blog...thought it might be worth trotting out again for another viewing.

If you are ever in the area be sure and stop by - lots of great things to photograph in this part of Denver!

Fresh popcorn in Vail!

Nothing like some warm, fresh popcorn when it’s cold out, right?

I took this HDR shot last December when I was up in Colorado for a business meeting.  I was able to spend a little weekend time shooting around Beaver Creek and Vail, which was my first trip to both locations - and they were great!  They are really lovely little towns, and I’m a big fan of cold weather and mountains anyways, so I had a blast.  I was walking around Vail Village early on a Sunday morning, taking lots of photos and generally just enjoying the heck out of it.  I was making my way to the ski slopes when I saw this little red popcorn wagon/snack shop thing, and thought the red color just popped against the otherwise wintery, dreary, colorless scene  - so I set up and fired off my shots.  Do you see the little icicles hanging on the far end of the red and white striped awning?

The Colorado Capitol Building

I have posted several different shots of the lovely and talented Capitol Building in Denver, Colorado before - and here's another one!  I caught all of them on a beautiful summer morning last July, when I was in town for business.  Being a bit more of a morning person as opposed to a night owl (see yesterday's post about hot tea to start the day!), I decided that I was going to get up early that morning in Denver, and go on a solo photowalk before I had to get to work.  It was a great idea and I am very glad that I did just that.  In fact, I do that a lot when I travel.  Morning time just seems so peaceful.  Anyways, since my hotel was in the thick of the downtown area, it was a short walk over to the Capitol and all the goodness nearby (lots of great buildings such as the Library).  As you can see in the photo, blue hour came in all its glory and I had a great time shooting around this wonderful town.  Hopefully I can get back there again this year - there's more stuff to photograph!

Sunset in the mountains

Sunsets are hard to beat, photographically speaking.  The light just does all the right things, and you get rewarded - assuming you have your camera ready, of course!  Most photographers go out with a sunset in mind, since it is such a popular time of day to shoot.  Is it your favorite?  It’s certainly up there for me, though I am a big fan of morning light too.  When Mother Nature decides to throw in some clouds for you as well, you feel doubly blessed.  That was the case for me when I captured this image, which was taken on some country road outside of Beaver Creek, CO.  I was meandering in the rental car, looking for interesting things to photograph, and was getting that itch that comes around sunset, knowing that I needed to hurry up and plant myself and start shooting.  I was hoping for a stream or a pond in the woods, but never found one.  The sky was nice and the light was fading, but no real clouds were around so I thought it was just going to be a regular old sunset in the mountains.  As it turned out, these clouds materialized quickly, the light was fading fast, and I was stuck on this back road with no real way to frame the sunset.  You see, the sun was hidden behind the mountains.  So I just pulled over and hopped out, grabbed the tripod and camera, and set up to shoot.  Very quickly the light came across those clouds as the sun went through its last hurrah, and I was glad to witness it because it faded just as quickly as it arrived.

Dodging a Denver bus

On one of my trips to Denver, I was out one evening taking some shots and strolling around the 16th Street Mall area.  It was just a short walk from my hotel and gave me plenty to shoot.  I tend to meander when I am out shooting, instead of having a firm plan in mind ahead of time.  I saw this lovely clock tower, which you can sort of make out in the photo, and I was composing a nice shot along the street with the tower in the distance.  I happened to be standing on the edge of the street, setting up and getting ready for the click, when a guy passed near me and said "Bus" in a normal voice.  No inflection, not loud, just "Bus" like he was stating a fact.  Well, he was stating a fact.  The fact was that I was in the way of a bus which was bearing down on me in short order.  I quickly grabbed the tripod and hopped up on the curb, then had the thought to get some light trails.  I hastily re-composed and snapped just as the bus passed where I was standing a few seconds before.  Lucky me, as the bus didn't seem to notice me.  But hey, I got a better shot than the one I was planning.  So, to that guy out there that said "Bus", I say "thank you"!

Staring down a mountain

I was hiking around at the top of the slopes in Beaver Creek, CO and saw these guys as they were pondering their descent.  I thought the clouds and the sky were awesome looking and grabbed a quick snap.  Not a lot to say about this one - it's a pretty simple shot.  I will add that walking in the snow is pretty hard when you sink up to your knees with each step!  That makes it a little hard to compose a shot in a hurry - but, there are worse things, right?

Here it is in black and white  - which looks better?

Rock sculpture at the Denver Public Library

Well, that may be the longest title yet for my blog posts but it is accurate.  I was in downtown Denver and got up early to wander, shoot and experience the sunrise, when I came across this huge rock sculpture at the Denver Public Library.  It was impressive, whatever the heck it is.  Anyways, the sunrise made for some excellent light in the sky, these were awesome clouds passing by and the cool morning air was brisk - in other words, it was a perfect morning!  I am a big fan of shooting in the morning, especially in cities since most folks are not out and about yet.  It gives me a sense of having a place all to myself. 

Wooden bridge in Vail

I was walking around Vail, CO early on a Sunday morning.  I like that time of day because in tourist spots like Vail, most tourists are still asleep, so I get the dual benefits of nice morning light and no folks in my way.  It was my first time there, and I really had no idea what to expect, but I ended up spending the entire morning in Vail because I liked it so much.  It's a great little town and has that alpine village feel and since it was a couple of weeks before Christmas, everything was so...Christmasy.  Anyways, at one point I wandered upon this wooden bridge and knew it was something that I wanted to photograph.  Afterwards, I spent some time in the stream below taking a bunch of other shots, and then found a tea shop and warmed up with some English Breakfast tea (my fave!).  It was an awesome way to spend a morning!

Church door reflections

It was just after sunrise in Colorado one morning, and I was walking around Beaver Creek with my camera, freezing cold but having a great time taking pictures.  Funny how you forget about your discomfort when you are doing something you love.  Anyways, I came across this church just on the other side of the hotel complex and walked around it looking for some cool shots.  I took quite a few, and wanted to share this one of the front door.  I like doors and entryways quite a bit, and when I saw the mountains reflected in the glass I knew an HDR was in my future!

Beaver Creek retail

On my recent trip to Beaver Creek, I spent a little time wandering around the village and checking out everything.  There are lots of shops and restaurants and it really has the feel of a European alpine village.  This is one of those stores - Karin's of Beaver Creek, which appears to sell home furnishings.  I was really drawn in by the look of it with the Christmas decorations and all the texture and detail.

Sushi on the slopes

This sushi restaurant was at the base of the mountain in Beaver Creek, CO.  It looked like a great place, but I never made it in.  Truth is, as you can see, the name of the place is Foxnut.  I have no idea what that has to do with sushi, or a restaurant for that matter, but if I found one in my sushi that would be a bad thing!  Ok, that was offsides.  Sorry.  Anyways, I was walking by, snapping this and that, and the contrast of the brightly colored chairs against an otherwise bland scene caught my eye.  I obviously went a little strong on the HDR processing on this one.  Sometimes, I feel that it is warranted in order to accentuate something, and sometimes it's just plain fun!  In this shot I liked the look my processing gave to the chairs, almost like they are about to melt.  Also, it helped bring up some of the detail in the interior of the space.  And yes, that is my reflection in the bottom left window.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas ~ Happy Holidays

Wishing you and yours a wonderful holiday season!

Christmas tractor

Nothing says Merry Christmas like a tractor all lit up!  Found this on a back road outside Beaver Creek, CO. Enjoy!

Cold picnic

There was so much snow up in Beaver Creek, it was awesome!  I really enjoy the snow, but being a Texan I don't have to live in it so perhaps my perspective is a little distorted!  Just a quick snap I wanted to share.

Moon over mountain

Continuing my theme from yesterday, here is another image from atop the mountain in Beaver Creek, CO. After riding the gondola up there, I wandered around, just enjoying the snow, and the views of course.  I came across this grove of trees, saw the moon up there, and had to capture it.