• coffee shops,  fall season,  frost,  leaves,  lifestyles,  Plants

    A cold November morning

    Early morning frost

    I took this yesterday morning on my way from the bus stop. I decided to take the bus to the coffee shop because I didn’t want to clean the frost off the car or find a parking spot and I need to exercise. On the way home I noticed the tailgaters were getting set up in the parking lot of the stadium for the CSU game this afternoon. Tables were getting setup and they even had some grills set up and smoke billing up. Brats? Not my game plan anymore on a cold November morning. Nope, prefer the warmth of a coffee shop and a mocha.

    This is how to spend a cold winter morning.
  • Candid Portraits,  Documentary/Street,  lifestyles,  People/Portraits,  quotes

    You never know….

    Approaching Pitkin and Meridian bus stop

    Jay Maisel always says to bring your camera, ‘cause it’s tough to take a picture without it. Pursuant to the above aforementioned piece of the rule book, subset three, clause A, paragraph four would be…use the camera. Put it to your eye. You never know. There are lots of reasons, some of them even good, to just leave it on your shoulder or in your bag. Wrong lens. Wrong light. Aaahhh, it’s not that great, what am I gonna do with it anyway? I’ll have to put my coffee down. I’ll just delete it later, why bother? Lots of reasons not to take the dive into the eyepiece and once again try to sort out the world into an effective rectangle. It’s almost always worth it to take a look. – Joe McNally 

  • Black and White,  Candid Portraits,  Documentary/Street,  lifestyles,  People/Portraits

    Silly Weather

    Taken on the bus and one of the most common scenes I find on the bus or on campus. Love the light on her face.

    We had a wonderful weekend, warm and sunny. But, it’s cold and overcast this morning. Looking like a fall day rather than spring day. Rightly so as we are expecting a winter storm over the next three days. Rain starting later today and turning to snow through the night. They say it will linger for a few days, bringing a snow and rain mix with temperatures at the freezing mark. I’m okay with the moisture but prefer the mid 40’s temperatures. I think I’ve mentioned that before. I saw this morning a prediction of 3-7 inches of snow and I suspect it will be wet and heavy snow. So you may see another winter scene or two posted. Stay warm!

  • Black and White,  Documentary/Street,  Fujifilm X-T10,  Fujifilm XF35mm f2.0,  lifestyles

    Life is Good

    Grab Handles on the Bus
    Grab Handles on the Bus

    Standing passengers on public transportation hang on to handles, called strap-hangers. They intrigued me yesterday so I played around with different compositions and framing. There are now a few people who know I’m a bit insane and give me some distance. I’d like to share a story about one of the first times I began riding the bus. Forgive me if I’ve told this before.

    One morning when getting on I found it packed with students on their way to campus. There was no room to sit so I had to stand, grabbing a strap-hanger. This nice young man, calling me “Sir”, offered me his seat. After declining the offer I began to think about the generosity and concern of his offer for this older guy. I realized how much older I was than 95% of the kids on the bus. I also noticed the cute young lady he was sitting next to. So, the next time I ever encounter the same or similar situation I just may take up the offer, especially if she’s cute.  🙂

    This morning we have a full moon sitting just above the mountains to the west. In the east we have a radiant orange sky between the horizon and clouds. The day begins! I’m at Bindles on the hill looking out the east window over the Poudre River flowing in the valley below. Next to me is a mocha latte. Live is good! 

  • Candid Portraits,  People/Portraits

    A Texter

    Texting on the Bus
    Texting on the Bus

    texter: a person who communicates by text messaging

    We are finally having spring like days. On campus there are students ins jackets and coats as well as those in t-shirts, shorts and flip-flops. It’s now 36 degrees but the suspicious weather apps say it may get up to 70 degrees. I will find time to sit outside today. 

    I’m sometimes uncomfortable when I take images of people when they are not aware. But it is a very good way to catch people as they are in the present moment and not self-conscious because a camera is pointed at them, thinking they need to pose. And,  now a days, texters are easy to find. Happy Friday!