Week 26 - 2015 in Photographs

Day 176

Wish I could say this week had a theme but I cannot. Beyond the fact that it was summer. And it was not yet the height of tourist season. I could get out with my camera and visit the spots I like to photograph before they got crowded. And this year it was a green summer. I debated getting my camera a rain coat and included a plastic bag in the camera equipment.

The wet conditions created frequent morning fog as captured in Day 176. I am still debating how to post process fog photographs. I do like them in black and white a lot.

Day 177

The frequent rain storms also gave some lovely clouds to capture. This is looking to the southeast out my studio door. I love the horizon line with trees on the right but I frequently have to crop or clone out tops of neighboring houses. Yes, I live close to the back country but so do other people.

Day 178

Another nice thing about summer is the tractors are out. In in my neighborhood that can mean you will see a collection of oldies and goodies kept under tarps in the winter. I have photographed this old red tractor more than once, but never head on. I was attracted to the bundle of baling wire on the front. I can see the driver stopping and gathering up the offending wire and wrapping it to the grill before continuing on with clearing of the irrigation ditches. Probably not going straight to the trash. You never know when you might need a piece of baling wire. Who knows how long this bundle of wire has been there - added and subtracted.

Day 179
Eagle Nest Lake looking east

There is a lot of debate over just how long the drought has existed in the west in general and northern New Mexico specifically. Or if it is over. It seems to depend upon how long you have lived here. I know people celebrating the rising level of Eagle Nest Lake. And I was happy to see how far up it had come from 42% capacity low. But I also know in the photograph all the foreground green was once water. And I know the lake is a storage area for irrigation water owned by ranches down stream. As long as the rains continue downstream the lake gets to keep most. The State Engineer's office closely monitors water and water usage and water rights.

I took this picture before a series of rain storms which dumped between 2 and 4 inches of rain on already saturated ground. Poor Cimarron Canyon got too much and the road was flooded because of avalanches and fallen rocks. It was closed for two days. I think we got to keep a lot of water in the lake then. Not all because you cannot kill the Cimarron River and its fish. It is home of some rare trout Fish and Game are trying to re-establish.

Day 180
Shirley Poppies

Photography can be educational and not just about f-stops. I frequently take pictures because of color and form and the light, then come home and research what it is I photographed. Easy to just say poppies for the above photograph, but they are not just poppies. They are Shirley Poppies. They have a smaller seed pod in the center and bloom earlier than my oriental poppies which are just beginning to bloom.

Day 181

Another picture of Eagle Nest Lake. This one from the north parking area of the state park. More water means more reflections. And more rain this year means more new green grass and more yellow wildflowers on the banks and the hills. Even the conifers on the hills are a different green, more blue, as they take advantage of the rains to sprout new growth.

The photograph below shows the bright green of the new foliage on the aspens mixed in with the pines. And it show now snow on the mountains around Black Lake. Summer is here. Is the drought over? Or is this just a brief respite before it returns? We are all hoping for the former.

Day 182