Another Exercise in "How People See"

A question I have been asking for several years and have written about before is "how do people see"?  Not the physiology of vision but what one sees when looking at an image.  Specifically what makes an image appealing.  Below is another exercise in that vein, a sunrise image over the Peloncillo mountains presented right side up and upside down.  While the first image is pleasing with wispy clouds and right angled streamers the flipped image is more visually interesting, at least to me.  The clouds themselves become the center of attention and more depth is created.  While the slight downward angles created by the inverted mountains seem to focus my attention onto the clouds where I perceive the increased depth.  These images were shown in the photography group, Cochise County and its Wonders and received some support, but only 16% found the inverted image interesting, as evidenced by a like.  My only conclusion is that I'm the outlier in the distribution of "seeing" since I find the inverted image more visually pleasing and interesting.

A Peloncillo Mountains sunrise

The same sunrise but inverted

The Long Light of Winter

Winter in the San Simon Valley is generally characterized by warm sunny days and chilly nights.  Temperatures drop to freezing but rapidly rise back into the 60's once the sun rises and crests the mountains to the east.  The sun rises and sets fairly far south and the mountains views in the afternoons are frequently bathed in a warm yellow light.  Below are 2 images taken on 2 consecutive days with the warm late afternoon sun illuminating the Peloncillo Mountains of southern New Mexico as viewed from the Painted Pony Resort outside Rodeo New Mexico.  The rich yellows and reds with the long shadows created by the sun's path across the southern sky creates an almost 3D effect in the photographs.  It really is hard to take a bad photograph down here.

The Rustic Cabin and the long light of a winters afternoon.

A view further south the next afternoon.

 

Looking East

I posted a video compilation of the views to the west showing the Chiricahua Mountains taken over time and now the reciprocal video, the views east over the Peloncillo Mountains.  Taken from the narrowest part of the San Simon Valley, about 9-10 miles wide and from the Painted Pony Resort, this video shows how the landscape and mountains of southern New Mexico are always in motion, always changing, always presenting something new to see with each glance.  The idea of landscapes in motion is not new.  Time lapse photography allows the compression of hours into minutes and the time scale can easily vary.  This compilation of images spans about 5 years and is by no means complete, but is representative of some of the scenes collected over time. Many are sunrise views taken throughout the year but some sunset and day time scenes are also included (especially if the clouds were interesting).  Another observation of how the landscape is always in flux for those willing to pay attention to their surroundings.

The Internet of Things Continues to Grow

First it was the new washer and dryer that were part of the "internet of things", but now the thermostats are included.  The touch screen thermostats at the Painted Pony Resort were a source of frustration at times for guests.  The screens on 2 units were the recipients of that frustration and were no longer working consistently.  I would periodically have to remove and reset the units after guests left to reset them and keep them functioning.  So the owner decided on a thermostat that was easier to understand and manipulate but with an added twist, an internet connection.  These new Honeywell thermostats have access to the router and modem and communicate with with Honeywell allowing remote (internet) control of the thermostats allowing the owner to monitor temperatures on the estate from his office back east.  The nicest aspect to these thermostats is the ability to set minimum and maximum temps that may be used.  This prevents very low or very high temps being set and left on by accident.