More Bikes in RiNo

Another one from a morning walking around in the RiNo district of Denver.  I took a lot of shots of this building but I think these two images work the best for a diptych.  Lately I have really enjoyed putting together different images to see how they connect when side by side.  

Five Points Jazz Festival Workshop

My good friend Ido Ziv called me up Friday night asking what my plans were for Saturday.  I hadn't seen him in a while and he mentioned Greg Harris (Gili (yes, that is the instrument made of squash)), John Grigsby (bass)  and himself (percussion) were putting on a music workshop at the Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library on Welton for the Five Points Jazz Festival.  I thought not only would it be a good chance to catch up with Ido, but also a great opportunity to snap off some images.

While they were playing, one of Greg's students got up and performed "500 Miles High" with them.  The kid was pretty bad ass.  You could see as he played he had a real passion for what he was doing.  I wouldn't be surprised if he has a name for himself in the jazz community in the future.  I believe his name was Rocco and he is the one on the xylophone. 

If you'd like to hear these guys play, they'll be performing at the Walnut Room on August 6th.  You can also find some of their music through a simple search of their names in Google.

Clicks From Downtown Denver

The following are just a few shots I took while bumming around downtown Denver this weekend before Doors Open Denver.  I just thought I'd share.

Time for the Summer Sun

As the days get longer I think the one thing photographers love is how much slower the sun rises and falls. Lately I have spent way too much time in the office and not enough time on the streets. A friend contacted me to take some shots of her son who brought his skateboard. By far and away, the skateboard shots were the ones I enjoyed the most. I love the lighting in this photograph. The more I shoot, the more I like to have my subjects back to the sun rather than my back to the sun. It makes for some amazingly lit pictures.

Bikes & Panhandling....Two Denver Staples

Anyone who has spent time in Denver knows there are a lot of panhandlers. Personally, I think it has to do with the fact that Denver is really a crossroads from East to West which a lot of people pass through. Of course, if you spend any amount of time here you'd know this is a bull shit theory because the same people are on the same corners day in and day out. Clearly they are not traveling.

I typically wouldn't photograph a panhandler but I couldn't resist this one. Maybe because he was on the move or maybe because it doesn't show him as a "person". By that, I mean it doesn't capture his face.

So Denver has panhandlers and Denver has bikes. At least I love having one of them around.

Wonderful Colfax

About a mile from the house has to be the most colorful street in Denver. Otto Schulze and I headed out yesterday to get some shots and the trip definitely had some interesting moments. From sipping a Guiness on the patio of The Snug while some kid who was still up from the night before was trying to convince me to shoot an underground fashion show to the liquor store owner who demanded I let him see my camera after I snapped a shot inside his store, there was never a dull moment. Ok, I'll admit photographing the inside of a liquor store on Colfax is probably against someone's rules but in my defense there were no signs stating I couldn't do it.

The above photo makes me laugh. One of the things that really pisses me off is when people cross Colfax in the middle of the street. Unfortunately, I had no choice but to run out into the middle of the road to capture this image.

Here is a link if you'd like to see a shot Otto got: http://twitpic.com/7rj6x1



Denver, Near Union Station

This is a shot I took one morning before work a couple of weeks ago. It was captured near Union Station in downtown Denver. I have got to get out more and shoot in the mornings. Getting your ass out of bed to go shoot is a bit like a writer overcoming writer's block. Once you do it, you realize it isn't that tough and it is absolutely rewarding.

Black & White or Color

This is where I begin to sometimes have trouble. Back in the days of film, you shot either color or black & white. You had to remember what type of film you had loaded and attempt to see through the viewfinder in either color or monochrome. In 2011, I try to have an idea of what I want the image to look like before I shoot, but ultimately I get to pick in the processing stage of the photo.

I really like this photo, shot in downtown Denver, because of the true contrast in tones and the contrast of the tiny, nimble Porsche and the massive, sluggish eighteen wheeler. The only problem is I really can't decide between the monochrome and the color image.