Summer Photography Challenge: Day 1

Just for fun, I am participating in a two-week long Summer Photography Challenge that starts today. I expect to learn a lot, and get some good practice.

I was joking with my sister on Saturday about her photography: "Wow! You must have a good camera! You get some really nice pictures!" She laughed. "Yeah. I do. It's all about the camera." She knew I was being completely facetious. "Seriously," she said, "if a person has an eye for composition, even a cheap camera can take good pictures."

I remember my first camera. I saved up my money for it when I was in about the 7th grade. It was a little Kodak Instamatic that took 110 film. It took a steady hand (which I didn't necessarily have) and even then, the pictures usually turned out grainy. Cameras have come a long way since the late 1970s. And since we don't have to pay for film or developing (Kids, go ask your grandma about that!) it's fun to just snap-snap-snap away and then play around with the results.

Today's challenge covered composition, and talked about using the "rule of thirds" for composing your subject. Even before I knew about today's challenge, I enjoyed playing with that rule yesterday with my road trip snapshots. I had forgotten my "good" camera, so I was taking pictures with my cell phone and then editing them with Instagram.

#westerncolorado #i70 #roadtrip #headedhome #ezell2k15

A photo posted by Karla Cook (@ramblinroads) on Jul 12, 2015 at 6:43pm PDT

When I'm taking pictures from a moving vehicle, it's hard to think about composition, so that's where the editing comes in handy. Here's the original of the "finished" picture above:

First, I cropped off the mirror and window frame of the car. Instagram has the "thirds" grid built in so I was able to zoom in enough to put the canyon cut at the 2/3 vertical line and the guard rail at the 2/3 horizontal line. Then I applied a neat filter and frame. I like the way it turned out.

 Here's another one I did the same way. This one also has "leading lines" with the curving highway.

#utah #i70 #roadtrip #headedhome #ezell2k15

A photo posted by Karla Cook (@ramblinroads) on Jul 12, 2015 at 3:31pm PDT

And the original:

I zoomed in and put the horizon line at the 2/3 horizontal line, and the "end" of the highway (where it goes behind the hill) at the 2/3 vertical line. And then chose a different filter. I don't filter all my photos, but I think they are fun to play around with.

I'll be practicing some more during the next two weeks. I'm not sure if I'll post all the challenges here... or on my Instagram account. We'll see.

A Room With a View

Our hotel in Fairbanks overlooks the Chena River. My room is on the fifth floor and I have definitely enjoyed the view the last few days. We stayed in this same hotel last year and I had the same view, but it was a different room so the perspective was slightly different.

I was in Fairbanks last year April 19-22 and the river was just beginning to thaw. It was interesting to watch it break up during the time I was here. This year, we are definitely farther into spring as you can see from the two different river shots.

 For an even older perspective, I noticed this picture (from 1955) hanging on the wall in the restaurant at Chena Hot Springs the other day. It's the same part of town but from the other side of the river, behind the church instead of facing it. Obviously, our hotel did not exist at that time.

 Here are a few other shots I took through the window.

 The sun was beginning to set at 10 o'clock...

...and was still lingering on the horizon by 11 o'clock. It's not quite the Midnight Sun, but close enough!

Today was our final day of conventions here in Alaska. Tomorrow we drive back to Anchorage, and then fly home on Thursday.

Outside of Fairbanks

For our day off today, we drove out into the country. Our first stop was the Alaska Pipeline. I learned that the reason it is above ground is because the oil is warm (about 100 degrees F) as it flows through the pipe. The ground, however, is frozen permafrost. If the pipeline were buried it would thaw the ground and  make it unstable. I hadn't thought of that before. I guess I figured it was the other way around-- that the ground would make the oil too cold. But no.

A stream ran parallel to the Pipeline. It was still frozen along the edges. We were fascinated with the ice crystals. So delicate and beautiful.

 Then we drove up to the Chena Hot Springs Resort, about an hour outside of Fairbanks. We ate lunch there and enjoyed walking around. There were several old vehicles of various kinds, just rusting away... lots of log buildings with moose racks galore... and pen of reindeer sleeping under trees... another pen of chickens and goats hanging out together. Just random, interesting stuff.

We didn't get into the hot springs, but we dipped our hands in to see if it really was "hot." It was. It also smelled like sulphur. The middle picture is the "ice skating pond." I decided my ice skates probably wouldn't work on it in that condition.

It was a fun, relaxing day. Tomorrow we'll be back to work at the Fairbanks IDEA convention.

Denali Viewpoint South

The second "sight-seeing" stop of yesterday's road trip was at the Denali Viewpoint South. It involved a short uphill hike for the best view. I wasn't too sure where it would take us, so I asked some ladies coming down if the hike was worth the view. They assured me that it definitely was, and that I was almost there. So I kept going.

The strip of photos in the collage above shows the trail, starting from the bottom picture and going up. I could just barely see the top of the mountain as I started up. The background picture was taken from the viewpoint at the top of the trail. As were these...

The view of the mountain from this vantage point was breathtaking. At over 20,000 feet, Denali is the tallest mountain on the North American continent. Apparently, Mount McKinley is the official name, but the "real" name of the mountain is Denali. If you're like me, you've heard all this before but may not remember it at the moment.

As with most major mountains, seeing it on a sunny day is rare. We were thrilled that the weather cooperated for a stunning view just for us.

Kenai Convention

 Today was our first convention day here in Alaska. We even put together a special little display featuring books we carry that are set in Alaska and of course we had to add a cute moose mascot. He will be going home to live with Judy's little grandson, but for this week he's helping out in the booth.

Our booth space went around a corner and had a very large world map mounted on the wall behind it, which made for an interesting yet attractive set-up. Don't you think?

The convention ended at 5:00. We packed and loaded up for the 3-hour drive back to Anchorage.

We have been avidly watching for "Moose on Road" but saw nary a one this evening. (Road sign photo courtesy of Stan.)

We would also not have objected to seeing bears, caribou, or whales along the way, but no such luck. In fact, the only wildlife we've seen at all has been ginormous mosquitoes, various birds... and a very strange character at WalMart who was insistent on helping us load our groceries in hopes that we would give him a dollar for his efforts. Never mind that there were four of us who were perfectly capable of loading our own groceries. That was kinda scary.

We have seen more blue sky this year than last year... which make the snowcapped peaks much more spectacular.

 The late daylight hours made the drive back from Kenai very pleasant, in spite of all the animals apparently hiding from us.

It's been a long day, and tomorrow will be an early one, with set-up for the Anchorage convention first thing in the morning. 

No scenic drive on tomorrow's itinerary... but on a trip like this, you never know what might happen. It's always an adventure.

An Evening Drive

My parents visited us last week for Dad's spring break. One evening we took them for a drive up to Lookout Mountain Park.

A herd of mule deer were ambling around when we arrived. They weren't scared of us.

I was able to get quite close to take some pictures

 We walked around for a little bit, but the wind kicked up and it was pretty nippy.

We decided we could see enough from the car.

 It's neat to be able to see downtown Denver from up there.

 When we got back to town the sun was setting.

 Lyle pulled over so we could enjoy it.

I snapped picture after picture.

These were taken in a parking lot about a half mile from our house.

What a lovely way to spend a spring evening!

Instagram Update

I find I'm chronicling some of the tiny moments of my life with the Instagram app. Like I mentioned before, I'm not one for selfies, but it is kinda fun to snap a quick shot of some little thing that caught my eye. Later, I enjoy looking back through the moments I captured. From the last few weeks...

Still #playingwithinstagram

A photo posted by @karlacinid on Jan 21, 2015 at 7:43pm PST

January 21. Light snow caught on the bark of a tree outside the office... I thought the textured filter added a neat effect, too.

So... does the lettuce wrap and the sweet potato fries cancel out the carbs in the milk shake? #workinglate #Sonlight25

A photo posted by @karlacinid on Jan 22, 2015 at 3:31pm PST

January 22. A quick supper with co-workers before the Inspire25 event that evening. All four of us had lettuce-wrapped hamburgers... and milk-shakes!

Taking the light rail downtown. Mid-morning is definitely the best time to ride! #introvert #publictransportation

A photo posted by @karlacinid on Jan 23, 2015 at 9:17am PST

January 23. I met a friend in downtown Denver for lunch and didn't want to try to find a parking spot, so I took the train.

Saturday morning breakfast date at the Golden Diner. #coffee #Colorado

A photo posted by @karlacinid on Jan 24, 2015 at 7:04am PST

January 24. For our breakfast date that Saturday we drove to Golden and ate at an old-timey diner. I like taking pictures of a cup of coffee, apparently.

#breakfastdate #brainstorming #chickfila #lovemyman

A photo posted by @karlacinid on Feb 21, 2015 at 7:33am PST

February 21. My daily snapshots didn't last long. A few weeks later our breakfast date was at Chick-fil-A. We were trying to work through some details for our family budget that morning.

Cute new mug for my Monday morning #coffee. #Sonlight #goodmorning

A photo posted by @karlacinid on Mar 2, 2015 at 5:40am PST

March 2. And another coffee picture with a new mug from my Secret Sis.

Love the blue sky and sun! #Colorado #spring

A photo posted by @karlacinid on Mar 9, 2015 at 4:14pm PDT

March 9. I actually didn't know about this picture until I started getting comments on it. Turns out I had left my phone at home one afternoon, and "someone" decided it would be fun to post a picture for me. Could be worse!

#lookingfortulips, #earlyspring

A photo posted by @karlacinid on Mar 15, 2015 at 3:16pm PDT

March 15. I noticed tulips coming up in the backyard. I hope they bloom this year. Last year a spring snowstorm ruined them.

#sunsetinthecity #denver

A photo posted by @karlacinid on Mar 16, 2015 at 6:05pm PDT

16 March. Mountain sunsets are spectacular, even in city traffic.

#firstdayofspring #crocus

A photo posted by @karlacinid on Mar 20, 2015 at 8:09am PDT

20 March. I was delighted to discover crocuses emerging on the first day of spring. Not my yard, but close enough.

Happy spring!

Winter Day Trip

After a particularly snowy week we were happy to see sunshine when we got up yesterday morning. Lyle suggested going for a drive in the mountains to see the fresh snow. Rebecca and Cookie accepted our invitation to ride along. 

We started out early because I was afraid the sunshine might not last. Sure enough, it was only partly sunny during our drive. Still, the scenery was breathtakingly beautiful.

ICY CONDITIONS MAY EXIST

 Do tell!

Our route took us through the ski resort towns of Breckenridge and Keystone.

MUG SHOTS

 I thought the name of this coffee shop in Breckenridge was clever. I love a good play on words.

 We were especially interested in watching the skiiers. Needless to say, the ski runs were quite busy after all the "fresh powder" this past week.

We pulled into a scenic overlook above the chair lift at Arapahoe Basin. It was neat to have a bird's eye view. Lyle and Rebecca would have liked to go skiing themselves. Maybe another time.

It sure is fun to have beautiful scenery so close to home when we are in the mood to go for a drive.

Talkin' to the Squirrels

 All of us... especially Cookie... have enjoyed our shady backyard this summer. Cookie likes to chase rabbits and talk to squirrels, both of whom are frequent visitors.

The three snakes who have shown up at different times, however, are not welcome. I guess I ought to put up a sign:

NO SNAKES ALLOWED

They'd probably pay about as much attention to that as the door-to-door salesman pay to this one:

(Photo courtesy of Laura.)

But I digress. 

Our backyard is fenced all around and lined with trees and shrubbery, so though we have close neighbors we also enjoy a sense of privacy. It's lovely.

 As the leaves fall, it won't be quite so private, but I have to say, fall is just gorgeous in Colorado. Not just the aspens in the mountains, but also the city streets and brilliant blue skies.

The kids raked the leaves into a big pile. Doesn't it make you want to just go jump in it?

Maybe we'll build a fire in our little patio fireplace this evening and toast marshmallows.

Autumn in the Rockies

 Last Sunday afternoon was overcast and gray, but we decided to take a short drive up in the mountains to see the aspens anyway.

 The brilliant gold is a sharp contrast to the dark green of the evergreens. Just breathtaking.

 I especially enjoyed this scene with the farm pond and the barbed-wire fence... and the little bit of blue sky peeking through the clouds.

 And, of course, we had to pose in front of the leaves!

 This one is just to embarrass the kids. Because that's what we do.

 What a privilege to live so near such beauty. It's almost worth putting up with city life. Almost.

Wonder if I can talk the man into going again this Sunday. Maybe the skies will be clear? You never can tell about Colorado weather.

Rainbow Over the Mountains

Just a glimpse of the gorgeous, full-arched rainbow that spanned over the Rockies early this morning. I snapped these quick pictures on my phone on my way to work.

My co-worker, Chris, took this one from his house.