Random Picture of the Week #143: West Texas Windmill

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This week’s random image of week is of a landscape image of an abandoned West Texas Windmill found on a ranch that stumbled across during my 2017 West Texas road trip.

West Texas Windmill

I don’t know what it is but I love old windmills. But I do not like the new power generators I think they are ugly and ruin a landscape. I prefer the old windmills that were designed to pull water from wells that dot the rural landscapes across the country. These old windmills are a dyeing breed. Most counties have community wells and water systems that supply rural homesteads. If a homestead is to far from one of these community water systems, the wells generally use a powered water pump that runs off electricity, generators, or solar.

On large ranches and farms I occasionally see working windmills deep in the back country out on the ranch to water the livestock.

For those that have a love for the old windmill look or can’t get power to their wells, you can still purchase windmills. They haven’t changed much in the last 100 years.

When I’m out exploring I’m always on the look out for old and new windmills to photograph. Back in July 2017 I was exploring out near Albany, Texas when I came across this old West Texas Windmill sitting just off the road on a cattle ranch. At one time this old windmill was used to keep an cattle pond full. Now the rancher uses other means to keep the pond full of water.

About the Image

West Texas West Windmill was shot on a bright sunny day in July using my Sony a6000 Camera and with a Sony E 55-210mm F4.5-6.3 Lens from the fence line. I then edited the images with Adobe Lightroom CC and Topaz Labs Denoise AI and Topaz Labs Sharpen AI and DXO NIK Collection to crop, clean up the image, remove noise, and recover the lost details.