‘Ragged Blades’

DJI Mini 2 – 1/1600, f/2.8, ISO 100, CWA Meter

This PotW, while falling in the bizarre category, didn’t start out this way. I have been working on several ‘concept’ photos this week, and one of those was intended to be the PotW. However, don’t fret – you’ll see one, or more, of these in the future. This past Thursday was a clear, sunny day – but really cold. In any case, I decided to get the drone up for a pic of the Hoosier Crossroads wind farm. In my opinion, this photo is not ideal from a composition standpoint. The wind needs to come from the north or south for that, so the blades are parallel to the viewer.

I got the drone up (400 ft) and snapped the pics and then battled a high wind warning all the way down and back. The pics were stitched in Lightroom, but then I had an idea – I decided to try for another print of surreal art.

‘Ragged Blades‘ is meant to represent one issue with these wind turbines that I have seen – they can’t/aren’t being recycled. Built to withstand hurricane-force winds, the blades can’t easily be crushed, recycled or repurposed. Thousands of these are being put into landfills every year. There is effort going into things like crushing the fiberglass resins and then using for composite flooring – but that is still in early development. Until then, most will lie in landfills and be there long after you and I are gone…

Oh, below is another concept photo – not sure what I was trying to accomplish with the B-52. It could use a bit more work blending the plane with the background.