FTF 12.4.17

Closing out the year with a pixture of family.

This guy is the newest member.... Pennington Schmidt, born in May.

 Got to spend Boxing Day with him this year and some other family members..... Lydia, Mom and Dad (Dana and Ed Schmidt), Grandpa John and Aunt Becca.

It was a fun day in Canon City.... that included a visit to the Royal Gorge and a ride on the train that goes through it.

In this particular shot.... he is happy to see his mom getting in the backseat to ride with him.

FTF 12.3.17

Trying to decide on my pixture project for 2018.

Have it narrowed down to two possibilities.... "Black & White" (BaW) or "I Was Framed" (IWF).

Took this shot on the trail at Margaret's Pond..... to try the BaW conversion. 

I like the idea of doing some Black & White.... but seldom see those pixtures to be as interesting as their color cousins.

But.... maybe that would be the point of a BaW project?

I have a couple more weeks to think about it and decide.

FTF 12.2.17

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 One that I took in the vase of  Lydia's monthly flowers.

Shot it in August and saved it until I had an empty week.

 

FTF 12.1.17

Just four more pixtures to go in my 2017 Fill the Frame series.... time to start thinking about a theme for next year.

One of favorite subjects at the Zoo is the Hippo.

Pixtures of this creature tend to be boom, bust or even nothing at all.

There are many times when I pass by this exhibit only to find it empty.

And many times when I am presented only with a backside.... which is definitely not her best side.

But when you do get a pixture to keep.... you can be assured that if will be rich with texture and detail.

FTF 11.5.17

There are challenges to making pixtures of giraffes.

Especially when you are the fill the frame kind of shooter that I like to be.

Even with my long lense.... they present a challenge for getting close. A challenge that can only be solved with some cropping help in Lightroom.

And then, there is still just too much "up" and not enough "wide".... in the whole pixture.

This is one of my better efforts.... largely because I picked a different spot to shoot from and got a better background.

If you look very closely you can see the particles that are falling from the basket.... as he gets his next bite of food.

FTF 11.4.17

My preferred route to the gym takes me along the edge of Margaret's Pond.

One of the trees that I see there, is pretty common to our part of the world.... Cottonwoods.

I am not very knowledgeable at all about trees.... but I like this one, a lot.

It doesn't have the stately grace of the mighty Oak or the prolific whimsy of the Russian Olive. But it does have character.... lots of it. 

They often grow to be very large and always provide  many gnarly twists, turns and branches.

It seems that at a certain size and/or age they get too big and split in the next wind storm.

Somehow that doesn't strike me as a sign of weakness.... but instead just seems to add to their character.
 

FTF 11.3.17

Despite their reputation as a kitchy and elegant beauty.... these are one tough bird.

Flora Lichtman is on a mission to tell their story on the her podcast.... Every Little Thing.

Here are a few of the facts that I learned listening to her.

They are capable of standing all night in a frozen lake.... and then carrying on as per usual when it thaws in the morning.

They can drink, without harm, an.boiling water.l

And, then can thrive in water, so toxic that it would peel the skin off a human.

None of that lessens their visual appeal.... or makes them less stinky.

FTF 11.2.17

There is a lot of stress and unrest in our country at the moment. 

It would be easy to lay the blame for that solely at the feet of Donald Trump. 

I would really like to do that because I don't like him at all. I see him as a liar, bigot and bully, who lacks the character and the competence to lead our country. 

I love how the universe teaches me the things I need to know.... for the last couple of weeks Facebook has been sending me "memories". The posts that I have made in the past. 

Those have reminded me that as far back as 2010.... I was posting my opinions about the very poor job that the leadership of our country was doing. So, in fairness that is a problem that existed long before The Donald.

Lydia and I talk about this a lot and one of the things that she often points out is the tremendous fortune that we have.... in spite of any complaints we might mount.

We talk when we walk, so the phrase that she likes to use is.... "just look around at all that we have and the great place that we live."

This particular pixture is dedicated to that thought. 

This is just one of the streets that I walk on, pretty much every day, to get to the gym. 

It is not noteworthy for any reason beyond that.... but it is a great example of Lydia's reminder.

FTF 11.1.17

One of the things on my "pixtures to do list" is water drops.

I have long admired the pictures that I see of dew and other small droplets.... and have wanted to take a shot at those kind of pixtures.

But I have not had a lot of opportunity in that realm.

I mostly attribute it to living in dry old Colorado.... but it might have something to do with not being a fan of wet weather and rain in particular.

One day on my walk this week, they day we had some overnight snow.... I came across some tall grasses with droplets of water still frozen in place.

Here is what I got.... using the camera in my cellphone.

FTF 10.4.17

Our AirBnB host for our recent trip to Belize was.... a great guy named Jack.

Jack was born in and grew up in Key West, then lived in Hawaii and then lived in San Diego.... before moving to Ambergris Caye.

To say that Jack is a guy of the tropics.... might be a bit of an understatement.

In keeping with that spirit, he has an outdoor shower, in the yard at his house, tucked under the stairs.

When you check-in he suggests to you that this is the best choice for warm water, as it will flow out of the conch shell that serves as the shower head here.... much quicker than it will arrive via the shower in the bathroom. 

And that is true.

He also tells us that these Myan dudes are there to protect us.... but I am not so sure.

Seems to me like this guy is trying to hide and get peak.

FTF 10.3.17

Big wind in our neighborhood last weekend.

As JJ and I were driving.... we saw a number of tumbleweeds moving on the wind.

His questions about where they come from stumped me.

But yesterday.... I found out where a bunch of them were headed.

This is the pond at Stratford Lakes on Federal Blvd.

Looks like they have a big clean-up job ahead.... and a need for a boat.

FTF 10.2.17

Love this girl.... and really love to see this smile on her face.

From our vacation to Ambergris Caye.... in Belize.

On the day that she won the Green Coconut Trophy.... for excellence in Cribbage.

FTF 10.1.17

Just home from a great trip to Belize.

Without question, the AirBnB portion of our trip was an unqualified success.... and something that we will surely do again.

The room was about what we expected but our host Jack went above and beyond.... creating a number of adventures (people, food, music and watersports) that we would never have done for ourselves.

There were a number of beach front restaurants that we frequented more than once.... one of our favorites being Sandi Toes.

Here you get yourself a beer (the Belikin Stout was our favorite).... then put your chair in the surf, across the street and enjoy the day.

FTF 9.4.17

There is something both interesting and beautiful.... in the fundamental ugliness of the Hippo.

You often hear stories of their bad temper and meaness.... which happily I am unlikely to experience here in Colorado.

I have however noticed that our local resident hippo, at the Denver Zoo.... spends alot (perhaps even most) of it's time with it's back to the viewing public.

So, I thought it was worth the time.... to see what kind of pixture I could make from that angle.

FTF 9.3.17

As you might expect.... from a guy who does "fill the frame".

I favor faces.... when it comes to pixtures of both people and animals.

This is especially true when it comes to the zebras. 

When I look at the whole animal.... I see a short, pudgy horse.

But when I get in close on their face.... it is always interesting and feels like it is about character.

FTF 9.2.17

My nature adventure for the week.

Actually one of the two of these adventures that I had, on the same day.... while riding my bike on the Big Dry Creek Trail.

Both of these guys had stretched out across the path.... to take the morning sun I guess.

Some may be ambivalent when meeting a snake.... but I am not one of them. 

So I always get a start, at the start of an encounter. 

Hence, no picture of the first one I met.... the big one.

Neither of these guys was really the least bit interested that I was there.... but I did have to take a minute to figure that out, and to figure my way around the 1st one as he was pretty much dead center on the path.

After a little, post ride, internet research I am going to say that this guy is either a Bull Snake or a Great Basin Gopher Snake.... and I am leaning towards the latter.

FTF 9.1.17

There are a lot of great subjects at the Zoo.... and I am sure there is not a "perfect" shot of any of them.

This, along with the "it might be today and it might not be" nature of making pictures of wild animals, even in captivity.... is what keeps me coming back for the next "safari".

It would be tough to "pick a favorite" for my subjects at the Zoo, but if I had to, it could very well be this girl.... the Snow Leopard.

In addition to just being a pretty subject, there is a haunting melancholy to her.

And then, there is the challenge of making a good picture, through the bars, as there is no "without bars" option.

The trick is a cloudy day or an early morning shot.... so there is no sun reflecting off the bars.

FTF 8.5.17

Last weekend, we finally got to do Korri's birthday hunt. This one was #16.... so it was her last one.

The theme was "the most interesting 16yr old in the world".... a take off on "the most interesting man" thing.

It was a series of posters.... mostly featuring "selfies" taken by the other kids.

Lydia wanted a selfie of us being fun or goofy.... so here it is.

The me part is all real-time.... but the pink hair for Lydia, was photoshopped in after the fact.

FTF 8.4.17

This was the week that the US saw a "total eclipse of the sun".... well more like 92% in our part of the world.

We were not part of the many who got "eclipse glasses" so we didn't get to look right at it.

I had heard that the difference between "totality" and even 90% was huge.... and that was definitely true./

In our part of the world, there was a dropping of temperature, a dimming and a change in the quality of the light.... but nothing that really even approached twilight.

This is the shadow of a tree in our neighborhood that I walk through on my way to the gym.... which is what I was doing at the height of the event.

Notice all the "crescent shapes" in this shadow.

I had heard in a podcast in the weeks leading up to the event, that one of the phenomenons that you could witness during an eclipse.... and sure enough here it was.

In fact, it was in all the tree shadows.... even after the light levels in our neighborhood appeared to return to normal.

But it was gone by the time I was done at the gym on my walk home.

FTF 8.3.17

This pixture is probably not a very good fit for this year's theme.... Fill the Frame.

But I realized as I passed by this scene on a walk earlier this week.... that it calls to me too.


A picture where I use some of the elements available in the shot to create a frame.

Perhaps then, this is a preview of what could be next year's theme for weekly pictures.... "create a frame".

FTF 8.2.17

This is one of those spots where I take a picture every time I go.

It's underneath the pier at the Scripps Institute on the La Jolla Shores beach.

If you dig into my photo files you will find that I have taken this shot on two or three occasions before. This one is from my trip to San Diego with Tristan.

Left to my own devices I bet I could spend hours just there making pictures.... but that's the kind of thing you have to do all by yourself.

The waves will be different in every shot and over enough time the light would change too. While a step or two in either direction is bound to change the shot too.

The kind of subtle changes that are lost on many.... but make a photographer smile.

And, if I lived there, it's the kind of location where you go every day to take a picture.... just to see how much variety you could create in a month or year.

FTF 8.1.17

This old-timer sits on Huron St.... between 136th and 144th avenues.

I first noticed him when I started to frequent The Orchard (a number of years ago).... as that street is on my normal travel path, too and from.

When I first saw him, he was accompanied by an old farm house.

This is a part of town where a lot of new development was going on  and that old house was in really poor shape.... so, the house got torn down.

I keep hoping that someone has seen historical value in this old guy.... and is going to do some restoration.

It has been quite some time (years) since the house came down and still no action with this guy....other than the tagging that I was able to leave out of the pixture.

I was riding by on my bike this week, when I was struck with the need to stop and take a pixture.... just in case, restoration is not really his future.

FTF 7.4.17

This was the week that Tristan and I went to San Diego to celebrate his birthday.

A day of beach combing, a day on the USS Midway and some time at the Air and Space Museum on our 3rd day.

T definitely has a fascination with all things military.

Here's the selfie that T took while we were waiting for the "trolley" that we took to and from the hotel, to get downtown.

FTF 7.3.17

Went on photo safari to the Zoo again today.

One of my favorite things.... no matter how busy it is.

Today's trip was in search of dinosaurs.... as the Zoo has on temporary exhibit a number of them, scattered around the property.

I heard one you man telling his mother.... "they are not real mom, they're fake, they're robots.

This was also the week that world discovered (to the disappointment of us all, I think) that.... Tyrannosaurs Rex was too big and too heavy to run well and humans would have been able to outrun him.

In honor of that.... my post this week pretty much had to be T Rex. 

FTF 7.2.17

At the Rockie's game during Wendy's visit.

Wendy, Kristin and Jason.

FTF 7.1.17

I went back to my May trip to the Zoo for this week's photo.

The great apes are always one of the stops on my photo safaris.

But very often without capturing a successful photo.

Over the years I have had some luck with the orangutans.... but not so much with the gorillas.

They are generally indifferent to those who are watching them.

The exception of small kids, who they seem to quite enjoy, when they sit up close to the glass on the inside of their habitat.

Once they are outside.... you might even think that they are evasive. 

When you do get a shot that frames nicely.... you are shooting through glass and have the reflections there to contend with (you can see it here in the lower left of the frame).

This is one of those situations when more patience would get me to where I want to go.

Perhaps on a future safari.... I will head to their habitat and just camp out until it all comes together.

FTF 6.5.17

One of the places where the magic of Colorado and retirement come together.... our front patio.

Almost every day now.... Lydia and I have dinner on our patio.

This is the view that I get.... while sipping a beer and waiting for her to come home.

FTF 6.4.17

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Spotted these beauties growing next to the sidewalk.... on the route that I take to walk to the gym a couple of times a week.

I am pretty sure by how they are positioned relative to the landscaping in that area.... that they are weeds.

But I guess even a weed can have a good day.... or few.

A couple of weeks later I came to find out that these are not a weed after all.

They are a Colorado flower know as .... Red Hot Pokers or Torch Lily 

FTF 6.3.17

This gnarly dude was part of our recent adventure to Mexico.... hanging out on the beach at Akumal.

In a dedicated cubby near the entrance to the beach.

I have to think that there is probably a local someone.... who is the inspiration for statue.

You can tell by the supplemental decoration that he is still someone who is noticed, revered and attended to.

FTF 6.2.17

It was a Gramps kind of week.... as Jaedyn hung out with me a total of three days this week.

Lots of swimming and diving activities.

And then.... on Friday we did an epic bike ride to and from lunch.

14mi roundtrip including the climb up what the kids call.... the "hill of death".

This girl was a trooper on that ride.... climbs like a beast, with the smile of an angel.

Last time we did this ride there were tears on the very last climb before home.... but not this time. 

A little bit of story telling (her not me) did the trick.

FTF 6.1.17

This was our view for the most of last week.

Secrets The Vine in Cancun MX provided a great backdrop to a very fine week.

There were some morning walks, some great dinners with friends and even a driving excursion down the Mexican Riviera.

But for the most part, it was this view....  along with many "Mano Sucios" and quite a few Mango Margaritas.

A great time was had by all.

But the big payoff was Lydia saying she found it relaxing.... something she just doesn't get enough of.

FTF 5.4.17

This one is a deviation from my norm.... in that it is a picture that I didn't take.

It was taken by our friend Rick Hill.... on a fine afternoon on the beach at Akumal MX.

Including it in my blog seemed like the right thing to do.... to celebrate the week that we spent with my Sweetie and friends.

It was a great trip with even better company, to celebrate birthdays.... Lydia and Jay's 60th, along with Vicki's 50th.

FTF 5.3.17

Just outside the backdoor of the Monkey House at the Denver Zoo.

A clever idea.... or a very happy accident?

A broken flower pot, partially buried in the the dirt.

In a manner that makes it appear as if.... the flowers have spilled out to grow.

FTF 5.2.17

On "safari" at the Denver Zoo again today.... but kind of a slow day for great animal pix today.

I think that next to "filling the frame".... textures might be my favorite thing to shoot.

Photo ops have been poor at the Polar Bear exhibit for quite some time now.

Even though I am certainly no animal psychology expert.... it seems like he is not well. 

Lots of pacing.... and other behaviors that appear to be anxiety driven.

But there are some good textures here.... even when the bear is not up for posing.

FTF 5.1.17

Still working the batch of pixtures, from my last trip to the Zoo.

I thought I might do another "Safari" today....  but instead stayed home to clean the garage.

The Cheetah is not one of my favorites. 

Seems like they seldom offer a good photo op.... and this enclosure is difficult to get a clean background (free of manmade stuff)..

This might be the best Cheetah pix that I have ever gotten here.

The background does include a large and obvious manmade post.... even with some pretty good boken going on.

FTF 4.4.17

When you are looking to "fill the frame".... there are few better subjects thamn an elephant.

Like so many of my subjects.... I find the animals at the Zoo so much more interesting when the goal is to get in tight.

Was not having much luck while shooting this guy head on.

But like the advice always says.... move your feet and you might be surprised by the pixture that presents itself.

FTF 4.3.17

Made a trip to Kansas City this weekend.

Bill Schmidt is a pretty sick guy (ulcerative colitis) and Lydia wanted to be there to support him.

As well as Vicki and Chris.... who have been carrying his care load.

The hospital is close enough to their home that we could walk back a forth to the hospital.

This is the creek that we would pass.... just before we got to the hospital grounds.

Taken late the last afternoon of our visit.

FTF 4.2.17

Another from my Photo Safari to the Denver Zoo last week.

I am told his name is Junior. 

He and an even younger Orangutan were very active.... high up in the trees in the outside part of their habitat.

I timed it just about perfectly.... arriving just as they climbed down from the treetops.

And just before Junior took up residence in the cargo net hammock.

FTF 4.1.17

Went on photo safari to the Denver Zoo this morning.

It has been a very long time (too long) since I have done that.

But this was the first photo outing of retirement.... so we can look forward to many more in the coming weeks.

Spent some time with the Black and White Colobus, today.... something that I am not sure that I have ever done before.

This guy may appear to be ferocious.... and sending his last loud warning before launching an attack.

But in fact, he is quite small and this is but a yawn.

Although I can't say that I would want to be close to those teeth if he were angry with me.

FTF 3.5.17

I am not sure who this guy is.... by species.

I met him on our outing to the Butterfly Pavilion, today.

He may not be the prettiest butterfly that we saw today.

 But he is for sure one of the more prolific.... and braver residents.

Often sitting calmly very near the path.... and letting use photograph to our hearts content.

I think there could well be more photographic visits to the Butterfly Pavilion in my future.

Perhaps I can learn his name then.

FTF 3.4.17

They are just three old stumps along the path next to the irrigation ditch.

But in the direct sunlight.... of an unseasonably warm spring day.

They have a color and a texture that catches your eye.

I was thinking a photo safari to the Zoo for this week's "fill the frame" entry.

But the events of Thursday and the weather on Friday.... conspired against me.

These three old dudes.... make an admirable substitute.

FTF 3.3.17

This particular flower (which I do not know the name of).... is pretty prolific in San Diego at this time of year.

Particularly along the front of Miramar Community College.... which is on my daily walk path.

They are closed up at night.... but spread their petals as the light of day falls on them.

On this afternoon, I was walking towards the end of the day.... with the sun very low in the sky.

The harsh and direct light that it cast on the flower bed.... made these flowers all the more interesting.

FTF 3.2.17

It is a a beautiful warm and soft day in San Diego today.

After a morning wandering around the UTC Shopping Center.... I headed up the Coast Highway.

It's my last trip to San Diego for Instant Imprints.

Today is Saturday, so I made my last pilgrimage to Carlsbad.... for lunch at the Harbor Fish Cafe.

Fish and Chips of course.

I did it my favorite way.... stopping a couple of miles short of town.... and walking to the restaurant.

Of course, I wanted one more picture of my old friend.... gnarly tree.

It's foggy on the coast today.... the "marine layer" did not lift. 

But if you squint a bit, you can see that the fog does not deter the surfers.

FTF 3.1.17

Summer came to Colorado yesterday.... March 3rd.

Well it might not have been summer but it was darn sure Spring.

Probably not here to stay, because it's only March.... but it was great to see all the same.

March 3rd is also cf11y.... a day each year that I particularly like to take some time to remember that "just living life" is a great thing.

Part of that on this "cf_y" was a walk around Margaret's Pond.

You may have heard the saying "ducks on a pond". Well this one is an upgrade from that.... "geese on a pond".

FTF 2.4.17

If you are paying close attention to the post dates on these.... you will see that I am a little bit late with this post.

I am only "close" to retirement and already I am saying what I hear every retiree say.... I don't know when I found the time to work. 

I am still working (but certainly not as much as I used to).... so you would think I would be finding the time for the hobbies. But not so much yet.

But that's only really part of it.... the other part is me waiting for my big camera (Nikon D800) to get back from repairs.

The Compact Flash pan needed to be replaced.... as it had stopped reading those cards.

This week's post is from Lydia's flowers for the month.... one of my favorite ways to "fill the frame".