Tag Archives: Colorado

Freelance Contributor & Photojournalist for Colorado Monthly News Magazine

After an extensive evaluation process including submission of my writing style and photography ability, I received an email today that I am now one of their freelance contributors & photojournalist for Western Colorado’s leading monthly news magazine for adults 50 and older with over 50,000 readers each month.

My first paid job was in high school taking action photographs of county-wide high school sports events and writing an accompanying brief news report for a large newspaper.

I am currently editing several fiction and nonfiction books and a coffee table photography book with 2020 as the publishing date.

Since I was drafted out of college at the height of the Vietnam War which deterred me from my journalism major, this Freelance Contributor & Photojournalist brings me back full circle to my first passion.

Early Writer – I was writing short stories on an old Underwood typewriter by the time I was four years old. In junior high school, I wrote two plays, Old Glory and Adelante! I was asked to have these play presented to the student body while given some director responsibility.

Avid Reader – I began reading at a very young age. Throughout elementary school, I read novels in class and ditched school to spend hours at the library near my home.

Editor in Chief – I was the editor of both my high school and college newspaper.

Rebel – I created and wrote articles and satire for an ‘underground’ newspaper I had the U.S. Army distribute in Vietnam during my fourteen-month tour of duty. I was nearly court marshaled and ordered to stop after two issues.

Columnist – For several years, I wrote a weekly Southern California newspaper column on diverse subjects.

Magazine Publisher & Editor –  I published and edited a monthly literary, photography, and art magazine for several years.

Writers’ Conference Director – I organized and directed two national writers’ conferences in Oregon and Washington.

Writers’ Group & Workshop Instructor – I created and taught numerous writers’ groups and workshops, resulting in publication for some participants.

Grand Mesa, Colorado Adventure

One of the beautiful Grand Mesa lakes 2019 © Stephen Bruno

One of the beautiful Grand Mesa lakes 2019 © Stephen Bruno

One of the beautiful Grand Mesa lakes 2019 © Stephen Bruno

One of the beautiful Grand Mesa lakes 2019 © Stephen Bruno

Last week, after a picturesque drive up the Grand Mesa Scenic Byway, I spent several days on the Grand Mesa for the first time since I moved to Cedaredge, Colorado last December. I was celebrating my 71st birthday which I wanted to do in pristine nature with diverse wildlife. It was incredibly beautiful, with numerous lakes and reservoirs surrounded by trees and vast meadows. I stopped at a few of the crystal blue lakes to take some quick photographs mostly with my compact camera.

Black Bear Mug 2019 © Stephen Bruno

My next stop was at the Grand Mesa Visitor Center. I spoke with a well-informed forest ranger about wildlife. She mentioned recently seeing a Black Bear on her hike and of course squirrels and chipmunks, large Mountain Lion tracks, a big Coyote who stood his ground and, Yellow-bellied Marmots. In the past, I have photographed each of those critters, but I have never observed a Yellow-bellied Marmot. I purchased this Black Bear mug at the Grand Mesa Visitor Center as a reminder of my birthday adventure and to contribute toward their work in supporting wildlife.

Alexander Lodge 2019 © Stephen Bruno

I checked into the Alexander Lodge and received the key to my small cabin, The family-owned lodge prepared the cabin several hours early knowing I would arrive before 3 pm check-in.

My Cabin 2019 © Stephen Bruno

After receiving the key to my cabin I unloaded the car and walked to the nearby lake.

Bald Eagle 2019 © Stephen Bruno

I observed a large Bald Eagle flying over Cobbett Lake within walking distance. It was too high to get reasonable photographs and was beautiful to watch it soar higher and higher while looking down towards the water for fish to catch. I was told by a woman from Altitude Outdoor Adventures near the lake that the Bald Eagle visits several lakes periodically and has been observed swooping down and catching large fish from the water.

Golden Mantled Ground Squirrel 2019 © Stephen Bruno

Golden Mantled Ground Squirrel 2019 © Stephen Bruno

I was enchanted by an adorable friendly Golden Mantled Ground Squirrel who was missing one ear. He posed as we connected. Although I was told he was not friendly for most visitors he came out to say hello whenever I was near the lodge. He was one of the highlights of my birthday.

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Forest Trail 2019 © Stephen Bruno

I took a leisurely walk along a trail adjoining Cobbett Lake and I enjoyed being in the cool mountain forest air reveling in the sounds of nature. I did get bitten by a few mosquitoes. I brought some mosquito repellent but never felt the need to use it. I applied a little witch hazel to help with the itching in the evening. I didn’t experience swarms of mosquitoes that have been reported in the Grand Mesa area, and they were more than tolerable. I embrace them as I do all wildlife, and that seems to make a difference.

Yellow-bellied Marmot 2019 © Stephen Bruno

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Six Of My Photography Prints on Display and for Sale at a Cedaredge, CO Gallery

My photography prints for sale at the Appleshed in the High Style NXS, 250 S. Grand Mesa Drive, Unit H, Cedaredge, Colorado. Image 2019 © Stephen Bruno

Recently I was asked to display some of my Fine Art Photography at a gallery in Cedaredge, Colorado. Currently, I have six prints on display for sale.

Three of the prints are wildlife. The other three include blood moon, San Francisco carousel with a creative rendering, and one of my favorites is a hippie sitting at the corner of Haight-Ashbury, San Francisco, California.

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My photography prints for sale at the Appleshed in the High Style NXS, 250 S. Grand Mesa Drive, Unit H, Cedaredge, Colorado. Image 2019 © Stephen Bruno

This is the first gallery showing of my photography in many years. The gallery is located in a large building known as the Appleshed, which has a café and wine tasting along with many high-quality galleries of photography.

These prints represent my previous photography style. I knew that when I moved to Colorado and especially in the mountains that I would dramatically change my photography approach and style. Given the geographical area that I now live in, I will continue to photograph diverse wildlife and nature, including lakes, mountains, rivers, and landscape.

I want to photograph subjects that stimulate curiosity, emotions, and wonderment. This includes people in nature, wildlife and birds in action, and trees and flowers from an unusual perspective, and much more.

I am a wildlife, nature, and humanitarian photographer living in the small charming mountain town of Cedaredge, Colorado. I teach aspiring wildlife photographers on how to respect and photograph wildlife without intrusion. I photograph to be surprised and delighted. For over fifty years, I continue to embrace the essence of each wildlife in my images! People tell me that I photograph with an artist’s eye. I believe that it comes from my naturalist’s heart.

“Where Have All the Flowers Gone” – The Kingston Trio

My new acoustic guitar 2019 © Stephen Bruno

I had a guitar in the early 1970s, and I was teaching myself how to play while a counselor at a free clinic in California. After guiding a young man from committing suicide, I loaned him my guitar for inspiration. It must have worked as he never returned it, and I felt he needed it more than I did.

It is 49 years later and time for me to follow that initial passion of mine. One goal is to learn how to play meaningful songs on the guitar and lead the diverse groups that I teach in singing folk songs, including some of my original songs telling relatable stories and fusing some with other genres.

Yesterday I purchased an acoustic Breedlove guitar and took my first one-hour lesson. An injury to my shoulder and surgery on my thumb creates an obstacle that I am embracing. Yes, and being 70 years old while learning how to play the guitar perhaps poses another challenge.

I believe that my passion is greater than the challenges, and in time, I will be joyfully singing along with the people in the gatherings while playing the guitar.

The Opposable Thumb

 

The day after thumb surgery 2019 © Stephen Bruno

Perhaps you’ve heard about the opposable thumb that we humans share to a degree with all primates. I have known this relationship with primates since I was a child. Of course, as a naturalist, I understood the importance of the opposable thumb. However, it took an unexpected injury to learn just how significant our opposable thumb is to us, humans.

One morning I awoke intent on performing my countless routine tasks and getting out in nature to photograph wildlife. I quickly realized that whenever I moved the thumb of my dominant right hand in a specific direction or touched something too hard, I experienced intense pain.

I can’t recall having a trauma that created this unexpected situation. I had recently moved to a charming small mountain town and for the first time in many years had to shovel snow on my driveway. I thought maybe that was the cause, but I don’t remember the thumb being painful soon after the snow shoveling. I can’t think of anything that had occurred within a few weeks of the pain that I had done to create this condition.

I could not easily turn the key on and off my vehicle, write using a pen or pencil, brush my teeth, open jars, and at least twenty other normal activities. It soon became apparent that how this occurred was not as important as how it had suddenly and dramatically changed my life.

The intensity of the pain was distracting, to say the least not to mention how restrictive my life had suddenly become. I’m certain that if any of you have experienced what I’ve described some of this is not new to you. Each day I am amazed at the new tasks that I could no longer do without pain.

This month I had surgery on my thumb, and I continue to encourage healing. I remain optimistic in my prognosis.

Throughout all of this and in spite of the pain and definite limitations, the majority of my thoughts are a wondrous curiosity about the power and influence of our opposable thumb and how vital it is in our daily life. How could I have missed this obvious awareness?

Perhaps, it’s true that we don’t fully appreciate something until we no longer have it. I will look at other aspects of my life that I’ve taken for granted with equal dismissal.

Unapologetic Hippie

Stephen Bruno while photographing wildlife and nature.

I took the road less traveled by, and that has made all the difference. 
Robert Frost – The Road Not Taken

Recently I visited the local medical office which included a nurse drawing blood for routine tests.

During the procedure, she noticed my shoulder-length hair, beard, and loose-fitting clothes.

She asked with a measure of innocence and curiosity, “Are you a Hippie?”

I smiled and responded, “Yes, I’m an unapologetic Hippie.”

I still favor long hair and casual, often unconventional, dress including tie-dyed shirts with peace signs. I continue to wear a beard and long ago gave up my Birkenstocks sandals. I gave them to a woman to share how it felt to ‘be in my shoes.’ I adopted a strict vegan diet based on unprocessed foods, supported animal rights. and I practiced holistic medicine all of which I am recently revisiting.

I would have attended the 1969 Woodstock Festival near Bethel, New York, from August 15 to 18, 1969, which drew between 400,000 and 500,000 people if I was not already serving my 14-month tour of duty in the U. S. Army in Vietnam.

Some hippies “sold out” and became part of the materialist, culture. I’ve done my best not to sell out. I still embrace the Hippie values of peace, love, compassion,  idealism, and Zen philosophy. I believe in trade or barter and sliding scale fees.

Like Frank Zappa, I avoided drugs and preferred the “natural high,” through photography, writing, listening to music, dancing, camping, and other natural activities.

I am old enough to have earned every wrinkle in my face, puffy eyes, scar on my body, all the silver in my receding hair, and nose marks from my eyeglass frames.

And yes, I remain an unapologetic Hippie.

 

Horror Novel

Horror Novel 2019 © Stephen Bruno

As many of you are aware, one of my passions is photography and especially wildlife photography which I’ve been doing for over fifty years. An even bigger passion is my love of writing especially fiction which, according to my older sister, I was writing short stories at four years old making it over sixty years of writing. I am continuing to complete several novels and a few nonfiction books this year.

With my knowledge as a wildlife photographer and naturalist, I am writing a new Horror Novel beginning with the sighting of wildlife predators congregating around the town park by a man walking his dog. Then frightening strange unspeakable things began to happen in the dead of night.

Loving My New Home Town

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Historic Downtown Cedaredge 2019 © Stephen Bruno

I love the charming small mountain community with its three blocks of historic downtown, one traffic signal, minimal traffic, two banks, a community art center, shops, restaurants, Cedaredge Town Park, and about 2,266 residents to mention a few wonderful things.

Cedaredge Town Park 2019 © Stephen Bruno

It has been a little over a month since I relocated to the Cedaredge, Colorado at an elevation of 6,264 feet, and my friends have inquired about how things are working out. They know that one of the primary reasons for moving to the mountains was that as a wildlife photographer I wanted to connect with and photograph the diverse wildlife and nature.

Mule Deer Buck 2019 © Stephen Bruno

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Teaching the Essence of Wildlife Photography

 

Beaver photographed in darkness across the lake May 2018 © Stephen Bruno

I am frequently asked about my approach to teaching wildlife photography. I have a different perspective on teaching photography classes and workshops. Drawing on my writing, art, and photography background my teaching emphasis is on spontaneous natural creativity and systematic technology.

I believe that it is the craft of ‘process,’ that creates the art of photography. Regardless of the technical acumen, the camera cannot tell the photographer what to include in the composition. No matter how advanced the camera is, it cannot create a connection with the subject nor show when to press the shutter button.

I teach The Essence of Wildlife Photography for beginner, intermediate and newly professional level photography enthusiasts primarily for people with DSLR cameras and compact cameras that offer some setting options. People with point and shoot cameras without setting options will still learn many valuable photography principles.

Included in the easy to learn field instruction on wildlife photography are natural non-threatening wildlife approaches, and camera settings (ISO, white balance, shutter speed, aperture, shooting modes: manual vs. aperture and priority vs. shutter priority, etc.). Instruction also includes learning how to hold the camera steady, obtaining clear images of birds in flight, using a variety of background effects, and creative use of the composition.

I teach wildlife photography in a patient, compassionate, and thorough manner with easy to follow instructions using lecture, demonstration and hands-on approaches tailored to the students. I photograph to be surprised and delighted!

The emphasis is on practical field practice. I share numerous professional tips and techniques from my many years’ experience of wildlife photography from film to digital. Students are encouraged to bring their digital camera, owner’s manual, plenty of charged batteries, and extra storage media.

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Preparing for Snow in Cedaredge

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Rescued Mountain Lion 2014 © Stephen Bruno

Somehow, I have managed to live to be 70 years old, and I want to be in as good a condition as I can to continue my passion for wildlife and nature photography. I am looking forward to moving to Cedaredge, Colorado in a few days and I’ve decided to walk every day from my home in Cedaredge and build up my endurance for continuous hiking higher up the mountain later in the new year.

Not having an all-wheel-drive vehicle I need to park and then hike into remote areas to visit some of the lakes. I’m planning on camping and occasionally renting isolated cabins on the Grand Mesa. I want to get up early and observe and photograph the Black Bears, Mountain Lions, Moose, deer, and other wildlife living in the mountains.

Cedaredge is already experiencing some snow, and it could snow on the day I move into my new home. I sense that this will be a heavy snow season. It was time to get some quality snow boots. Today I found Sorel Men’s Conquest Boots that I believe are going to work well for me. They will support me in 3+’ deep snow and -40° conditions while keeping my feet warm and dry. They also will be a benefit during the summer for hiking around the Grand Mesa.

Sorel Men’s Conquest Boots 2018 © Stephen Bruno

I’ll post photographs of my walks around charming Cedaredge and on my visits to the surrounding small towns in addition to my photography adventures on Grand Mesa during each of the seasons here and more images on my Stephen Bruno Photography website.

I photographed the rescued Mountain Lion, who I found to be gentle, at an animal sanctuary and I had the opportunity to connect with it and pet it. I took the image of the new snow boots with my compact camera.