McPherson, Kansas Photos

This past weekend, I was out in McPherson, Kansas for my sister in law’s graduation. It’s not a very big town and this visit certainly highlighted the fact that I’m really a city slicker in so many ways. When I was out there visiting my brother and sister in law a couple of years ago, we didn’t spend much time actually in Mac.

The sun was still up when we rolled into town, but just. My folks were checking into the hotel when I snapped this shot of the sun through the trees. Of course, this shot also highlighted the fact that power lines and assorted hardware are always in the way.

After dinner, my brother and I snagged a couple photos of the courthouse. And I went back the next morning to get a few in the daylight too. Unfortunately, the lens I had with me for the night photos was a prime lens and backing up to the point where I could’ve gotten the shots I really wanted meant I’d be standing in the middle of the intersection, which isn’t a particularly brilliant place to stand in general.

I spent some time driving around the town grabbing various photos. I wanted to snag some shots of the refinery they have in town, but I couldn’t find a place to park with a good view that wasn’t also likely to get me arrested for trespassing.

One thing in particular that makes me glad I don’t live there is the water. Out of the tap, it was horrible. I’m used to water in Colorado Springs that comes from the tap clear and tasteless, just like water’s supposed to do. Even their coffee wasn’t enough to cover it up.

Ah, well. Congratulations to both my brother and sister in law for their respective graduations.

Eventing Clinic Photos

I spent Saturday this weekend at Abbe Ranch in Larkspur at a USEA clinic.  No, I’m not really into riding, and by not really I mean at all.  Personally, I maintain that horses belong under the hood.  But despite my preference for horsepower over horses, watching the clinic was fun, even if I did have to ask a bunch of stupid questions.

I got the invitation from my close friend Wendi who is into riding and whose friend Jenn was attending the clinic.  Jenn Snyder, the rider in the photos, owns the Raven Ridge Horse Training facility in southern Colorado.

I wasn’t sure what to expect exactly, but watching Jenn ride turned out to be more fun than I’d thought it would be, and ended up staying through the afternoon.  The morning covered dressage, which isn’t as much fun to photograph since there appears to be less going on from the observer’s point of view – there’s a lot going on between the horse and rider, of course.

The afternoon session was more exciting; stadium jumping has more for observers to watch.

Thanks, Wendi, for the invitation; and thanks, Jenn, for letting me post these photos of you.

Unrequested Surplus of Free Time

The contract I was working ran out at the end of April, and I’ve found myself with an unrequested surplus of free time. I am not geared to sit around the house doing nothing, and an unfortunate reality is that the wheels of job searching turn exceedingly slow.

Technically, I’ve been searching for around a month and a half since I started looking the day I found out my contract wouldn’t be renewed. And I’ve had a few leads that haven’t panned out for one reason or another. There’ve been a couple of leads that I pursued but realized I wouldn’t care much for the commuting distance. And there was one I followed that I thought before the interview I didn’t want it, and the interview confirmed that I didn’t. (Note to interviewers: the candidates you’re interviewing are also evaluating whether or not they want to work for you; it’s a two-way street).

So I’ve had a lot of time to sit around with not much to do. And on the surface, that sounds pretty nice. But to be honest, it doesn’t really suit me well. During the weekdays, I feel obligated to be available for people to return calls and emails. I take notes during my phone screens, and I definitely don’t want to take phone screens while driving.

This free time isn’t really that; it costs me money to sit around with no income, of course. But it’s also frustrating on another level: I finally have the time and money to put into my Mustang rebuild, but I don’t really want to spend the money to do that. I may need to live on that.

I certainly don’t understand how someone can sit around doing nothing all day. I guess I’m cursed with a work ethic and a sense of responsibility. Does this mean I can blame my parents for instilling these traits in me?

I know something will work out; something always has so far. But as Tom Petty says, the way yay tin is the hardest part.

From The Photo Album

May arrived in Colorado Springs with snow. After teasing two days of nice weather, we got about four or so inches of snow. I came out to the car the morning of the second and found this sheet of ice next to the car.

And I snapped this photo overlooking Colorado Springs to the south.

From in front of my apartment building, this was Pikes Peak Thursday evening.

A little tighter shot of the summit.

And last night’s sunset from my patio.

Helen Hunt Falls

Last weekend I went out with the express purpose of taking photos. Both the Cloud Factory and the America the Beautiful Park posts were from those couple of hours. I really enjoyed myself while I was out; my camera had more or less languished in the closet over the winter as I did my best to hibernate. So it had been since December, I think, when I’d gone out with the purpose of taking photos.

I enjoyed last weekend’s shooting so I made it a point to go out again this weekend. This time I headed up to one of my favorite hiking spots in the early spring: North Cheyenne Canyon. The waterfall here is called Helen Hunt Falls – no, it’s not named after the actress.

I experimented with some long exposures, but the sun’s playing peek-a-boo through the clouds made some of those a bit of a challenge. Eventually, I decided I wasn’t smart enough to outmaneuver such celestial chess players and headed back. I probably should’ve gone earlier in the day.

I may try to do this more consistently this summer.

America the Beautiful Park Photos

I’ve recently started following Eyoälha’s Jump for Joy Photo blog. It’s a remarkable concept, and I’ve found myself really rather moved by her images. Check it out; twice if you’re feeling down about something. Additionally, I found myself inspired by her to get my camera out and walk around with the express purpose of taking photos; I haven’t really done that since it got cold in Colorado Springs.

I snapped these photos at America the Beautiful Park in downtown Colorado Springs. I was there to get the photos for the Cloud Factory initially. My daughter likes that park and we’d been there the previous weekend; after she was done playing on the playground, we strolled over to Fountain Creek and played near the river for a bit.

As I mentioned in the Cloud Factoryi post, the sun was burning through the clouds, and as I was leaving the park, Pikes Peak was visible through the fountain.

The Cloud Factory

What if electricity was the byproduct of the cloud manufacturing process?

I have been waiting for a couple of months to get these photos. The conditions had to be right to get the shots I had in mind when this occurred to me and I had to have the time to do it properly. Even as I was out getting these, the sun was burning off my cloud cover.