Santa's reindeer?

Although their noses may be similar to Rudolph's at one point or another, and they are in the same family (Cervidae), Rocky Mountain elk or Cervus canadensis nelsoni, are probably not suitable for pulling a sleigh.  Wapiti, as elk are also known, occupy a broad swath of the western United States, and unlike deer, are grazers because of their four chambered stomachs.  They are alarmingly large animals.  The cow elk weigh roughly 500-530 pounds, and a bull elk's weight ranges between 710 and 730 pounds.  Bull elk need that extra weight for many reasons, one of which is the tremendous racks or antlers they grow and shed each year.

From pure observation, the groups of elk within a given herd might contain a bull and a harem of perhaps 10 cows.  But last week a fairly large herd wandered through the sagebrush.  We counted four bulls, several spikes (yearling bull elk), and as many as forty cows.  It is somewhat unusual to see a group that mixed during the winter months, when the bull elk seem to be more solitary.  They have already done the job of extending their blood line, and can frequently be sighted ambling alone.

...and finally, a demonstration of why they are called Wapiti.  According to Wikipedia, the word is derived from Shawnee and Cree, and roughly translates as "white rump".

Merry Christmas and to all, a good night!

until next Monday,

DB

a passion for the image

 

studies in monochrome

Winter storm Boreas brought the Southwest a nearly unprecedented period of overcast, featuring grey skies, fog, and snow.  The feeling and look seemed deeply monochromatic, which of course, is false given the meaning of the word.  The Oxford English Dictionary definition is: "containing or using only one colour" or "...light or other radiation of a single wavelength."  Monochrome is defined as "reproduction in black and white or in varying tones of only one color" and is closer, but perhaps it is the human brain and eye teaming together to give the landscape uniformity when an overcast sky combines with the snow-covered earth.

I will be out shooting later after the temperature warms above 20 degrees fahrenheit, but for the time being, the photographs here are, in my mind's eye, monochromatic.

No wonder the best-selling "novel" features multiple shades of grey.  They are everywhere.

until next Monday,

DB

a passion for the image 

Taos Fall Arts

A week ago Sunday, the autumnal equinox ushered in a new season.  In my humble (or not so humble) opinion, autumn is the best season.  The air is crisp, clear, and glorious, the days are a bit shorter, and nature takes a rest but shows off before winter settles on the land.  Although there are at least four hummingbirds (down from an apex of 360 in early August) still imbibing on sugar water and blossoms around our place, we know they will soon head for parts south.

Fred and I took a trip across the pass on Highway 64 between Tres Piedras and Tierra Amarilla this weekend, and the aspen have not really started turning gold yet, but I suspect the real show may be in a week or so, presented by the scrub oaks.  There was a dusting of snow at the higher elevations, and as always, we wished we could bottle the rare mountain air.

Autumn is also harvest and art time in New Mexico, with numerous festivals and shows.  The Taos Fall Arts Festival opened Friday night at the Convention Center in Taos.  I had one piece in Taos Select, as well as a miniature, and two photographs are hanging in the Taos Open side.  Now that the exhibit is officially hung, I can publish these in my blog.

"Twirl"

"Lily detail"

Since the Taos Open side is not juried, I entered the Ranchos Church in winter image, as well as the Brugge walkway.

"San Francisco de Asis church, Ranchos de Taos"

"Brugge walkway and red door"

until next Monday,

DB

a passion for the image

Sky drama

Ask anyone from almost anywhere around the world, and he or she will probably say that autumn is the most beautiful of seasons.  It certainly has been a stunner here in the southern Rockies, and despite the fact that trees in the mountains have shed their leaves, calm days with high temperatures in the 50s and 60s have totally spoiled me.  We could use the moisture but it is gorgeous.

Even in early autumn, occasional rains and storms can light up the sky.  Here are a few samples of the southwestern sky before nightfall in late September.

And, just for grins, a particularly dramatic image from earlier in the year.

until next week,

DB

a passion for the image

Colors of autumn

Blogs sometimes are delayed when the writer/photographer is in drift mode, taking photographs.  I have been shooting the autumn, which in our end of the Rocky Mountains this year is spectacular.  So my duty for today is to lay color at eye level for your viewing.

Bizarre as it may seem, this little creature caught my eye near Taos Ski Valley.  Insects are absolutely not my area of expertise, but this one has distinctive identifiers called "lashes".  As far as I can tell, it is the caterpillar stage of a tussock moth of some sort.

No identifier on this one.  Just a splash of color.

And what would autumn in the Rockies be without an aspen or two?

until next Monday,

DB

a passion for the image

Indian summer

After the rain, snow, and frost that laid its hands on the Rockies earlier this month, I feared all the autumn color would be brought to the ground.  But there are still veins of it, waiting to be explored.  We are experiencing Indian summer at its best.  


According to that great online source of knowledge, Wikipedia, "an Indian summer is a meteorological phenomenon that occurs in the autumn. It refers to a period of considerably above normal temperatures, accompanied by dry and hazy conditions, usually after there has been a killing frost. Depending on latitude and elevation, the phenomenon can occur in the Northern Hemisphere between late September and mid November."  There is also extensive etymology about this dual-word phrase, but the above definition suits the weather we have been experiencing quite nicely.  It is breath taking!


So I must celebrate it with one more blog and another group of photographs.

just a sampling of the excitement still lurking during this Indian Summer!

until next Monday,

DB

a passion for the image

    

reflection

The end of a year.  The end of a decade.  There were varying states of panic within the human race when the first decade of the 21st century opened.  Now a new decade is about to open before us and it gives one pause.  The final days of 2010 give us time for reflection.

Here are some of my favorite photographic reflections.  The intersection of water and stone has always fascinated me.  It presents endless photographic possibilities.

Williams Lake beneath Wheeler Peak, Taos County, New Mexico

Tinaja, El Malpais, New Mexico

Bridge, Hilo, Hawaii

Grand Teton Reflection

Reflection on the past is a way of pondering the future.  For me, it is a way of embracing, respecting, and photographing Planet Earth.

Happy New Year!

until next Monday,

DB

a passion for the image

ode to autumn

The first frost settled over the high mesa last Friday evening, and the cool, crystalline days of autumn have begun in earnest.  Days when the finest cello and oboe music combine in my head with the sound of leaves  hitting the ground around my feet.  Then there are the smells.  Much has to be left to the imagination but a few photographs say it all.  This is one of my favorites.  Hitting the high country after a dusting of snow a had melted and subsequent light rain had left what I call rain shadows on the aspen.

Aspen rain shadows

The aspen family demonstrates the pure delight and melancholy that is autumn.  Soon the gold will be gone, the trees will be at rest, and the trunks will reflect winter.

The shot below I categorize "just for fun".  This was part of a wedding portfolio I made a year ago in Taos.  It was in the middle of October and the day could not have been better for the event.

                                                                

                                                                            

                                                                             Dip into autumn

Last but not least, a detail of aspen near Hopewell Lake.  There is something about the soil here that, regardless of rainfall, drought, or disease, produces the most wonderful reds, oranges, and yellows in leaves.

Aspen detail, Hopewell Lake, New Mexico

Breathe deeply

until next Monday,

DB

a passion for the image