Monsoon Sunset

Last evening, there was a lovely sky that only seems to occur during the summer monsoon season here in New Mexico.  The sky puts on its own magical show –

Patches and Jazz Approaching

Patches and Jazz, our friends’ horses, were more interested in me wandering around off our back patio that the lovely sunset show going on behind them.  The sun’s rays are outlining the Sandia Mountains in the distance very dramatically.

Evening Glow

Well, the curiosity about me wandering out back is clearly over for Patches and Jazz!  They are once again back to grazing in their corral, still oblivious to the wonderful evening show going on behind them.

Evening Sky

Here I’ve pulled back a bit to give you a better view of the great sky we had last evening.  You can still see the Sandia Mountains on the left side of the image, but now you can also see “our” mountain, South Mountain, on the right.  South Mountain is part of the San Pedro Mountains just a bit north and east of the Sandia’s.

Storm over the Mountain

And, finally, here’s a view of someone getting a sunset rain storm.  The rain is happening over the Sangre de Christo Mountains almost directly north of us.  You can still see a bit of the San Pedro Mountains off to the left, and Lone Mountain between the San Pedro’s and Sangre de Christo Mountains.  Lovely evening show!

Enjoy!



Misc Shots from a Great Photo Morning

Here are some other fun shots from a great photo morning!

Here's a shot of the moon in the sky as the morning sun rays are just beginning to light it up - such a pretty blue.  The little red dots on the left side of the image is my car, sitting and running with the heat on so I can periodically warm up!

Love the image of this smaller bushy tree alongside the road.  I played with the colors to really enhance the morning colors.

This image reminds me of cotton candy!  Again, just playing with the colors of the sunrise and the sky.

As I was driving home from my dawn photo op, I just had to pull off on the shoulder of the road to capture the incredible lighting of the clouds in the morning sky.  Is it any wonder why I love living here?

 

Enjoy!

Inspirational Cabin

 

 I find this cabin so inspirational, I just had to add some quotations to some images of it.

This Robert Frost quote is perfect for this image of the cabin.  Whoever lived here certainly was on the road less traveled by.

And, isn't this quote so true.  Life certainly does go on, regardless of what we do or don't do.  It's a good thought to remember when we get so caught up with things we "must" do for some reason that always seems very important at that point in time.  None of us is really all that important!  Life will go on, with or without us.

This quote really hit home for me.  As I was shooting this image (and unknown to me at this moment), a friend's young daughter, wife and mom to 2 small little boys, had undergone emergency open heart surgery and it was (and still is as I write this) unknown as to whether she would survive.  We should all live every day of our lives as if it's our last, because we truly don't know how long we'll be around.

And, a positive note to end this post with - dreams are wonderful, especially as they can be guides to what our future will be. 

 

Enjoy!

Deserted Cabin

 

I have loved this deserted cabin since we moved here.  It's on a little country road about 10 minutes from our home.  Whenever I drive by it, I always think I need to photograph it again.  I first photographed it a couple of years ago, but noticed that it is getting closer to completely collapsing (2 walls have already fallen), so I wanted to photograph it at least one more time before it's gone.

I always park off the road in some one's drive into their place and right next to where I park is the fenced in field in which the cabin sits.  The barbed wire fencing adds to the rustic feel of the cabin, with the makings of a lovely sunrise as backdrop.  I can only shoot this cabin at this time of the year to get that great backdrop - in the summer, the sun rises further to the north and it's not nearly as pretty.  So, a few chilly fingers are worth it for these types of images!

I got a bit closer for this image (above) and you can see better the precarious state the cabin is in.  With the tree just outside of it, the character is just so great.  I just love the feel of this place.

For this shot, I walked around to the front of the cabin.  You can see the front door, mostly off its hinges, and the fact that the back wall is totally gone.  Again, the tree in front of the cabin with its bare winter branches really frames this image so well.

For this image, I walked back and took a shot of the entire old homestead.  Again, that sky is the perfect backdrop for this winter morning shot.  The fence and the little country road just bring back feelings of what it must have been like to live out here in years gone by.  If you look closely, you can see a jet contrail in the upper left of the image - however, it sort of looks like a falling star, doesn't it?

For this last image, I crossed the road and stood by the fence on the opposite side.  I transformed this image into a black and white image just to capture more of the feeling of yesterday.  Also, look how alone this little cabin was. 

 

Enjoy!