The Open Plains of NM in Black and White (7/2019)

Everyone who knows me knows I love black and white photography. I’ll also admit to the tropes that a lot of the greats like Ansel Adams have inspired my photography and style.

I know, soooooo cliche.

But it is true.

On my camera, the C2 custom function button is set to a monochrome live view so I can shoot a color image but see it in black and white as I have found that tends to lead to better overall photographs from my camera. I may or may not process those in color but I still see the image I’m creating in black and white initially when I’m in C2 mode.

This past weekend, I shot a few images I thought would make great black and whites. I’ll let you be the judge for yourself but I’m pretty happy with these.

The sun breaking through over a farm yard north of Encino, New Mexico as showers try to take shape overhead.

A monsoon shower dumps rain over a wind farm as a curious sheep looks on at the photographer with some suspicion.

Sidenote: sheep are cute.

Cacti and the open plains grasslands combine in eastern New Mexico for a pretty cool landscape. Here, the small mounds in the distance and the wind farm add perspective as to the massive scope of the scene as monsoon storms try to form overhead.

The sun tries to break through as a strong monsoon storm rages south of Vaughn, New Mexico. This cell had dime size hail with it as I passed through this core just minutes earlier.

A storm east of Vaughn, New Mexico with a pronounced hail core (the white streak over the road ahead). This was my cue to wait this storm out so naturally I shot a time-lapse from this location. WOW!