Tag: Rainbow

Stunning Rainbows, Supermoon Rise. 08-30-2023

Geraint August 30, 2023 21 Comments

Greetings from San Cristobal, NM. This week, super rainbows and a supermoon moonrise, around the Taos Valley. The Blue, Supermoon is this evening. If it looks spectacular and we are not clouded over I will post a shot next week.

The rainbows began with the monsoon rains that we finally experienced in abundance in the San Cristobal Valley. I think our neighbors in other parts of the county were jealous. I posted numerous images of rainbows from our field and over the foothills on social media. I didn’t have to go very far, but you know that already. However, last Saturday, the big monsoon rains arrived for all of Taos County. I could see the skies beginning to clear to the south, so I headed in that direction, towards Taos and got set up for a shot with Taos Mountain and hopefully a spectacular rainbow.

Below are images of what kept my attention, with dozens of people who were stopped and precariously parked along the highway through El Prado (the meadows).

Rainbows in El Prado NM — Double rainbow in El Prado, NM.

Supernumerary or rainbow bands are “extra bands, usually pale pink or green in color, often seen on the inside of the primary rainbow. They result from interference of light rays which emerge from water droplets in the same direction”.
I hope that makes sense. I don’t know the science of it, but I like the results that occur. Here’s another shot from last July when I found out about these bands.

Check out the light rays in this one. It happens, not always but here’s a shot from July 2018.

With the upcoming supermoon and a blue moon tonight, I took a client on a photo tour for a few hours around sunset yesterday. We were looking for something particular, but I knew we’d have time to scout a few locations. My ideal shot would be the moon rising over the Saint Francis Church in Ranchos de Taos. I’ve done it before, so I had that idea in mind with perhaps a different angle.

When the moon initially peaked over the ridge south of Ranchos de Taos, it looked nice, though the sky was a little hazy and not so blue (is it ever blue?) like this one when it occurred in March 2018. We took a few shots of the moon and the sunset and then headed to my planned location at the iconic church.

Blue supermoon rising — Supermoon rising over the Talpa ridge.

Blue supermoon rising over the Talpa ridge — Supermoon rising over the Talpa ridge.

Last but not least the not-quite-full supermoon rises at the Saint Francis Church in Ranchos de Taos.

Supermoon rising at the Saint Francis church.

As always thank you for looking. I hope you’ll join me for the next Blue Supermoon in 2037. I’ll see you here! Have a good week. G

Monsoon Rains, Fog, Rainbow, August 3, 2022

Geraint August 3, 2022 28 Comments

Greetings from San Cristobal and northern New Mexico, where the monsoon rains are abundant this year.

The monsoon season started early this season, and the forecast is for it to last through August. With a touch of shameless self-promotion, I can honestly say, now is the time to sign up for a photo tour/workshop.

Monsoon rains, northern New Mexico — Monsoon rains, over the Sangre de Cristo mountains, northern New Mexico.

I made a drive on a local backroad yesterday, and a pleasant drive it was. I shot some pictures of the dead and standing trees on the hillsides. The trees are remnants of the Hondo Fire that burned the area in May 1996. It’s a place of great solitude for me and a different kind of stark beauty. Despite the fire, the hillsides look very lush and green

Tree in fog, Lama NM — Tree in shrouded in fog, Lama NM

And a rainbow this week from our field in San Cristobal, NM, is my favorite view of rainbows, second only to Taos Mountain. I only have to step outside the door and look. Things got a little wet after this moment.

Rainbow San Cristobal NM — Rainbow from our field, San Cristobal, NM

As always, thank you for looking. Have a great week. G

Rainbows, Elk, Art Bus, July 6, 2022

Geraint July 6, 2022 10 Comments

Greetings from San Cristobal, the place for rainbows this week.

The skies turned almost black this week and brought more much-needed rain. We’ll take it! Being prepared for rainbows with one eye on the western sky, I saw a small opening in the clouds for the sun to work its magic on the landscape. It was still raining enough to get wet and just the right amount to make this rainbow happen. I thoroughly enjoyed standing out in the light and rain for ten minutes. Who doesn’t love rainbows?

Rainbows, Taos Mountain, New Mexico — Rainbows in San Cristobal with Taos Mountain lower center.

At the apex of the rainbow in the image, multiple ‘supernumerary rainbows’ or ‘supernumerary bands’s are visible. Below is the close-up.

Supernumerary rainbows or supernumerary bands, San Cristobal — Detail of ‘supernumerary rainbows’ or ‘supernumerary bands’ in the clouds.

Earlier this year, I met up with my friend Larry for a trip to Abiquiu. I hauled an elk skull and antlers in the back of my 4 Runner. It is large and just fitted in there. I wanted to share a photo opportunity with Larry and create a Georgia O’Keeffe-inspired image. I chose to make an image of what Georgia may have encountered when she came across the remains before she sketched and painted them.

The artist who created this outdoor art installation has been parked for a couple of weeks along the roadside in El Prado. On this day, I noticed that the painting of Jesus featured prominently front and center. He is juxtaposed with an alien and spaceship, accompanied by artworks of native American icons, two more dead guys, musicians Jerry Garcia and Jim Morrison, and a bevy of buxom women. Hallelujah!

Art Bus in El Prado, Taos, NM — The ‘Art bus’ roadside vendor in El Prado, Taos, NM.

Here’s an image of the fox that visited a few weeks ago. He was moving quickly, and the picture is blurry though it does depict the fleeting moment it happened despite being unable to grab the camera more rapidly.

Fox, San Cristobal — Fox, (lock up your chickens), in the field, San Cristobal.

As always, I hope you enjoyed this week’s tour around the block, thank you for looking. G

A little bit of This and That, this week.

Geraint July 7, 2021 20 Comments

A little bit of this and a little bit of that, from Ranchos de Taos, Taos Ski Valley, Ghost Ranch, Colorado, and the deck in San Cristobal.

I made this image of the ubiquitous blue window and shutters with hollyhocks in Ranchos de Taos. Hollyhocks are in abundance all around Taos this summer including the grounds of the famous St. Francis Church across the street from this scene.

We made a hike to the waterfall and streams coursing through the Taos Ski Valley to check out the wildflowers. Not a very long hike either. This little grouping of columbine comes back every year in the same spot. You can probably find a similar image from a previous year on my website.

Columbine, waterfall, Taos Ski Valley — Columbine with a waterfall in Taos Ski Valley, New Mexico.

We stopped in Ghost Ranch last week and saw that bits and bobs of a movie set were still standing. They’d even moved a dead tree that had fallen down a few years ago elsewhere to the middle of the set. (Thank you Mark Collins for the inspiration). We opened the doors and went inside. The light streaming through the holes made it sort of magical in a way. Thanks to the movie makers also.

Movie set chapel, Ghost Ranch, NM — Movie set chapel window, Ghost Ranch, NM

Last week I spent three days working with a client from New York during his month-long cross-country road trip. One of the days was spent in Abiquiu and the Rio Chama Valley chasing storms, followed by a day in the Rio Grande Gorge and along the High Road to Taos. Our final day was spent crisscrossing the San Luis Valley photographing abandoned farmhouses, barns, and this old bridge.

Lobatos Bridge, Colorado — Lobatos Bridge over the Rio Grande in the San Luis, Colorado.

The week ended back at home with a nice visual from the deck.

Rainbow, San Cristobal, New Mexico — Rainbow over the Sangre de Cristo Mountains San Cristobal, New Mexico

As always, thanks for looking. G

Northern New Mexico, Evening Sky

Geraint September 9, 2020 12 Comments

Northern New Mexico, one epic evening sky. In celebration of my fifteen year anniversary of posting one photo every day since September 9, 2005. I started my website with a rainbow so I thought I post a rainbow, with walking rain (virga) followed literally by the most amazing sunset a few days ago. Today we have snow and cold temperatures, so I stayed in all day. My website is my visual journal, I visit often. Thank you for joining me all these years. Onward! G

Taos Mountain, Summer Rainbow, Taos, NM

Geraint July 28, 2020 8 Comments

Taos Mountain, with a summer rainbow, Taos, NM. Delving in to the rainbow archive this week, I found this almost a tandem double rainbow. I’m saving gas not driving around Taos to capture more rainbows. I’ll start a campaign on current rainbows next week. Thanks for looking commenting and complimenting my work. I’m always grateful to hear from everyone. Cheers and enjoy. G

Rainbows, Monsoons, Old Trucks, New Mexico

Geraint July 26, 2020 2 Comments

Rainbows, monsoons, old trucks, New Mexico. They all go together to make up a quintessential part of New Mexico. If you’re like me, you enjoy a rainbow. They are easy to predict and track at this time of year. That said, the opportunity, in the image below, presented itself during dinner the other day. Thanks for looking. G

Rainbow, Highway, Taos Valley, New Mexico

Geraint July 3, 2020 4 Comments

Rainbow, Highway, Taos Valley, New Mexico. Highway 522 runs from Taos to the Colorado, state line. I was heading home after a day in Las Vegas, NM, sitting on a couple of different benches around town, chatting about photography and a hundred other subjects, with good friend R. David Marks. In this image I’m looking south towards Taos. After spotting the rainbow in my rear view mirror I pulled over and shot this. There is a confusion of light rays dashing every which way. I don’t mind. Thanks for looking. G

Rainbow, Winter Sun Light, San Cristobal Valley

Geraint March 12, 2020 6 Comments

Rainbow in the winter sun light, the first I’ve seen out in the field in San Cristobal this year. Scenes like this usually show up in the summer monsoons. There happened to be a mix of rain, sleet and snow. It disappeared as quickly as it appeared. Thanks for looking. G

Arroyo Hondo Mesa Rainbow

Geraint August 16, 2019 2 Comments

Arroyo Hondo Mesa, Rainbow. The promise from last nights post tonight. It was so large and I was so close that even three stitched images couldn’t fit it all in. The outer arc was thinly veiled in the clouds, so not as defined as the parts you see. I plan to do better! As always thank you for looking. G