Colorado, 2011 — Part 5

On the trip, we had a bit of auto trouble. Let me say this: People in Colorado don't seem as friendly/helpful as people in Kansas. When photographing in Kansas, especially somewhere a bit rural, I will often have people stop and ask if I need a lift or if my car has died. We were on our way up the mountain, on a very narrow road and our vehicle went pooey. Know what? NO ONE stopped to ask if we needed help. NO ONE. Stinkers.


With the vehicle out of commission for a day or two, Erik did the only sensible thing possible: We drank our way through Estes Park.


Erik will tell you their brewery was OK, but not fabulous.


We had far better luck with the wine, though.


Loved this.


This place was quaint.


This is the other place in town to taste wine (don't remember the name). We got a nice bottle of Riesling there.

Colorado, 2011 — Part 4

Just odds & ends here.


The name of this place made me giggle. The food was pretty good, too. :)


Found this in a local shop. Loving it.


We walked into town one day via the golf course. Encountered some wildlife.


They were seriously chillin' in the middle of the golf course, and people were just playing around them.


Either Erik is trying to feed something to a ground squirrel with tongs, or he's trying to catch a ground squirrel with tongs to grill it up. Either is entirely possible.

Colorado, 2011 — Part 3

We spent an afternoon at the Stanley Hotel.


Let me tell you a little story. When we were little, my family vacationed in Estes Park. We stayed at the Stanley. I think I knew there was a book related to it, but not much else. I had yet to read "The Shining."


See these keys? The hotel used the keys at that time. Now they have electric cards. When we stayed there as kids, there were the keys, though.

One afternoon, I went into our room, but things were all moved around. I thought my obnoxious brothers moved the furniture. Which annoyed me. Until I looked around and didn't see any of my stuff in there. At all. I looked at the door and realized the key had let me into the wrong room. I totally freaked out and slept in the closet that night. No joke.


Love this wall! So pretty! Love the differing sizes of frames. Just fantastic. And as a side note, this is where Dumb & Dumber was filmed. :)


Oh yes, couldn't forget this! Erik's cousin recommended the Historic Ghost & History Tour at the Stanley. My family was a bit skeptical, but in the end, I think it completely rocked. They have college-aged kids who are in/around the theater come in, and our guide was freakin' awesome! I'd strongly recommend it to anyone! Of course, if you have small kids, the tour is LONG and might not be a good use of their time/energy.

Colorado, 2011 — Part 2

We went down the mountain a bit. I'm not sure where we were, but it was beautiful.


Pretty, pretty, pretty.


Don't ask.


Seriously.


Really nice walking path.


Beautiful.


And guess WHO was crawling in the bushes, taking photos? NOT ME!


PHOTO TIP: Switch your camera to a manual setting and FORCe the flash. With the baseball caps on, out faces would have been in shadow otherwise.


You can see a bit of the flash in mom's sunglasses (2nd from right). But don't we look well exposed?

Colorado, 2011 — Part 1

Soooo, I posted a brief note about our trip to Colorado about a million years ago. I've finally had time to get photos together to share. :)


Erik was glad to get away for a few days.


We headed to Bear Lake. Or was it Big Bear Lake? Not sure which. It's been so long ago!


Of course, there was STILL snow and ice there! Stunning!


He didn't leave his thug attitude at home, though. ;)


For anyone who ever wonders, my father taught me how to work a camera. He's still a photo enthusiast. And perfectionist. Which means we walk about 1/2 a foot, and he stops to take a picture. For 5 minutes. Then we walk 2 feet, he stops and takes another picture. For 5 MORE minutes. Seriously, I was never going to get my heart rate up enough for our 'hikes' to qualify as exercise!


It was extremely beautiful. Using some sprouting branches to 'frame' the mountains here.


Sans framing.




A nice lunch spot!

Colorado 2011 — teaser

Erik and I spent 5 days in Colorado with my parents + brother, celebrating my 'rents' 35th wedding anniversary.

Just a quick peek .... if I'm a good girl and get my editing done for bizzzness, there will be more personal photos to share here. :)

There will also be some more photo tips shared .... but for those of you who can tell me .... what did I do on my point and shoot camera to avoid Erik and I's face being pitch black from the brims of our hats?

Photo tip #4

Sometimes, you're at a place where the flash wants to fire. And sometimes it SHOULD fire. But these stations had plexiglass on the front of them .... so if I stand straight on and use the flash, there will be a glare.

What to do?

Today's photo tip: If you're using a flash with a reflective surface, stand a bit off to the side, so when your flash fires, you won't get the crazy glare and see the light reflected back at you in the mirror/shiny surface.

Crazy lady picture

Remember THIS blog post? About how my feet hated me?

I've decided to share the picture.

I hope I didn't over-hype it.


In an ideal world, there would be no cars there, but I've yet to be elected supreme dictator of the planet, so I have to make due with life as it is. ;)

I think what I like most about this photo is the stillness. During the day, this place is all a-bustle with people/traffic. And at night, it's so silent and peaceful. It was after sunset, and there wasn't much light, so I hand-held this and was still able to get some nice color saturation!

You don't have to like my picture. Beauty is different to everyone. :)

Random DC

I think this was the church I attended in DC. It was way beautiful.

Maryland 2010 — pt. 5

There was this magnificent path with the stations of the cross ... I seriously loved it!


It was actually a mosaic, which I simply love!


Seriously, well done!


I could have taken photos of these all day!


This isn't one of the stations, but I still liked it. :)

Maryland 2010 — pt. 4

It just occurred to me I've showed you some photos from my trip to visit Deacon Jeremy at the Sem, but I haven't really shown any photos OF the sem.

Isn't this place stunning!?!!??

And the chairs in front are a super place for a power nap. ;)


Isaac showing me one of the outdoor Altars.


This statue of Our Lady is really beautiful. Deacon Jeremy was telling me because the Sem is fairly close to Camp David that the government actually pays to keep it lit, so they can find it more easily at night. Crazy, eh?

Maryland 2010 — pt. 3

Fun times! :)



My friend, Isaac, left, with Jeremy, right.




It's been so long since I've been there, so don't remember what this is exactly, but like it.


Another little prayer area.


Really serene.


How many Mary statues do you see in this photo? :)


I believe this is the children of Fatima state?