The Sugar Beet Bike Park in Brighton, Colorado finally got its much given dedication and opening celebration. The park, driven through the process by Logan Holland and conceptualized and designed by Plus Size BMX, had its day in the sun with music, BBQ, clinics and some big tricks. Just the way a park should.
On a great Colorado bluebird day in January a fantastic group of riders headed to Windsor’s Eastman Park to ride bikes. Nice.
The Friends of Barnum North Bike Park, Plus Size BMX, Gromspot, the City of Denver, BikeDenver.org and Winter Park Resorts held an fantastic event on a cloudy and then rainy Saturday this October. The event featured great riding, free hotdogs and a wonderful raffle where Denver’s own Mayor Michael Hancock presented a lucky winner with a new bike. The “friends” maintain the park as volunteers headed up by Nick Solonincka, of Salvagetti’s Bike Shop and park designer Phil Rowe. Thanks to all that showed up and too bad it rained so hard.
I have been looking at this shot for a long time. Last night on our way home everything finally came together. Looks like fun.
Today, while my daughter was at ballet, I went for a walk. There was some sort of accident on Sheridan and the traffic was backed up big time. There was obvious consternation from the masses attempting to go about. I could tell by the honking of horns, which is what drew me over to the Lakeside Amusement Park. I drive by Lakeside a couple of times a week and am always taken by the place. It is like it is frozen in time. I have intended to shoot some images here but never gotten around to figuring out a plan, what time, what lenses, what story to tell? These were all issues that kept me from doing anything. Well. I had a couple of minutes today before I had to pick up Elsa and as the old adage says….the best camera for the job is the one you have with you….right?!?!
I had my phone. Not just any phone, it was my new iphone4stuvwxyz or whatever they are calling them now. I got this phone for the camera that it has. It is really cool and convenient. I have seen lots of guys doing iphone projects but my old iphone camera was the pits. Well the new phone is great and I think the story that I got from Lakeside today is cool. I hope you like it.
We have begun what I hope is a great journey into the world of dance. Upon moving to Denver we decided it was time to enroll in dance classes. The start of this journey was full of questions, what style of dance, quality of program, schedule and location made for a tentative start. There were lots of options each of which we really knew nothing about. After extensive internet research, a couple of drive-bys, a bunch of e-mails and a missed first class we chose Children’s Dance Place. What a great choice it has turned out to be. The class is called “Creative Dance” and focuses on general concepts and dance vocabulary. It is full of some very energetic and eager 4 and 5 year old girls. The instructors, Shira and Heather run a tight ship filled with creativity, stories and lots of action. So far we could not have imagined a better opportunity.
Today I went up to check out the old “hood”. It has been about a year since the devastating Four Mile Fire and things are kind of coming back. I took the camera but was pretty uninspired for most of my tour. I went up Logan Mill, then to Gold Hill and down Sunshine. It was the first time that I had really looked around since the fire. It is still pretty brutal. Lots of black trees, regraded lots where my neighbors homes used to be but also some new grass and growth. There is also quite a bit of evidence of massive runoff on the way up through Gold Hill. I was especially disappointed to see that the old Inn in at Summerville was gone. I was not aware that it had been destroyed. It was not until I was heading down Sunshine Canyon that I felt there were worthy images to be made. There was an area where they had attempted to decrease erosion and spread straw and I imagine wildflower seed. The Flowers were amazing and a beautiful contrast to the burnt trees that stretched into the distance. What a great idea. It really was cool and made for interesting images.
Last Thursday we went to check out the Beaver Creek Rodeo in Avon, Colorado. What a show! There is face painting, pony rides, bouncy house and a mechanical bull for the kids and good food and drink for the adults. The show put on by the local cowgirls and cowboys was awesome. What a great way to spend a Thursday evening.
I am very pleased to have had one of my images, “Piney in Pink”, chosen to represent Pink Colorado, a multi-faceted effort to raise awareness of pre-menopausal Breast Cancer through photography. NRC Broadcasting, the Town of Eagle, Colorado and The Shaw Regional Cancer Center have come together to create this fantastic exposition that will be on display in Eagle from June 24-August 16. The 26 image finalists were chosen by a panel of Colorado judges out of 300 entries from around the state.
It will be very exciting to see these images blown up to huge dimensions and displayed on rooftops and walls around town. The criteria for the submitted images were to capture the beauty of Colorado and creatively include the “Pink” theme. The contest will not only raise awareness but will also raise money for support programs and research facilities throughout Colorado.
It is very much an honor to be included in such a positive endeavor.
While recently on a typical photo-stroll through the village of Punta Mita, Mexico, I happened upon this hand-painted wall that I thought made an interesting image. Later, upon returning home and doing some editing, I came across the image again. Aside from being graphically interesting, I also found the message interesting and decided to look into what this meaning of PEACE may be. What I found was that PEACE stands for Protection, Education, Animals, Culture & Environment. They are a community and environment centered non-profit that works along the coastal region of the Mexican states of Jalisco and Nayarit surrounding the Bahia de Banderas. Their Mission, Vision and Values are as follows:
Mission:
PEACE works hand in hand with communities in Mexico to provide holistic education combined with community action programs that enable people to improve their quality of life as well as their financial stability.
Vision:
We envision a peaceful co-existence between human beings and natural treasures, between foreigners and locals, between those who can give and those who need assistance, between progress and preservation.
Values:
PEACE began in 2003 when one veterinarian with six volunteers formed Ayuda los Animales (Help the Animals) to help spay and neuter local animals. Since then they have continued to increase their scope of programs to help local communities.
For an example of what PEACE can do visit livepuntamita.
To learn more about PEACE, the programs and the wonderful people who make things happen go to www.peacemexico.org
