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Let It Be #1
Bozeman, Montana
2011

Suppose your spouse (or significant other or parent or just someone you care for a great deal) has been in surgery for almost ten hours and the doctors told you it would only take five and they haven’t told you much of anything since the surgery started except everything was “fine” and it has been two hours since anyone has said anything to you at all and in fact all the visible hospital employees are leaving the building and come eight in the evening you’re still waiting, the only person in a large, empty room and it’s gray and dreary out, and it’s starting to snow and getting dark. How would you maintain your vigil, allowing yourself legitimate concern but occupying yourself to keep your imagination from taking your mind to places you don’t want to go? What calming techniques would you use? In my case, I went to my car and grabbed a camera and starting taking photos from the waiting area. Did it work? To a degree yes. This story had a happy ending–everything came out fine, and now I have a short series of photos from that evening to share over the next few days.

Window Abstract
Wilsall, Montana
2011

A close-up of some interesting shapes and textures on the grain elevator in Wilsall.

Not an Exit
Wilsall, Montana
2011

Another example of why you shouldn’t believe everything you read.

Montana Elev’Co.
Wilsall, Montana
2011

The side of a rather massive grain elevator seems like an odd place to need to resort to creative abbreviation. Looks to me like there would have been plenty of room to spell out the whole name using the same size “font” as the existing letters if only they had arranged it like this:

MONTANA
ELEVATOR
COMPANY

Maybe they were just trying to save paint.

Grain Geometry
Wilsall, Montana
2011

I’m sure I’ve said this before, but I love the geometric shapes and forms and lines found in grain elevators. They make such compelling abstract images they’re hard to stay away from.

Sylvan Sundials
Bozeman, Montana
2011

Down the road from our house, these trees cast a shadow straight down the hill at about 2:00 o’clock–make that 3:00 o’clock now that daylight savings time has taken effect.

Patriot’s Dream #14
Shields River Valley, Montana
2011

We took a drive below the snow line in the lowlands (low for this part of Montana anyway) this morning where we came across this strange critter.

Transition
Bozeman, Montana
2011

I’ve got some more snow photos to post, and there is still a couple feet of snow on the ground outside my studio, but it’s such a beautiful warm sunny blue-sky day outside I decided to go with something more springlike. A number of years ago, when talking about what color flowers to plant outside our house, I didn’t have any particularly strong preferences except I knew I didn’t want white. With snow on the ground so many months out of the year, I thought it was a good idea to put some variety in our lives and give some other colors a chance during growing season. Still, since we’re in that transition time between winter and spring, I suppose it’s appropriate that the first flowers to appear on our dining room table should be white tulips, and they are quite striking against the dark wood surface.

Cold Fired
Bozeman, Montana
2011

I took this while I was out skiing yesterday. It’s amazing what adding some elevation will do to the signs of spring (or the lack thereof).