Wishing you the best Holiday Season and Happy Healthy New Year

First off, I want to take this time to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy Healthy Prosperous New Year!  Hope your holiday season is going well and all your dreams come true.  Thank you for your views, shares and likes.  Things have been crazy busy this time of year as always.   Location and Studio portrait work, fine art gallery sales and personal craziness.

It is not very often that I share personal information but here you go…

As many of you know…  I am not a writer 🙂 just a photographer, as a matter of fact my writing sucks with typos and everything else that go along with it, I know and admit it.   I try my best to catch everything but with such a busy schedule and shooting a lot of new images, I miss things and sometimes catch them later.  This is due to an aging mind and skipping English class too many times.  🙂  Please accept my apologies!  It is always nice when you have an editor and someone writing for you.  Miss those days.   Happens every now and then.  So you writers out there that are not photographers, let’s team up, bigger projects like books and digital content.

Sorry for the lack of postings the last couple weeks, it has been pretty crazy around here.   First, we did our annual Thanksgiving road trip to spend the holiday with my mom in Scottsdale Arizona.  She is 83 going on 84 and you really have to enjoy every moment as things can change very quickly.

Then after we got back to Colorado our 15 year old cat went down hill fast and died.  Let me tell you a little bit about this cat.  We had a love / hate relationship.  After many many years, we came to an agreement, her place was in the garage.   The reason for this was not to be mean, but because she started peeing and pooping in the house.  She stopped using her litter box and started going on paper.  She became the dog we never had.  I would even open the garage door everyday for her, just a crack, so she could get out to the driveway and sun herself.  One of the things she loved most.

She will me missed!  R.I.P Mel Mel….

 

One thing about the holidays, it’s always been a very special time of year for me,  you see… my Birthday is one week before on the17th my last post.  Some people think that would be bad, but for me it has always been good and fun.  Thanks to a loving family and parents that made it so.  It has always been my kick off to the Holiday Season.  Turns out, a lot of my good friends here in Colorado have birthdays around the same time, makes it even more fun and interesting.

This year was a birthday right out of the Movie the Big Chill.   I attending a funeral of a friend, of Gary Kugel, the original owner of the Gondolier Italian Restaurant in Boulder Colorado.  Originally from Oklahoma he moved to Longmont at a young age, his family were very successful wheat farmers.  They also started the organization “The Flying Farmers”, and the airport here in Longmont.   I worked at the Gondolier as a waiter, ( The first place a full blooded Italian goes to look for work ) started in 1979-85, puts me in my early 20’s.  They were the best years of my life. Our crew was incredible and we were like a family. Thanksgivings were incredible, everyone was into wine so, we would have a nice-a tie party, nice-a shoe party, nice-a hat party… well always a good time.  Friends when you really needed friends.

The next day there was a reception at the new restaurant, Nelson… Gary’s oldest son owns and runs the Gondolier now.  An amazing job he is doing to keep this legacy  of a restaurant going after 53 years. If you are ever visiting Boulder, I highly recommend it.  Gondolier Italian Restaurant  “Where Going Out Feels Like Coming Home”.  Check it out.

As I was pulling into the parking lot “Sympathy For the Devil” was playing on KBCO radio. Just like in the movie the BIG Chill.  It was an amazing day seeing people I have not seen in over 25 years.  Incredible stories, some that I have heard… some that I have not.

It made for an interesting birthday. As the day proceeded on I got many facebook and twitter well wishes.  A couple good friends show up at the door with a birthday cake and sang happy birthday to me, plus the phone calls from long time friends and family that meant so much. A great day and experience.

My older sister Kathy, always had a BIG Christmas eve party ( Scottsdale Arizona), and then after time, I took it over.  This is when we lived in Arizona.  She passed away suddenly Dec 15th, three years ago, two days before my birthday.  This was always a very special time of year for her and she made it special for many others with family traditions of cooking, decorating and gifts.  I celebrate her this time of year instead of bumming out.

Now it is just the three of us at Christmas ( wife , son and me) and it is not the same.  But it is all good.  Being in Colorado always makes for a great Christmas.   If we do not get a white Christmas this year… still a chance…you can drive up the canyon and be in snow in 20 mins.

For us, it’s about hanging out at home with good wine, food and Christmas movies.   Last night was honey Jack Daniels and hot roasted chestnuts.   Tonight, Christmas eve, quiet night at home drinking great red wine and cooking prime rib roast, Alaskan King Crab Legs, steamed carrots, mash potatoes with gravy and home made cookies.   And for starters, after I am done with this post, the fire gets started in the wood burner, Christmas music turned on, the the oven rolling with our Italian tradition of hot baked peperoni/ salami cheese bread.   Then breaded eggplant.  Next the Prime rib into the oven to slow roast and the rest will follow.

Tomorrow we are doing a repeat of Thanksgiving that turned out amazing.  We have had a bird in the freezer that needs to be cooked… so…  sausage bread stuffing, sweet potatoes with pineapples, mash potatoes and gravy, roasted brussel sprouts with a huge diet starting after this is all over!

 

Merry Christmas!  Wishing you the best of everything!

 

Bo Insogna

www.BoInsogna.com

www.Striking-Photography.com

 

PS…  please forgive my writing and typos!

Twisted Desert Lightning Storm

Twisted lightning bolts striking the desert floor with giant saguaro cactus. Black and white with texture layer added.

Fine art nature weather landscape photography poster prints, decorative canvas prints, acrylic prints, metal prints, corporate artwork, greeting cards and stock images by James Bo Insogna (C) – All Rights Reserved.

*PLEASE NOTE, WATERMARKS WILL NOT BE ON THE PURCHASE PRINTS*

Click on the photo for the fine art photography gallery.

Happy Mothers Day Hugs Kisses and Colorful Roses

Happy Mother’s Day with hugs and kisses, and a collage of colorful rose spirals of green, peach, pink and blue.

Fine art flower photography prints, decorative canvas prints, acrylic prints, metal prints, greeting cards and stock images by By James Bo Insogna (C) – Click on image for the striking fine art photography gallery.

More Images from The 5th

 

Lightning Thunderstorm  08.05.09

Americans are twice as likely to die from lightning than from a hurricane, tornado or flood.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) estimates there are 200 deaths and 750 severe injuries from lightning each year in the U.S.

20% of all lightning victims die from the strike.

70% of survivors will suffer serious long-term effects.

Annually, there are more than 10,000 forest fires caused by lightning.

 

 

Lightning Storm 08.05.09 Thanks DAD!

Wednesday August 5th 8:30pm. WOW what an incredible night.  Lightning started hitting south of the Boulder County Fairgrounds where the County fair is going on.  So now I get this  amazing image in my head of the Lights from the rides and Lightning bolts in the background.  By the time I get there it stops hitting.  So I started photographing the County fair.  And then I get another image in my head the full moon with one of the rides.  And when I get it lined up the clouds cover the moon never to be seen again.  Bummer!

 

Then it happened.  It started hitting the front range… it may have even hit Meeker and Longs Peak.  Something I have never seen since I have been shooting here.   It was tough getting out of there and to a good location.  So I bee lined it to Airport road.  Had to act quick. My first spot was at Silver Creek high school just to try and get a shot of the peaks.  But this location was not good enough… so I went to my old stand by at McIntosh Lake.  Time was of the essence.  It was really smacking the front range pretty good.  Probably the best I have seen here in Colorado hitting the front range maybe even the divide.  It was really hard to tell.  But  at my spot,  I was shooting toward the twin peaks trying to get my dream shot I have been working on.  Some really amazing bolts.  Some of the best yet this year. I will let you be the judge.  It was tough holding it together because of being excited and trying to get set up before it goes away.

 

 And I have to tell you this years storms have been incredible, and for me I some how I believe it is my father up above helping me out.  And I have felt that way all summer long while chasing storms.  And everytime I would nail one I would say ” Thanks Dad!”  And tonight was definitely the best I have seen. 

 

And tonight… is one year to the day my father passed away….  Thanks DAD!

Gallery: http://www.TheLightningMan.com

More  new Images at http://www.AZLightning.com

Need a Portrait Photographer in Longmont or Boulder.  Check out my Family Photography work at

http://www.Striking-Photography.com

Boulder County Lightning Storm 07.19.09

This is in North East Boulder County Colorado Rt 287.  Buy Prints in all sizes.  Great for your home office of as a gift.   Print Gallery: http://www.AZLightning.com

 

Longmont Photographer Bo Insogna.  Family Photographer http://www.Striking-Photography.com

Boulder County Lightning Storm 07.10.09

This storm started later in the evening.  Just how I  like them.  It was dinner time, for us we eat late, it was  about 8:30.  I had just got done cooking. Everypne was having something different. We were just about to sit down and it started.  So as I have done many times… I looked at my wife and son and said ” I got to go”  Something they are used too hearing when the first sound of thunder hits.  So I went to north east Boulder County just north of Longmont to one of my favorite lakes.  It was cloud to cloud lightning.  Thunder heads were lighting up but the bolts would never appear.  If they had… it would have been one of my best nights.  It lasted for a long time.  Very beautiful and hard to capture the true beauty on film.

 

 

This Bud’s for you!

So it’s Monday June 22nd, 9:30 at night and I am thinking there will be no storms tonight YEA, I need a break and boom another one comes in fast and furious.  How many so far???

 

 I have to tell you this was one of the scariest storms I have ever chased.  Flashes of lightning in the clouds hitting in ALL directions.  You could not tell where the bolts were going to strike.  Now that’s very dangerous.  This storm really scared me. There were times I would not even get out of the SUV.  I chased this storm all over Boulder County open space looking for something interesting to photograph with the storm in the right position.  Not always easy. It was heading North.  This storm was so amazing and one of the only storms I have ever chased in 20 years like it.  I was able to stay with this storm and it seemed we were traveling at the same speed.  

 

My location was always right off the middle in the rain.  So north we went…. looking for something good.  Seemed I was always by houses and not the subjects I was looking for.  And when I did find something, the storm was not in the right position. Went through Berthoud…. then Loveland…. then Fort Collins… and then… it happened.  I was finally out of residential areas and in wide open space and there it was…  The Budweiser plant, all lit up and ready for me. And I have to tell you it was crazy. Flashes in all directions and very dangerous.  When I first started shooting I would hit my shutter button and then sit in the back of the SUV with my feet off the ground.  ( Fact:” Rubber shoes will not give you any meaningful protection from lightning.”  So I am guessing my official Lightning shoes, crocs will not give “Meaningful “protection.  Better than spikes 😉 That went on for a while. It got less threatening after a little time and I could relax without as much worry. The stormed hung in there till a little after midnight before heading into Wyoming.  I almost kept going and I did for a little while but it was time to call it a night.  http://www.TheLightningMan.com   Print Gallery: http://www.AZLIghtning.com

Boulder County Lightning

Boulder County Lightning Thunderstorm 06.05.09  The tricky part was finding a quick location.  These storm coma and leave so quickly.  I wanted to get a car light trail in the image, so I set up shop near Hygiene on 17th street.  Here is the Image.  You can see more Images in my gallery at www.TheLightningMan.com

 

More Images In My Gallery at http://www.AZLightning.com