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

Over the rainbow

Today is Labor Day, a day set aside originally to celebrate the strength and ingenuity of workers and unions.  Other than the fact that it is the last three day weekend of the summer holiday season, it is often not given a second thought.  While both political parties tout candidates who supposedly identify with "the worker", companies and banks are seemingly in the process of eliminating the unions and working class ideals that made this holiday possible.  To a good many people, dreams of a better future for their children are way over the rainbow.

But as long as we can look to the sky and see the beauty of a rainbow during or after rain, we continue to dream.

For a wonderful interpretation of an actual strike at the Empire Zinc Mine in New Mexico, watch the 1954 film Salt of the Earth.

until next Monday,

DB

a passion for the image

Skyscapes

A summer sky in the Rockies, particularly in New Mexico, is tough to beat.  The Land of Enchantment is a bit of a drama queen when it comes to skyscapes, and her landscape pushes, whirls and traps atmospheric moisture into developments of intense drama.

A bonus, as well as a hazard, of sky photography is that the skyscape it constantly in flux.  If you like it, run, don't walk, to get your camera.  The queen is changing costume and the stagehands move with lightning speed!

until next Monday,

DB

a passion for the image

The long view

In southern Colorado and northern New Mexico, where the Rocky Mountains give way to the plains, there is an incredible openness to the land.  The human eye is unable to absorb all the detail.  It gives new meaning to "the long view".

 
Before refrigeration and warehousing became standard for storage of perishables, farmers dug areas into the ground, or built up mounds for storing grain, potatoes, and other crops for the winter.  We have to assume that these wooden structures were above the mounds to vent any gasses and moisture building up within the earthen burrow.

Who knows?  This sort of thing may become the "new" trend.

until next Monday,

DB

a passion for the image