DISCOVER COLORADO NATIONAL MONUMENT

EROSIONAL MONUMENTS

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We recently spent a week near Fruita and made a number of visits into the Colorado National Monument.

When we lived in Wyoming, we made numerous visits south and drove by this park on I-70 but never realized what a lovely park this was until just recently. In fact, it reminds us of the area around Moab, UT. There are a vast number of canyons and monuments to explore.

This is but one of many images I made this past week, and these curious looking blobs of sandstone are called the "Coke Furnace." I made this exposure one afternoon following a frontal system which passed over the area. This time of year, the lighting is low, and it worked well for this image.

For a larger view, click on the image.

LONE OAK ©1980

LONE OAK

Central Virginia

This image was made right at the tail end of a snow storm and everything was perfectly quiet with no breeze.

I used to drive the back roads of Virginia immediately following a snow storm looking for interesting landscapes; trees were among my favorite subjects.

My camera pack consisted of an old Boy Scout pack frame with a green plastic trash basket strapped to it. There was a badly soiled canvas flap on the top to keep the weather out, and it was held in place by two strips cut from an old inner tube. Nothing fancy. In fact it would appear to many as little more than a throwaway.

Having left the scene and putting a good ten miles between me and the oak tree, I happened to look over my shoulder and lo and behold. I did not spot my camera pack on the back seat. It was only then that I realized that I had left it sitting on the highway directly behind the car.

Have you ever experienced sheer panic? Well, at that moment I did, and after finding a place to turn around, I headed back. There were a couple of turn-offs that I wasn't quite sure of, but the landmarks looked familiar.

To add disgust to frustration, I spotted the tree in the distance and there was a dark speck in the center of the opposite lane. The forty-pound pack was still sitting there, right where I left it and people were simply driving around it. I hate to tell anyone how many thousands of dollars of camera equipment was packed into that old ragged pack. I am still convinced that the appearance of that old ratty old back pack saved my gear. I am also thankful than no one hit it with a car or a truck.

To view a larger image, click on the oak tree.

COUNTRY STORE ©2009

Country Store SW CO

This type of subject matter is not normally my cup of tea, but having driven by this old country store so many times, I could no longer resist. I had to photograph it before it disappeared.

I actually made this image much earlier in the year and just a couple of weeks ago we happened to drive that road and I noted that one of the big advertisements was missing. Moral to this store is: if it feels right the first time, photograph it, or it may disappear. Many a good image has been lost because of procrastination.

Just a few days ago, I drove by this old store and noted that several of the colorful signs are now missing. Go figure... jj May 14 2011
click on image for larger view

THE SMELL OF EARLY FALL ©2009

A TOUCH OF FALL IS IN THE AIR

We headed into the Colorado high country yesterday to check out the fall color. At nine thousand feet, many of the trees were just beginning to show color, but I thought the trees that were just beginning to lighten up were breathtaking in their own way.

I also made a number of new images with the golden aspens in full color, but this one was my favorite of the lot.

The sky was mostly cloudy with a frontal system moving in and this landscape lended itself to bright lighting rather than direct sunshine.

My wife suggested that I go back today for another session, but the morning paper had a weather prediction that was stating that the high country above 6,500 ft would be receiving eleven inches of snow later on in the day. This is September 23. I will wait until later in the week when the full color presents itself.

Click on the trees to bring up a larger image

JEKYLL ISLAND GA ©1991

Live Oaks and Fog along the coast of Jekyll Island 1991

This was one of our favorite camping areas during the Christmas/New Years Holiday season. A bike trail took us along the Atlantic shoreline and one morning when the fog was rolling in off the ocean, I took my camera pack along. This has always been one of my most memorable images.

When we decided to move west to Wyoming , we sold our home in Virginia and spent the winter on the island. In April of 1997 we headed west.

To enlarge image, click on the trees

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DUTCH, SON OF CYRUS ©1974

Dutch, Son of Cyrus

From the Mountain People Portfolio 1974

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Click on Dutch for larger image

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To read the complete story of the mountain people, go to Jack's web site at:

http://www.jeffersfineart.com/

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Jack Jeffers AMID HIS DIGITAL PROCESSING GADGETS 2009

Yep, this is a far cry from the old lab processing days when I had my hands in the soup and often spent hours making one sepia- toned silver print.

With digital , you are in a totally new world. You no longer think in terms of silver particles; you now think PIXELS. And one must be computer savvy. Above all, you must become a master of many new processes; all related to the world of high tech imagery.

The image you see hanging in the background is a vintage silver print that was made back in the early seventies. This original was made to stand the test of time.

The custom-made canoe paddle to the right was another serious project that I took on back in the seventies. The idea was to come up with a better canoe paddle. This happens to be a double-bladed, multi-laminated design which locks together in the center . I was always thinking of new things to make and the same was true for my camping. My creativity did not stop with photography; that was simply the tip of the iceberg.

jj