Category Archives: Personal Photography
Playing With Lights
I have a spare room in my house, a converted garage, that I wanted to use as a little studio, but with the white walls and the small size of the room, it was really difficult to control light. So I did what any photographer would do, I painted the room black. Now I have a nice (albeit small) studio space without the problem of unwanted fill light coming from, well, everywhere. I asked a friend to model for me so I could start playing around with different lighting setups. Here are a few shots from the session.
These were taken by placing a white shoot-through umbrella behind the subject as the only light source.
Thanks to Lauren for hanging in there while I played around trying to make things work!
Soloing The 2nd Flatiron
One of Boulder, Colorado’s most recognizable landmarks is the set of rock formations lining the city to the west called the Flatirons. These unmistakable rock faces are not only nice to look at, they’re also a lot of fun to climb. Being a climber in Boulder, I’m always getting out to do harder routes and push my limits, but sometimes I just want to go out and enjoy the day with some super easy but fun climbing with amazing views of this awesome city. This past weekend, I had the opportunity to climb the second Flatiron on a gorgeous day with a great group of friends. This is one way to escape the crowds of hikers on a mid-70s day in March in Boulder!
The biggest peak in this shot is the first Flatiron, followed by the second and third to the left. We hiked right up to the base of the second, put on our climbing shoes, and started up…
There are several places along this cruiser line to stop and take in the view.
If this route had a crux, this would be it for most people. The jump looks a lot scarier than it feels once you do it, but you have to work up the courage and just go for it!
At the top, we stopped and had a beer or two before stepping off the rock and hiking back down the trail. This spot offers a breathtaking view of Boulder.
This panoramic shot is actually 10 vertical photos put together. The size limit here isn’t doing this photo any favors, but to see it full size is awesome! At 100%, you can actually make out individual houses in the center of town. I love that you can see the first, second, and third Flatirons and all of Boulder in this one image.
Even the hike down yields some great scenery. If you look close you can see a couple of hikers crossing the talus field down the trail. Back to Chautauqua and the cars, then home for some grillin’! Nice weather, welcome back to Boulder!
James Peak Yurt Trip
James Peak is a beautiful 13,294 foot peak in the Front Range, about 12 miles south-west of Nederland. This past weekend I had the pleasure of joining a great group of people for a trip to the James Peak Yurt. The yurt sits just over 5 miles away from James Peak and rests at 10,618 ft upon the southwest slope of Colorado Mountain (10,870 ft). Four of us snowshoed up to the yurt at midnight, meeting others who had gone up earlier in the day. It was an exhausting and single-digit cold 2-hr hike, but it was a beautiful night and the tracks left by the others made it easy to find our way in the dark. Despite the biting cold, I had to take advantage of the clear starry night, not knowing if a storm might roll in the next night and spoil my chances of getting some star shots. I spent about 10-15 minutes taking photos, and that was all I could handle at 2:30 in the cold, cold morning.
After a good hardy sleep, we awoke to a beautiful sunny day, had a delicious bacony breakfast, and then a few of us headed out for some snowshoeing.
The snow was very deep in places and made for an exhausting hike to the top of Colorado Mountain, but the views were well worth it.
This panoramic shot of James Peak was put together from 7 vertical photos, so it’s huge. The size limit here isn’t doing this photo any favors 
Back at the yurt, the sun is getting low and the group is now relaxing into some conversation, games, drinks, and the warmth of the wood-burning stove.
Dinner was served by lantern light. We ate well.
I just think the mantle of the lantern looks really cool up close.
After dinner, as things continued to wind down, I got back outside with my tripod and camera and got some more shots of the beautiful mountain night sky.
This was an awesome group to spend the weekend with. We decided to get a group shot as we suited up to trek back out.
A couple of us stopped along the way to check out an old cabin in a beautiful setting.
A beautiful hike out and that wraps up an amazing weekend enjoying the fruits of the Colorado life. Hope you enjoyed the photos!
Ultimate Frisbee In A Foot Of Snow
Hey there. First personal post in a long time! But this was worth it. Grass Roots Ultimate (GRU) in Boulder, CO has been putting on spring, summer, and fall leagues for a long time. But this year, they started a winter league. And enough people came out for it to have four teams. Having been out with a knee injury for more than a year, I wasn’t even aware that this league was happening, but I was invited to pickup with a team that was down a couple of players. And what an awesome game it was in a foot of snow. I knew I had to bring the camera for this rare occasion. Check it out…
This little guy was chasing snowballs his owner threw into the snow. He never seemed to get tired of chasing things he couldn’t find.
This little lady never let up, cheered for us the whole time!
The Softer Side Of Shelf Road
Shelf Road is one of Colorado’s most beautiful and densely route-packed climbing destinations, and our Boulder-based group makes it a point to make the 3-hour drive 2-4 times a year.
While these trips are, of course, centered around climbing, they inevitably involve one of my favorite outdoor activities – camping. There’s just nothing quite like sitting around a fire with a group of friends, some drinks and snacks, and a universe of stars spinning around the entire set. This post is a handful of random photos from a recent Shelf Road trip (and one from a previous trip 
). Without any actual climbing photos, this set is dedicated to the friends and scenes that make camping a joy in its own right and an added bonus to any weekend climbing trip.
We had a gorgeous day on Saturday and climbed to our hearts’ content. Sunny awesomeness and light breezes.
Saturday night was cold but clear and offered a breathtaking array of starriness (yes, it’s a word).
Saturday night brought clouds and snow. When we awoke, there was about a half inch of snow on the ground and the sun was shining. We enjoyed a beautiful sunny morning at the campsite before heading home.
Of course, Baby D is always the center of attention. What a cutie pie!
Wade’s takin’ care a’ bidness.
Ron’s takin’ care a’ bidness. If you don’t know me, here’s the first thing; chocolate milk.
Tommy teaches Dahlia how to blow bubbles…
Dahlia would rather eat bubbles than blow them.
While it’s not chocolate milk, Tommy’s breakfast was probably more appetizing than it looks reflected in a pair of sunglasses.
This last shot is from the drive home. I included it because of its serendipity. I was trying to get Andrew, Wade, and Justin all in the same shot from within the truck. I ended up getting all four of us! Can you spot me in there?
Ohio – Hub Of The Rust Belt
This Christmas, I made the long drive from Boulder back to northeast Ohio to visit my family. I don’t like it there. If it weren’t for my entire family living there, I would likely never go back. It sits in the hub of the rust belt, so called because of the decline of industry (particularly the steel industry) in the US in the 70s, evidenced by abandoned, rusting factories, and leaving many towns looking run down and depressed. The decrepit state of things combined with the 300+ days of gray per year sends me into a downward spiral of depression every time I go back.
I lived near a town called Warren that, to me, epitomizes the state of the area with plenty of housing projects, old, abandoned buildings, and of course, factories. One night, on a drive back from a friend’s house, I decided to stop at a factory that has this great eternal flame. The factory is owned by Arcelor Mittal and converts metallurgical-grade coal into high-grade blast furnace coke. The facility also contains a by-products operation that processes coke oven off gases into useful, valuable by-products. I don’t know what the eternal flame is burning, but it is ALWAYS burning and it is huge. The following photos give a little glimpse of the factory, a common sight that always brings back that dirty, depressing feeling I get when I drive through Warren. It was extremely cold that night, so the steam was intense and well lit by the factory lights and the flame.
The eternal flame…
