Ashley Ecklund | Regret

When one is full of regret they feel as though the world is happening around them.
They can't seem to rejoin it. There is a bubble that consumes the person and it swallows all the hustle around the soul and blocks it out. Regret is friends with lonely but they are like the weird kids that sit in the back of the lunchroom. Nobody talks to them and there is just something strange about them that makes others avoid them. They live in a cold dark place, hand in hand, while the rest of the world gets blocked out.

Shadows: Christi Bode

Welcome to the dark side of Human Resources: drug testing.  It’s all fun and games until HR hands you a clear plastic cup. Go ahead and give us your excuses for smelling like Domestic Don Juan.

"I ate 3 dozen poppyseed bagels this morning."

"I washed my clothes in the latest eco-friendly laundry detergent."

"My friend pushed me into a big bush of pot."

As the number of medical marijauna users in Colorado is rising exponentially, this is leaving employers dazed and confused.  Generally, it has been presumed that employers can fire workers for using, medicinally or not.  Until the state law is settled, former employees are not protected constitutionally under federal guidelines and will most likely lose an unemployment claim. Please refer to page 8 of your Company Handbook.    

Regards,
Corporate Christi

Shadow: Anna Keiser

What is a silhouette but a shadow that is coming forth? Both shadows and silhouettes alike are intangible. You can only touch the surface of them. While these shadows are standing and facing you, it's not the shadows that are the subject, rather, it's the light creating them.

Shadow: Paige L. Hill

In the shadows of my mind, I can be anything I would like to be.

I could be a princess with the prettiest ball gown in all the land.  A magnificent tiara to sit a top my head, showing off my beautiful long cascading hair as it shimmers in the spot light. 

Elements: Cara Eglinton

While I sit and listen to the peaceful sound of water as it pours into the stream below I am relaxed and calm. However, when I look at it a see a force that is so powerful that is sculpts it own way through nature and doesn’t let anything stop it from getting to its destination.

Water moves around, over, under, and though anything in its way. Water isn’t just another element, it is a calm and peaceful part of nature that can have a fatal attraction if not approached with the utmost caution.

Vison: Cara Eglinton

As I wondered through the park reminiscing on all the wonderful days I had with my father, I saw a man with a familiar face. He was an elderly man who frequented the park often.
As I was walking past him we said hello to each other and I couldn't help but mention that I see him often at this park. The man introduced himself, his name is William, he used to take walks everyday with his wife through this park until last year when she passed away. He then began to explain to me the details of the last walk they took.
He told me how they sat on this bench and enjoyed the cool fall air, and how he looked at her and told her that she was more beautiful than that fall day. Her name was JoAnn, she was 76, and they had been married for 53 wonderful years when she had passed away that evening on October 22, 2011. He then told me how he walks through the park everyday and stops just for a moment to stare at the bench where she sat for the last time, and in his mind how he could see her sitting there just as beautiful as she was that day.
I thanked William from sharing his story with me, and took this picture of the bench on the other side of the bridge where he goes everyday to remember his wife.

Vision: Kevin Reeve

Colorado's ballot and the move to legalize marijuana. Image ©Kevin Reeve

Vision of the future: Marijuana on the ballot

In this brutal election season, we are besieged by the freakishly inevitable campaign advertising assault.  In our Clockwork Orange-style television death-march to Election Day, we Mile High mountain-folk haven’t heard much about the Colorado initiative to legalize marijuana in Colorado, on the ballot in November. Medical miracle? Harmless plant? Gateway to Junkieville? Voters will have the final say.

Which way swims the fickle savage that is the Great Red Shark of American Virtue?  Will the voting public 'legalize it' or continue the war on drugs?

Have a vision of the future? Help decide, VOTE!

Vision: Paige L. Hill

Staring at the wall, I can just see it now. The place I’d rather be. Out there, way out there, in the mountain tops. Hearing the sounds of nature all around, feeling the cool breeze on my face, smelling the fresh air. Some place where there is no signal, totally off the grid. Just me, my thoughts and I. Places like these allow me to fine tune my vision for whatever project. 

Vision: Christi Bode

Amtrak Station, Glenwood Springs, CO

There is something to be said about stepping into a different environment and seeing the world with a fresh set of eyes.  I am more observant and begin to notice the details of my surroundings; everything around me is compelling content for a new visual essay.

I embarked on a 2 day, 22 hour roundtrip train ride from Denver to Helper, Utah this weekend.  Travel by train takes a backseat to other modes of transportation in America, but it truly is a hidden gem.  My curiosity brought me on board the California Zephyr, a daily route that weaves from Chicago to San Francisco.  Every seat felt like first class; nothing compares to watching the landscape transform from the window of a train.

I made some new friends, too! I heard many stories and learned some lessons, including: why Canada is the best country ever, how being 85 years old is the new 30, and Helper, Utah is a place out of "The Hills That Have Eyes".  Follow more of my journey on my blog.

-- Conductor Christi

  

Anna Keiser: Vision

Nighttime skyline of businesses across from Sloan's Lake in Denver.

After a long night of work at the local McDonald's, my vision becomes a bit blurry. The city lights are bright and make me squint. I believe that artists have a vision in everything they create, such as the architects that built the strip of businesses on Sheridan. With a long exposure and some movement, you get a vision of something completely different.

Elements: Christi Bode

Dried creek bed - Parker, CO

An abandoned rusting doll stroller lays on the edge of the dried creek bed.  Impressions of Teva sandal footprints vanish off into the distance.  Canine fecal matter in piles of pyramidal magnitudes decorate the sandy path.  I look up and take in my surroundings; I am neither in a litter box or the Dust Bowl of the 1930s.  Cookie-cutter houses line the large open-space, guarded by a wooden fence surrounding the perimeter; they are protected from the wild jungle down here in the sand.  This sand feels anything but inviting.  Taking off my shoes wasn't an option.

I picked up the remainders of the rusty stroller and threw it in the trash.  Sand is a delicate element of the environment and needs to be treated like gold.

Sincerely the Treehugger,
Christi B.

Elements- Michelle McClelland

Slipping away moment by moment, sweet giggles and pleasant sounds of polite people that passed on the street. Music once played here, and first kisses once exchanged - but time riddled those memories as it did the very land they stood upon...history they all would say. I don't remember time ever passing as fast as it does now, and the sheer panic of this realization that it only progresses faster as you age!  My struggle to control this uncontrollable force led me here to capture the love of a still frame, that precise moment when light and time collide to make an absolute replication of a memory that will stay long after my mind and body had betrayed me. It is in the element of time that history is built, happiness and life is created, as well as death and sorrow. The greatest equalizer of all things – time.

Sarah Eslinger: Elements

As a student in school, I was never very good in science. I could never quite grasp the concept of "science" and how things worked. Well, even though I wasn't good at it, it still interested me. When shooting this concept of "elements" I was staring off into space for ideas. *because that always works right?

I happened to look up and see a row of light bulbs. They were as clear as fishbowls and I could see exactly where the light was coming from. Electricity pumps into the light bulbs, sparking a fire, giving us light. So I decided "Hey, why not shoot that." The lights are something most people wouldn't think twice about because we've all grown so accustom to having them. In reality, not many of us could explain exactly how they work. In the end, these are basic elements of life that rule us. It's interesting to think about...

Elements: Paige L. Hill

Boy in Leaves

Ahh.... Fall.... So glad it’s finally here. I love this time of year. Leaves with the breeze are being nocked free form the trees as they change. And let’s not forget, time for rolling around with your rugby ball. The cool breezes are just enough to need socks and to curl up on the sofa under a blanket. You can just feel the cool kisses of the wind on your cheek as you laugh along with this photograph.

Elements: Anna Keiser

There is an energy in the changing seasons. An element of fire, as things change so quickly. The leaves are dying dramatically, turning bright shades of red or yellow. Who knew that death could be so beautiful? The blurry aspect of this photo signifies the fleeting flames that a fire has. I stepped away from man-made structures in this concept because this tree was too beautiful.

Macro: Paige L. Hill

In the world of welding there is something called a macro bead. This tiny bead of metal by itself can’t do much good. Each bead alone will not hold up under pressure, but thousands of them, now you have something. Now you have something that is strong enough for Superman to leap in a single bound.  Something that can sail the seven seas bring us wonders from exotic lands.  Also something that is as beautiful as the Eiffel Tower.

How is it that something so small can change our world, so huge, one bead at a time?

Macro: Sarah Eslinger

When trying to decide what to shoot for the term Macro, I thought what else could be better in the fall than a picture of the changing leaves. Macro to me, means to show something small in full. Larger than it could ever be in full detail. I found this leaf in the middle of downtown on a slowly dying tree. The light shining through the decay of the weathered leaf was beautiful to me.

Macro: Christi Bode

Coney Island Hot Dog Stand - Tiny Town, Morrison, CO

Coney Island Hot Dog Stand - Bailey, CO

I needed a temporary escape this weekend, so in Christi-esque fashion I hopped in my car and started driving,  In hopes of seeing the last peak of Colorado's fall colors, I turn the car south on Rt. 285 towards Conifer.  As I drove up the steep incline past Indian Hills, I pondered the meaning of life to the haunting melodies of Sigur Ros and Imogen Heap.

It was then I saw a sign for Tiny Town.  I veered the car left onto South Turkey Creek Road,  As I came around the bend and into the clearing of this enchanted playground full of miniture buildings (railroad included),  seeing that dreaded CLOSED sign gave me flashbacks of the Griswold family pulling into Wally World.  I settled for taking the first image through the fence.

Coney Island, a 1950s diner shaped like a giant hot dog (toppings included) and one of Colorado's greatest examples of roadside architecture, happens to be one of the small replicas at Tiny Town.  The actual diner is located in Bailey, Colorado, roughly 20 miles south of Tiny Town's location.  Did you know the bun is 35 feet long, the hot dog 42 feet, with the building weighing 18 tons?  <Insert immature hot dog comment here>

-- Christi B.
Christi Bode Photography

Macro: Anna Keiser

The term of architecture can be applied to many things. The entire building is just as important as the nuts and bolts that keep it together. Macro photography shots usually highlight the details of a subject. I have an obsession with how nature's structure plays off of the man made structures that have taken over. The overgrowth of this small weed flower on the stop sign is intricate and playful, weaving in, out and around. This literal macro shot of the weed flower presents the overgrowth as something beautiful even though the relationship is not symbiotic.

Macro: Kevin Reeve

Macro shot of chickenfoot and Japanese blade. ©Kevin Reeve

To kick off the quarter, I thought it would be great to shake things up. I have been thinking recently about the ever-increasing disconnect we Americans have with our food. We often shudder to think about where the meat on our plates actually comes from. In many societies feet, organs, and other “undesirable” cuts are the norm, it is simply too expensive to eat Western-style cuts of meat, yet these peasant foods often form the spirit of the larger culinary culture. 

It is important to remember that a strong agrarian ethos was one of the key factors in building America. As a nation, we have largely turned our backs on local, small-scale farmers. Next time you’re faced with the decision of purchasing sustenance, have a quick think about what you’re leaving in the wake of your shopping cart, and what’s actually for dinner.

That, and it's just a really super-creepy shot...

-Kevin

Take a look at this cool local food blog with cool pictures!

Also this blog about food ethics! Doesn't that sound fun?