Red Rock Canyon Open Space is a wonderful spot for hiking in the foothills of the Front Range Rocky Mountains in Colorado Springs. The park offers terrific views of the famous Garden of the Gods rock formations, which you can see here in the upper-left. 

I took this photo with a Canon 6D DSLR camera and a Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM lens.

Pulpit Rock is a prominent rock formation on the eastern side of Colorado Springs, near the Austin Bluffs and the University of Colorado Colorado Springs Campus. 

You can hike to the top of the rock formation, and, if you zoom in on this photo, you'll see a couple people sitting at its peak. The 9,063-foot Mount Herman looms in the background, another great hike in the area. 

I took this photo with a a Canon 6D DSLR camera and a Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM lens.

This photo of a mule deer having breakfast was taken just after sunrise at Garden of the Gods. 

I'd gotten to this spot an hour before sunrise to capture the aspenglow on Pikes Peak. As the sky began to lighten, I noticed seven or eight deer around me lounging in the grass and feeding on some shrubs. I snapped a few pics with my Canon 6D DSLR camera and a Canon EF 70-300mm telephoto lens. This one is my favorite.

This shot of Pikes Peak is from a morning hike in Palmer Park after it snowed. 

Palmer Park is a Central Park size area in the center of Colorado Springs that features dozens of hiking trails that wind around the series of large bluffs that constitute the park. It's probably my favorite place to hike in Colorado Springs.

I took this with a Canon 6D DSLR camera and a Canon EF 70-300mm telephoto lens.

A photo of an ebony jewelwing damselfly I took some years ago while I was still loving in Arkansas,  where damselflies and dragonflies are everywhere due to the humidity and abundant water. 

I took this with a Canon T3i DSLR and Sigma AF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 APO DG lens in macro mode. 

This photo of a Stellar's jay was taken at a ghost town near Mt. Princeton, a couple hours west of Colorado Springs. 

Closely related to the blue jay, Steller's jays live at higher elevations here in Colorado. I see them sometimes while hiking the foothills on the western edge of Colorado Springs. 

I took this photo with a Canon 70D DSLR and Sigma AF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 APO DG telephoto lens.

2022, Acrylic on Paper, 8″x10″

A reflection on the experience of my emotions getting the best of me. Sometimes my heart gets overwhelmed, and I feel washed out to sea, adrift in my feelings. Sometimes painting helps rein in those moments.

2022, Watercolor on Paper, 8″x10″

An attempt to play with color and blending to capture the feeling of the sun rising over a mountain lake.

2022, Acrylic on Paper, 8″x10″

Art can be intensely therapeutic. During the pandemic I was able to regularly devote time to creating art and processed a lot of past experiences with my work. I highly recommend art to anyone trying to find a way to healthily express difficult emotions and find healing through creativity.

2022, Watercolor and Pen on Paper, 10″x8″

Yellow is a color that I am drawn to, but do not often make a focal point of it in my work. I was really pleased with this experimentation in a warmer color palette.