We have had some marvelous blue sky days which have encouraged me to get out with the cameras. On Monday I took the dog along on a short hike in the foothills of the Sandia Mountains east of town. It was really nice to get away from city streets and into the natural setting, so full of forms, shadows and textures.
I decided to try a red filter which is not something I have done before. The auto-exposure of the Pentax ME handled the challenge ok, but the dark filter made it nearly impossible to see what I was aiming for.
When I got up to the base of the hill I was delighted to see a small group of mule deer peering down at me.
They were aware of the dog nosing around in the brush below, but they seemed more curious than fearful.
A week earlier:
I had heard and seen a lot of Sandhill Cranes in the sky, so I went out to the Los Poblanos Open Space just east of the river where they can often be seen this time of year. In past years the birds have shown up there in the hundreds, but they are not attracted to the area in such numbers now since there has been no corn planting. On this occasion I saw only about a dozen on the ground and a few more in the air.
I'll get out soon to some likely spots on the river to look for the cranes.
