Sunday, March 22, 2009

Going Downtown

Downtown Denver that is. Another beautiful Spring day here in the Front Range, I had stuff to do in the afternoon so it was going to be a short ride for me today. Besides, I don't want you readers to think that all Colorado has is large rock formations and mountains! : )

I headed downtown after 0930, a bit late I know, but was hoping the traffic downtown would not be too bad since it was a Sunday. Turns out, it was almost OK, still heavier than I wanted since I was wandering around looking for sights to photograph. I was thinking of shooting photos reflecting the "steel canyons" motif but that will have to wait till another day when I can be downtown shortly after dawn; that's when the streets should be nearly empty and I can park damn near anywhere.

Instead, I looked for unusual buildings or ornate churches to use as backdrops for my 1987 R80 Beemer, Brigitta. The warm weather had everyone out and about, the yuppies in their faded ball caps and REI shorts, lattes in their hands; the bums in the corners basking in the warm sun while they waited for the next passerby; and young women jogging along the boulevards.

Add cagers to the above mix and riding around downtown was an exercise in vigilance while trying to find a good spot to momentarily park Brigitta for a shot or two.

I found empty parking lots to be a good location if situated near a cluster of buildings like this one was:

Note the small church, dwarfed and nearly hidden

The streets downtown are a series of one way streets, with a street mall walking area thrown in for good measure. I had to do repeated circlings in order to get good spots for shots. Sometimes, I had to sneak some time on the sidewalks.

A couple of Denver's Skyscrapers, look closely, Brigitta is in the shots


An unusually shaped apartment building

As I mentioned, I had to forego the idea of the "steel canyons" motif this time, parking spots were full where the buildings were the thickest. I did however find a couple of good spots to photograph some churches that caught my eye as I wandered around.



A quick pass by the Denver Art Museum Complex offered an opportunity to park Brigitta on the sidewalk next to the giant brush and dust pan. I guess it's art.


A loop around the capitol did not yield much in the way of photo opportunities. Specially since I'd done that round of photos with Maria last year: LINK

Before leaving though, I managed to find a temporary spot again for Brigitta near the Kit Carson Pioneer monument which lies across from the State Capitol building.

This is a nice spot, will have to come back when the leaves come in


After these shots, it was home for lunch and an afternoon of chores. A sure sign that spring is here was the scores of bikers on their cruisers; no helmets of course!

6 comments:

irondad said...

What a neat place you're in. Our tallest building is three stories. We're still an Old West area, it seems. Your photos look so bright and clean.

By the way, you enjoyed riding on the sidewalk, didn't you? :)

Chessie (Chesshirecat) said...

Thanks I enjoyed the tour of Denver....You guys have been warmer this winter than us here in NE TN. Makes me think...I should live near the Mile High City...

Thanks again for taking me along on your city tour...great fun.

redlegsrides said...

Irondad, re riding on sidewalks, yeah its the "stick it to the man" in me I guess....not very radical eh?

Jack Riepe said...

Dear Charlie6 (Dom);

I've been among the missing once again. I am always amazed to go online and discover all the neat stuff that has sprung up in the last few days.

These shots are a radical departure from those pictures you generaly take -- but ones that are more familiar to me in content. I love pictures of churces. What can you tel us about the second one, which has the most unusual steeples I've seen in a while?

I am not comfortable with dense urban riding, but I am going to make the effort this season, with frequent runs up to the Jersey City/Manhattan area at least twice a week. My mother lives a mile west of Times Square in New York City, and I'll be using the K75 to visit her. It's a 2-hour run up there and back.

If you have an interest in my tall first experience withnintroducing "Fireballs" to the Manhattan Skyline, please look at my very first blog.

Fondest regards,
Jack
Twisted Roads

redlegsrides said...

Jack, you asked about the second church. It started off as Temple Emanuel, dedicated in 1899, and was a bit smaller than what it looks like today: LINK

Later on, it was made larger and eventually into the Temple Event Center of today. LINK

Kind of interesting, digging this info up, glad you asked!

cheers

dom

redlegsrides said...

chessie, thanks for your kind words and you're welcome....