Picture of the Month by Tina Wright March 2003

BLAZING TUMBLEWEED
BOSQUE DEL APACHE NWR, NEW MEXICO

Nikon F4s, Nikkor 500mm Lens, 1.4x Teleconverter
Bogen Tripod, Kodak E100VS Film

I shot this image while on a recent trip to Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico. It was late afternoon on my first day, and I was driving along the Farm Loop to get a general feel for the area. I made frequent stops throughout to photograph the large concentrations of birds that make Bosque famous. In this particular instance though, it was not the birds that captured my attention. Instead it was something so seemingly mundane that most people would have passed by without giving it even the slightest of glances.

The fact that most people would have passed it by is exactly why I selected it as a "Photo of the Month". Bosque is a beautiful representation of why freshwater marshes are so important to a healthy ecosystem, but the fact still remains that the marshes sit in the middle of a dry scrubby desert. Strange…but true. Personally I enjoy recording visual elements of the desert's landscape. Despite its stark appearance, the desert can be rich in photographic potential if one simply opens their mind to the possibilities.

In this case it was a common tumbleweed that beckoned my eye to explore further. But a tumbleweed on its own, does not a great photograph make. I mean, lets face it, tumbleweeds are a dime a dozen in the desert. Throw some sort of exceptional element into the mix though - well then you have the recipe for a great photograph. That element in this instance was light, or more specifically, the direction of light.

The tumbleweed sat alone in the middle of a stark field, and though I did see the beauty in its simplicity, it was ultimately the strong backlight illuminating the scene that persuaded me to trip the shutter. Tumbleweeds are merely the delicate skeletal frames of long-ago deceased scrub bushes. Those delicate frames are precisely what make them such perfect subjects for a backlit situation.

Backlighting occurs when the sun is positioned in front of your camera, thereby illuminating your subject from behind. This type of lighting works best with translucent subjects or subjects that possess similar qualities, such as the fine branches of a tumbleweed. These fine branches allow the light to pass directly through them wrapping the main skeletal body in a glowing halo. When I saw the backlit tumbleweed sitting alone in the dark, barren field, I couldn't help but be entranced by it. I knew immediately its potential and quickly seized the moment before the light had a chance to change.

So the next time you are out photographing an area with specific subjects in mind, don't forget to keep your mind free and your eyes open to all the possibilities surrounding you - even those that initially may seem commonplace.