Denver May Snowstorm Video Timelapse

This small project was a fun interlude to more droll work that needed to be completed.

Everybody on Monday needs a little pick-me-up. This project was mine. 

Denver May Snowstorm Melt

Seeing the trees from the forest

A reminder to pause and think about why we do things the way we do things.

Last week while taking advantage of another glorious Colorado spring day, I had a riddling question I couldn't quite answer while I was hiking: Why did it seem I used to see more wildlife when I was child than I do now?

My first instinct was to think of possible scientific factors (i.e. wildlife population decline, urban sprawl, lack of genetic diversity).

It wasn't until a mile later that the answer could be something much less scholarly and less profound. Maybe it's because I wasn't taking the time to look. Maybe I needed to stop more often and appreciate the landscape.

How often are we so focused on getting from Point A to Point B? How many times have you been so wrapped up in your thoughts that you don't remember your drive from work to home, and vice versa?

How often do we do things in our professions because that is what we always did and that is how it was always done?

Question like a child

When we were children we were inquisitive and curious, exploring everything. Somewhere along the way to adulthood, we decided we had all the answers and stopped exploring and learning. We assumed the ordinary was, well, ordinary. This tree is like that tree, is like that tree.

But if you stop and look at a tree, apart from the forest, you can see each is different. Each has its unique beauty -- from the array of limbs down to the patina of its bark. Each tree could be of the same species, facing the same aspect and getting the same amount of rainfall and sunshine, but each grows at its own pace.

How often do we as professionals do things because that is that is the way it has always been done? Questioning the process, we can sometimes find a more efficient and simpler process; Occum's Razor.

Make your marketing message unique like each tree in the forest. While they can be all the same species (branding),
they all have individual needs and unique qualities.

Quit classifying and start connecting

It is human nature to work off assumptions. We categorize. We make our neat little classifications and piles. We are taught this is the efficient way of doing things. It becomes second nature to lump and clump.

Instead, we need to take moments every day to pause and start connecting. We need to listen to the conversation. We need to take a step back and see the bigger picture apart from our normal vantage. We need to take a moment to pause and think so things become less muddled.

When I create a video production for clients, I don't follow a set template. Sure, there is a similar formula that is applied in storytelling.

But if you look at each video produced for Boulder County and its flood recovery projects, each has its own tempo, its own tenor, and its own pacing.

There are certain aspects which remain consistent -- that is maintaining the branding and messaging. The series of videos could be seen as chapters in an ever-evolving story as Boulder County recovers and cleans up after the massive September floods. This process will last several years.

Each chapter is different. Initially it was about saving lives and rescuing people. Then it was important to re-establish rudimentary infrastructure for many places which were cut off from the rest of the world, like Salina, Lyons and Coal Creek Canyon.

Now the open chapter is about preparedness and readiness for spring runoff.

Each chapter is different, so each video production should be unique, not following the same formula. When your messaging becomes redundant, it gets tuned out. And you lose a chance to connect.

Make your messaging as unique as each individual tree that makes up the forest.

When life steals your lemons

Another year is added to the calendar. New Year's has a way of making people contemplate and do some introspection with their lives, with themselves and about the world in general. It's a time of renewal, a time of new challenges, and a time of new habits.

My 2013 ended harshly as I came back from a holiday trip to my back door kicked open and my house burglarized. Several days later with orders made and sparing matches with the insurance company, I awoke to this true first business day of 2014 feeling energized.

Because life and business is about rolling with the punches. And out of personal loss, you can create anew something better. So instead of mourning or sulking about what happened to me or what was stolen, I look at it as a way of simplifying. What video gear did I have that was extraneous? What did I want to upgrade from? How can I arm myself with the best tools to make the best productions?

Sometimes we need our snow globe shook to get a new perspective on things.

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.

Shoulda Brought The Crampons

Dear Snow,

Colorado is beautiful this time of year. Please come visit.

XOXO
Ryan

The same gully on Mt Machebeuf in fluffier times:

Started getting dicey for La Perita. Lucy started whining. Need to get her little doggie crampons!

Obligatory Self-Port. Squinting from imaginary snow. The seasonal beard is coming in nicely.


Might have to tackle this couloir next weekend on Grizzly Peak. (Imagine a really cool forking couloir)


Of course no trip to the mountains is complete without stopping at Two Brothers Deli in Idaho Springs. Nomnomnom!

Green chili in a bread bowl. Party in my stummy.

Sandstone Sojourn

The bustle of everyday life can excuse my absence. West the soul points and follow its wake we will.

Four days unplugged. Four days liberated from deadlines, tweets, emails and bogging down from the mundane.

This palisade shall be my sentinel while I await for the stars to reveal themselves in impossible numbers.


Over a bend on the river shall I rest my head.


Around several corners and with wandering eyes, the humble glory of the desert appears. Corona Arch with a neighboring natural bridge. We spotted two more natural bridges that day.


If you're patient you can find many messages from people past.




The way continued upward. Yet the sun was unrelenting. Lucy took the lead & I soon followed with a siesta in the shade.


A reminder that life is but a balancing act.


A nondescript vantage to watch the river lugubriously slide by.


A blaze to celebrate another passing of a year in life.


We often walk by without noticing the intricate beauty that surrounds us.


Fever struck, sickness crept in. A rest in the high desert, shied away from passing eyes. The migration west continued until the road was out. We scampered and picked our way around and over the sandstone mushrooms until we looked down upon the unattainable oasis of the Green River at Mineral Bottom


We backtracked upriver to the valley of giant mud castles. Around we wandered and climbed in the Fisher Towers.






Silent yet steady, this snag still stubbornly clings on after death has stripped it of life.