flowers

Hiking At Arapahoe Basin

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It's crazy to think that when I typed this (this past weekend), the Arapahoe Basin Ski Area got more snow. Although it doesn't look like it right now, the area is a great place to hike in the summer. These images are from last July (yes, I am that behind), on a hike that I took while Scott cycled up Loveland Pass. The mountainside was completely covered with wildflowers, of all different types. It was a beautiful, straightforward hike that lead to some amazing views. And the best part? The restaurant at the base was open, so we grabbed a beer afterwards, to reward ourselves for getting worked by the altitude. 

Next up: back to Lime Creek Canyon, for more images from our favorite getaway. 

Delicate Moments

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Oh my. It has been quite a while since I last typed in this space. My own photography has more or less gone on the back burner for quite a few months (okay, longer than that even), as I've been almost entirely focused on my full time job. However, as of late the fire has been stoked, and I've found a renewed desire to work on my own images. Part of the itch to create again means that sharing must also happen, as I believe that work shouldn't exist in the vacuum that is my computer. 

So, without further ado, just a handful of images that have been sitting around in that vacuum for almost a year. These images are focused on small spaces; things that create little moments of intrigue for me. Simple, straightforward, and not necessarily all that special. But, these are the subjects that attracted me to photography in the first place, and are the ones that I come back to over and over again. 

Flashback Friday: Walker Ranch - South Boulder Creek Fly Fishing

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Happy day after Thanksgiving everyone! I was able to spend yesterday with most of my family, enjoying some precious time with two of my nephews, and eating lots of food of course. I hope everyone had a day filled with loved ones and delicious food. 

It is time for another round of images that have been sitting on my hard drive for close to two months! I've been telling myself lately that because I am awful at posting here on a regular basis, it makes the posts more treasured and worth viewing. Hopefully there is at least some truth to that. 

Back at the end of August, Scott and I went fly fishing for the first time in Colorado. Scott of course did all the fishing, as I was perfectly content wandering around photographing the stunning setting. I actually had to admit to a new friend (who is an avid fly fisher, and I met at a fly tying event) that I have never fished on a fly rod before. I always get sidetracked and distracted by the opportunities to photograph, and haven't even taken the time to learn somehow. 

On this particular occasion, we ventured to Walker Ranch, to fish in the South Boulder Creek. Scott had read the fishing reports, and it looked extremely promising. I was excited, since we were going to a new location, and it ended up being amazingly beautiful.

Unfortunately the fishing report ended up being quite wrong for us that day. We didn't so much as see a single fish. Scott progressed downstream, hoping to get some bites, with no luck. I, of course, was still more than content, but he ended up fairly frustrated towards the end of the afternoon. 

Next up on the blog: images from my current favorite location in Colorado. Expect to see some mind blowing light, quirky portraits, and movie like landscapes. 

Guanella Pass

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I have been living the Colorado life to the fullest so far (climbing every weekend, hiking. including hiking the tallest fourteener in Colorado, a camping trip, and lots of great beer and food) which has kept me quite busy and kept me away from my computer for the most part. This Sunday we finally had a somewhat lazy, plan-free day, which gave me a chance to get a new post up here. 

These images are from over a month ago, when Scott's Dad and I helped to move Scott out to Denver. It was a short trip, but we wanted to get at least a brief taste of the mountains while we were there. We ended up driving up to Guanella Pass, which always provides stunning views. The wildflowers were blooming all over as well, which made it extra pretty. 

Next up (which I still have to edit), are images from a hike up part of Longs Peak. So check back soon for lots more alpine views! 

Konza Prairie Biological Station

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My time in Manhattan is quickly coming to an end. That means that I am trying to make sure to spend time with friends before I leave, along with spending time in some of my favorite places in the area. Last week I went on a hike through the Konza Prairie with my good friend, Liz. It was absurdly humid out that day, making for a hot and sweaty hike, despite its short length. The humidity did help to provide some amazing clouds and light on the hills, however. 

This is by far the greenest I have seen the area at this time of the year, in the three years that I have lived here. Kansas is definitely putting on a good show for my last summer here.  

The start of the moving process begins tonight! Scott and I will be headed to Denver in the morning to move him out, along with most of my belongings. I was able to get the last two posts written/scheduled ahead of time, though I don't currently have the next ones ready to go. So, things will likely be quiet the next week or so (unless I get some unexpected downtime). 

With that, don't forget to hit the "Subscribe" button on the left, and feel free to share via the links below. Thanks for stopping by, and have a wonderful Wednesday! 

St. Croix Garden Tour

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A few weekends ago I drove up to Minnesota to surprise my mom for her birthday weekend. The surprise was a big success (the look on her face was priceless), and it ended up being a perfect, albeit short, weekend with my family. That Sunday, her actual birthday, we went on the St. Croix Garden Tour. My family generally goes every year, though it has been a while since I was able to join. We saw some beautiful gardens, and it was fun seeing my nephew enjoying it all as well.

This first garden was my favorite from the tour. It was located on a plot of land that used to be a dairy farm, and had massive gardens that sprawled through the woods, and included a perfect little creek, the old dairy barns, and a tennis court tucked in the back. It was stunningly beautiful. 

The gardens after that were a bit smaller, but each had their own charm. My family got lots of ideas for their own gardens from the tour, and I kept on dreaming about the home I will have someday. 

New posts over the next few weeks may be a bit sporadic, as I get ready to help Scott move to Colorado next week, and then move myself a few weeks after that. I will try to keep things up here, but if it go quiet, trust that I will get caught up again after I am settled in somewhat. 

Hidden Oasis

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This past semester some of my students introduced me to a park in Manhattan that I had never heard of. I first visited there early this spring, before any leaves were on the trees and the grass was still brown. For those who have been following my blog for a bit, you have seen some images from there before, as shared in my Fabric Landscape post. 

It is the most unique park I have ever been to; just a small, square plot of land tucked in between some farms and a creek, with trees planted in nearly perfect rows. You walk down a short, wooded trail past some pastures and fields to get to the little park, which is quite pretty on its own.

When you come to the end of the little trail, and the entrance to the park, the space opens up into a storybook like area. Early in the spring the brown grass had all been mowed so that you could easily walk down the rows, though this time it was densely overgrown and lushly green. There was such a perfect canopy of leaves that the light had a yellow-green glow to it and when the sun came through the clouds it filtered down through the leaves into a beautiful speckled pattern, like little spotlights all over.

On the road to and from the park, you pass over a perfect little creek. The first time I visited the area there wasn't any water running through it, but because of the large amount of rain we have had, it was a steady stream with beautifully clear water. I couldn't resist stopping on the way out to grab a few images, and I am tentatively planning some other shoots in these waters as well.

And with that, have a wonderful Wednesday! We have made it halfway through the week!

Summer Fishing

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I skipped Monday's post. Scott's birthday was on Monday, and it also happened to be his last night in the country for three weeks. Call me crazy, but I thought maybe that was an alright reason to ignore my potentially silly, self-imposed blogging rules. 

This last Sunday Scott and I finally had at least a partial lazy day together. He defended his PhD dissertation a few days before that, so the past few weeks (or really months) have been crazy busy and stressful for him, not leaving much down time for us together. So Sunday we hopped in the car and drove out to one of the lakes nearby to do some fishing. We got a rather late start to the day, so the fish weren't exactly biting, but it was still so nice just to be outside together.  

It is a bit strange to think that was likely our last time fishing in Kansas. This fall we will both be moving to Denver; with his current trip, and the move happening shortly after he is back in the States, it is unlikely we will get out again while we live here. However, I'm sure we have many fishing trips with mountain views in our future. 

Farm Pond Fishing

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I mentioned it in one of the last posts, but prepare yourselves for lots of fishing images. This is the second post of the unofficial fishing series, with many more on the way.

This particular time we went to one of my favorite fishing spots in the Manhattan area. We haven't caught much here, other than some really tiny bass, so in terms of fishing it isn't the greatest (at least it hasn't been for us). But, it is beautiful. The pond is located outside of Manhattan on ranch land, and is stocked and made available to the public by the land owner. It is nestled into some rolling hills, away from the traffic noise, which is tough to escape in Manhattan it seems. We have yet to see another person fishing there as well, so it is sort of like our own private fishing hole.

This time of year is my favorite time of year in Kansas, since it is one of the brief windows where the landscape is extremely green here. We've had a wonderfully rainy, cool spring, so things are extra green, and it seems to be greener later than I remember it being the past few years. This area was filled with dandelions gone to seed and other wildflowers when we were there, so I gave up fishing and just wandered taking photographs. 

One of the great things about our fishing adventures is that we are generally out right when the light is at its best. That low, richly golden sunshine makes everything look spectacular. 

I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day! Check back on Wednesday for another round of images! 

lilacs mean spring.

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I know, more flowers on the blog. It's spring though, so everything is bursting with life and I can't get enough. I photographed these lilacs that are in Scott's yard with my phone a few weeks ago, and then posted it on Instagram with a story behind it. I decided I needed to also document them with my good camera, and am now getting around to sharing them here, along with the words that went with them. 

Lilacs are some of my absolute favorite flowers. Besides being beautiful and smelling amazing, they bring me right back to childhood. 
My parents have always had HUGE lilac bushes in our yard for as long as I can remember. So every spring, no matter where you were in our yard, it would smell amazing. With the windows open the scent would even waft into the house, and my mom would cut some stems to fill the house with beautiful purple and that amazing scent as well. Spring for me smells like lilacs. 

My elementary school also had a massive grouping of lilac bushes next to the playground. They had been hollowed out in the middle so it acted as a cave of sorts. It was by far my favorite spot to play during those years, and though I don't remember specific stories, I do remember spending nearly all of recess each day inside the lilac cave. It was an absolute highlight from elementary school. 

No matter where I am, when I smell lilacs in the spring it instantly makes me a bit nostalgic and more than a bit homesick. It is amazing how something so simple can bring back such strong memories and feelings.

Does anyone else out there have strong memories associated with flowers? Or even with a particular season? I would love to hear your stories as well! 

Happy Monday!

Farm Life

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A few weekends ago Scott and I went to visit his parents on their farm in central Kansas. Their farm has become a bit of a muse of mine, and I posted lots of images from our many stays there on my old blog before I switched over (some of which you can see in various galleries here). Between the chickens, horses, barn cats, beautiful house, large pasture, and vast wheat fields, it is sort of a photographic heaven. They tend to get rather wonderful evening light there as well, though this time the sun ducked into the clouds almost as soon as I got outside to take photographs.

One of my favorite photographic subjects (as you've probably noticed if you have flipped through my portraits gallery), though perhaps a bit cheesy, is my man, Scott. It is partly because he's around me more than anyone else; partly because he puts up with me constantly taking pictures of him; and partly because, well, look at him. 

I am also pretty obsessed with wheat fields, and this time of year they are an absurdly bright shade of green. It makes the landscape become like something from a dream, and I can never resist snapping away on my phone as we drive to his parents' house. Luckily his dad grows wheat as well, so right before we had to head back to Manhattan I ran out and grabbed a few images, despite the light being a bit lackluster. 

I have plans for a new series of posts starting on Friday (to go beyond my current Monday and Wednesday schedule, in case you haven't caught on to that). So check back on Friday for something different!

Daffodils + Light

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Just a simple and quick post today. I know I just recently posted photographs of flowers and light, but I have some more to share. When the light is this good, and I have daffodils on hand, how do you expect me to resist? 

And finally, a single portrait from the evening as well; because my man is handsome and again the light was too perfect to resist. He was working on his fly fishing setup while I was running around chasing the light, and right when I thought I was done I turned around to notice the near perfect spotlight on his hat and face. 

There will likely be more flowers in the coming posts, so hopefully you all don't get sick of them. I've also been trying to decide on some themes to my posts for certain days, so if anyone has any suggestions or requests for particular content types please leave a comment below to let me know!

Tulips + Light

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For those who have been to my website before, or who follow me on Instagram, you likely already know that I am rather obsessed with light (and I suppose shadows as well). When I see nice light and shadows, no matter what I am doing for the most part, I stop to take photographs. I perhaps shouldn't admit this, but I have been taking pictures of light (some might call it getting distracted) while cooking and burned meals before. Slightly embarrassing, yes, but I just had to get the shot (other photographers understand, right?).

Tulips are another favorite of mine, and when there are great shadows combined with beautiful white tulips, I absolutely cannot resist taking photos; too many photos in fact. The green walls of Scott's living room behind the crisp, white flowers, combined with the shadows from the blinds, created the perfect combination. It also never fails to surprise me how quickly the light can change in the evening. The images below were taken just about minutes minutes apart, and yet the light is drastically different. In just five minutes it went from bright and fairly harsh, to warm and soft. I couldn't decide which I preferred, and I would be interested to know some of your thoughts. Let me know in the comments below!

After obsessing over the tulips, I noticed the incredible light streaming in the front door. I have taken pictures of that light on a different day with my phone before, and was excited that I had my camera with me to get some better images. This may comment on just how far my obsession has gone, but even though I see the light streaming through Scott's door on nearly a daily basis I am continuously in awe of it. I almost always stop to just look and enjoy, often drawing laughs from Scott as I do so.  

Just when I thought I was done taking pictures, I went down to the basement to grab something, and noticed a quieter moment of light happening down there. It felt like a little painting to me, and I really loved how the simplicity of it contrasted the light happening upstairs.

Thanks to everyone for taking the time to stop by. Feel free to share, and it would be lovely to hear from you! Happy Monday everyone!