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road ends
I have a book called Werner’s Nomenclature of Colours*. It was published in 1821, and written by Patrick Syme, who’s described as a flower-painter, which sounds like a pretty good job. If you like flowers. And can paint. And don’t need, you know, money or anything.
It snowed the other day so I went out to get some photos. The thing I noticed mostly was how much orange will stand out in a mostly-monochromatic field of colors; almost all of the photos have a spot of orange in them.
And this is where the book and the photos intersect: just for fun, I’m going to match the various oranges that I photographed with descriptions from the book.
This one seems to be most similar to Colour 77 – Buff Orange. The book says buff orange is sienna yellow, with a little Dutch Orange, and adds that is it similar to the “Streak from the Eye of the King Fisher.”
the snow day series
Lubbock, Texas
photographed 1.24.2026
*The full title is Werner’s Nomenclature of Colours, with additions, arranged so as to render it highly useful to the ARTS AND SCIENCES, particularly Zoology, Botany, Chemistry, Mineralogy, and Morbid Anatomy, annexed to which are examples selected from well-known objects in the ANIMAL, VEGETABLE, AND MINERAL KINGDOMS. Title just rolls right off your tongue. Eventually.
the peace-bringers
I appreciate an unlocked church. I like the silence and the way everything is still, as if waiting for something important to happen. I like seeing the simple things, like the stack of church newsletters on a table in the foyer or the place where the collection baskets are stored when they’re not needed. I like the statues and the saints, and the statues of saints. I like the lighting and the shadows. I like knowing that the place represents local traditions and beliefs, even when I don’t quite know what those may be.
And I mostly appreciate the trust of someone who decided to leave the church open, in case someone needed to be in it that day.
Presidio Chapel of San Elizario
San Elizario, Texas
photographed 12.15.2025
sharing space
I saw an interesting store display in El Paso last month. It was like a “compare and contrast” essay about the differences between European and Mexican versions of Catholicism.
On a side note, this sighting did increase my annual “white baby Jesus” tally by one.
El Paso, Texas
photographed 12.14.2025
arms full of jesus
I really can’t understand why I actively avoided doing street photography for a really long time. But I guess I got to it when my brain was ready. Or whatever.
At any rate, here’s a woman I saw in downtown El Paso last month. She and Jesus were out taking a bit of a stroll and they were kind enough to pause for 1/480th of a second.
El Paso, Texas
photographed 12.14.2025
trailer/house
There’s not all that much to see in Orogrande.
But I did see this place, which seems to be aging itself out of existence. The circumstances of small-town New Mexico have already aged it out of usefulness.
Orogrande, New Mexico
photographed 12.14.2025
One Day | One Image 