A massive wildfire has destroyed miles of Colorado’s beautiful Front Range, including hundreds of homes in northwest Colorado Springs. The fire is spreading, and tens of thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes all over the region. You can see horrifying photos of the fire at the Denver Post.
I lived in Colorado Springs for six years. My heart is breaking as I watch the news and see the destruction of so many places that I know. I’m thinking of you, my Colorado Springs friends, and the city that we love. I hope you and your houses are safe.
As countless people lose their homes this week, I’m reminded to take a moment to appreciate the roof over my head and the special belongings around me. I encourage you to do the same.
Today I read an interview with an evacuee who grabbed his wedding photos before fleeing his house. It gave me chills to think that perhaps some of the 18,000 evacuees chose to save the photos that I or my friends took for them.
If any of my Colorado Springs clients have lost their photos in this fire, please contact me at [email protected] I have all my images archived, and I will send you anything you need. I really hope none of you are in that situation. My thoughts are with you tonight.
Ally in Red Rock Canyon
Colorado Springs, CO
We always knew this time would come, but it’s hard to believe that it’s finally here. We’re actually leaving our beloved Colorado. When Mike and I moved here in 2004, we had planned to stay only three years or so before returning to live closer to our families. Six years later, we are in love with this gorgeous state and sad to be leaving. But we’ve always wanted to be surrounded by family when we have children, and that time has come. As much as we’re looking forward to all the big changes ahead of us, we’re also going to miss Colorado dreadfully.
We’ll be leaving in just a couple weeks. In the meanwhile, I thought I’d put together a series of blog posts about some of the things that I’ll miss most about Colorado. First and foremost, I’ll miss my friends here. Colorado has such wonderful people, and it will be hard to say goodbye. I’m especially grateful to all my photographer friends for welcoming me into their community when I moved here, and for years of friendship and support. But because I’m afraid that I’ll exclude someone or hurt someone’s feelings, I won’t post photos of the friends that I’ll miss the most. You all know who you are, and I’m sad to be leaving you.
Instead, I’m going to start with photos of a place that has been very special to Mike and me over the years — Red Rock Canyon Open Space in Colorado Springs. This enormous park is great for hiking, and we live only two blocks from one of the trailheads. Over the years, it has been our favorite place to walk the dog, enjoy nature, and spend time together. We’ve been so fortunate to have a place like this as our backyard, and we’ve never taken it for granted. As much as I love the DC area, we know we’ll never have a place anything like Red Rock Canyon after we move.
Red Rock Canyon has also been a great place for my portrait photography. You can see some of my photo shoots from the canyon HERE.
Mae and Robby’s gorgeous San Francisco wedding is featured in Style Unveiled, including lots of our photos. Mae had the nicest things to say about me in the article — thank you so much, Mae! You can see the article here: http://styleunveiled.com/sfrealweddings/mae-and-robby.html
Mike and I have also been published in recent issues of The Knot and Backpacker magazines. Mike has a photo published in the current issue of The Knot Colorado. It’s a picture from Jaime and Craig’s lakeside ceremony at Keystone Ranch.
One of my photos of Twin Lakes has been published in Backpacker magazine, in an article about Colorado trails. I don’t believe any of my landscapes have been published before so this is a fun change for me.
<
The Tubbs Romp to Stomp Out Breast Cancer
Frisco, Colorado
March 6, 2010
Yesterday I photographed this fun and inspiring charity snowshoe race with Kay Beaton. It is an annual Susan G. Komen event sponsored by Tubbs snowshoes, where racers run or walk around the Nordic Center in Frisco, Colorado. About 2,200 racers turned up in pink clothing, costumes, wigs, or tutus, and raised over $80,000 for breast cancer research.All day I alternated between laughter and tears. What a brilliant way to raise money for charity and to show support for those affected by cancer. Also I want to take a moment to say for my millionth time that I love Colorado. It was such a great day yesterday.
Molly dogledding
Breckenridge, Colorado
February 25, 2010
Here’s the final set of our family vacation photos! This last set includes pictures from our dogsledding adventure with Good Times Adventures in Breckenridge. We had such a great time together last week. I wish we could do it all over again.These photos are by Molly, me, and my mom. Thanks for all the wonderful pictures, Mom and Molly! And thanks to all of you for coming out to visit us. It meant so much to Mike and me to have you here. Come back soon!
My niece Kenna, and my nephews Timmy and Robby
Breckenridge, Colorado
February 24, 2010
Here is the second set of our photos from last week’s family vacation! After a day in the Colorado Springs area, my family spent four days in Breckenridge. The nine of us rented a huge condo right across the street from a ski lift. We spent our days playing in the snow, and the evenings playing Wii with the kids. The highlight of the week was teaching the kids to ski. I guess technically we didn’t really “teach” them — we just stood them up at the top of a green slope, and let go. It was beyond adorable to see them on skis, especially my two-year-old nephew, Timmy.
Here are several photos of the adorable mini-skiers! All pictures are by me, my mom, and my sister-in-law, Molly.
My niece, Kenna
Manitou Springs, Colorado
February 21, 2010
This past week was my family’s vacation here in Colorado’s winter wonderland. My parents and my brother and his family came from Virginia, and it was the first time my niece and nephews had visited Colorado. We had such a wonderful time together. I wish the week didn’t have to be over already.The nine of us spent most of the week skiing in Breckenridge, but first we explored Manitou Springs and the Garden of the Gods. I’ll post skiing photos sometime tomorrow, so stay tuned for more cuteness.
All photos are by me, my mother, or my sister-in-law Molly. Thanks for the great pictures, Mom and Molly!
Canon City, Colorado
Here’s a pretty snow picture from my archive, in support of my friends and family on the east coast who have been buried alive this weekend. After you dig yourselves out and curl up under four blankets to read blogs by candlelight, think of me here in 50-degree, sunny Colorado. Yes, I’m taunting a little. Yes, you can come visit.
Now is a great opportunity for a photo tip. When taking photographs of snow, keep in mind that your camera is designed to expose photographs with an average tone of middle gray. If a scene is dark, it will brighten the photo to middle gray. If a scene is bright (like snow), it will darken the photo to middle gray. So if you are taking snow photographs this weekend, you might notice that your camera is creating dark photographs. That’s normal and part of the camera’s job.
Your job as the photographer is to tell the camera that the photo is supposed to be mostly white, not middle gray. To do that, you’ll need to set the camera to overexpose by a stop or two. You can probably find that in your camera settings as +1 or +2.
Skiing in Breckenridge
February 1, 2010
I love living in a state that is full of fun things to do in every season of the year. Last weekend we went to Breckenridge and stayed for a couple days. Friends of ours from Colorado Springs were there, too, so it was great to have dinner with a big group of friends at the brew pub Sunday night, and then ski all day Monday.
After five years of living in Colorado, I’m getting pretty good at this skiing thing. I love to rush down hills that used to scare me when we first moved here. I’m still a slow and cautious skier compared to most people, but I like to think of myself as a badass daredevil. At least my fitness is pretty good, because I didn’t get tired nearly as quickly as I used to. Now I can’t wait to go back next week!On a random note, I discovered Monday that if you type “breck” into an iPhone, it auto-corrects it to “Breckinridge.” That would be really cool, if it wasn’t spelled wrong. Technology is funny.
My mom and me at the Olympic Training Center
Colorado Springs
January 22, 2010
‘ve been neglecting my blog lately, but it’s been for a good reason: I’m in the middle of my slowest month of the year, and enjoying it. Every year I work hard through November and December to prepare holiday orders, and my schedule picks up again after Valentine’s Day. That leaves me with January to catch up with friends, family, exercise, hobbies, and sleep. I love the seasonal nature of my job.
Last week my mother came to Colorado Springs to visit. We had a relaxing week together, spending most of our time chatting over coffee, watching girly TV shows, and going out to eat. On Friday, Mike and I took her to the Olympic Training Center for a tour. I can’t believe we’d never been there before! It was fascinating to get a glimpse into the world of Olympic athletes. I had no idea that some of them live there for a decade or more!
The week before, Mike and I went to Nashville for the annual convention of the Digital Wedding Forum. We explored the city, spent time with friends, and took zero photographs. It must sound ironic not to bring a camera to a photography convention, but occasionally I need to spend time socializing at parties instead of working at them, and exploring a new place without seeing it through a camera lens. It invigorates me and helps me to see the world differently.Give me a couple more weeks, and I’ll be missing weddings desperately. For now, I’m loving my down time.It’s been several weeks since I picked up any camera other than my point-and-shoot or my iPhone. Here are some snapshots from our trip to the Olympic Center, and one from Breckenridge. I don’t normally post personal snapshots here on my blog, so if you’re interested in seeing them, feel free to add me on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/charlotte.geary
