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Fall In Lime Creek Canyon

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Hopefully you all aren't sick of seeing images from this magical place. And if you are, take heart, because this will be the last round, since we haven't been back for quite a while at this point. 

Last September we headed back out to our favorite getaway, and as usual spent the time fly fishing (for Scott) and just enjoying the beauty of the area (for me). We had much better conditions for our September trip than we did for our July trip, with plenty of sunshine and near perfect temperatures. Plus, the plants had started to turn to that late summer/early fall gold that makes the landscape look richly magnificent. 

Up Next: Images from our longest flight yet, down to Clovis, New Mexico. 

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. 

From The Air

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Last summer Scott successfully worked towards earning his private pilot's license, which meant that we spent a decent amount of time in the air as he built up flight hours. I have to say, it's quite the nice perk to have a boyfriend who can whisk you into the sky! This particular flight was on the Fourth of July, and we were treated to an incredible sunset on the flight back to Centennial Airport. 

Airplane Landing

Up next: a brief post with some images of alpine wildflowers and mountain views!

Hiking Longs Peak

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Hello again, everyone! I'm still completely buried under photographs, but slowly and surely I am getting through them, and will hopefully be caught up some day soon.

Not long before I moved out to Denver myself (well over a month ago at this point), I came out for an interview, as well as to visit Scott. That weekend, we spontaneously decided to drive to Rocky Mountain National Park in order to hike up part of Longs Peak. We had no intention of getting to the summit that day, as we had a pretty lazy and slow start to the day, and instead just wanted to get up to see The Diamond. 

It ended up being a perfect day for a hike; just warm enough, light winds, and without the typical afternoon storm. It was cloudy when we first started our hike, but when we were within view of The Diamond the clouds broke, creating some incredible light for us. 

Next up: a break from images of mountains, with a flashback to my time as a nanny. Expect lots more mountain posts after that, though!

Have a happy Monday!

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! 

Ferguson Farm

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Last weekend Scott and I went to visit his parents on their farm. We were only there for one night, though we were treated to some amazing clouds and light that evening. Walking around the farm to photograph on evenings like this is absolutely soothing; it calms me and rejuvenates me. The quiet and solitude of the area are often times just what I need.

I also took some self-portraits on the same evening, which I will be sharing on Wednesday. Be sure to hit the "Subscribe" link on the left to keep up to date, and feel free to share this post via the link below!

Have a wonderful Monday!

Flashback Friday: Windy Pasture

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Welcome to the third installment of my Flashback Friday series! Today's post comes from September of last year. Scott and I went to his parents' farm to do some dove hunting on the first weekend of the season. It ended up being an absurdly (though typical for Kansas) windy evening, with the grass of the pasture whipping around us. There weren't many dove near us, so I ended up photographing more than looking for birds. 

This week essentially marks the end of the semester for me, which is also the end of my graduate school career, and my time in school as a student in general. It is hard to process that this fall won't involve me getting ready for classes, for the first time in 23 years essentially. It does mean that I may have slightly more time for photographs (hopefully), so I can finally get to some projects and images that I haven't had time to get to yet.

Also, I will be cutting the prices of prints this weekend, so if you are interested in purchasing any, this weekend would be a great time to do so! All money from prints currently goes to help fund my trip the the United Kingdom this summer; any and all help I receive would be greatly appreciated. You can also donate and receive a 4x6" print via the link below. 

Happy weekend to you all!

Travel Fund

Spring Break (Day 4)

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Our final day in Colorado was spent on rock. We climbed most of the day, soaking up the sunshine and our last of the mountain air for a bit. 

The morning started out a bit brisk, as the cliffs around us blocked the sun for quite a while. Despite the lack of sun in the morning, the area we were in all day (The Pool Wall, Alcove Area) offered some really nice, mostly easy climbing. It was a great place to just hunker down and set up camp for the day as we worked our way through some routes. 

Eventually the sun did creep down into our little area, and quickly warmed us up. For the rest of the day we were climbing in t-shirts, which was a bit unexpected for March. It was a welcome treat though, especially on our last day. However, it did make leaving that much more difficult.

Scott was able to go into teacher mode that afternoon (something he is extremely good at), and taught both the other guys some new tricks/techniques. As usual with climbing, I think everyone came away with something new learned, either a skill or just something about themselves (as in my case). That is one of the things about climbing that I absolutely love; every time I climb I learn something. It may not be something monumental or significantly life changing, but I almost always walk away at the end of the day with a fresh perspective on something. 

This post officially wraps up the spring break series for now, unfortunately (at least unfortunately for me). I still have film I need to send off and develop/scan, so more images may be coming down the road. But, for the time being, there will be no more beautiful mountains featured here on my blog. I do have some projects in the works (or at least planned), so be sure to check back soon to see what I'm up to!

Spring Break (Day 3)

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Day three of our trip was, at least in some ways, a bit of a bust. We had originally planned on hiking up to Bridalveil Falls in Telluride; Scott had climbed it the last time we were in Colorado and he wanted to check it out again and show the rest of us just how incredible it is. Unfortunately, due to the warm weather, the avalanche danger was pretty high (a guy we talked to said he had already seen one that morning), so we opted to make it a very short hike. I was still able to get some pictures of the area that I'm happy with, and also grabbed some portraits that I'm really happy with.

(On a side note, make sure to click on the panoramic images to view them in their (almost) full glory via the Lightbox.)

Taking portraits in situations like these, in some sort of adventure setting, are some of my favorite images to get. Landscapes are wonderful and all (and, as you noticed, I shoot bunches of them), but a big part of what makes these trips so awesome is the people that I go with. It doesn't hurt that the people I tend to go on trips with are extremely laid back about me taking photographs of them, and are rather goofy and quite entertaining. Photographing people in a genuine and spontaneous way, as they go about their business, almost always gives me images that I'm proud of. The story telling aspect of photography is something essential for me, and is something that I'm hoping to push in the future. 

Images of our final day of this trip are up next. Be on the lookout for those to see some more climbing based photographs! 

Spring Break (Day Two)

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Day two in Colorado was another morning spent relaxing while the guys got some ice climbing in. It was a drizzly morning, which created some dreamy atmospheric haze over the mountains most of the day. The dreary day also produced some of that nice, soft light as well, which is a nice change of pace from the near constant sun in Kansas. I wandered around outside the house a bit more, and while the drizzle fell on me I became obsessed with some of the trees behind the house and fell even more in love with this area. 

I also pulled out the film cameras that morning, and grabbed some shots with three different types of film (if I remember correctly). I still need to send the negatives out to be processed, but below you can see the two Polaroids I took on this particular day. For those of you who don't know me well, I am rather obsessed with circles (my thesis show was entirely circular work). So, when I saw that the Impossible Project just released a film pack with circular frames, I jumped at the chance to buy them. And shooting them in the mountains was not one bit disappointing. 

Stay tuned for day three coming soon, featuring epic clouds and stunning mountain views. 

Spring Break (Day One)

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We recently had our spring break at KSU, and a small group of friends and I headed out to the Ouray area for the week. The plan was to do some ice climbing, but it had been so warm (and was very warm while we were there), that the ice was nearly non-existent. The guys managed to go ice climbing in the morning for the first two days we were there, which meant that I had some time to lounge and relax (which was rather glorious). 

We had found an incredible Airbnb rental for our vacation, and both of those mornings while the guys were out on the ice, I photographed a bunch just from the front porch of the house we were staying at. The view was absolutely stunning, and I couldn't resist taking pictures every time the clouds on the mountains spread out in front of me changed. 

On the night of our first full day we were treated to some jaw dropping light and clouds. At one point Scott told me to look outside because of the color on the hills next to the setting sun, and so I ran outside with my camera in hand. I was not disappointed. The light looked like a painting. My friend Brendan was outside playing his guitar, and the light on him was some of the most incredible I have seen. (I'm lucky to hang out with people that don't pay much attention when I start snapping pictures of them randomly.)  

Just as the light faded on Brendan, I turned around to see that a rainbow had formed, and I raced to get a decent angle before it went away. It was absolute perfection.

As the sun continued to set, the light was thrown up onto the clouds creating a stark contrast in color. I was blown away, and stayed out snapping away until the last bit of sun dipped below the mountains. Needless to say it was a great end to our first day there. 

Day two will be coming soon, so be sure to check back to see more images from this magical place!