It can be a great change of pace to swap landscapes: in my case, natural for urban. Better yet, urban abstracts.

Because I no longer live within easy access of a large city, I relish opportunities to wander around urban environs with my camera now more than ever. Since Denver isn't too far away (in this part of the world anything under 650 miles qualifies as "not too far away"), I've been compiling a list of buildings that might make for interesting subject matter there. My recent trip to the Mile High City was the first opportunity to work some of those sites.

Unexpectedly, there was a treasure trove just steps away from my hotel. Unlike some of the structures on the shot list (like the Denver Art Museum Extension - 2006, designed by Gio Ponti), none of these buildings were particularly unique or unusual and hadn't been on my radar. I noted street addresses and had to consult a map to identify most of them after the fact.

If it wasn't the architecture per se, what was noteworthy enough to stop me in my tracks?

It was a combination of great light and weird, wonderful, diffuse reflections. Not just reflections - but reflections of reflections. Many of the distorted images reminded me of what you'd see in a funhouse mirror. In some cases it took a while to figure out exactly which building's image I was looking at.

I pulled out the long lens and had a field day.

Who would have thought there'd be so much potential within the space of a single city block? (If you're familiar with Denver this was in the vicinity of Tremont and Court between 16th and 17th.)

My plan that morning was to photograph the exterior of the Denver Art Museum but thanks to these reflections - and a tight schedule - I never made it there.

Next time.

In local news:

The elk hunt at Grand Teton National Park has concluded. No need to wear bright colors to avoid a mishap or - as I am prone to do while it's ongoing - avoid the park altogether. Be advised, though, the Snake River is now closed to public entry until March. Antelope Flats Road is still open but expect it to close for the season very soon; you can still visit the barns at Mormon Row after the road closure but you'll need to hike in to do so.

Yellowstone opened to oversnow travel yesterday. Island Park has had three feet of snow since Sunday; the same storms deposited quite a bit of fresh powder in West Yellowstone. If you're planning on taking Route 20 through Island Park en route to the west gate, drive carefully.

It's late but "real" snow appears to have arrived - at least at elevations above 6,000 feet. Now it has some serious catching up to do in the mountains.

Snowpack at area ski resorts:

Grand Targhee - 50 inches

Jackson Hole Mountain - 18 inches

Snow King - 18 inches