denver at night

this shoot took place back in december of 2008. i was in denver at a training for several days and had my nights free to do whatever i wanted to do. when i'm away on business (depending on where i am) there are several things i can go out and do. usually i go on runs around different places to explore and see what the city has to offer. sometimes i'll take myself out to a nice dinner all by myself which is very awkward to say the least, but it is a nice finish to a long day of meetings or classes. lately i've been taking the camera with me just in case i find some nice photo opportunities to capture. i've always thought denver is a very intriguing, classy, and romantic city with a lot of beautiful history as well as unique architecture. one night i took myself out for a night on the town for fun and excitement only i can enjoy all by myself. this consisted of nice long night run, a stroll through REI (my favorite store), and a long drawn out session of night photos. usually doing all these things would take multiple nights over several months, but this night i was able to cram them all into one night of endless amusement. first i went to REI and did nothing but dream/window shop and enjoyed the warmth and serenity of the denver REI because it's probably one of the most beautiful stores ever made and literally feels like you're on an adventure. then i went back to the car and got my equipment (camera, remote, lenses, tripod, flash, etc) and walked about a 5 mile loop around downtown just scouting out different photos while receiving many blank stares and looks as to why a guy was setting up a tripod all around several busy 30 degree denver hot spots. occasionally a passerby would stop and look at what i was photographing, or jump in front of the camera posing as a model. all the different shots i found to take made me feel like a kid in a candy store with the many buildings and features i found to be photo-worthy. later on i walked back to the car with my equipment and a memory card containing more than 150 photos. then i changed my clothes into some warm running gear and ran back through the city on a 7 mile loop of many areas i had just photographed. part of me wanted to re-explore what i had just photographed to see what things look like as an invisible runner as opposed to the conspicuous photographer. nothing is more fun to me than running through the streets of a new place to explore, see, smell, touch, hear, and experience from a totally different perspective. after that, i went back to the car again and drove to the last place i could find open to get some dinner which happened to be subway. a perfect healthy end to a perfect healthy night.