Daily favorites

Animals almost always make fun subjects to photograph and Gazette photographer Kirk Speer shot 10-month-old Mahal, an orangutan at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, yesterday before it was transfered to the Milwaukee County Zoo.


The spectators casting a shadow on the grass as Henrik Stenson from Sweden tees off and the angle from above make a cool shot during the first round of the Dubai Desert Classic, Dubai, United Arab Emirates Thursday. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)


Gazette photographer Mark Reis shot a nice image of the morning light on the Pikes Peak and the new St. Francis Medical Center under construction in Colorado Springs Thursday.

Powerful rainbow

A rainbow is visible looking West from Palm Springs, Calif. on Monday, Jan. 28, 2008 next to an array of wind turbines. Southern California has been hit with heavy rainstorms totaling more than four inches in some areas over a 24-hour period which has some experts on edge about the possibility of mudslides. Scattered showers are forecast for the next few days. (AP Photo/Sandy Huffaker)

A helping hand in Iraq

Gazette photographer David Bitton and reporter Tom Roeder covered a free medical clinic in Baryk, Iraq, Thursday given by the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division. The story runs tomorrow in The Gazette and a slideshow with more images from the clinic can be found at www.gazette.com/interactives/iraq/0127 . For more Iraq coverage, see www.gazette.com/war.

Best pictures of the week

Here are some of my favorite images from around the world taken this week: Jaime Garcia Serrano, from Colombia, poses before starting an exhibition of mathematics and memory skills in front of a screen with the number pi at the University Computense of Madrid, Thursday. Garcia Serrano recited by memory and for hours, random sections of the number pi taken to 150.000 decimal places. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)


Egyptian border guards and riot police officers clash with Palestinians trying to cross the border after militants exploded the wall between Gaza Strip and Egypt earlier this week, in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Friday. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)


Levi LaVallee from Longville, Minn. flies his Snowmobile through the air during the final Speed and Style competition on Thursday at the winter X Games at Buttermilk Ski area, near Aspen. LaVallee placed first in this new event for these games. (AP Photo/Nathan Bilow)


Trader Daniel Ryan laughs as he works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday. Wall Street pulled off a stunning comeback Wednesday, surging higher in late trading and wiping out what looked to be yet another precipitous decline. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Long-term parking

Friday when I was walking around Crested Butte looking for a feature I spotted this old Landcruiser buried in the snow. The situation was too funny and I had to take a picture. Might make a good postcard someday.

Snowing in Crested Butte

More snow is falling on Crested Butte as Brandon Mines clears the sidewalk alone Elk Avenue Friday, Jan. 25, 2008. Six inches fell over night on the Colorado mountain town adding to the more than 10 feet of snow that has blanketed the town this winter. The snow continued through Friday. Photo by Christian Murdock/The Gazette

Telluride's Black Iron Bowl

Wednesday I spent the day in Telluride's Black Iron Bowl. You have to hike to the top but the ride is well worth it. Reporter Dave Philipps and I took local expert skier Herb Manning with us for some photos. The light on top of the bowl is back lit and the bowl itself was mostly in the shadows so I tried to work with the light. Today in Crested Butte I'm faced with a different challenge: It snowing and socked in.