The local wildlife scene

Posted by JEANNE RAMSAY on October 14, 2011

I haven’t been to a zoo in years. Maybe more. Not by chance, by choice.

But, today I decided the zoo would be a picture perfect way to spend a picture perfect autumn afternoon in Denver. The temperature was in the high 70’s. The sky radiant in brilliant blue punctuated with high, wispy white clouds. The perfect opportunity to try to capture (!) animals with my camera. So off I went.

I saw lions (all hiding in the tall grass, their faces to the wall), and tigers (mostly sleeping inside having just eaten a gigantic lunch no doubt), and bears (I actually didn’t see one bear except the cute white one which I did manage to photograph – in fact, I’m fairly certain that my chances of seeing a real bear are better on the local hiking trails than at the zoo – just sayin’).

Monkeys are impossible to photograph because they won’t hold still. Cute as they are, I don’t think they like being photographed – they’ve probably all agreed.

Peacocks know they’re the most prized of all photographic subjects at the zoo once they care to show their hand – but they don’t. Care. To show their hand. Instead, they lure amateur camera bugs into following them around countless baby strollers and under picnic tables in the hopes that a full panorama of peacock beauty will be presented. It won’t. Sigh.

Chain link fences and slobber-covered, plexi-glass panels separated me from dozens of precious “animal planet” expressions…countless missed National Geographic-caliber shots, I’m sure. But I did manage a few shots that I consider worth sharing with you.

Oh, and this is directed to one dad in particular, camels are not pachyderms.

Regal plume on a regal bird...that's right...can't remember what this is.

Not actually a caged zoo resident, but he did pose for me

The fantasy of Las Vegas is fascinating

Posted by JEANNE RAMSAY on October 6, 2011

Bedazzled in sequins and dripping in diamonds, the glitz and glamour of trendy clubs and flickering neon signs is dizzying. Costumed or perfumed, strutting or staggering, throngs of people on the streets are submerged in a sea of enticements. The Strip’s flirtatious, beguiling, eye-popping extravaganza of escapism is where the wildest of dreams can come true…more accurately, be purchased.

As alluring as that may be for some, what I found in Las Vegas was something different, a bit calmer, something perhaps less obvious. For me, the fantasy of Las Vegas revealed itself in the architectural details of caricature buildings. A ghostly shadow, a shimmering reflection, a tortured angle, or a unique perspective; all a sublime illusion.

At what point do we acknowledge autumn’s arrival?

Posted by JEANNE RAMSAY on September 26, 2011

When is it each year that we relinquish the carefree days of summer?

When do we trade the universal perfume of freshly mown grass for the unmistakable scent of raked leaves?

Is there a specific moment when we no longer notice the smells of swimming pools and wet towels, but embrace the aroma of crackling fireplaces and baking pies?

Does autumn officially arrive only once we have donned our first sweatshirt, noted the earlier hour of twilight each day, or witnessed the first golden leaves of change on the trees?

Is there a specific moment in time when we are no longer aware of the rhythmic clacking of skateboards traveling past the house or admit to missing the hollow echos of nearby bouncing balls and the exuberant, joyful laugher of children?

Is autumn’s arrival evident only once we recognize a new quiet; a quiet hauntingly void of the sounds of chirping crickets and singing birds?

Do we hear autumn’s arrival in the thunderous sound of crowds cheering favored football teams to victory in the chill of the evening air?

Is this when autumn has truly arrived?

I believe autumn arrives the moment we notice.

Vignettes from a ghost town

Posted by JEANNE RAMSAY on September 24, 2011

On a wonderful summertime trip with two dear friends, we visited St. Elmo – one of Colorado’s best-preserved ghost towns. Legend has it the town is still haunted by its founding daughter, Annabelle Stark. Maybe you can see her peering through the grimy window of the old hotel? Or glimpse her reflection in the remnants of still-gleaming glass bottles long ago abandoned in the barnyard? And if you’re very still, perhaps you can even hear the sound of her clicking footsteps on the creaky old wooden boards of the sidewalk as she shuffles along keeping her ghostly watch on the town.

I’m pretty sure I saw her!

A final nod to summer

Posted by JEANNE RAMSAY on September 23, 2011

On this first official day of autumn, I’d like to share a few of my photographs that remind me of this past summer – it passed so quickly.

Distractions

Posted by JEANNE RAMSAY on September 20, 2011

Today, during my tedious and seemingly endless commute to work, I inadvertently – I mean deliberately and safe-driver defensively – checked my rearview mirror while coming to a (complete)stop for a red light just to make sure I was not going to be rear ended, when I noticed the strangest thing about the car behind me. The car was an older model, rusty, something-or-other with a bad paint job and a broken mirror. Not that remarkable, you say? Well, perhaps not…on a normal day. This however seemed not to be a normal day.

I have been commuting to work now for over oh, let’s just say somewhere in the neighborhood of a couple deca…er…years, and have never seen anything comparable. And I have seen some strange things during rush hour: women putting on their makeup, drying their hair, and brushing and/or styling their hair; men shaving, women shaving; people reading newspapers or magazines behind the wheel (God’s honest truth); kids steering, passengers steering, and no one steering; people yawning, people laughing, people singing, and people in a trance; people showing off their manicures, their jewelry, their specific fingers and their true colors. But today, I saw, in the car behind me…..hate-to-miss-breakfast-guy eating an entire corn on the cob, buttered, with both hands. For reals. Both hands off the steering wheel; one hand on the left side of the cob, one on the right side of the cob…looking as satisfied and fulfilled as if he had just eaten a delectable 5-star-restaurant quality entree. Mmmm. Mmmm. Good.

So what does hate-to-miss-breakfast guy have to do with my DISTRACTIONS post, you ask? Well, nothing really. I just wanted to report my observation from this morning and relate it to the following photographs that I have taken in the past. These photographs all have a distraction in common: what I was trying to shoot and what I ended up shooting. Can you tell the difference?

Monday: brought to you by the color BLUE

Posted by JEANNE RAMSAY on September 19, 2011

If the color blue resonates with you, you may find that your deepest need is to find inner peace and truth, to live your life according to your own ideals and beliefs without having to change your inflexible viewpoint of life to satisfy others (empower-yourself-with-color-psychology.com).