use real butter

Isn’t this a lovely view of this thin sliver of the moon setting over the Continental Divide? I managed to catch it last week while I was making dinner.

crescent moonset from my deck

Jeremy and I piled the dog and our stuff into the car and drove down to my ILs’ house for a short visit this weekend. They happen to live in the mountains of southern Colorado at 7500 feet above sea level – so it’s like being home for us but in a different location (did that make any sense?). Whenever we turn onto their road, Kaweah begins to cry because she LOVES this place and has so much fun here. We spent the weekend playing Wii, sewing, going for walks in the woods, having great food, and watching all three dogs get the crazies.

they have nice sunsets from their deck too

dinner at keyah grande (jeremy’s duck)

puppies at attention! (left to right: bumpy, buffle, kaweah)

mil has the coolest sewing room ever

driving home through the san luis valley

On Saturday night, we went to dinner at Keyah Grande, a stunning and exclusive resort in southwestern Colorado. We were given permission to take ourselves on a tour of the opulent, yet incredible building before sitting down to a truly inspired and delightful meal. Sadly, the place is closing on December 31st and will go on the market for any interested buyer. Have you got $12 million to spare?

a chihuly greets you in the foyer

The holidays are coming! The holidays are coming! I have been asking Jeremy for the past month if there is anything in particular he wants to eat for Thanksgiving and the boy keeps coming back to seafood. We have no plans for the upcoming holiday other than to get a lot of work done and maybe have some fun if there is time. I know it’s incredibly unsentimental of us, but the thought of eating outrageous amounts of food just makes me sleepy and depressed. I’m craving fresh fruits, vegetables, seafood and I need to get my ski on, plain and simple. We’re staying put for at least a month and I’m thankful – so very thankful – for that. Travel has a way of discombobulating me. So I apologize ahead of time if I’m not providing any Thanksgiving inspiration here. Besides, there is more inspiration than you can shake a stick at on the internet(s) right now.

Which brings me to another photowalk that I’ve been meaning to post. I was working with Beth for the past few months on photography – wedding photography, landscape photography, and post processing techniques. I can talk about photography until I am blue in the face, but the most efficient and effective way for me to teach anyone about photography is for me to show them how I work and explain what I am doing (and why) and then to let that person work, ask questions, give feedback. Beth and I had a great time on the fall shoot in September, so it was a no-brainer to get her out for a photowalk.

everyone, meet beth!

Beth: Nikon D200 with Nikkor 18-70mm f/3.5-f/4.5G AF-S DX
Jen: Nikon D3x with Nikkor 24-70mm f2.8G ED

Beth came up to my place last month to work on some post processing of a wedding she had shot. It happened to snow the day before and so we decided to get our photowalk in before all of the snow melted in the town of Nederland. We walked under overcast skies and temperatures hovering near freezing. When we got to the town center, Beth turned and asked what the rules of photowalk are. We both laughed and said, “The first rule of photowalk is, you do not talk about photowalk. The second rule of photowalk is, YOU DO NOT TALK ABOUT PHOTOWALK…” Okay, but seriously, the rules are: the photogs take turns choosing five locations at which to stop and shoot about five frames each. Easy peasy, right?

beth location #1: shot 3

jen location #1: shot 5

**Jump for more butter**

NaBloWriMo day 22. Oy.

Jeremy is on travel in the wilds of British Columbia (okay, not wilds – he’s in Vancouver) and so I had a nice happy hour at Bacaro on Pearl Street Thursday evening with some of my gal pals. We actually invited a few fellas to join us, but I think the estrogen-heavy gathering may have scared a few of them away. A most excellent time was had by all. I’m always astounded at how awesome my betties are – smart, fun, funny, talented, very cool.

glowy colored lights – i like blue lights

trying to get a look at the happy hour board through the conversation

i don’t know what andrea was laughing at – there was much laughing

I bet you thought I was never going to pick up on that photowalk series, huh? Fooled ya! You can’t rush these things, you know. It has more to do with scheduling than anything else – we are all very busy. However, I was fortunate to schedule a photowalk with one of my favorite people on the planet, Marianne. I had to get this in before she left for Antarctica. That’s the bummer about being friends with polar engineers – they’re gone for most of the ski season :( I let Marianne use my Nikon D200 for the photowalk. Let’s get started, shall we?

meet marianne – she kicks ass

Marianne: Nikon D200 with Nikkor 18-200mm 3.5-5.6G ED (DX) VR
Jen: Nikon D3x wtih Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

Marianne chose the location – the Boulder County Railway’s Historical Society’s Valmont Display Site. I refer to it as the Train Preserve. It is open to the public although tucked away in east Boulder. We met on a sunny morning last week and watched several bunnies scampering about in the old rail yard. It’s a quiet and peaceful place. The rules: we take turns choosing a location to stop and then shoot about 5 frames within a ten foot radius of the location. Here are a few of our shots:

marianne location #1: shot 2

jen location #1: shot 5

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: prosciutto-wrapped figs

Day four of NaBloWriMo and I haven’t flubbed it up yet!

I’m home at last, and while I love love love exploring the natural beauty of Colorado, I love even more how good it feels to be home. This was an excellent scouting trip – not much of a shooting trip. Jeremy kept telling me that he was sorry this road trip didn’t have much in the way of colors (or even leaves for that matter), but I kept replying, “It’s okay, I got a lot of good opportunities earlier in the week.” I suppose it’s hard to imagine how good it was just four days ago when all of the stands are gray and devoid of color now. Now I can finally sit down to do some serious processing. Beth sent me some of her pics from the shoot. We had such a good time.

hard not to smile when you catch the aspens at the right time (courtesy beth bartel)

We shot from sun up to sun down, in the heat and in the freezing cold, we clambered up steep forested slopes and ate a lot of dust on dirt backroads. I’ve learned a great deal about getting the shot over the past several years and I continue to learn with each season, with each time I press the shutter release. The process is becoming more and more rewarding. I hope you are enjoying some of these captures as well.

aspens seem to make their own light

caught just before the storms

waves of color

Before September became officially INSANE, I shot several recipes to tide urb over until my schedule eased up a little. I’m looking at these pictures and realizing that figs are most likely on their way out for most of us if not completely gone. That’s too bad, but just keep this in mind for whenever you can get your greedy little paws on some fresh figs again.

fresh figs are a gazillion times better than dried figs (i eat those too)

**Jump for more butter**