Tag Archives: events

{total solar eclipse}

22 Aug

i drove down to columbia, south carolina to watch the total solar eclipse yesterday… and i’m so glad i made the trek! admittedly, i did not do as much preparing as i would’ve normally done… particularly because it kind of came together last minute. originally i had wanted to go to greenville, sc – which is where i was born {and supposedly where the highest totality and visibility would be}, but it all worked out rather nicely and i’m thankful to have been where i was… especially because it was also my mama’s birthday yesterday.

i didn’t have time to make a pinhole camera, which i really wanted to do, but of course i had a camera. if you follow me on instagram, i hope you saw the story… it was fun to create.

it was important to me not to get too caught up in taking fotos, because i truly wanted to enjoy the moment {two minutes, 36 seconds to be exact} 🙂

i shot these images with a 50mm lense… which, of course, isn’t ideal for something so far away… but i kind of liked showing the sky and having the tiny sun and moon fill up a tiny amount of space. i didn’t have a special filter, so i simply put my eclipse glasses over my lense. i thought about using my zoom lense, but like i said, i was more concerned with being there to truly witness the moment… it’s a hard balance sometimes, as someone who loves to take pictures… but i have been challenging myself to “capture the moment with my mind,” from time to time. this was one of those moments.

i took a few pictures of the crowd as well, but i wasn’t super thrilled with most of them. i think i was just too caught up in the experience to really take very many fotos… and i’m okay with that.

it was a truly incredible event and the sky was perfectly clear for the duration of {almost} totality. the crowd was wonderful, the vibe was awesome, the beer was delicious {i drank a special ‘black ipa’ aptly named, “blackout”.} i feel very fortunate to have been where i was during the eclipse. we reached totality around 2:30 p.m. in columbia, south carolina. the temperature dropped, the moon inched in front of the sun, making it as dark as night… the crowd went wild, people screamed and hugged and kissed… it’s kind of hard to truly describe how marvelous it was to see it all happen. the energy felt very intense to me… and as someone who has always admired and been in awe of the stars, it was a lot to take in… something for the history books, indeed.

i’m still buzzing from it all ❤

       

{mercury retrogrades tonight!}

12 Aug

time to slow it down…

{throwback thursday : manhattan henge}

13 Jul

apparently it’s manhattan henge time… i heard on TV that the big night was last night and tonight it will also be visible.

when i lived in new york, i didn’t think about the fact that you don’t really see sunsets. i guess it didn’t occur to me at the time… but after living in denver and seeing some of the most amazing sunsets ever, i started to realize that i don’t have very many memories of sunsets while i lived in the big city.

anyway, in honour of this twice a year event that happens in new york, i thought i would share these fotos for throwback thursday. i’m super grateful i actually got to experience this… for those of you that may be unfamiliar – only twice a year does the sun line up just perfectly in between the concrete jungle so that it sets right in between the buildings. one can only see this on 34th street, 42nd street, or 57th street… i think i fotographed these images from 34th…

enjoy!


{memories in manhattan – volume 4}

3 Apr

a good friend of mine just reminded me of an annual event that takes place in union square park, lower manhattan. it apparently just happened last weekend in new york, and i was reminded of the time that i was fortunate to be in the mix, camera in hand.

i’m talking about the ‘annual pillow fight’ 🙂

i’ll never forget the hilarity of this day. it was a sunny afternoon, but there was a spring chill in the air. 14th street was lined with people dressed in pajamas and costumes and carrying their favourite pillows under their arms. police staff stood closely by, and the occasional ambulance could be found parked around the corner, should anyone get hit a little too hard or fall off someone’s shoulders.

i meandered my way into the crowd, holding my camera close to my chest. i spotted several fotographers hiding out in the ‘pit’ and remember being nervous for them – like, what if someone or someone’s pillow knocked their camera to the ground? even though i came unprepared anyway {no pillow and all}, i was certain i would never be caught in the moshpit, let alone with my camera. i’m a self-admitted wuss like that. i prefer to have a nice long lense and stand nice and far back.

anyway, i people-watched for a good 20 minutes or so, snapping fotos like this :

i laughed at several costumes and appreciated how much thought some of the attendees took into preparing for this event. i wondered to myself if i knew anyone in the crowd.

hundreds of people people gathered in the shop windows nearby to get an aerial view… Continue reading

{a blue moon wedding!}

22 Aug

there were such beautiful and intimate moments at this wedding, that at one point – i almost forgot to keep taking pictures! i was completely enamored, what can i say?!  these two are such magnificent souls… and their love carries such an intense energy with it that EVERYONE could feel!

they decided to wed on the blue moon, just three weeks ago, this past july. it was just the most beautiful day and only 20 people were present for the ceremony… and so was blue moon, the yummy beer.

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congratulations, a & a! ❤

 

{travel tuesday – the winter x-games : from a slightly different perspective}

28 Jan

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this weekend i helped work at the winter x games in buttermilk.  it was pretty unbelievable.

however, i didn’t go to see the athletes or even watch any of the event, and yet i had access to almost every venue and space on the mountain… what exactly then, was i doing at x games?!

sorting through this enormous pile of trash :

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i’m not even kidding.  there were 2 other huge piles just like this in the two days i helped…

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i was part of the “green team” for the weekend – sorting through waste to divert it from a going to a landfill. the goal was to divert 80%, and i believe we came damn close! that team is so amazingly dedicated!!!   Continue reading

{the bi-annual cattle round-up}

11 Nov

i had never seen anything like this and i was so happy to get immersed right in the middle of it!

remember last friday i wrote about the coolest cattle?! well, as i was fotographing them that day, i inadvertently got stuck behind the twice-a-year cattle round-up that takes place here in town.  i was pretty much cracking-up the entire time and also felt so privileged to have witnessed this event, camera-in-hand.

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it was the day of the eclipse, too… and the sunset was unbelievable!

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i know they’re “just cows”, but i love them. and what i want to know is…

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how the heck did they round up all these cows without me noticing?  one can’t get off this road, so-to-speak, and i had just turned around to head back down the hill when i saw this… Continue reading

{dia de los muertos!}

2 Nov

i walked the “day of the dead” parade in my new town and got some fun fotos of some pretty stellar costumes and such.

i didn’t know much about dia de los muertos until just last week.  and now that i do – i gotta say – i’m kind of hooked 😀  i really want to prepare better and dress up next year.  it just looked so fun!

and i’m for celebrating diversity and culture! i miss those two things about NYC the most.  i just appreciate the differences we have, and i love learning about new cultures, or even existing cultures, but really getting immersed in the celebration! everyone here is so welcoming and wonderful.  i met some amazing people and i just had a great time!

{preface : this one is foto-heavy!}

———

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dia de los muertos!

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it began with this guy…

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walking the parade… Continue reading

{thirsty thursday – happy halloween : please enjoy responsibly!}

31 Oct

hey ya’ll

are you going to go out and/or dress up for halloween? i have an early morning friday, so i will probably keep it low-key and watch the nightmare before christmas or something… 😉

just wanna throw in my shameless two-cents of a plug here – please don’t drink and drive, have a DD.  and if you don’t have to be on the roads, just stay in. and why not give out healthy snacks instead of candy?  or better yet – do a TRICK!  no one does tricks anymore, we just toss “treats” in a bag and are done with it. can you just imagine the look on the kids faces when you bust out a bunny and a hat instead of twizzlers?  priceless  – better have a camera… 😉  i digress.

meanwhile, i’m all for enjoying a few libations for the event :

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i love to support organic practices of all kinds! 😉 this stout was incredible, and had perfect hints of chocolate throughout, with a nice finish.

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i’m a fan of farmhouse ales – the bubbles, the colour, the complex flavour… this one didn’t disappoint.

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brown ales just feel like autumn, don’t they?  the rich flavour and the heavier body… ideal for transitioning us into the next season.

have a great night, friends!  be safe!

{whatever wednesday : the aspen mac -n- cheese festival!}

11 Sep

so, i spent the {long} weekend on the western slope, my soul soaring with the rockies and the clouds.  my spirit begged to stay up there, so i obliged… which means i will need to return soon.

🙂

i’ll have much more to share about my trip later this week… for now, here’s a little story :

as i’m cruising the aspen saturday market, picking up some yummy wild plums and yellow cucumbers, i turn the corner and spot this large group :

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it smells amazing… people look happy…

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there are random lines everywhere…

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and everyone is EATING!!!

my kind of party, i say… and i pause for this foto opp:

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hi.

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and i get distracted by the cool brick-laid sidewalks…

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cuz yanno, i’m an artist… we see the world differently… Continue reading

{adult tea parties : way better than when you were a kid!}

3 Sep

just be aware : this post is very foto-heavy! 🙂

hope you had a nice holiday weekend!  welcome september!!

———

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so, i had a little tea party with some girlfriends last week… and it was just so charming…

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my favourite quote from the day was from my friend mary who said, “i didn’t even know that could happen!”  i also overheard my friend noel say, “this is WAY better than when you were a kid!”

😉

it truly was a magical day! and my camera was there to document the entire event.  the guest of honour?!  my mom :

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judi.

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a few months ago, while unpacking some storage stuff, i found this beautiful china set – almost completely intact.  as it turns out, it was my mama’s.  i had been keeping it stored with her stuff ever since she passed away.  now 20 years later, i decided to dust if off, sparkle it up, and honour her life by having a party for her on her birthday – august 21st.

she would’ve been 60 years old!

Continue reading

{meatless mondays : vegfest colorado!}

8 Jul

heyyyy, hope you enjoyed the weekend and had a nice holiday!

my vacation isn’t quite over yet, but i wanted to share these fotos from vegfest this weekend…

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…it totally poured like, 4 minutes after i got there.  hence, the super curly puff-ball of a fro on top of my head.  i kinda love it, though… i miss the humidity in a way, mostly because of how well my hair behaves with it – how silly is that. 😛

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not as silly as this cool car i saw when i first walked in… Continue reading

{missing NYC – international pillow fight day!}

9 Apr

yes, there is such a thing. it happened this past weekend, on the 6th.

one year, i fotographed it.

New York City

super excited.

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spectators from above…

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cameras everywhere!

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pillows everywhere! Continue reading

happy fat tuesday!

12 Feb

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wear some of these…

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laugh at stuff like this…

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and if you wish, eat one of these

and be safe, ya’ll!

{travel tuesday} – the new york comic con

9 Oct

i have a very dedicated follower of the blog and of my work – i am proud to call him a friend.  anthony is a native new yorker and when i lived in the city, he’d always show me the best and most authentic hidden parts of that huge playground.  anthony always knew {and knows} about the coolest things to do in the city – it seems he always has tickets to the best stuff, too!

a couple years ago, anthony had an extra ticket to the new york comic con… and he was generous to share it with me.  i had never heard of it, but once i found out what the event was all about, my camera and i got super excited. the javits center was no stranger to me… i had been there a few times for photo events…once for the PDN expo in 2008.  the building alone is cool to visit – when they have events inside, as they typically do, it’s even cooler 🙂

i had a friend at the time that was/is an outstanding illustrator.  you can see his work here.  i plan to hire him if/when i do a childrens book… he is so incredibly talented.  he was an artist at comic con that year… i’m so glad i got to go!  it was really fun.

this year, the NYC comic con is this weekend – October 11-14. so in honor of that, here are some fotos i took when i attended this famous event.

this one’s for you, anthony 🙂 Continue reading

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