Goat Herder

On a drive through the desert yesterday, I came across a goat herder along the highway. It was really foggy creating a surreal light cast.  I asked if I could take some images of him and he was good with it. He spoke to the goats in Spanish. I asked if the goats understood Spanish and he, of course, said yes.

I imagined cars, with heaters turned on and music going, racing by him all day and all winter. He was hidden in plain sight which in some ways is why I like the shadow from his hat concealing his eyes in an image below...

Goat Herder. Winter 2018. Idaho.

Goat Herder. Idaho. Winter.

The Sawtooths

Smoky skies are the new norm for August. Thunderstorms have been rolling through too, compounding the surreal color cast with a muggy and palpable sky. Sometimes it smells like sweet pipe smoke. The rest of the time it's not discernible to my nose. Burning sage and bitterbrush to the south and I suppose some cheatgrass as well. Lodgepole pines are getting cremated to the north. A visual amalgamation of sorts: muted, Impressionistic, cold-blue in August, and teary-eyed. 

Sawtooths & Smoke. August 2017. Idaho.

Sawtooths & Smoke. August 2017. Idaho.

Deadbeat Dam

A deadbeat dam. It's very surreal but no longer serves a functioning purpose. It's a cop out to me--albeit a time honored tradition in the west--to retire dams or mines or anything for that matter and leave them as de facto corpses.

Fish Creek Dam. Idaho.