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This may be the closest thing...

Started 4 weeks ago | Photos
GreatOceanSoftware
GreatOceanSoftware Senior Member • Posts: 1,222
This may be the closest thing...
9

... to a documentary photo I've ever taken.

The drought in the Central Valley of California has gotten so bad and water such a concern that farmers are starting to rip out their nut orchards and replace them with more drought-resistant crops. This is a walnut orchard that had probably reached the end of its life, and would normally be replaced right away. But I'll keep an eye on it to see what gets planted, if anything.

The trees were cut down in the fall and I've been meaning to shoot it, but I could never find the time until this weekend. I parked my car down the road and walked back to a clearing where I could shoot. The two deer in the photo were resting underneath the cut tree in the foreground and stirred as I approached. But they stopped in the clearing, and I was able to include them a few photos.

The scene is already sad somehow, and the nervousness of the deer and the fact that they must be wondering about me and what has happened to their orchard (and source of food) that it just adds to the depressed mood. Much like the recent rain and gray sky.

As fate would have it, we're having record-setting rains. Although helpful, it still won't make up for the drought. It would take a few more years of such. So ironically, the deer are standing in mud. Add that all up and it just seemed like black and white was appropriate.

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Randy

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