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F. P. Dorchak

Speculative Fiction (New Weird) Author

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Fun

Garden of the Gods Hike

May 13, 2017 by fpdorchak

Garden of the Gods Park, Colorado Springs, CO (© F. P. Dorchak 2017)
Garden of the Gods Park, Colorado Springs, CO (© F. P. Dorchak 2017)

I took a beautiful hike through Garden of the Gods (GoG) park yesterday evening, after my gym workout. I was going to stay and do my cardio at the gym, by my wife, whom I met at the gym, suggested I take a break from all my gnarly shit and just enjoy the evening–and I’m glad I did (sometimes I need her to tell me to take a goddamned break…). I took my Nikon with me and got some really cool shots! I spent about an hour-and-a-half hiking through it, and it was great—fewer people. Better shots without people in them—though one woman, admittedly, would have made an incredible shot, but the moment passed as soon as it’d presented itself. She had been wearing an incredibly bright, radiant blue one-piece tube-skirt (or whatever they’re called) and was walking toward me in the middle of a narrow section of red rocks, her blonde head down. It was so incongruous! Contrasting! It would have made a fantastic shot! But, I couldn’t get the camera up quick enough, and the moment had passed. You couldn’t see her face, which made it even better.

Anyway, I took my favorite hike, which is around the west side of the park, on the single track. It traverses all kinds of rocky terrain and goes up and down. I love it. Love the rocks, love the squirreliness of the trail. The view. Saw a Scrub Jay (I think they’re called), a rabbit, and a whole herd of some 11 or 12 deer. I’ll try to post some of the images where I can, but I’m using new software (Adobe Lightroom) and there’s a bit of a learning curve. I may just try to upload a few onto Facebook. That’s probably the easiest thing to do. We’ll see. I’m really behind on my short story work, so….

 

Filed Under: Animals, Fun, Health, Leisure, Nature, Photography, To Be Human Tagged With: Colorado, D3400, Garden of the Gods, Hiking, Nature, Nikon, Photography

New “Clowns” Review!

April 21, 2017 by fpdorchak

What Makes a Good Clown Go Bad? © F. P. Dorchak and Lon Kirschner, 2016.
What Makes a Good Clown Go Bad? © F. P. Dorchak and Lon Kirschner, 2016.

I just discovered that I have a new “Clowns” review on Amazon.com! Thank you so much, Queen Farm Chick!

5.0 out of 5 stars Great read!
By Jill on April 6, 2017
Format: Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase
“It may be a short story, but F.P. Dorchak did a great job at putting me on the edge of my seat and only increasing my fears of clowns. Clowns had my full attention from the first paragraph all the way through to the end.”
Find the source here!

Filed Under: Fun, Reviews, Short Story, To Be Human, Writing Tagged With: Clowns, Fun, Horror, Lon Kirschner

Frozen Branches

February 6, 2017 by fpdorchak

Frozen Branches (© F. P. Dorchak, Feb 2, 2017)
Frozen Branches (© F. P. Dorchak, Feb 2, 2017)

Thursday and Friday of last week we had a bit of an ice storm…in that I don’t know if it was actually termed an “ice storm,” but we had everything coated in a layer of frost and/or ice—and it was beautiful! Since I am a fan of taking shots of branches, I thought “Frozen Branches” would be a great compliment to my previous post!

Donnelly's Corners, July 14, 2015
Donnelly’s Corners, July 14, 2015
Know it. Love it. Donnelly's Corners Soft Ice Cream Flavor Schedule, 2015
Know it. Love it. Donnelly’s Corners Soft Ice Cream Flavor Schedule, 2015
Donnelly's Corners is a Very Special Place. Upstate New York Registry of Very Special Places, July, 2015.
Donnelly’s Corners is a Very Special Place. Upstate New York Registry of Very Special Places, July, 2015.

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Filed Under: Art, Fun, Leisure, Nature, To Be Human Tagged With: Branches, Cameras, D3400, Ice, Images, Nikon, Photography, Trees, Winter

Night Driving

February 3, 2017 by fpdorchak

Night Driving (© F. P. Dorchak, January 28, 2017)
Night Driving (© F. P. Dorchak, January 28, 2017)

I love driving at night.

I’d written a post about a particular night drive I’d taken years ago, when I was 27. It was a mystical cross-country drive I’d taken solo. My last such solo drive was from Wyoming to Colorado in November of 2015.

I’d taken this photo this past weekend as my wife and I returned from visiting family up north of us and were driving through Denver. I love the look and feel of this image. The lights of the buildings in the distance. Love the in-the-moment perspective.

Love the dark.

I love how my thoughts turn waaay inward in the night. I love the feel of the road. The passing of the night as I (we) plow on through it…are enveloped by it. Love how the imagination comes out in full force in the absence of light. Wonder where those lights in the distance are coming from and what’s going on at or around them.

Don’t get me wrong—I love daylight and all things associated with it! I’m not a Goth anything…I am a fan of both light and darkness. But…

Yeah, I really love driving at night….

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Filed Under: Fun, Leisure, Metaphysical, To Be Human Tagged With: Colorado, D3400, Denver, Driving, Night, Nikon, Photography, Road Trip

My First Nikon Camera Class

January 24, 2017 by fpdorchak

Crescent Moon (© F. P. Dorchak, January 22, 2017)
Crescent Moon (© F. P. Dorchak, January 22, 2017)

I love this shot!

I took it with my Nikon D3400 and 70 – 300mm zoom. This past Saturday, I took my first Nikon camera class, and it was great! I took about four pages of notes and it was extremely useful! In fact, it helped with the picture above. I had to adjust the white balance to bring out the blue of the sky. In class, the instructor, whose name was Greg, said that for every picture he changes something of the following:

  • Shutter speed
  • Aperture (how open the shutter is–large or small “hole” light entry)
  • ISO (light sensitivity)
  • White balance (the balance of color)

Greg also said that if you’re not yet good enough at all of the above, to set your mode to “P,” which is a semi-automatic (programming) mode that will automatically set your shutter and aperture, and you can mess with your ISO and white balance and everything else, so that’s what I’m doing. I took the above shot early in the morning, not sure, maybe around 5 or 6 a.m.—but the time hack is off—it wasn’t the “2:02” it says. I’d had to recharge my battery, so when you pull the battery out, it messes up the time stamps, dammit. Anyway, to show the difference the proper white balance can make, here is the original shot before I corrected for it:

Crescent Moon - No White Balance (© F. P. Dorchak, January 22, 2017))
Crescent Moon – No White Balance (© F. P. Dorchak, January 22, 2017))

You can definitely see the difference! So, thanks, Greg and Mike’s Camera, for presenting this Nikon class–it’s already helped me out!

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Filed Under: Fun, Leisure, Space, To Be Human Tagged With: Cameras, D3400, Mike's Camera, Moon, Nature, Nikon, Photography

F. P. Dorchak Colorado Author Interview Circle (CAIC) Interview

January 10, 2017 by fpdorchak

This is an interview I did a year ago. It was my first ever YouTube/video interview and it was such a blast hanging out with these two guys! Cody I’d just met for the interview, but Aaron Michael Ritchey I’ve known for bit and he’s always a trip. Always. And every time I meet him he’s grown another inch. Because he’s tall. And charming. And…he’s Aaron Michael Ritchey.

Thank you, Aaron and Cody, for including me in your CAIC interview circuit! You two are great dudes, and I had fun!

So.

Here it is.

Filed Under: Book Reviews, Books, Fun, Short Story, To Be Human, Writing Tagged With: Aaron Michael Ritchey, authors, Cody May, Colorado Author Interview Circle, Interviews, Writers, writing

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