I told a good friend the other day that you know the oppressive heat and the longstanding drought in the southwest United States is starting to really become a problem when folks that aren’t start talking about the weather like farmers. These types of things do indeed affect not only the land and fauna, but the people as well. On my way back from photographing a summer league softball game in Levelland, Texas, for a story on youth athletic competition, I noticed that a large area to the northwest were getting some much needed rain. Rural towns like Sudan and Littlefield, where the rain was dropping, are arguably the worst hit when a drought this extensive takes hold. Seeing this rain in the sky is encouraging, harkening to residents that the drought will end one of these days. Most folks can then go back to being anything but armchair agriculturalists.

Storytelling Tip: Normally, I would try to avoid the presence of power lines, let alone house night lights in a frame like the two above. However, remember what I said about this drought affecting people? Not that I intentionally went looking for the perfect power lines and house lights to fit the frame. Instead, as I was losing light, I decided to stop and zoom in on the thunderstorm at a fairly level (hint the name Levelland) area of the horizon. The sparse, rural spacing of the houses say something about the necessity of water in these parts of the state and nation. Given the environmental circumstances, the extra subject matter in the frame seemed appropriate. They might not be during a wet year, but at the moment, they help fill out the story of the 2011 drought that much more.

Stay cool!

Most of Texas would certainly be happy with a little rain right now, even if it brought with it a bit of ferocity! This menacing looking thunderstorm came in during September, 2007, and it was what some folks in this area call a “gullywasher.” We definitely could use a washing of any kind right now! Drought cycles come and go, but for those of you that live in semi-arid to arid environments know it’s never easy on the land, its flora, fauna, and other inhabitants. It’s certainly not easy when wildfire ignites and makes its way across thousands of acres.

For those interested, the exposure for this hot storm was 1.0 seconds at f/22, ISO 50 (Canon EOS 5D, 17-35mm f/2.8L @ 17mm).

One evening, after a long day of shooting in the Texas Hill Country, we sat down next to an outdoor fire pit set just right off the prettiest stretch of the Llano River I’ve ever seen. The land belongs to Bill Worrell, an incredible southwest painter and sculpture. Bill sat down next to the fire with us, and we talked, played guitar, sang a few songs, and then like every other conversation goes, there was a lull in the talk. During this time, Bill looked in to the fire, and remarked, “Fire is man’s best friend and worst enemy.”

You couldn’t argue with that statement, given how much fire has been a part of human life for all the ages. However, I couldn’t help think that there was something else to it. So, in my most profound way, I countered, “And it’s also destroyed by man’s best friend and worst enemy, water.”

We had one of those “worst enemy” evenings last night in West Texas, where what I’ve heard Texans from this area call a “gullywasher.” A semi-arid environment can conjure up some pretty ferocious storms, and last night was one of them, dumping hail and inches of water in literally an hour’s time. The “worst enemy” part? This area is the largest cotton producing environment in the world, and many farmers last night were either cussing or praying about their crop getting hailed out, especially since they are just starting the harvest. This was supposed to be one of the top years for cotton production, both in price and quantity, but it looks like water, something we so desperately want to see come when it does, just showed us the “enemy” side.

Obviously, it’s very hard to gripe about weather. What can we do, right? But at times, it’s one of the most frustrating elements of planet Earth. Storms are a spectacle to see, as well as a force to pay heed. All over the world, we contend with nasty weather, particularly right now in the Philippines, Tawain, Latin America, and other locales, where rain hits arguably harder than in Texas most of the time. Weather, for lack of better words, is universal. It’s a beautiful thing, always, how the global ecosystem works, but when it wants to sting a little, it often ends up biting instead.

As always, though, when the “worst enemy” resides, we have hope for the future, and in many areas of life, that’s what the rainbow above represents (this was taken right after the storm blew through last night). Here’s to all those making life work in adverse weather at the moment, whether you are a cotton farmer on the Southern High Plains of Texas or a coastal auqaculturalist in Taiwan. Hope you saw a rainbow too!

I figured since you knew what days the weekend was on (because who actually cares about the dates of the weekend, just as long as it’s the weekend), you wouldn’t miss the calendar for October too much. In fact, I forgot until tonight. Nevertheless, it’s up, and please download (see below) at will!

I mentioned in a post a couple months back about how inspiration comes in all shapes and form, particularly between art media. This month’s calendar (which I would say is typically not my style) comes in the same fashion. Lately, I’ve enjoyed the artwork on several album covers, and I found myself in Austin last month photographing downtown in a way that (in my eye) reflects two particular works: Buckethead’s Population Override and Husky Rescue’s Country Falls. You probably see more resemblance with the Buckethead album artwork, but there’s a similar feeling I activate when looking at the Country Falls artwork.

This just continues to show that inspiration AND influence come from every crook and cranny we find ourselves wondering in. Sometimes it’s album artwork, sometimes it’s the songs themselves (Mark Krajnak over at Jersey Style Photography has been jamming out while editing here lately)! Sometimes you’re not even looking for inspiration when it hits you. We just have to be open enough to recognize it when it arrives knocking!

Some exciting news to come this month! Stay tuned, and thanks for the continual support here and offline!

Feel free to download the appropriate calendar size below!

Large: 2400 X 1600

Laptop: 1440 X 960

iPad: 1024 X 768

iPhone: 960 X 640

I can’t emphasize enough paying attention to light! It is, after all, what we photographers work with. I drove in from a 1,000+ mile trip full of photoshoots this past weekend, and ended up coming home to a massive thunderstorm. So, I stopped off at the house to drop a few things off, and then hit the road again. I’ll post some more images later centered around another natural light Field Lighting post, but I thought I would share a takeaway from yesterday evening. Believe me when I say it, but I have never seen light like this since I’ve been shooting, and this is the unique type of light in Texas you hear people like Wyman Meinzer and Earl Nottingham talk about sparingly. To say the least, it was bizarre!

Time is of the essence this week, but I will have a few more to look at along the way! Take care!

Amanda and I are headed to Charleston, South Carolina for one of my best friend’s wedding this weekend, and on our way to Dallas (driving to Dallas to fly out makes more sense sometimes than from Lubbock, I know…), we ran through a building thunderstorm. The images aren’t anything to write home about, but living in West Texas will give you one thing over all other areas in the state and much of the nation: open skies!

Good friend and sky aficionado, Wyman Meinzer was behind us by probably an hour or so, and he caught some nice colors on the way out of the storm. Unfortunately, we were heading east with a metaphorical train to catch. Still, you just can’t pass up the view of a wide open, Texas-sized wall of water pouring down from the heavens!

Flying out this morning! I hope to come back from Charleston with a few images and a few stories. Enjoy!

Well, better late than never. It’s been a busy couple past weeks, and I’m settling in to February…finally. The February 2010 desktop wallpaper calendar is set, and all you have to do is click on the image above to see the large version. Right-click the image, and save it to your desktop!

Monsoon season hits the Big Bend area in far West Texas in the late summer/early fall of each year. This image was taken from atop a ridge at Cibolo Creek Ranch, one of the most beautiful places I have ever had the opportunity to visit. It’s settled right underneath the Chinati mountain range, about 25 minutes south of Marfa. If you’re ever in the area, it’s well worth the visit!

Alright, I know I’m a little late, but better late than never. Thanks goes to David duChemin over at PixelatedImage for the calendar formatting file. Expect one of these wallpapers every month, and in a variety of sizes beyond this month. This particular calendar is formatted at 1440X900 pixels (that’s right, a MacBook Pro 15″ screen). Future calendars will range in size. Just click on the image for a larger version, or right click and save!

Jeff Lynch mentioned on the last post his feelings toward this unique Texas winter we’re having here, so I thought a wallpaper of what it will soon look like once the spring rains come in was appropriate. Here’s to looking forward to a beautiful spring (even though we’re not even a month in to winter yet)!