Friday, August 6, 2010

August Haze

This is a typical Indiana August morning. The heat and humidity combine to produce colors that the camera cannot capture. Light is gold with a hint of pink, everything takes on a magical glow, even the weeds and far off treeline. It is magic to stand and watch; mesmerizing to the point of being motionless.


Lens flare captures the feel of the coming day better than walking though the heavy air; it seems to part like water while languidly strolling. The heat is upon us early, and the old saying of "Red sky at dawn, Sailor be warned" is exceptionally true. These are the conditions that produce super-cells and occasionally duratios; they pop up in the afternoon as tiny thunderstorms and suddenly become massive, roiling creatures with great speed and vengeance.


After storms of this nature pass, there is occasionally a glow that, though I have tried and tried, I cannot capture. When I stood taking the photo of the corn tassels, they were sparkling as if gilded. Color becomes unreal---you cannot trust your eyes. Something in the water and the light; the dense air and the sun dropping to the horizon......everything is rich with intense hues.


We are a land of big skies; clouds not to be contained within a viewfinder. Cumulus that goes on and on, and bears remnants of the earlier threats. Blues that border on black. Shades of grey that do not cooperate with the photographer.


Striking silhouettes of simple trees against the last remaining puffs and rumbles of the storm. Impressive visions from the common. The feeling of being enveloped at any moment by cloud or dark, should the creature turn and strike again.........


And then, as if a promise to behave better tomorrow, a hint of shell-pink blush and the sun says goodnight. Another setting, intensified by the wrath of mother nature, a moment to linger in the peace of birds singing, water droplets finding the ground and the scent of the world scrubbed clean.


How small and insignificant we really are!

Pax....

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

First of all Anne, Your photography is beautiful! It is
frameable!
Yes, we are insignificent... Too many people wander through life thinking that when they die the world will just stop. Guess what??? It just keep on spinning. How can humanity think it is the end-all & the be-all??
Love your post!
Always,
Marilyn

audrey said...

Ahhhh, Anne, so well said.
Sometimes it is frustrating to not be able to capture that special glow in print. Perhaps that is meant to be and we are to imprint those special times on the canvas of our minds.
Beautiful photographs.
HAPPY, Stormless FRIDAY!!!
♥ audrey

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

Hey MArilyn,

Yeah, I've known people who really do think the world will stop spinning when they pass! LOL!!!
This was sort of a fun post to put up as it was all one day...except fot the bad stuff!


XXOO!!
Anne

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

Hey Audrey,

YES! You know what I mean about te *glow*.
I suppose it could be photoshopped in, but I like to just crop, adjust exposure to what it really looked like and leave it at that.
The glow is just for *eyes only*! ;)

XXOO!!
Anne

Linda and Michelle said...

Gorgeous prose, gorgeous photos! What a great combination! It is so different from the harsh clear light of the desert.

Jan said...

Lovely photos, you always have such a good eye for these scenic shots. Plus you get up so early, enabling you to actually photograph in these light conditions. Nice work, Anne.

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

Hi Linda,

Yes, I imagine it is. We do get some beautiful shades of color in morning and evening and sometimes it is like everything is in a coating of pink glass!
But the desert had it's own unique colors too; would love to photograph it sometime, well, not in the Summer! LOL!!!

XXOO!!
Anne

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

Hey Jan,

That was LUCK that I was up that early! I have been sleeping in since they changed the time (my body refuses to readjust....) but I think my arthritis was having a fit that morning. I looked out the window, saw the sun peeping up and waddled as fast as I could to grab the camera!!! And out I went, camera, PJs, bunny slippers.....LOL!!!

XXOO!!
Anne

*Ulrike* said...

Beautiful photos Anne! It is always hard to capture the right thing or else we have to run inside to get our camera, and then the moment is gone!!!
Take Care,
Ulrike

yoborobo said...

Hi Anne! Lovely pics. It ALMOST makes the humidity worth it. We got a little breeze today - so nice! I am hoping we have seen the worst of summer. :) xox! Pam

marianne said...

getting caught up- absolutely beautiful- i can feel the humidity and warmth. the power of nature is amazing-

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

Hi Ulrike!

Oh isn't that the truth! Usually I am in the studio, so I am close to the camera. I guess I need a holster to wear all the time or just duct tape it to my neck! (then I'd wonder where I'd put it....LOL!!!)

XXOO!!
Anne

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

Hey Pam,

Yes----ALMOST!!! JUst for that moment, then it can go away! I ended up mowing yesterday and while the weather was tolerable, the John Deere beat the tar out of me. I am still sore this morning. It was an adventure---A worm in my bra, a crabapple in the ear and tons of weed and tree debris down my drawers.
WHAT EXCITEMENT!!!! :D

XXOO!!
Anne

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

Hey Marianne!

I am glad one of us is getting caught up--LOL!
It is always amazing to me what I capture in the viewfinder. I *know* the lay of the land---it is plain, nothing exceptional---and then I get these magnificent combos of color and feel, warmth and storm, afterglow.....just from a point of view on a common acre.
Pretty cool!

XXOO!!
Anne

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