Week 20 - 2017 in Photographs

Day 134
Dawn

 Some weeks I do not have to go very far at all for great captures, especially in spring and summer when clouds move in and built over out mountains. The day without a cloud in the sky is a rare one this spring.

Day 135
Before the afternoon clouds moved in

 I love clouds. And on most days I can just stand on my deck and take pictures. I never leave the house without my camera because every ridge and mountain peak will create different clouds above them.

Day 136
Thunderhead building

Day 137
Noisy Sky

Day 138
Pastel Dawn

Day 139
Snow moving in

Day 140
Storm clouds breaking up

Week Eight - 2017 in Photographs

Day 50

 This week is about mountains. Even the two pictures of trunks of trees are about mountains. About my mountains. Those which surround where I live. They are on national forest land surrounded by ranches and homes of people who love looking at those mountains. And the air is so clear and clean the view is almost always fantastic. The skies so blue and free of clouds mostly I seek out the cloudy days to record. It is sort of the visual equivalent of man bites dog of which Mark Twain wrote.

Day 51

Day 52

 And that explanation also explains the tree trunks below. I remember key lines from Mark Twain but also sentences from books on photography or art. I have that sort of brain. And this one photography book (I never remember the titles) said you did not have to have the top and bottom of a tree in a photograph. And in fact that could be limiting. So I give you must the bottoms in the next two photographs.

Day 53

Day 54

And except for the very last photograph I have decided it applies to mountains too. Do you need more than just the tops to have it be a photograph of a mountain?

Day 55

Day 56

And so I see this photograph as not so much a photograph of a mountain range as a portrait of a ranch at its base.

Week Six of 2016 in Photographs

Day 36

Except for the opening photograph this week the pictures are about snow. It seemed to be everywhere until this week of warm temps and melting snow. Snow is beautiful. Prettier than mud but it also came with super freezing temps which made it uncomfortable for photographer and equipment.

Day 37

Snow also presents other challenges like getting where you want to go. I live, however, in an area which deals with snow well. So I get to enjoy the shadows and light on the snow and not digging myself out. But I am very grateful for the GMC 4 x 4 wheel drive truck.

Day 38

Shadows are blue on snow. But I find I love black and white treatment of photos of snow and shadows. The super cold temperatures made for an amazing sense of light and clarity.

Day 39

 And the snow seemed to sparkle.

Day 40

Even the wild life seemed to sparkle from snow. As the snow dropped off the trees it fell on the deer walking under the branches laden with snow.

Day 41

For all the great opportunities presented by the snow I am thrilled by the warmer temps and the comfort provided by the sun. No doubt there will be more snow because winter is not over, but I love New Mexico and the vacations from winter.

Day 42