Fire, Friday Night Lights, Fall Color

A few favorites from the past week.

It was homecoming week for Middle Park High School and last Tuesday they had a bonfire, that started burning so hot that no one was able to stay very close to it.  A few students had brought marshmallows to roast for s'mores, but couldn't get close enough, so they convinced this firefighter to toast them.

The sun has been setting earlier each day, so for the homecoming football game on Friday evening, the sun was going to set shortly after kickoff.  The were scattered clouds which were only going to help with the color in the sky, I just wish there would have been better action to put against the background.

On Sunday morning I was covering the Fraser Valley Fall Duathlon and was fortunate the changing of the aspen was in high gear and gave me a multitude of shooting possibilities to play with while I waited for the competitors to come by.

I was able to find a location where the mountain biking course would enter an amazing stand of changing aspen and made the most of it.

goo, goo g'joob

Rediscovering the Maroon Bells

I had a photographer friend visiting from out of town and he had never been to Aspen or seen the Maroon Bells, so we made plans to make the trek last weekend.  I hadn't been there in something like 15 years, so I was anxious to make a return trip to what has to be the most photographed location in Colorado.

I could go on and on about all of the other photographers who were there capturing the beauty of this amazing place and the variety of approaches they all took, but suffice to say, no matter what the technique, it is virtually impossible to get a bad photo of the Maroon Bells...some are just better than others.

Here are my favorites:

goo, goo g'joob

Favorites from the past couple weeks

I had the best intentions of writing an eloquent post on the photos below, but it's been a little hectic with a flurry of events and assignments to cover, the start of the boys' soccer practice and trying to fit it some of my own fun.  So I hope you enjoy some of my favorite images from the past couple of weeks.

goo, goo g'joob

Favorites from another busy summer weekend: 230 miles and 1,500 images

I have written before about the challenges I face when I cover annual events here in Grand County, or anywhere for that matter.  Coming up with something different from events that I have been to and photographed year after year after year...(you get the idea), presents the ultimate challenge as a photographer. It is so easy to shoot similar shots to what I have done in the past, but that is lazy.  

This is especially true at our county fair.  There are a limited number of events that will truly yield a good photograph, but I was committed to keep looking until I came up with images I hadn't shot before.

One key trait of a photojournalist is to be observant.  I make it a point when I am looking at the work of other photographers to pick up on tips and tricks they utilize to make interesting images.  I heard legendary Boston Globe photographer Stan Grossfeld speak when I was in college and he said to "never pass up a gift." I learned in recent years from Mark Rebilas to never pass up a reflection.  His work got it ingrained in me that if there a puddle, there is a potential reflection photo.  So when a rain shower passed through Kremmling prior to the Junior Rodeo at the Middle Park Fair, I knew if I was patient and looked long enough, an image would present itself.

I saw these three men standing by this building watching the beef judging.  In a perfect world they would be standing a little more to the left, but after looking at the photo again today while I was editing everything from the weekend, I was still happy with the image.

Ed Pickering, left, Leigh Murphy, center, and Eric Pickering look on during the beef
judging  on Friday afternoon at the Middle Park Fair in Kremmling.

I had somehow missed shooting the Demolition Derby over the years, but wanted to make sure I made it this year.  So glad I was able to cover it, because the theme/costume contest was hilarious, the crowd overwhelming and the action...well, there is nothing quite like the smell of burning rubber and engine coolant on a summer's eve.

I will admit that going into the Bret Michaels show at the Winter Park Music Festival, I was a little skeptical.  Sure I knew his music, but come on, what kind of a show would this guy put on having just flown into Denver from a gig the night before and he would be flying out right after this performance to get to Omaha for another show with Poison and Motley Crew that night?  In a nutshell, he nailed it.  He was full of energy, kept the crowd involved and sang the hits.  But man, it was tough to get a shot of him where he wasn't pointing at the crowd or had his hands in front of his face.

If you go back exactly one year, you might remember the photo I captured of Night Ranger guitarist Joel Hoekstra at last year's Winter Park Music Festival.  While not quite as good, this photo of "Dirty Ray" Scheuring got me thinking, what is it about me and musicians' hair on this weekend?

"Dirty Ray" Scheuring, bass player for the Bret Michaels Band

I was surprised to see this girl, who couldn't have been more than 8 years old, singing along to "Talk Dirty to Me"... 

A young fan looks on during Bret Michaels' performance
on Sunday afternoon at Hideaway Park in Winter Park.

and giving the devil horns...Ronnie James Dio would be proud.

goo, goo g'joob

Favorites from the Fourth of July weekend

The Granby fireworks display is reflected in the SilverCreek
pond on Saturday evening.  Byron Hetzler/Sky-Hi News

There is always so much to shoot around here over the Fourth of July weekend, I always seem to be scrambling from one end of the county to the other.  This year I told myself I was going to really work at shooting these annual events in new ways, or at least from places that I hadn't before.  

Granby often holds its fireworks display on an evening other than July 4.  This year it happened to be on Saturday evening.  Once the sun had gone down, I decided to leave the rodeo early and start finalizing my shooting location for the fireworks.

There is a pond not too far away from the rodeo grounds and the hill where the fireworks are launched.  Lately it seems I can't pass up a good opportunity for a reflection, so I decided this would be the spot.

Normally, by this time of night, the pond would have been still, but a small thunderstorm was passing to the south, which kicked the wind up and eliminated the perfect reflection in the pond.  At first I was bummed, but after looking at the final result I don't mind that it's not a glassy reflection.

Spencer Brown competes during the bareback bronc riding event at the Flying Heels
Rodeo on Saturday in Granby.  Byron Hetzler/Sky-Hi News 

Saturday's Flying Heels Rodeo in Granby was the first rodeo I had shot this year.  Organizers had cancelled their Memorial Day weekend rodeo due to the equine herpes virus.

While this rodeo image isn't much different from what I would normally shoot as far as the action goes, I did remind myself to try shooting from a new angle, which actually cleaned up the background nicely by avoiding distracting banners and workers (aside from the white car).  Some great early evening light added to the moment to give me a nice frame.

Participants make their way along the Fraser River Trail during the Run for
Independence on Saturday morning in Winter Park. Byron Hetzler/Sky-Hi News

I headed to the Run for Independence in Winter Park on Saturday thinking my "do it differently" plan was in jeopardy, because I thought I had already photographed this five-mile run from all of the best spots.  Fortunately, as I walked along the Fraser River Trail looking for a new shooting location, I came across this group of trees and winding stretch of trail.  All I had to do was wait for the participants to pass by.  The runner with the American flag was a nice bonus.

A dog pops bubbles during Fourth of July festivities in Polhamus
Park on Monday in Granby.  Byron Hetzler/Sky-Hi News

This dog was pointed out to me during Fourth of July activities in Granby's Polhamus Park on Monday. It was having a ball chasing bubbles coming from one of the exhibitors set up in the park.  It was tougher than I thought to get a good shot, but this one works and I like that their are still remnants of a just burst bubble lingering over its head.




goo, goo g'joob

My favorite image from the past weekend

Starting around the middle of June each year, most of my weekends during the summer are spent covering the town festivals and music festivals around Grand County.  This past weekend was the annual Kremmling Days, an event that yielded an award winner in last year's Colorado Press Association contest for me.

This year, due to several other commitments, I wasn't able to get to Kremmling until late in the afternoon--well after the activities I normally shoot had concluded.  As is my normal operating plan for annual events such as this, I was looking for something different, but nothing was catching my eye until I started observing kids at a spin art booth.

I have seen Charlie Holthausen's spin art booth at Kremmling Days before, but never paid much attention to it.  Charlie and his wife, Gail, have come from Steamboat Springs for several years to offer budding artists the opportunity to create their own masterpiece for $2.

I shot several kids creating their works of art.  You will see a shot of Charlie helping a young boy in Wednesday's paper, which is also an image I really liked.  Then I moved in closer as Charlie prepared another board to be painted and was intrigued with the color and pattern of splattered paint on the wheel.

In hindsight and looking at the image above, I should have seen Charlie's paint-splattered fingers and included more of them in the frame, but I had become so focused on the color and pattern of the paint on the wheel that I never really saw his fingers as I shot.  I have already made a mental note for next year...

goo, goo g'joob

Spring is here, that means I'm wearing multiple hats again

David Chodounsky skis through the course during the first run of the men's slalom
 at the U.S. Alpine Championships on Sunday, April 3, at Winter Park Resort.
Byron Hetzler/Sky-Hi News

It's been a while since my last post...again.  That just seems to be inherent for the time of year...again.  As a reminder not only do I work as the staff photographer for the Sky-Hi News, I am also coach soccer at Middle Park HS here in Granby.  And our spring soccer season is well under way for the high school girls--we actually started practice at the end of February.  We are off to a good start and will be getting back to work tomorrow as the girls return from spring break.

It always seems that as I transition from winter into spring, adding coaching on top of my regular photo work, it takes some time to figure out how to fit everything in again.

A little information about the image that accompanies this post.  Winter Park Resort hosted the U.S. Alpine Championships last week for the first time since 1994.  It was a treat to have America's best skiers in Winter Park for four days of racing again.

Normally I concentrate on getting tight action shots, but lately I have been looking at new ways of photographing events thanks to inspiration from looking at the work of photographer brethren from around the country.  I challenged myself to not only shoot the traditional ski racing images, but also look beyond those and see something new.

While shooting the first run of the men's slalom, I noticed the scene above.  I liked the way the skier was just starting to come into view behind the rise and all of the gates in the background.  This was my favorite frame, because of all the attempts I made to capture this, it was the only one where there was just one course worker in the background.  The other images had multiple people working in the background and were really distracting.