Colorado

Midweek Monochrome 02-10-21

Colorado, reflection, Maroon Bells, Steve Bruno

I’m truly amazed at what a digital camera can see versus what the human eye sees. Anybody who has taken night sky images can tell you that. The original of this shot is on medium format transparency film, and I don’t see any details in the middle ground. Just pure contrast.

Since I’ve started “scanning” old film, this shot has stood out as as the biggest surprise. Even with Photoshop, I was not able to pull out any detail from the shadows from the file created with an actual scanner. I could have tried exposure blending, but I only used one shot and a little bit of Photoshop to create the final product you see here.

February 10, 2021 0

Midweek Monochrome 08-19-20

waterfall, Colorado, snowfall, Steve Bruno, Wolf Creek Pass

A few years back, I went to Colorado over Memorial Day Weekend. I awoke to fresh snowfall one morning near Wolf Creek Pass. I spent the entire morning wandering through the deep snow and taking lots of photos. I finished the day north of Durango with more of the same conditions, and it was a truly awesome day. I’m going to be thinking cool, wet thoughts to get me through the rest of this summer, as I’ve given up trying to go out in this heat.

August 19, 2020 0

Monochrome Madness: MM3-50

Mesa Verde National Park is one of the best preserved examples of the Ancestral Puebloan culture that once thrived in the American Southwest. More commonly referred to as Anasazi, which is a Navajo term meaning “enemy ancestor”, these people created structures which were the largest in North America until Europeans settled here and industrialization began. This civilization vanished around 700 years ago, and experts have various opinions as to how this happened. A major climate shift started in the mid 1100’s with multiple periods of drought, and would have severely impacted the food supply. There is also evidence of warfare which may have occurred with nomadic groups.

My photo is of Cliff Palace, the largest of the ruins at Mesa Verde, and is my contribution to Leanne Cole’s Monochrome Madness, which had the theme this week of culture. Instructions on how to participate, and the contributions of others can be found on her website.

April 8, 2017 4

This week’s Daily Post Challenge theme is Mirror, and as with many bloggers, I have photos of calm bodies of water. Who can resist pointing the camera towards nature’s reflections? Those weren’t the only ones I came across, and I realized I have more of these than I initially thought I would. Here are some of my favorites.

I usually had my camera along with the dogs out for an excursion, and in these shots, I noticed some reflections.

running dog - Steve Bruno - gottatakemorepix

One happy dog

Another happy dog

In modern buildings, the glass surfaces almost always offer a mirrored image, and here are a couple favorites from Calgary, Alberta.

Calgary Tower looking down 9 Ave SW – Calgary, Alberta

Summer afternoon reflections on The Bow, Calgary, Alberta - Steve Bruno - gottatakemorepix

The Bow, Calgary’s tallest building, reflects summer afternoon skies

With that much volume of water in motion, large rivers seem like an unlikely place to find a mirrored surface. Despite that, early morning on the Colorado River in Marble Canyon in Grand Canyon, Arizona can look like this.

In my backyard (relatively speaking), I have a couple spots I enjoy hiking in Red Rock Canyon, where I came across these mirrored surfaces.

small pool reflecting Red Rock Nevada - gottatakemorepix

Small pool reflects cliffs beyond at sunset in Red Rock Canyon, Nevada

Reflections in a creek in Red Rock Nevada - Steve Bruno - gottatakemorepix

Small stream in Calico Hills of Red Rock Nevada

One of my favorite places that I’ve ever hiked, West Clear Creek in Arizona, usually has a breeze moving through the canyon. Early mornings can be very calm, and pools can be glasslike.

West Clear Creek, Arizona - Steve Bruno - gottatakemorepix

reflections disappear into darkness in a deep part of West Clear Creek Canyon, Arizona

Forests and cliffs of West Clear Creek Canyon, Arizona

Mountain lakes with reflections appear to have proliferated my files without me being aware of it. Here are some in that category.

Maroon Bells, Colorado sunrise reflection - Steve Bruno - gottatakemorepix

Maroon Bells, Colorado at sunrise

Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado - lake reflections - Steve Bruno - gottatakemorepix

small lake in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

Aspen trees in autumn near Flagstaff, Arizona - Steve Bruno - gottatakemorepix

aspen trees along a pond near Flagstaff, Arizona

One image that always made me look twice was this one from Coyote Buttes. There is no water or reflection here, but I felt like the illusion was there.

I have one photo of an actual mirror. This is the MMT (Multiple Mirror Telescope) at the Whipple Observatory on Mount Hopkins, Arizona. During daylight, this telescope dish is tilted down and pointing northward. This was around the summer solstice, and at sunset, when the sun was at its furthest point north. As I walked by, this cool mountain air had a hotspot about 20 degrees warmer from the sun just grazing the edge of this dish array. I can’t imagine the destruction if this thing were aimed in the slightest degree towards the sun.

Finally, a little bit about the featured image. That’s Saguaro Lake, on the outskirts of Phoenix, Arizona. It’s usually a crowded place, especially in summertime. This happened to be in winter, after a couple days of rain. It’s a fairly sizeable body of water, and this reflection has to be a rare moment, and the absence of people, even rarer. This photo will always have a special place in my memories. It was the first one I ever had published.

Wordless Wednesday: Colorado Gold

Aspen grove, autumn, southwestern Colorado

Colorado Gold

October 7, 2015 2

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Three

In response to Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge-Three or the number 3

I have a trio of images for this challenge. The featured photo is called the Three Sisters, which are three detached pinnacles at the end of a mesa in Monument Valley, Arizona.

The next shot is of three elk resting in a meadow near the Lumpy Ridge Trailhead in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado. I did manipulate this one a bit in Photoshop to emphasize the elk.

For the third image, I take you to sunset on the Atlantic Ocean at Fort Lauderdale, Florida. This would be called “Three Palms”.

June 24, 2015 8

WPC: Broken

If you travel at all, you will eventually come across something broken and abandoned. It’s in our nature, being so much easier to just leave something behind once it has outlived its usefulness.

Here in the US, cars seem to be a popular item to dispose of once they are broken. I have encountered numerous cars and trucks left for nature to swallow up. It’s sad when someone determines that the cost to tow and repair a vehicle outweighs the value of said vehicle.

Some things would require far more effort and cost to remove once they become broken. This mining operation, above, would be a perfect example of that. I’m sure it was perfectly functional when the people decided to move on, probably because they had exhausted the material they were mining. Nature eventually reclaims everything, and is slowly working her magic on this remnant of civilization.

Other examples of broken: a broken rainbow a broken down ranch grain tower