 "Nice Fog #1" I20 & West Loop 338 Odessa, Texas |  "Nice Fog #2" I20 & West Loop 338 Odessa, Texas |
Which photo do you prefer?
I took this pair of This or That while on a quick errand yesterday. A big fog system has rolled into hundreds of miles of West Texas. Originally I didn't think it would make for a good photo op. I was pleasantly surprised. The fog -- and lack of blaring sun -- seemed to have a couple of effects. 1) It fades out the pump jacks, telephone poles, metal buildings, and other jarring visual noise usually seen in our vistas. 2) It did something amazing to the colors of everything. Oddly the lack of sunlight made the dried grass colors especially vibrant.
Picture #1 made me think of William Least Heat Moon, especially his book Prairyerth, where he writes
It was tall grass that made man stand up: to be on all fours, to crouch in a six-foot-high world of thick cellulose, is to be blind and vulnerable. People may prefer the obvious beauty of mountains and seacoasts, but we are bipedal because of the savannah; we are human because of tallgrass.Picture #2 is a mesquite tree (a bush to most of the world) in case where you live there are none. We have plenty. And for the sharp-eyed, you can see a single tumbleweed caught in the tree. Again, in case where you live there are none. We have plenty.
12 comments:
heheehe, are you posting right now?! I just left a comment and when I refreshed, a new entry... yay!!! Again, I am picking #2... I swear you were here taking pics this morning. I saw this same thing on the way to taking Hannah to school. Beautiful!
Both are great pictures, but I love #2.
We don't have these trees, but we do have the fog, and I notice how it often makes the colours of photos particuarly intense. So your use of 'Nice Fog' here is particularly apt, as 'nice' is such an English word!
Lovely quotation about the humble grass, which I have never thought of in those terms before.
However, I like Two best, as the fog has given the tree an almost ethereal effect, and the branches seem almost to be delicately flickering and otherworldly.
The tree is so amazing. Almost mystical appearing from the fog..aloof & alone yet some how reaching out to make the connection with you, me, the world...
So yes number 2 has my vote. I do love the golden colour of that grass though! It looks so warm and inviting...OH MY GOSH!! Just had a thought! I could use the warm goldren grass to make a NEST in that fantastic tree..take refuge in it's branches...cradled in it's strength...sigh.
I am already there in my head ofcourse!!
#1. I love standing. Hehe! No seriously I love the colours.
i live in a world of fog and mystery. my choice is #2
~sue o'kieffe
When I first heard the word "mesquite," I immediately fell in love with it. I know, I'm weird. That lone tree speaks volumes to me. Lone, old, and majestic.Sorry #1, I go with #2
I vote for #1 because I love the golden color.
Thank you for your many kind words about my photos. I hope to have a show sometime next year but I'm still in the non-professional category. I just posted another photo this evening and have another ready for later in the week.
I found your site on DC Confidential which is linked on "Lally's Alley".
And yes, I love my Lumix.
I love the golden grass of #1 and the overall effect of #2.
But ultimately I must vote for #2.
Is there anything headier than the smell of mesquite smoking away? what a gift from nature. I love both, but again, I would chose No. 2 because of the inherent elegance of that bare tree silhouette. But both are very intricate and lovely, and the colours surprisingly rich and deep. Very nice.
Hi Debi,
I am going with #2 on this one ... tho #1 has a lovely atmosphere that it creates.
~ Diane Clancy
www.dianeclancy.com/blog
Thank you everyone for your votes.
Windy, I was posting at that very moment...jinx! I saw on your blog this morning you mentioned fog -- we're hundreds and hundreds miles away from each other. How weird is that?
Nelda, thank you.
Bev, we so infrequently have fog I had no idea it would do to colors like that. The whole book -- Prairyerth -- was written like that. One of my favorite reads. A tome, really, but one I enjoyed immensely.
Lisa, a nest! You see them everywhere these days, don't you? I really can't wait to see what you will do with all these nests you've been "collecting."
Zan, after seeing your photos our colors here absolutely pale. One of the reasons I take so many close ups, I think. Looking for splashes of color.
Howdy Sue! I'm glad to see your name here. I've enjoyed your blog and did I say I loved your doodles? I did. Oh. I say it again!
Neda, come on down. Bring your pick up truck. We'll load 'er up!
Hello again Mr. K., I think I've seen some golden color on your blog as well. There's today's post, for one. Then there's a post from the recent past. The one with the overpass, the river, golden light shining on it, and -- if you look close -- a bird wading.
Hi Mom. Thanks Mom.
Rima, when Neda comes, you come too. I'll load you up with mesquite as well. Think Canadian Customs will mind?
This was a shut out. Lowly grass loses to lowly mesquite by a 4 to 1 margin. The majority has spoken.
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