its time - the lake freezes over

oh so cold this morning - but beautiful sparkly knobby snow-covered ice.

vagaries of light

10:50 p.m.

6:50 a.m.

Too Busy...

....to post but still up early &
the sunrises continue
is there light at the end of the tunnel*

*bending under the weight of a big work project.....help me!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving 2006

So many things to be thankful for today

where do I begin....

child's delight

The morning and evening skies have been spectacular the last few days. This morning was no exception. I got out of the house as the clouds took on a golden glow and drove a couple of places before I settled on a park that is tucked in between the giant office buildings not too far from where I live. This area is surrounded by condos and apartments and … of course …people walking their dogs.

The massive buildings bothered me at first until I noticed the reflections of the morning color on their glass facades. Soon, pink clouds filled the blue sky while at the same time, a deep orange magenta settled on the horizon. A man walking his dogs told me he had to sit down at the picnic table so that he could see the whole sunrise (as if he might fall over!). This would have been the perfect sunrise to lie on the ground and look up at the clouds.

pink to white in 2 minutes

Denver skyline at dawn

dawn mist from Barnum Park

hour before sunrise with two

This was a morning to share. Both of my sons are home for the holiday. My older son consented to accompany me on my morning photo shoot. I am not used to going in twos, especially when one of them needs to eat before embarking and that someone is not me. After a little frantic searching to locate enough gloves and scarves to protect two from the cold, we laughed at how unbecomingly dressed we were. I told my son that sometimes I like to stop by Starbucks on the way home (there is pretty much one on the way home, no matter where I go!!) but my thrown-together, just-hopped-out-of-bed look is sure to draw stares in the coffee line. Usually that thought is enough to save me a few dollars.

We headed out with a sky full of colorful clouds already forming. So a quick drive to nearby Addenbrook Park was the hastily chosen destination. There were quite a few cars in the parking lot and we saw the usual dog walkers and lake walkers. The geese were just starting to wake up. We got close to the water’s edge and watched with fascination how the geese scoop up water, throwing it over their body followed by a stretching wing flap, all part of a bathing ritual, or so we guessed.

The colors were a mixture of dark and light, then quickly evolving into a breathtaking display that we both were able to photograph. My son was getting very cold by the actual time of sunrise. He was happy when I told him that I often end the morning within a minute or two of sunrise.

It is, after all, the hour before sunrise that I seem drawn to most.

a moment before sunrise

then the sun breaks through

traffic all around

While driving on friday, I saw a vantage point that I thought would make for good sunrise photos. So off I went this morning to test my theory. Dodging cars and hoping the police didn't think I was in an inappropriate place, I stood on a safe island of land between the on-ramp and the freeway. An RTD bus stopped near where I stood while the driver got out to move a traffic cone that had fallen into her lane. A construction worker came over to where I stood later on the overpass to admire the sunrise with me. Just another sunrise adventure.

twenty minute perspective

cloud chaser

better than expected

It was kind of an off morning – not looking forward to going to work. The frosty temperature froze my hands and I fully expected my photos to illustrate my mood at the time. But my day went very well ....

*I have to work very hard to be negative - best not to waste the energy on it!!

windy outside - warm & cozy inside

I have a new project – as if I need any more projects! Today was a very windy day, not uncommon for us here. I was remembering the windstorm with snow that took down my fence last winter. Today there is no snow but I decided that it would be fun to try and take some photos that show the wind. I am not sure how to do it but I tried a few things, that didn’t really work, but I had a good time!! A little diversion from work (I REALLY don’t need any more reasons to take my focus off work – but that is another story that I really don’t want to talk about)

Now what was that new project??

transient

I can’t very well go someplace ‘exciting’ every morning for sunrise. Sometimes I just stay home and walk to Top of the World Park!

Now that the last leaves have been whipped off by the wind, the graceful and standout shapes of the trees add beauty as I see through them to the sunrise colors.

I love the way sunrise spreads from a small point on the horizon, sharp and earthly, to those billowy rarefied clouds that perch up high, transient and brief.

And then they pass beyond.

zzzzzzzzzz

I got up REALLY early this morning because I needed to get something done at my office before taking the day off!!

Except for a dusting, the snow has stayed in the mountains! I caught a beautiful sunrise from Dinosaur Ridge, which is on the ‘hogback’ that runs north – south west of Green Mountain and east of Red Rocks Park and the Front Range foothills!


It was dark and quiet on the ridge EXCEPT for the constant but muffled sound of early morning commuters snaking along on C-470 down below.

ssshhh …the first part of my day off is going to be spent .... sleeping!

sunrise on a cloudy day

Red Rocks Park – Green Mountain – Denver Skyline

Snow Moving In…

From the well-worn wooden bleachers at Red Rocks Park

A fun place to explore even on a cloudy day!

Maybe I should leave earlier?

I have started sleeping through my alarm, which goes off about 1-½ hours before sunrise. So even if I finally wake up 20 minutes late, I have time to spare, right? I always check to see the cloud situation to know whether or not to get excited. This morning was a definite “get excited” morning. I remembered to charge the battery last night but didn’t remember to tape up the broken leg on my tripod! But I was still out the door with time to spare and a roll of electrical tape in my pocket just in case.

I went back to Kendrick Lake Park and exchanged greetings with a runner. He said with a serious face, “beautiful sunrise isn’t it?” to which I smiled in agreement but to myself I said – why couldn’t this guy crack a smile if the sunrise is so great? It is a short distance around Kendrick Lake. The runner passed me at least 3 more times and I am happy to report that he flashed a big smile each time.

revelation

Have you ever had one of those days when you are driven to say:

No more
Never again
It’s not going to happen
That’s it!
I’m done.

?

Well, this morning, I had the opposite experience. In my quest to photograph sunrise every day for a year, I have taken to researching new places to go because as some of you have noted, sunrise can get a tad boring ….day after day…especially from the same place!!

SO, today I headed to Crown Hill Park and had another very fine experience. Lately, I have started getting into the energy of the regulars who have made these fine parks their own. Each and every park or wildlife area seems to have its regulars who LOVE being there. I think you tend to see a very dedicated group at sunrise. Today, I spoke with three women who were getting their exercise and having a very sociable time. They asked me if I had gotten any photos of the beautiful sunrise. We started talking and their enthusiasm and love for this park were evident in the way they all three started telling me at once about particular notable sunrises. Since I have this kind of relationship with Green Mountain and Top of the World Park, I know exactly what they mean. Having been somewhat of a ‘wilderness’ snob at times in my life, this is a revelation. I have driven by this park hundreds of times and not been terribly interested. But once you step out of ‘the rest of the world’ into this world, the beauty surrounds and embraces you…if you let it!


I sense another shift! I want to visit as many of these beautiful parks as I can and at the same time I want to come back time and time again – I want to become a regular!

There is so much more!
Again – over and over!
Anything can happen – it just takes time and an open mind!
I am just beginning!

down in the city

A late night checking on election results made it hard to get up this morning. I decided to go to a nearby city park with a lake for sunrise. I have been to this park before for sunset and to take the kids fishing many years ago! As I was driving there I was thinking not to expect much since this park is ‘down’ in the city and I am partial to being in high places!


But as I pulled into the parking lot, I immediately felt the beauty and peace of this spot. There were a lot of regulars walking, jogging, or riding bikes. The lighting and the leafless trees, the cattails that line the water’s edge – all spoke to me of why there are so many regulars. One woman came out to the dock where I had my camera set up. She asked me what was photographing. She told me her name and said she walked around the lake every day. I had no trouble seeing why. I told her I would be back. There is more than enough beauty to bring me back.

I wouldn’t miss it!

back home

I vowed before bed last night to get up early and seek,

one more time,

the setting moon in pink sunrise glow.

I also decided that I would hike to the tower – breaking myself back into hiking in a slow and reasonable fashion.

It was still and warm this morning with no one on the trail but the deer and me. It is a very heady feeling having Green Mountain to oneself. There actually were other people on the mountain but we were separated by time and distance.

The trail starts out steep bringing you up above the city lights in a matter of minutes. Although it is rather monotonous to photograph there is something spectacular about the sea of city lights topped with the pink hour-before-sunrise-glow and the deep blue sky above, rather like peeking down on another world.

I found my sunrise moon as it welcomed me back home to Green Mountain.

chasing the elusive...

I went in search of the setting full moon this morning, hoping to catch it in a halo of pink sunrise glow. However, the moon and Green Mountain had different ideas for me.

In chasing the moon, I hiked part way up Green Mountain, the most I have done in a very long time. The sunrise was rather bland today but the lighting and warm greetings that I received from my old stomping grounds warmed me far more than the thick down coat I wore.

I want to start hikng again but I do not want to give up my search for new sunrise adventures. In the end, I will seek a balance and add hiking back into the weekly mix!

setting the right course

I started the day feeling stressed but all it took was a beautiful sunrise on Green Mountain to set me on the right path!

around midnight

The day after Halloween;
gather up leftovers;
take all to work.

Let them eat candy!