Tag: clouds

Categories
All Things Connecticut New Print Releases The American Northeast

Beyond the Old Ways

Yankee Farmlands № 66 (Bloomfield, Connecticut)
“Yankee Farmlands № 66”
Field with plastic mulch, Bloomfield, Connecticut
© 2016 J. G. Coleman

In a small field in northern Connecticut, rows of freshly-planted sprouts dance in the breeze amidst cloud-marbled skies and nearby woodlands.

Modern farming represents a fascinating blend of old and new. After all, there’s something refreshingly timeless about a quiet pasture dotted with grazing cattle or a sprawling orchard of wizened apple trees. But advances in technology and technique have also enabled farmers to be more efficient and productive than ever before.

Case in point: the use of plastic sheeting, known as “plastic mulch”, seen in this field. Covering crop rows with plastic prevents the growth of weeds and better retains moisture, meaning less field maintenance and less water usage throughout the growing season.

Purchase a Fine Art Print or Inquire About Licensing

Click here to visit my landing page for “Yankee Farmlands № 66” to buy a beautiful fine art print or inquire about licensing this image.

Want to See More?

Be sure to check out all of the work from my on-going Yankee Farmlands project.

Categories
All Things Connecticut New Print Releases The American Northeast

Turning the Soil

Yankee Farmlands № 65 (Cromwell, Connecticut)
“Yankee Farmlands № 65”
Soybean field being turned with a cultivator, Cromwell, Connecticut
© 2016 J. G. Coleman

Morning sunlight filters down through a hazy mesh of clouds, falling upon the warm springtime landscape below where trees at the periphery of the farm are freshly-clothed in leaves. With planting time fast approaching, a farmer guides his tractor in broad loops around the field, churning the soil in preparation for a crop of soybeans.

Although most folks tend to refer to any disturbance of field soil as “plowing”, farmers can tell you that’s not entirely accurate. The tractor seen here, for example, is pulling an attachment called a “cultivator” which turns a much thinner layer of surface soil in a process known as “cultivation”.

Why not just plow the field instead? Plows aerate and distribute nutrients very deeply in the soil, a crucial step for growing crops that produce deep roots. But the soy beans that will be planted in this field produce shallow roots which can’t access nutrients that are buried too deeply. In this case, cultivating rather plowing keeps all of the good stuff close to the surface where it can offer the most benefit to the bean crop.

Purchase a Fine Art Print or Inquire About Licensing

Click here to visit my landing page for “Yankee Farmlands № 65” to buy a beautiful fine art print or inquire about licensing this image.

Want to See More?

Be sure to check out all of the work from my on-going Yankee Farmlands project.

Categories
All Things Connecticut New Print Releases The American Northeast

At the Threshold of Milford Point

At the Threshold of Milford Point (Audubon Coastal Center at Milford Point, Milford, Connecticut)
“At the Threshold of Milford Point”
Audubon Coastal Center at Milford Point, Milford, Connecticut
© 2016 J. G. Coleman

Windswept coastal grasslands crowd a weathered boardwalk which ushers us towards the beachfront along the Connecticut coast. Out over the ocean, morning clouds stage a stirring display.

While the unspoiled beauty of coastal areas like Milford Point may be the prime draw for many sightseers, the most essential purpose of these protected beaches lies in providing breeding habitat for migratory shorebirds.

Farewell Housatonic (Mouth of the Housatonic River at Long Island Sound, Milford Point, Milford, Connecticut)
“Farewell Housatonic”
Mouth of the Housatonic River at Long Island Sound, Milford Point, Milford, Connecticut
© 2016 J. G. Coleman

By the mid-1900s, some 120 million acres of waterfowl habitat had been lost to development in the United States. The federal government highlighted that very figure in a 1941 report, noting that “for many years most species of migratory game birds have been in a precarious situation”. Perhaps ironically, bird hunters of the era brought some of the earliest attention to problem, reporting dramatic reductions in available game compared to earlier decades. Luckily, these observations and subsequent studies spurred many early efforts to create a system of refuges to accommodate migratory birds, lest they decline to extinction. The work continues today.

Purchase a Fine Art Print or Inquire About Licensing

Click here to visit my landing page for “At the Threshold of Milford Point” to buy a beautiful fine art print or inquire about licensing this image.

Want to See More?

Be sure to check out all of my work from Milford Point.

Categories
All Things Connecticut New Print Releases The American Northeast

Talcott Cloudscape

Talcott Cloudscape (Hublein Tower & Talcott Mountain, Simsbury, Connecticut)
“Talcott Cloudscape”
Hublein Tower & Talcott Mountain, Simsbury, Connecticut
© 2015 J. G. Coleman

Towering cumulus clouds, their exquisite contours etched into a deep blue sky, soar over the crest of Talcott Mountain in Northern Connecticut. Broad shadows cast upon the ridge top engulf the distant, century-old Hublein Tower, a monolithic structure rising high above the forest canopy.

At roughly 700 feet tall, Talcott Mountain (seen in my newly-released piece above, “Talcott Cloudscape”) climbs prominently from the forests and farmlands of the Farmington River Valley. But perhaps it is Hublein Tower, at a height of 165 feet, which lends a better sense of scale to the vast, airy spectacle of clouds overhead.

Purchase a Fine Art Print or Inquire About Licensing

Click here to visit my landing page for “Talcott Cloudscape” to buy a beautiful fine art print or inquire about licensing this image.

Want to See More?

Be sure to check out all of my work from Talcott Mountain and Hublein Tower.