Bears In Boulder

Finally, I got my first bear in a tree video.

Thankfully we were later told that the adult bear wandered off and more than likely back up Boulder Creek towards the foothills sometime during the night.

It's going to be a very busy season for wildlife officers along the Front Range this year. The drought has affected the natural food supplies of bears, and bruins are consuming 20,000 calories a day while they fatten up before their winter slumber.

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/video/31422411/index.html

Should The Media Name The Shooter Of The Aurora Theater Shooting? - Op-Ed

I was recently asked by a friend and PR colleague on why the news organization I worked for continued to name the alleged shooting suspect in the Aurora Theater massacre.

Her question was couldn't a media outlet, like the one which employs me, take an independent stance and not name the person who took 12 lives, injured scores more and irreversibly affected hundreds other by his act of violence?

(In a personal sign of respect, I will omit the name of the alleged murderer, especially since it is being splayed around on media outlets and in social media.)

 Since I received the email, one local affiliate has taken the stance and stated it decided not to name the alleged shooter unless it was absolutely necessary.

As a person, I can applaud and support that notion. As a journalist, doing such a thing irks me and goes against the fundamental schooling and training journalists have received. More than that, it goes against the fundamental role and purpose of the Fourth Estate.

There are many instances when the media censors itself. For instance, at my television station, we have taken the widely-adopted stance of not naming sexual abuse victims, unless they wish to speak publicly, children victims of crimes and juvenile offenders, unless they are charged as an adult.


However heinous the crimes that the alleged shooter committed that early Friday morning, and as much as we possess the initial instinct to deny that person any notoriety, omitting his name would be removing an essential element of the storytelling of that event.

I believe the memories of those slain should be honored and remembered. But a tragic truth is as a people, we remember the names of those who commit heinous acts more so than we do the victims. We know the names of serial killers like John Wayne Gacy, Charles Manson and Jeffrey Dahmer, but few of us could name one of their victims. We know the name Adolph Hitler, but the names of the 6 million Jews whose lights were extinguished during the Holocaust largely go unnamed.

Is it a bad thing though to remember the names of those mass murderers though? Shouldn't we remember the abhorred damage caused by them so that we are outraged? The first thought associated with those men are of those atrocious acts committed by them, of the innocent lives taken. While those victims may not be named individually, they are remembered as a collective. The best way we can honor those victims, including those killed in the Aurora Theater shooting, is to live each day to the fullest and to make sure such heinous acts against humanity are not committed again.


As a media outlet taking it upon ourselves to omit the name, to perform self-censorship, is thrusting ourselves into the story. It is to become a part of the story, which is not the role of the journalist. We are to tell the story, report the facts, not interject ourselves. It is to say to your audience, "We know what's best for you."

It is a philosophy that the modern media still holds onto, one that has been ingrained in the industry for decades. It is more apparent now because as a viewer or reader, we now have more control over what we choose to read, watch and consume. I can chose to get my information over a multitude of media platforms, choose or censor what I want to read or watch and determine what interests me and what I wish to ignore.

And you as a viewer or reader can also choose. You can choose to trust and support the media outlet that refuses to name the shooter or to chose one of the myriad other outlets across all media platforms that does name him. You can pick a la carte and choose this one for broadcast, this one for print, this one for multimedia and this one for social media.

Or you can choose none of the above, and that is a wonderful thing about this age of journalism.

The Rarest of birds

What's more rare than an eagle? How about an albatross. Let 7Sports Arran Andersen explain. Story we shot at the Omni Resort in Broomfield, Colo. This guy could kill the ball.

Petroglyphs, Sunsets, Mountain Biking & Beer

Last week took a much needed sojourn away from computers, stress and showers. Packed up the Taco and headed west to Fruita. Here is a short video of some pictures and footage I shot in Seco Canyon -- about 30 minutes from the Colorado border. Lucy went on her first mountain bike rides and was a champ. I wish I had her nearly boundless energy. However after three rides in two days, she was done. Lucy relaxing in the back of the Tacoma, away from the pesky flies

The next morning I let the dog out of the tent to do her business. She then just laid down on the ground. I couldn't make her run or hike any further. So plans for bouldering were scraped and we headed back to civilization. Random Parting Shots

Denver Zoo You

A promotional video for Denver Zoo I shot last month. Good group of kids and a good program that educates kids about animals and conservation.

Denver Botanic Gardens

Needing to get a little tranquility on Thursday, I went to the Denver Botanic Gardens during my lunch break. Workers are still busy installing the Gardens' 2012 art exhibit, "Kizuna: West Meets East" throughout the park. I came across a man at the lagoon near the outdoor cafe constructing numerous rafts made out of bamboo and in various sizes, shapes and geometric character. It seemed like it could either be a very relaxing or frustrating job to do. Oh, and some flowers too:

Test Shoot

made the splurge and made the investment to a solid new camera. The Canon Rebel T3i was a quality SLR that also can shoot HD video. It also was in my budget range. So I plunked down the money and made the purchase. This gives me a couple of weeks to get used to it before my next shoot.

So off to South Valley Open Space I went. I know the terrain well and I figured the contrast of the red sandstone and everything green with the early spring would make a good palette to test out this baby, and see how rusty my still photography skills are.

The results:


























I

Royal Gorge

My first time to Royal Gorge. Have to say it was pretty trippy leaning over the edge and shooting straight down over 1,000 feet.

The one shot I wanted but couldn't make work was shooting the river below from between the floorboards, and then panning out to show up on the bridge.

Also wish I remembered the GoPro and hooked up the two guys on the SkyCoaster.

But overall, the piece turned out better than I felt when I left.

Escalando A Dentro

The second video shot for Azteca America. Thank you for the help of Rockn and Jamnin letting us in to shoot, teach Luis how to climb and pester the climbers there.

Muy divertido!

Divertido En El Nieve

A good day helping out Luis on a shoot. It was broadcasted nationally on Azteca America:

South Valley Snowshoe

With the sun trying to peek out and temperatures not quite so frigid, it seemed like a perfect time to stretch the legs. Lucy was tired of being cooped up all week long and was beginning to drive me crazy with her neediness.

It is great to go to South Valley Open Space park when there is substantial snow cover. During the growing months, you're often limited to the trails, as off trail travel usually means navigating around cacti, rattlesnakes and scrub oak. They are all nuisances that keep you focusing on the ground as opposed to the spectacular sandstone sculptures surrounding you.

With everything buried in snow and the scrub oaks denuded of leaves, you can pick a path to go and trek out in snowshoes.







We went up and around, navigating around the bluffs and on to them.

Maxwell Pass

A nice few hours of solitude on snow -- a commodity lacking in the Rocky Mountains for much of the winter so far.