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Dugout Wells (+explanation)
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Dugout Wells (+explanation)

by Alberto Patiño

Gallery: Man & NaturePosted July 17, 2017120 views3 comments
Winter morning in the heart of Big Bend. The lonely Canary Island palm is, together with an old windmill and a few other scattered memories, all that remains from what used to be a small settlement, complete with school and library, in the early twentieth century. Today it is a beautifully peaceful oasis in the Chihuahuan desert. You can often have it all to yourself, especially at dawn.

P.S.: Craig's comment raises a good question. I decided for "Man and Nature" because the palm tree is "hand of man". The species is native to the Canary Islands and North Africa, and was planted there by humans. I am personally not concerned about the distinction between "Landscape" and "Man and Nature", but suppose that one shows, for instance, a lake that is an artificial reservoir, but neither the dam nor any other structure are seen in the image. Is this landscape or man and nature? One can come up with many more situations like this. Again, I have no opinion (for once....) but would be interested to know if there are some strict regulations in this respect.

Thanks Craig - good question!!!

Comments

3 comments
Comment posted by Craig Moreau on July 18, 2017 at 5:40 PM
Alberto, I like the fog in the mountains and the colors in this. It has a nice, quiet feel to it. I would suggest a crop of some of the bottom and right to remove that bright cactus in the LRC. Also, it appears that there are a couple remaining blending "halos," on the left mountain, the upper part is darker than the area below, and the top of the tall right side tree is dark. I might try to blend that out a little more.

As an aside, is any of the settlement you mention shown in this photo? Just wondering why the Man & Nature gallery. I looked around for quite some time and couldn't spot anything.
Registered on April 21, 2015, 64 Posts, 584 Comments
Comment posted by Igor Doncov on July 20, 2017 at 5:49 PM
Another fine image. I would definitely consider this a landscape gallery image. From my understanding there is virtually no original grass (buffalo grass?) in our midwest any longer. Does that mean that there are no landscapes to be shot in that region of the country? There are so many introduced species in this country. Many redwood canyons are lined with periwinkle plants, an ivy. In California eucalyptus grow everywhere except in the sierras and the trinities. Nasturtiums grow all along the central coast around Big Sur. Cow lillies everywhere as well. 

By hand of man I took to mean objects that were created by man: roads, bridges, sailboats, trails, buildings, canoes, man himself, etc. A few years ago someone got a WP in M&N of a closeup of a coot in water. Turns out the water in the image was from a reservoir. But the image itself gave you no clue about that. Strange.
Registered on November 22, 2014, 189 Posts, 2733 Comments
Comment posted by Jim DeWitt on July 24, 2017 at 3:48 PM
Nice capture and cool storm caps on the background mountains. I'm another vote that this shot belongs over in Landscapes, but, like you, I don't have a strong opinon.
Registered on August 28, 2006, 1240 Posts, 8506 Comments