Some pictures are hard to take

Some photographs are hard to take.  This one disturbs me because of the despair and sadness it reveals of the person.  When we were in Mexico I would often go to the the central plaza in the little town we were staying and have an afternoon cup of coffee mocha.  It was always quiet at that time of day because the local people were usually having a siesta.  On this particular day I saw this lady sitting nearby and noticed she never looked up or moved the entire time I was there.  She amplified the feeling I was having sitting in this quiet space.  I turned my camera toward her and made this one image, finished my cup of coffee, and moved on.  I didn't know her situation or life circumstances, but it reminds me of how blessed my life has been and how I need  to remind myself of that.

Land Use

Traveling around I am always intrigued with how we use the land.  This image was taken in upstate N.Y.  in the Finger Lakes region.  Most of these farms are owned and operated by Amish or Mennonite families.  Certainly the power lines are needed in this rural community to supply power to the region but quite a few of these farms operate without electric, especially if they are Amish owned.  I made my living constructing and engineering power lines in this region, and respected the relationship between the need to supply power to a community and honoring a lifestyle that rejected the use for electric.  Many of these lines were constructed back when bringing electric to the rural area was welcomed and the placement of the poles and wires were not much of a concern.  Today these lines and usually located along the roadways and not placed in the farm fields as these lines are.