Month: January 2015

Posted on

Sunrise over the Sandias

sunrise
Sunrise over the Sandias
sunrise
Sunrise over the Sandias, Albuquerque, New Mexico

Sunrise – and sunset – can be a magical time almost anywhere, but reliably so in the high desert country of New Mexico, “Land of Enchantment.” It is very easy to take our beautiful skies for granted, almost, because we have them so often.

One of the truly remarkable things about our skies, though, is that the exact appearance of a sunrise or sunset can never be predicted, nor how long its appearance will last.

This morning was basically overcast, but a light overcast at the time of sunrise. I really was not expecting too much, but I always watch until I am certain a show either never happened or is over. This morning I made ten photographs between 7:18 and 7:24 am. This is the only one of the images with such distinct rays arising over the Sandia Mountains, starting from where the sun was about to appear.

The magic of sunrise – and the sky in general – in New Mexico.

Posted on

As the Crow Flies

crow
As the Crow Flies
crow
As the Crow Flies

“As the crow flies” generally carries the meaning of the most direct route, such as, “it is less than four miles to the river as the crow flies, but I have to drive ten miles to get there.”

This is the bird that you saw earlier in the image of a crow in the treetop, surveying all around it. This is what it looked like as it flew off that afternoon.

Although I have many birds that regularly visit my yard, and although crows are quite common in other areas of town, I do not see them often here, at least as compared with many other more common birds in my yard.

Seeing this bird in flight, after observing it for a somewhat extended time, was a real treat for me earlier in the week.

Posted on

The Crow

through her eyes
The Crow
crow
The Watchful, Observant Crow on a Cold Winter Afternoon

The crow in this image was the only photographically cooperative one in a flock that appeared briefly.

This afternoon I was out photographing a cloud bank rolling over the Sandia Mountains when a very noisy flock of crows arrived on the scene. Crows certainly do demand attention when they show up!

For a brief time they settled in a tree right next to the house, meaning I did not like any of the images of them from that point. But, when most flew off, this one settled at the top of an isolated juniper tree, allowing me to create a “crow portrait.” 🙂

It was a cold, wintery day, and snow is forecast overnight. I suspect it will come from the cloud bank rolling over the Sandias. West Texas has had winter storm warnings since Tuesday, and I suspect this is part of that same system. We’ve been lucky here (if you don’t like snow) or unlucky here (if you’ll take precipitation in any form because it is needed so badly here).

This weekend temperatures are forecast to warm into the 40’s F here. I would be very happy if we (or just the surrounding mountains, even) got a lot of snow overnight, because it would melt on the streets fairly quickly tomorrow, and yet we would have some additional precipitation.

In a different vein, the image and the day beckoned me to process this image in an exaggerated manner as a cold and wintery day in the Southwest!

Posted on

Celebrating 2015

celebrating
Celebrating 2015

Happy New Year!

celebrating
Cosmos, still seemingly dancing in 2015!

This little cosmos seems to still be dancing in the New Year, 2015!

Wishing everyone a very happy 2015, filled with health and happiness (and, a little later in the year, more flowers of all varieties). And beautiful sunsets and sunrises; magnificent vistas; marvelous historic structures; cute animals; wonderful people; and all the things that make us celebrate life!

Show Buttons
Hide Buttons
%d bloggers like this: