The Daily Photograph™

Over There Is Casper Mountain

And we’re on Muddy Mountain. In between is Jackson Canyon. and a whole lot of what makes the West what it is. Up the road a piece is a herd of sheep, guarded by a suspicious but cordial dog, who appears to be a Poodle-Labrador mix. I have never before seen a lab with white, curly hair. He’s intent on keeping the sheep safe, but you can tell he’d love to fetch a tennis ball if one should appear.

Across the way, a herd of black baldy cattle is grazing on the sere dry grass. I think it’s the same bunch I photographed back in July at the bottom of the canyon, when the grass was better.

The West changes, and is ever the same.

The Weather Service Says 10 Mile Visibility

Almost every day here, never any more than that. That seems to be the furthest they can ever imagine. Just so you can gauge for yourself, the flat land nearest to you here, at the mouth of Jackson Canyon, is about five miles away, and a half mile down. So how far off does that put the horizon?

For what it’s worth, on the Eastern Seaboard, the Weather Service allows at most, five miles of visibility, even over open water; and that’s a seldom thing.

The porcelain boy wants to run away to the mountains with the glass perfume dauber, but what does he know? He doesn’t recall his perfect porcelain girl, who had a parasol and a winsomely shy glance, and who was knocked to the floor by a rocketing kitten many years ago.

Autumn is a fascinating time of year

When the plants prepare to go into hiding but not before telling us to look out for next year. In their party clothes they dance in the wind and sunlight. Soon, the dancing will end and this vine and the tree across the way will be skeletal and stiff. Even the clouds will hold themselves differently. But let’s not think of that right now. Let’s party and celebrate the life we have.

“Schön” is the German word

From which our English ‘shine’ derives, especially in the sense of “doing well” or “excelling.” The sun slanted into this tree in an excellent way and its leaves answered with shining beauty.

Again, I found that tight framing gave the feel and substance I wanted. The tree became more ordinary when I took a longer view.

It would never appear

In real life. I confess, it was I who arranged the leaves, shoots, and stones on an old and mossy board. I did use more or less naturally occurring items, but the arrangement is totally artificial.

Of course, that’s what artists do: Arrange things to their liking. Even the very most celebrated “journalistic” photographers arrange things, either directly, like Ernie Pyle and the Iwo Jima flag-raising, or indirectly by moving and finding a new angle, like Cartier-Bresson. Either way, the artist controls what appears. That’s the artistic way.

It also turns out that this sort of arrangement benefits from tight framing. I tried it from further out, and the results were not at all good.

Sunset comes earlier

And the nighttime is chilly. Frost is not far away.

The Ordinary Things

Become extraordinary by the choice of framing, the slant of the light, the darkness and the bright. This wasn’t quite a full success, in that I wanted to bring out the flow of water in the fountain, but couldn’t make that happen. Next time, I will find a small lamp to use for back-light.

It’s good that the photographs I post here are mere sketches or studies. Each one teaches me something.

The music on the stand, by the way, is “Teach Your Children.” People with grandchildren will probably know the words.

Sunlight In Autumn Has a Different Flavor

Than it did even a week or so ago. It slants a bit more, throws deeper shadows and sits more gently. I miss the smell of leaves burning in the smooth Autumn air.

Autumn is on its way

But it’s not here yet. The landscape color is really a bit dull around Casper, as we wait for the cottonwoods to turn. I also have my eye one some choice stands of aspen. All in all, it’ll be another two weeks or so before the colors arrive.

So, the Dragon steps in, in pursuit of the Rose Bowl. The guitar was just there, to observe.

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Technical: 400 ISO, 250mm, f11, 2 sec. Available light. It’s a fact, all of my stuff is shot by available light. I own neither a flash unit for this camera, nor any area lights.