sbarge's Photos- powered by SmugMug

Your Bio

Steve Barge:

I live in Fort Collins Colorado so I'm surrounded by natural beauty. I've always liked taking pictures but recently I've become more serious about photography as a hobby. I really enjoy looking at smugmug galleries - there are some truely amazing photographers here!

Feel free to browse my galleries and leave comments about my photos! I would appreciate feedback regarding their composition, lighting, color, postprocessing, etc. Or if you are shy just click on the thumbs up/down icon in the top right corner of each shot to let me know what you think. Thanks! Email: smbarge@qwest.net

Most Popular Photos

2-02: This is another from Saturday's sunset. Several people have asked if the colors are real (natural) in yesterday's. It was taken as three bracketed exposures but only at -1, 0 and 1. Then combined in Photomatix. Then final processing in Capture NX2 (mostly brightness and focus adjustments) I didn't change any colors. I did actually have to desaturate a little because the orange and reds tend to be over saturated sometimes. I used the same processing on today's post. This one was actually taken a few minutes before the one I posted yesterday, so the clouds are more orange than red or pink

11-08: Friday afternoon I took a walk along the river near a place called Legacy Park in Fort Collins. I had never been ther e before and I found it to be another very beautiful and peaceful place!

2-1: Saturday evening we had quite a nice sunset, so I took a walk along the Poudre trail near Prospect street hoping to find some good views. I found this waterfall like thing.

2-12: Back after being very sick for almost a week. Wednesday morning I finally felt good enough to get up and take some pictures. This was taken a few minutes before sunrise on the Collindale golf course.

2-22: Yet another day with no time for new pictures :( This is another from a sunset a few weeks ago. I like this one because as you look at the clouds from west to east you can see the color vary from more orange to more pink

11-05: I was driving around south Fort Collins in an area I don't think I've ever been and I actually got kind of lost for a while. The street ended at this pond so I stopped and took a picture. Yesterday was cloudy with dark clouds that looked like rain clouds - very unusual for this time of year in Fort Collins.

1-16: Thursday morning we woke up to thick fog again. It lasted till about noon. I was able to go out on my lunch break and take some shots along the river right after the fog lifted. The fog had frozen to the tree branches and bushes. I was able to get some shots before it all melted.

1-04: Thanks for all the kind comments on my post yesterday! This is another from Thursday, actually taken a few minutes before yesterday's post. This shot was taken looking towards the other end of Horsetooth. As you can see, it's a very long and fairly narrow reservoir. It's amazing how fast the sky was changing - a lot of this color was gone in just a matter of seconds. It's also unusual how calm the water is. Normally you won't see a reflection this good on Horsetooth because of the wind.

12-14: Saturday evening we went to the 16th street mall in Denver. On the way home we stopped to look at the lights on the Denver City and County Building. With this lens I had to go behind some trees to get the whole building. Also, unfortunately, I didn't have my tripod, so it didn't turn out as good as it could have.

5-05: It's that time of year! This last couple of weeks we've been seeing baby geese everywhere. They grow so quickly - I think these are probably only about a week old.

11-12: During my lunch break Tuesday I found another trail along the river north of town. It was a nicer day and I had a very pleasent walk. I thought this was a pretty interesting bridge.

1-03: Thursday I let my daughter drive up to Horsetooth and on some of the roads up there (she's just started learning to drive). It just so happened that the sky was pretty awesome looking so I had her stop and I took some pictures. As you can see our snow is almost completely gone now :(

4-09: One more fox pup picture. I cropped this one in a little tighter. This little guy obviously noticed me too.

12-03: I took this Monday evening at next to a pond near the Environmental Learning Center. We've been having some awesome sunsets here lately. I think this one looks kind of like a painted sky! Unfortunately, it's a little soft because this was handheld and the VR switch on my lens was switched to off. That VR really does work!

12-26: Another from the golf course on Wednesday morning. There was a heavy frost on the trees which, in this shot, was helping to pick up a glow from the sun.

12-16: This is a shot standing in the middle of the road looking down the 16th street mall in Denver. It's wierd that you don't see many people, buses or carriages because the place was packed that night. In fact I was almost run over by a horse drawn carriage on the sidewalk!

2-05: Another from Monday evening. I was actually hurrying to get to another location and kinda liked the look here so I snapped off a few shots. I think it sorta looks like fall colors on the trees

1-11: Saturday morning we drove up Highways 7 and did some hiking in Wild Basin. This is "Chapel on the Rock" built in 1935, part of Saint Malo Catholic Retreat off of Highway 7. I think it's a neat looking old chapel and it resides in a very beautiful setting. Behind is Mt. Meeker. As you can see, it was another very windy morning up in the mountains. A lot of snow was blowing off the mountain peaks.

2-20: Crazy busy this week, so another Big Sky picture from our trip to Boulder on Monday.

1-09: No time for new pictures today. This is another from one foggy morning on the Collindale golf course taken in December.

12-15: Sunday we woke up to more snow and bitter cold. When I took this picture in the afternoon it was only about 4 degrees F! The sun was causing some fog to form over Horsetooth

5-24: We were trying to find a place called Butterfly Woods natural area and this very friendly horse ran over to the fence and let us pet her and feed her some grass. There were some cool patterns in the sky above so I decided to get a shot.

2-23: I woke up at 5:30 Sunday morning thinking about work and a task I'm supposed to finish soon so I decided to go to work for a while. I know it sounds really sad but it did give me an opportunity to take some pictures! This was taken near the Arapaho Bend natural area just down the hill from HP. I like the morning light on the grass

1-23: Quite a dramatic view of the out house near River Bend ponds. I never posted the color version but I like the B&W better. It looks like it's out in the middle of nowhere but actually it's pretty close to the parking lot - I have to walk passed it to get back to my car. This was taken shortly after sundown a couple of weeks ago.

11-29: Friday morning we woke up to fog in Fort Collins, so I decided to go up to Horsetooth again. I took this shot of the fog spilling over the hilll towards the water. I think this picture looks better when viewed larger.

5-18: Sorry for no comments today - Melanie (my wife) had me doing chores almost all day long :( I'll try to catch up soon.
We were driving by a farm near Lions Park natural area north of Fort Collins and this section of fence caught my eye. I think those little glowing round things are dandelion seed puff things.

7-19: Saturday morning, while out shopping at garage sales, we happend upon a place called the Gardens at Spring Creek. It's a pretty little place and they have a pond with water lilies. This dragon fly (cross my fingers that it really is) was very cooperative (compared to others that I also thought were dragon flies). I took several pictures of it. This is one of my favorites - the color in the bg courtesy of some water lilies.

3-29: My older daughter and her family just moved into a townhouse and nearby I saw some interesting art work on the train cars. The composition isn't quite what I wanted - but I still kind of like it.

4-5: Nearby where I work there's a family of foxes living under a shed behind a business. This little guy (or gal) just came up from under the shed and was streatching his legs an yawning. There are six pups and they are so cute!

3-13: All work and no play makes Steve a dull boy - I finally got out for some pictures Thursday evening. It was very overcast and I didn't think there would be much of a sunset but it ended up being very nice! This was taken at Running Deer natural area. Fort collins comes up with wierd names for some of it's natural areas.

4-2: My daughter's idea for me to take pictures of her jumping on the trampoline. She had a lot of fun posing in mid air! We were supposed to be getting several inches of snow. Instead it turned out to be a fairly pleasant evening - maybe a little chilly.

6-09: Another from the stormy day in Greeley. The sky was clearing over the mountains to the west. I took this looking over a field of some kind of grain.

2-27: Something a little different. This one is actually taken in November. I was walking near the river north of town and I looked up and this is what I saw. I like how the clouds and branches are making similar patterns.

5-23: This is a bridge over the Podure river north of town. You can see that it is really greening up around here!

12-21: This is another from the foggy morning at the Collindale golf course. The fog was freezing on some of the trees branches and needles

4-22: Taken from Running Deer natural area on Sunday.

3-06: I was in a precarious position while taking this shot so I didn't get it framed quite the way I wanted. This is the keyhole in the Devils Backbone. You can see where it is in the picture I posted for 3-02. My nerve is not what it used to be.

4-07: A couple of the pups just climbing out from under the shed to play. I was trying to hide behind a little rock wall but these guys obviously heard me or saw me.

1-12: Sunday morning my cat woke me up at around 5:30. So I decided to go take some pictures. This is on one of the River Bend Ponds. I walked out a little ways onto the ice and caught the sunrise.

12-21: Saturday morning I woke up early and couldn't go back to sleep so I decided to brave the cold and take some pictures. This picture was actually taken from the middle of the frozen Podure river near Lee Martinez Park.

12-05: Thursday the landscape around here changed drastically - we had our first major snow storm of the season! So after work, where did I go? Up to Horsetooth of course.

12-02: Last weekend we spent the night in a cabin at the YMCA near Estes Park. Sunday, on the way back home, we came across this family of Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep! They crossed the road then climbed up a very steep hill - they are amazing climbers. If you look close you'll see a few flakes of snow falling.

3-17: Another from the parade on Saturday. Happy St. Patrick's Day!

1-06: I took a few pictures Monday but no time yet to look at them. So, one more shot from the windy morning last week - this one is another of Longs Peak.

3-04: This shot taken from the other side (west side) of the Devils Backbone shortly after sunset. Very interesting clouds that evening and looks like a little smoke or haze over the foothills.

12-23: Monday afternoon I drove a ways up Highway 34 towards Estes Park and took a few shots of the Big Thompson River. The water and ice in this stretch was kind of green

7-30: It's been a while since I submitted a sunset shot. This was taken at River Bend Ponds. It was nice that the water was like glass - except where the pond scum was growing.

1-28: Tuesday morning we woke up to below zero F temps after a day of snow Monday. I took this shot of the river on my way to work. You can see a little bit of fog over the water.

8-10: On our way to Denver the other day I saw a yellow field off to the right near Berthod. Sunday I wen to check it out. I'ts a field of sunflowers! They all are facing east and it was around 5:30 PM so the whole field was backlit.

3-03: This is my new grandson, Riley James Cusick, born 3/02/09 at 8:12 PM MST! We're all very thankful that Riley is very healthy and mom is doing well.

11-16: This is another from a walk along the Poudre river. I found this bridge to be interesting and something kind of creepy I noticed is that a lot of the branches seem to be pointing, leading you to cross the bridge!

8-04: Taken at Red Mountain open space. In a few spots near water there were a lot of these bushes with yellow flowers and they attracted many of these butterflies.The wind was really blowing on Sunday so it was kind of challenging

3-24: Rocks pushing up amongst the trees in Garden of the Gods

Another super busy day - I'll try to catch up on comments. I took my daughter to a car show today. I had a hard time composing shots there because there were so many cars and people. This is a bracketed 2 exposure HDR (-1, +1)

8-08: This was taken in front of a restaraunt along Harmony road in Fort Collins after dinner on our way to a movie. I drive by this little waterfall display every day on my way home from work and I've wanted to take some pictures here.

7-29: This is another, smaller kind of sunflower that I saw at the Gardens at Spring Creek. For this shot I tried a little HDR effect - 2 exposure in photomatix. They are bright and colorful flowers!

5-06: Sunday morning we went to Kingfisher natural area and were watching a bunch of Pelicans. This one swam fairly close to us then turned around and flew away. Too bad it didn't take off towards us but I'm still glad I got the shot.

7-15: Another from our trip to Red Mountain natural area. Not the greatest composition but I like the cloud. This was looking back towards Fort Collins - it reminds me of a mushroom cloud from an atomic explosion! Fort Collins was still there when we drove back :)

2_26: This is another from our trip to Boulder last week. We got a little lost driving around and found this wagon at the end of a dirt road right next to someone's house.

7-18: Thursday evening we went up to Rock Mountain National Park. We found this field of wildflowers in a place called Hidden Valley. It's the highest concentration of wildflowers I've seen in a long time.

8-13: I went back to the sunflower field Wednesday morning and took some shots of them facing the sun. It's interesting to see the difference - front lighting vs back lighting.

12-29: Sunday we went up to Rocky Mountain National Park. It was windy again Sunday so you can see a lot of snow blowing off the mountains.

12-18: Another from last weekend. You can see the wind whipping that fog off the lake. It was very cold and with the windchill I'm sure it was well below 0F

3-19: Wednesday morning I went back to Running Deer natural area and took some pictures of birds. I think this one is kind of interesting with the goose landing behind. I almost wish I had focused on the goose - probably would have been a pretty good picture!

3-28: Another Horsetooth shot taken almost two weeks ago. There are a lot of these reddish rocks up there.

End of the road

7-07: We went to Silverton Colorado to watch the fireworks. During the day we went up to my sister's cabin in Cunningham Gulch above Silverton. My dad owned and operated a mine up there about 40 years ago. This is one of the miner's pickup trucks. It is very beautiful country!

10-31: Happy Halloween! No pictures yesterday :( So here's one from my walk along the Podure river the other day. After I walked across the bridge I turned around and looked back across and thought it was kind of interesting looking with the shadows and lines.

11-2: View of the Podure river in the late afternoon light! This is such a peaceful place to take a walk this time of day.

3-02: Sunday we finally got out and did some hiking. We went to the Devils Backbone near Loveland. Here you can se the sun was still shining on the west side of the backbone. It has some pretty interesting rock formations

11-26: Tuesday it was cloudy again. This was taken at the Devils Backbone Open Space area near Loveland.

3-30: Busy and cloudly day Sunday so not much inspiration to shoot. I think this is a cyclamen. It's been in the middle of our dining room table for a few weeks now.

3-27: I put these cut daffodils in the vase and set them in the snow in our front yard for this picture.

11-17: Sunday afternoon I went to Fossil Creek Reservoir Regional Open Space, another place I'd never been. I went thinking I'd take a lot of pictures of wildlife. I left with pictures mostly of this awesome sunset! There was a bright orange-red cloud right above me that was lighting this grassy field with orange-redish light!

4-21: Sorry for not commenting this weekend but I've been very busy - taking care of both grandsons Saturday and Sunday I went to Estes park, Bobcat Ridge natural area and Running Deer natural area. The weather was finally very nice Sunday so I decided to take advantage of it!. This shot was taken from Estes Park Lake, looking north. We had a major storm last week and I wanted to take some pictures up at Estes before all the snow melted.

1-08: Thanks so much for the comments regarding my eagle photo and suggestions for improving! I will try to stay lower to the ground, not look directly at them and maybe I'll get an extension for my lense. Today's photo was taken at River Bend Ponds right after sundown. It was in the 50s during the day so there were patches of water on top of the ice which reflect a lot better.

12-04: Another from Monday evening. In this one I managed to capture the moon and Venus as well. I had to do some extra sharpening in Capture NX because, again, the vibration reduction switch on my lens was off.

5-13: Another Pelican flying above Kingfisher Point natural area.

5-20: Our yellow iris started blooming just recently. Not my favorite color of iris but better than none!

Galleries

Great Sand Dunes NP - 2009 :

Great Sand Dunes NP - 2009

Updated: Nov 06, 2009 3:56pm PST

Challenge 36 :

Updated: Nov 01, 2009 7:40pm PST

Fall 2009 :

Updated: Oct 27, 2009 5:04pm PST

Daily Photos, 1st year :

Daily Photos, 1st year

Updated: Oct 25, 2009 10:18am PST

Fall 2008 : Most of these picutres were taken along Colorado Hwy 14 up near Cameron Pass

Most of these picutres were taken along Colorado Hwy 14 up near Camero ...

Updated: Oct 25, 2009 10:09am PST

Landscapes :

Updated: Oct 25, 2009 9:45am PST

Challenge 34 :

Updated: Oct 04, 2009 9:32pm PST

PBR Fort Collins, Sept. 2009 :

PBR Fort Collins, Sept. 2009

Updated: Sep 12, 2009 11:43am PST

Tour de Fat, Fort Collins 2009 :

Tour de Fat, Fort Collins 2009

Updated: Sep 09, 2009 9:56pm PST

Challenge32 :

Updated: Sep 04, 2009 9:02pm PST

Muddy Buddy race at Boulder Reservoir, August 2009 :

Muddy Buddy race at Boulder Reservoir, August 2009

Updated: Aug 30, 2009 2:54pm PST

Trip to Chautauqua Park and Pearl Street Mall with Josh and Mary Beth :

Trip to Chautauqua Park and Pearl Street Mall with Josh and Mary Beth

Updated: Aug 29, 2009 3:01pm PST

Mt Evans Trip, Aug. 2009 :

Mt Evans Trip, Aug. 2009

Updated: Aug 25, 2009 8:04pm PST

Challenge #31 :

Updated: Aug 23, 2009 8:20pm PST

Animals (some wild and some not so wild) :

Animals (some wild and some not so wild)

Updated: Nov 27, 2008 5:08pm PST

Kathy's Hibiscus :

Kathy's Hibiscus

Updated: Oct 30, 2008 8:22am PST

Along the Podure Trail :

Along the Podure Trail

Updated: Oct 23, 2008 8:20am PST

Foggy morning in Fort Collins :

Foggy morning in Fort Collins

Updated: Oct 22, 2008 2:46pm PST

Challenge #10 :

Updated: Oct 19, 2008 6:03pm PST

Horsetooth Reservoir :

Horsetooth Reservoir

Updated: Oct 17, 2008 11:32am PST

Misc photos :

Updated: Oct 11, 2008 9:07pm PST

Red Tail Grove Natural Area :

Red Tail Grove Natural Area

Updated: Oct 10, 2008 5:44pm PST

Flowers, butterflies and bees! : During a lunch break I took some shots from the CSU horticulture gardens in Fort Collins

Flowers, butterflies and bees!

During a lunch break I took some shots from the CSU horticulture garde ...

Updated: Oct 07, 2008 9:15pm PST

Volleyball :

Updated: Sep 23, 2008 7:41am PST

My Smug Mug :

Updated: Sep 22, 2008 12:03pm PST

Tour de Fat : Tour de Fat bicycle parade in Fort Collins, CO 9/6/08

Tour de Fat bicycle parade in Fort Collins, CO 9/6/08

Updated: Sep 16, 2008 11:29am PST

Available Feeds | What are feeds?

Recent Galleries:

Atom |

RSS

Recent Photos:

Atom |

RSS

Popular Photos:

Atom |

RSS