There are cool pictures everywhere. Sometimes they serve themselves up on a silver platter. "Here! Here, take this," says the breathtaking sunset. Other times, it takes a hike, standing out in a blizzard, getting consumed by mosquitos, waking up at the crack before dawn or getting really muddy. Then, there are the times when you put yourself in danger or harm.  I have gotten far too close to bears, tigers and bison “to get the shot.” I’ve sprained ankles, severely strained muscles, poked eyes, stared up at the sun too long, banged my head, and slid down a steep hill on my ass. Several times.

Today, I’m thinking about the everyday, routine photo that is there for the taking if you literally stop to take it. These three pictures were taken on a perfect Spring day in the Rockies. My wife, Diane, and I were out for a drive, and as is usually the case, she was generously doing the driving so I could stick my head out the window like a Mastiff, tongue waving in the wind, sniffing for pictures. 

We came around a turn and boom, there this was. But in the millisecond, that it would have taken me to ask her to pull over, we continued on our merry way. I had always wanted to take a good picture of icicles, which is another way of saying I have taken plenty of crappy ones. But I didn’t say anything because sometimes I feel guilty for inconveniencing her. It’s her Sunday drive too and nobody enjoys finding a place in the mountains to turn around, driving back, pulling over and then turning around again.  Luckily, we’ve been doing this for so long, all she needed to do was read my body language and look at my face, and say “do you want to go back?” So, we can all thank her for these.