Shugpug's 1st 52 - Week 52 - Decoration - Complete!

Wet
I like the second shot over the first. Even though it's not wet now, it has been, so that counts in my book.
Lovely golden light and long shadows.
 
Interesting story behind that.. I can imagine apart from a tap it's hard to find something wet in a desert.
 
Cloudforest said:
Artificial: The hike sounds a proper feat of endurance and hopefully you felt a great sensse of acheivment when you got back.

Autumn: Beautiful colours against the blue sky.

Wet. I like them both but especially the one of the cistern in the landscape together with the information about what it is. Nice colours again.
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It was thoroughly enjoyable thank you. And even more so in retrospect..!

The skies here are studying to get more interesting finally - it has been so dry that they've been uniformly blue. Nice in its own way, but not ideal for pictures!

Allan.H said:
Love the autumn trees and the cistern in your wet picture, excellent light in it,

looks quite a harsh environment
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Thank you - not somewhere I'd choose to live. Especially without air conditioning! They were clearly a tough bunch back then!

Phil S said:
Great autumn colours and interesting back story with the cistern.
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Thank you!

-Oy- said:
Well well - looks dry but used to be wet so I guess that fits. (Pass me that shoehotn Mother!)
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Had to get one in eventually...

LC2 said:
Artificial - That sounds like far too much hard work. And having to sleep in a tent too... /rollseyes ;)

Autumn - But I guess it's maybe worth the effort for scenery/shots like that.

Wet - I'm going to go for #2 due to the back story and that it's an interesting 'thing'.
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Nothing wrong with a tent!! Especially on your own and having done space to stretch out... Sharing a tent on the other hand is a very different matter!

Nostromo said:
Wet

I like the second shot over the first. Even though it's not wet now, it has been, so that counts in my book.

Lovely golden light and long shadows.
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Thank you!

HelenC said:
Interesting story behind that.. I can imagine apart from a tap it's hard to find something wet in a desert.
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There's the river and the Dam, but the latter is quite hard to get a decent photo of given the number of power lines arrive it. Otherwise, you're absolutely right - anything other than dry is a challenge... When's the "dusty" theme @Cobra?!
 
I can only really mirror Allan & Bebop's comments.
I will have to agree to disagree with you regarding the tent though ;)
I only put up with camping once a year at LeMans (even then it's bloody expensive in the decent sites with showers and working loos)
 
Bebop said:
It is a worry. Nicely captured image. Love the starburst sun and you've managed to expose the information board well too.
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Allan.H said:
[https://www] I agree with the above couldn’t have put it better myself
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Thank you! I processed just two frames (due to idiocy on my part) about 9 stops apart in Aurora HDR and am suitably impressed with the output!
LC2 said:
I can only really mirror Allan & Bebop's comments.
I will have to agree to disagree with you regarding the tent though 
I only put up with camping once a year at LeMans (even then it's bloody expensive in the decent sites with showers and working loos)
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The world would be boring of everyone liked the same things! And there's always a working loo in the countryside - you might just have to dig it first... Showers are more dependent on the weather!
 
Topical - Is the needle position manually adjusted or does it move based on temperature? I'm presuming the "No fireworks" has been added after an incident
 
StuartPearson said:
Topical - Is the needle position manually adjusted or does it move based on temperature? I'm presuming the "No fireworks" has been added after an incident
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Just manual, despite impressions, the US is a very backward country in many ways compared with other countries I have lived in. There's a bolt at the tip of the needle - you can just about see the bolt holes in the centre of the wedges. I think the sign goes up when the fire danger progresses above Moderate - I'm not aware of any incidents down here. The one advantage we've got in the desert Valley is that there really ain't that much to burn!!
 
Topical
They're not for everyone, but I really like the starburst, it sort of fits in with the fireworks theme.
 
My plan for food was a visit to our local ranch / farm selling pumpkins by the bucket-load, as well as various varieties of cucumber, apples, pears and sunflowers. The main areas of pumpkins were a little too crowded to be comfortable, even outside, but the ugly ones had enough space to let me take my time!

#1 - playing with the wide angle


20201022-Pumpkin_Patch (14 of 39) by Alex Morrison, on Flickr

#2 - playing with the macro



20201022-Pumpkin_Patch (7 of 39) by Alex Morrison, on Flickr

#3 - food (sunflower seeds) being slowly transformed



20201022-Pumpkin_Patch (20 of 39) by Alex Morrison, on Flickr

#4



20201022-Pumpkin_Patch (22 of 39) by Alex Morrison, on Flickr

#5 - I was hoping to get this little chap inside eating his fill, but light, skill and timing didn't quite all work out :(



20201022-Pumpkin_Patch (34 of 39) by Alex Morrison, on Flickr
 
Lovely series Alex and very colourful. I like the composition of number 3 the best as it shows some nice patterns and the detail is great too.
 
In an usual move for me recently, I'm actually managing to post this weeks photo during the correct week. And it's not even that much of a shoe horn!!

There are a fair selection of cacti out here with spikes ranging from slightly aggressively furry, to full on evil b*stards which will seek you out an impale you through your boot sole!

#1 is a Club Cholla (not to be confused with the Teddy Bear Cholla - the most evil of the cacti despite its name!)



20201023-Blue_Diamond_hikes (2 of 18) by Alex Morrison, on Flickr

#2 is a barrel cactus



20201023-Blue_Diamond_hikes (4 of 18) by Alex Morrison, on Flickr

And finally - #3, my choice for the week for the lighting, is a beaver tail



20201023-Blue_Diamond_hikes (6 of 18) by Alex Morrison, on Flickr
 
A good choice, the spikes are nicely lit. It must be a lot hotter where you are!
 
Nice collection of sharp spikes 1st or 3rd for me they are quite fascinating plants
 
Lovely light on thr spikey things!
 
mdpF2 said:
A good choice, the spikes are nicely lit. It must be a lot hotter where you are!
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Thanks! It's finally starting to cool down - high twenties most of this week except for today, when we have a high of only 14 :oops: :$

Allan.H said:
Nice collection of sharp spikes 1st or 3rd for me they are quite fascinating plants
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Aren't they just. Thanks for the comment.

Kell said:
They all fit the bill but the light is lovely on the one on the main thread.
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That was definitely what attracted me to that composition - thanks!

-Oy- said:
Lovely light on thr spikey things!
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Thanks!

Bebop said:
Fascinating plants. Lovely to see them all, but the main thread one has beautiful back lighting on the spikes.
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Thanks - the spikes seem to glow on some of them when there's backlighting, which can look amazing.
Phil S said:
The lighting works really well for your chosen cactus.
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seaodyssey said:
Hi Alex

Some great Cacti shots, love the lighting on the sharp spikes.

Pete
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Thanks all!
 
I'm sure you must have a massive choice when it comes to catci! #1 for me as the shadows cast create a nice effect.
 
Food
I really like the first pumpkin shot. It gives the sense of an endless field of pumpkins. Great blue sky too.

Sharp
I do like the one with the red spines.
 
We took a hike up Frenchman Mountain today - a reasonably steep 4 mile out and back, with a bunch of phone masts at the top as it gets a cracking view over Vegas:



20201101-Frenchman's_Mountain (1 of 32)-Pano by Alex Morrison, on Flickr

There are 2 comm shacks both with masts for both mobile and microwave links - and there are finally some clouds in the sky to give some character! Still unseasonably hot and dry - Facebook reminded me of a hike we took a couple of days ago last year to one of the local hot springs, and we were wearing down jackets. This year - shorts and tee-shirt...

I've not posted anything to the main thread yet as I've shamelessly stolen @HelenC's idea and also took a pinhole loaded with Rollie IR film - now sat in the tank waiting to be developed... I will wait and see the results of that before I choose a main image!

Stay safe in lockdown guys - hope round 2 is at least no worse than round 1...

#1



20201101-Frenchman's_Mountain (13 of 32) by Alex Morrison, on Flickr

#2



20201101-Frenchman's_Mountain (14 of 32) by Alex Morrison, on Flickr

#3



20201101-Frenchman's_Mountain (15 of 32) by Alex Morrison, on Flickr

#4



20201101-Frenchman's_Mountain (21 of 32) by Alex Morrison, on Flickr
 
Finally got the roll processed, scanned, etc. A few funky artefacts on the frames, but I rather like this one. I wish there had been a little more wind to spread the clouds out more (this was somewhere between a 90 second to the minute exposure - EI of 6 for this 400 speed film with a 720nm IR filter)



20201101-Frenchmans_Mountain_RSS6x12F_Rollie_IR_HC (1) by Alex Morrison, on Flickr

The digital backbone, and the city it serves - very much part of the Digital Age!
 
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Hi Alex

Nice to see that you have pointy hills to put all your masts on, Round here in Milton Keynes they put them in the middle of roundabouts, which we have lots of in MK.

I like the IR Film shot most.

Pete
 
The one with the hiker is very good but I also like the the film shot difficult to choose so I won’t
 
Both good shots, probably would go for the film shot.
 
seaodyssey said:
Hi Alex

Nice to see that you have pointy hills to put all your masts on, Round here in Milton Keynes they put them in the middle of roundabouts, which we have lots of in MK.

I like the IR Film shot most.

Pete
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Thanks!
Allan.H said:
The one with the hiker is very good but I also like the the film shot difficult to choose so I won’t
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The hiker is my wife - she's in the infrared photo as well, but does rather disappear in the background unfortunately.
Baloo said:
Both good shots, probably would go for the film shot.
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Nostromo said:
Digital
I do like the film shot, it's got a nice feel to it.
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Thanks for the comments all.
 
The film shot has real atmosphere. Works really well for the theme.
 
Well after last week's approx 30 degrees Celsius temperatures, we've had a cold snap with the first rain since February (!) and temperatures now hovering around 30 degrees Fahrenheit! When I arrived at work this morning (albeit at a fairly early hour...) the car was telling me that the outside air was 25 Farenheit!

But the plus side is that this has allowed us to explore some of the lower areas where it's been too hot to explore up until now. About half way to work is a desert wildlife refuge (it's one of the three landmarks on my ~45 minute drive through the desert. The other two are the entrance building to the live weapon aircraft range, and the high-security prison.) We generally get 2-3 days of colour on the leaves around here - and I think we managed to find some here (rather than just dead dry grass...) Other than the first picture of the homestead I've also put a gaussian blurred semi-opaque layer over the photos to achieve the soft-focus effect.

Before it was a Wildlife refuge, the area was a homestead and an bootleggers still (apparently Corn Creek Dry Gin was a famous beverage in the early days of Las Vegas!) One of the homesteaders started in a home built of railway ties, which have weathered wonderfully in the dry desert heat.

#1



20201109-Desert_Wildlife_Refuge_G9 (6 of 24) by Alex Morrison, on Flickr

There are a series of small creeks in the area which support the wildlife. We saw a bunch of birds, and evidence of coyote and tortoise. But the highlight are the trees and plant-life which the area supports.

#2



20201109-Desert_Wildlife_Refuge_G9_soft_focus (11 of 24) by Alex Morrison, on Flickr

#3



20201109-Desert_Wildlife_Refuge_G9 (14 of 24)-Edit by Alex Morrison, on Flickr

#4



20201109-Desert_Wildlife_Refuge_G9 (16 of 24)-Edit by Alex Morrison, on Flickr

#5



20201109-Desert_Wildlife_Refuge_G9_soft_focus (19 of 24) by Alex Morrison, on Flickr
 
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