It's a cactus.  What more can I say?

We had an opportunity to head down to the Salton Sea, but stopped off in Thermal, CA on the way.  It's 118 ft below sea level, has an average temperture of 110 degrees in July, and the soil looks like sand.  Despite that, irrigation has turned this town into a thriving farmland, with figs, dates, peppers, lemons and limes being grown in abundance.  Here's a shot of some pepper(?) plants that we came across.  It caught my eye because the repetition of the rows is broken up by the one tilted pole.  

Palm Springs

 I thought this might make a nice opening shot, as it has a somewhat portentous nature to it.

Last week I had the opportunity to go to Palm Springs with my folks.  It was a great opportunity to get some shots of the desert, and my folks are always down for a photo expedition.  As a result, we wound up with shots from all around the area.  

Rather than post the whole lot of them in one post, I'm going to just do one or two at a time.  That way it prolongs your (the reader's) joy of getting new shots more regularly, rather than one long article you don't want to read.  Some of them will have a little blurb, others....not so much.

Vanishing Act

I'm still here, I swear.  Just been really busy looking for employment.  Here are some pictures I took at the lake to soothe your troubled mind while I'm taking care of business:

 Look at how empty they are!

Repetition

Repetition is a common theme in photography.  It can convey overwhelming numbers, the mundane nature of modern consumer society, or simply present a beautiful pattern.  I've included three examples from the last week.  They're accompanied by pseudo-artsy ramblings that may or may not interest you.  Consider yourself warned.

 The first shot caught my eye while I was sitting on my back porch reading a book.  The light was reflecting off the black grates and contrasted beautifully with the sky.  As is commonly the case, it was impossible to capture the range of light and color that I saw.  I opened up the aperture quite a bit here, and shot at f7.1.  I think it gives enough detail to create some semblance of order, but without any context, creates a distinctly abstract composition.  

I shot this while walking around downtown Chicago.  My idea was to capture the way office buildings seem to stretch on limitlessly.  By cropping out any base or edges, it makes the windows seem like a small section of a sprawling wall (which they are).  Furthermore, I chose to leave the harsh clarity, contrast, and muted color palate to reflect the dreary nature of such a workplace.  That being said, it could be the most interesting place in the world - who knows?

The final shot came from the same walk mentioned above, but is of a more modern building.  I also liked the way in which the light reflected off the two sides of the building differently, creating a contrast in both color and texture on two identical surfaces.