Doni and I had the opportunity to have a photo shoot with Sydney and Logan.  What a great experience to witness the interaction among them all.

The Color Run is a one of a kind experience that is less about speed and more about enjoying a color crazy day with family and friends.  The craziest, colorful, 5K of your life benefiting Children's Hospital Colorado.

I've tried so many times to photograph Garden of the Gods near Colorado Springs but with no success.  Sometimes they're no clouds and sometimes there is no sun.  This morning was incredible with the sunrise transforming the clouds into beautiful colors and the red rocks are glowing brilliantly!

There are so many things to do in the Moab area that even a week was not enough time to accomplish everything.  I left five of the mornings before 4:30 AM to photograph a sunrise and was only disappointed one time.  I went to Mesa Arch the day before but there was a layer of clouds hiding the sun.  Our last morning in Moab I reached Mesa Arch 1.5 hours before sunrise to improve my chances of getting a good spot to photograph through the arch.  Within 10 minutes a second photographer came and by sunrise a total of 40 photographers crunched together hoping to capture the sunrise.  The orange glow under the arch is actually the sunlight reflecting off the red rocks at the base of Mesa Arch rather than directly from the sunrise.  There is something about the calm, beauty of God's nature that keeps me in awe and excited for the next adventure!  You can view more photos of Moab at http://www.marblejones.com/p505280945

This was my first trip to Tower Arch in Arches National Park.  You drive to the far side of park and then take a dirt road for eight miles to the trailhead.  The hike is just under two miles to the arch and well worth it.  I got there in plenty of time to set up the tripod and enjoy the changing colors as the setting sun hit the red rocks.  After taking a bunch of pictures I packed up and headed back to the truck just as darkness set in.  The only problem was I couldn't find the cairns (stack of rocks) that guide you on the trail and wandered around in the dark for an hour getting more anxious by the minute.  I decided to head back to the arch and either wait for help or try to find the trail again at the arch.  After much frantic prayer I made it back to the arch and found the trail heading back.  It took me 40 minutes to hike in and just over two hours to hike back.  You can view more photos of Moab at http://www.marblejones.com/p505280945

I always hope for great light when visiting Arches National Park.  Friday the 13th turned out to be my lucky day while photographing this sunrise of Turret Arch looking through North Window Arch.  South Window Arch is visible in the background.  You can view more photos of Moab at http://www.marblejones.com/p505280945

Geoff Isaak and I started the Longs Peak Trailhead 10:00 AM Friday morning and reached Chasm Lake at 4:00 PM having to use micro spikes about 90% of the way.  The trailhead begins at 9,405' with 2,398' elevation gain ending at Chasm Lake (11,803').  Longs Peak's iconic northeast-facing "Diamond" rises 2,456' above this placid alpine lake.  Chasm Lake is at the base of Mt. Meeker (13,911'), Longs Peak (14,259') and Mount Lady Washington (13,281').  We camped Friday night with a massive blowing wind all night.  I got up Saturday morning and scrambled up .2 miles from our campsite with a headlamp and micro spikes in the dark to enjoy another beautiful sunrise on Longs Peak.  It was awesome being able to hike across the frozen lake and get a different view from the summer time.  I'm a firm believer in North Face equipment.  The -20 Inferno goose down sleeping bag keeps me warm and the Mountain 25 Tent withstood the incredible winds we faced.  When we were taking the North Face Mountain 25 tent down Saturday morning we even got to use it as a kite as it broke away from our grip and before we knew it was flying high in the sky over Mount Lady Washington and who knows how many other mountains--we lost sight of it.

This is my third year photographing The Memorial Championship by Discraft in Scottsdale, Arizona.  Four days of photographing the best players in the world on two different courses including Fountain Hills.  Disc Golfer magazine selected my picture of 2012 Memorial champion Paul McBeth for their cover photo displayed at left.  Valarie Jenkins won the women's championship.

You can view all my disc golf tournament photos at http://www.marblejones.com/f299427768.

Geoff Isaak and I headed for the Glacier Gorge Trailhead in Rocky Mountain National Park in hopes of camping at Sky Pond.  When we reached Loch Vale we were in near white-out conditions with blowing snow so we set up camp here.  I got up at 4:30 the next morning in hopes of making Sky Pond for sunrise pictures but after following a trail in the snow for over an hour I ended up in a deep snow drift so made it back to Loch Vale just in time for this sunrise.  The wind was blowing so hard across the lake against me it was all I could do to hold the tripod still.  View more Colorado photos at http://www.marblejones.com/p459698259

Kellie Pickler concert for the Heart of Hearts Gala in Denver, Colorado.  All the proceeds benefit the cardiac programs for Littleton, Porter, Parker and Avista Hospitals.

View more concert photos at http://www.marblejones.com/p107301695

Emerald Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park is very difficult to photograph because the lake is right up against the high mountains.  After I purchased a super wide angle lens (8-15mm) I decided to take a crack at it.  Emerald Lake is 10,090' and fills a deep bowl carved by Tyndall glacier from the eastern flanks of Hallet Peak and Flattop Mountain (12,324').  This is the moon setting just as the sunrise is ready to hit the peaks.  View more Colorado photos at http://www.marblejones.com/p459698259

Not the best year for fall colors in 2011 but still really pretty.  Picture on right is several hours before a snow storm hit dropping over two feet of snow.

Winter begins to appear in the rockies.  After completing an all night hike/sunrise adventure two nights before, I normally would have been content to wait at least a week before the next adventure.  The rockies received some of it's first snow of the season so I was eager for the return to Chasm Lake (11,760') sitting at the base of Longs Peak (14,259').  The forecast looked perfect to make the 8.4 mile roundtrip so I began asking around for any other fools to make this trip with me.  The usual response is "have a safe trip and I'll look at your pictures later".  We have a new intern at work that just graduated from Tennessee and loves the outdoors.  Kara is eager to see the beautiful sights of Colorado.  Aside from climbing a fourteener in the last month, Kara has not adjusted to the hight elevations yet.  We left at midnight and reached the Longs Peak trailhead at 2:00 AM to an almost empty parking lot that is usually full by 1:00 AM.  I've been lucky in the past with the weather forecasts but the weather is constantly changing in the high country of Colorado.  Within minutes of beginning our hike it began spitting snow in our faces being guided in the dark by our headlamps.  By the time we reached timberline the wind was blowing the snow really hard in our face and sometimes throwing us off balance.  After four miles we reached a privy (11,638') that is known as one of the most scenic privies in Colorado.  At this point we used the walls as a shelter from the wind and blowing snow in preparation for making the final .2 mile scramble up the steep basin to Chasm Lake.  I think at this point Kara was wondering why she made the decision to come.  We made the final scramble in about 30 minutes arriving at Chasm Lake an hour and fifteen minutes early before sunrise.  It was so bitter cold in the wind we found shelter in the middle of some large boulders eating some snacks waiting for sunrise.  Just before sunrise the sky cleared and the wind died down considerably but sill blowing enough to create ripples on the water.  The sunrise was still incredible with golden light hitting Longs Peak and reflecting on Chasm Lake.  View more Colorado photos at http://www.marblejones.com/p459698259