Happy Holidays!

As the holiday time is here, I thought this would be the perfect time for an image taken at the Denver City and County building. Each year they light the building with lights, and this year they have changed to LED sources to help lower the energy usage of the display. While the display will be visible through the New Years, the building will be illuminated during the National Western Stock Show.

The image selected for this week took me out Friday evening after some small snow falls during the week. As the skies started to clear, the temperatures dropped quite quickly while walking around the quite empty Civic Center Park. I noticed the following bench and then looked up at the lights of downtown, and tried to grab the quiet picture shown below. In addition to the cold avoiding the port-a-potty just to the left of the frame and other items made this a little bit of a challenge.

After the thirty days project ended, I decided I would post an image each Sunday to provide an update of what I have been photographing in the past week. This past week in Denver we experience some extraordinary sunsets early in the week. On both evening I was fortunate enough to notice the clouds developing and grab my camera and head to an area near downtown. The image selected for this week was one of the last pictures taken on Tuesday evening. While pointing the camera towards downtown I was noticing the light rail was passing by and the possibility of an image. Just as I was wrapping up, it was time for a light rail to come by and with a quick metering grabbed the motion of the train as well as the last bit of effect in the sky from sunset.

With December upon us the thirty days has ended to some relief and also disappointment. The experience was a great and it forced me to look at my surroundings in a different light. The main challenge during this time was to find an image but also to do so in the role of a professional photographer. It is not possible to be out somewhere every day in an ideal location to take a great image. Being a professional means the time spent in the office is more important than being elsewhere, as you earn money in the office and expend money taking pictures.

The thirty days occurring in November also provided the challenge of the season. In most places in the United States, November is a month which sits between the leaves changing color and the first snow fall of the year. Here in Denver this month we had quite mild weather, but the leaves were mostly gone from the trees to start off the month. The mountains also experienced a below normal snow fall (which has quickly changed the first few days of December), leaving trips to the mountains for winter images not really an option. What this does is forces you to look at the world differently while doing normal everyday activities. As I sit here typing this, I can see at least ten possible pictures in my office alone which prior to the thirty days I may have not noticed. Don’t worry the keyboard is not one of the possibilities.

Moving forward I will take what I learned to make me a better photographer as well as reinforcing the importance of shooting as often as possible. Also I am planning on posting an image each Sunday, which was taken during the prior week. I hope you enjoyed the thirty days, and check back often to see the newest work appearing on my blog and soon website.