Just three images this week. A Cedar Waxwing visited the crab apple tree in the garden yesterday and got well fed up before heading out. I was surprised it stayed around as long as it did, about thirty minutes. I got a lot of very similar images. I chose this image as it showed the bird’s bright yellow tail tips. If you expand the image you will see bits of crab apple on the wings. It was a messy eater. The second image is from the San Luis Valley on a late afternoon trip to Colorado. We live about half an hour from the state line and enjoyed watching these wild horses. A different band from last week’s photo. The third image caught my eye on the road to town. I shot it shortly before the sun dipped below the horizon. I’m saving my energy this week for the eclipse tomorrow night, the peak happens around 2 am, long after my bedtime, but I’m looking forward to a clear sky and a beautiful partial lunar eclipse.
Cedar Waxwing in our crab apple tree, San Cristobal, NM
Wild horses, San Luis Valley, Colorado.
Tree in evening light on Highway 522 NM.
Thanks for looking. Wish me a good night shooting the eclipse tomorrow. I hope you get to see it where you are. G
I’ll start with this morning at 6:30 am and the waning crescent moon rising with Mercury over the Sangre de Cristo foothills outside our dining room window. I’d just set up the camera for the moon when Mercury popped up behind the trees. I was surprised. Sometimes it’s hard to observe Mercury so close to the sunrise. It worked for me and as is said, timing is everything! A few minutes later in the second photo a little to the south, I spotted Spica (Alpha Virginis) the brightest star in the constellation Virgo the Maiden. You can just about see it!
Crescent Moon and Mercury rising from the dining room window.
A waning crescent Moon, Mercury, and Spica.
Below is a window and crumbling adobe wall at the church of San Rafael in La Cueva, NM. The parishioners do a wonderful job on the upkeep of this building. This and the other walls will be repaired soon, probably by the time of my next visit.
Window, San Rafael, La Cueva, NM
The abandoned homestead in the San Luis Valley that I’ve visited many times over the years stood out in the field. The white walls were stark and glowing as if newly whitewashed by an unknown inhabitant. The powerline added an element of life to the abandoned building. There are a few “No Trespassing” signs so it’s not totally abandoned.
Abandoned homestead in the San Luis Valley, Colorado.
My latest favorite dead tree is along the Rio Chama, New Mexico. I’m making plans to revisit to document its ultimate demise. Interesting how it is very much dead but exudes so much life and character. Cerro Pedernal (Georgia O’Keeffe’s mountain) makes a nice backdrop. Georgia said that God told her that if she painted the mountain enough he would give it to her. Well, I’ve probably photographed it many more times than she painted it so under those rules, it’s now mine, so there!
Lone tree along the Rio Chama, NM.
The crows spend the first hour of the day warming up in our old cottonwood tree. They aren’t in any hurry to leave so I often watch them through the lens and take a few shots of these fascinating birds. Sometimes there are five or six of them and at other times there are dozens, you know what I mean, “a murder of crows”.
One of the American Crows in the old cottonwood tree.
Finally, one from a week ago in the courtyard at the Mabel Dodge Luhan House in Taos NM. It is always gorgeous and inviting at this location. Join me on a photo tour and we’ll stop in and visit.
The gatehouse at the Mabel Dodge Luhan House in Taos NM.
As always, thank you for looking. Have a great week. G
Every time I go to town I pass this scene and often make an image documenting it at various times of day and in different seasons. It’s definitely a favorite on the drive, and I always slow down for a look. Sorry to all the other drivers rushing to or from work!
Cottonwood and Willows, Arroyo Hondo, NM
I posted a few images of this mini church from the Ghost Ranch movie set before. In the second image, I got an angle from the front with the door open, revealing the cross on the sanctuary wall. I added the candlelight for effect, after all, it is a movie set. I had fun playing in Photoshop® this week.
Movie set church at Ghost Ranch, NM
Movie set church at Ghost Ranch, NM with added ambiance.
Pami and I made a short trip out to Abiquiu Lake last weekend. I’m grateful for all the photographer clients I was able to introduce to this area over the last couple of months. So after a dozen or so visits to Abiquiu, it was time for a personal day out.
Cerro Pedernal with Abiquiu Lake.
Check out these petroglyph panels along the Rio Grande, in Velarde, NM. My particular favorite is the “pink panther” lower left!
Petroglyph panels along the Rio Grande, in Velarde, NM
Join me on a Photo Tour Workshop and I’ll introduce you to some of my favorite locations.
As always. Thank you for stopping in and looking. Stay well. G
The light, it’s all about the light. Waiting until the sunlight lit up the road and the aspens ahead didn’t take very long but it did require a few moments until the sun emerged from the clouds. The moment and the picture happen, click!!!
Fall color and light on Highway 64, northern NM.
The following three images depict a local pond, a different way the leaves turn in one particular area, and a spontaneous composition on a log in the Carson National Forest a few days ago.
Aspen leaves on a mountain pond, in the Sangre de Cristos.
Aspen leaves in the high country of northern New Mexico.
Aspen leaves on a log in the Carson National Forest.
One fallen aspen tree leads the eye through the standing trees to the copse beyond.
Aspen tree Hopewell Lake, New Mexico.
A nice hillside of aspens in various stages of fall. There are still a number of weeks of turning colors to come. Join me on a photo tour and I’ll share some of my favorite locations with you.
Aspens on the flanks of the Brazos Cliffs, New Mexico.
I frequently enjoy visiting this pond in the mountains between Taos and Angel Fire and this week we hit it with precision timing. The leaves were falling like rain on and around us. Here’s a video I shared on Facebook. Turn up the sound if you watch!
Autumn pond in Valle Escondido, NM.
And… last but not least, spending as much time on the road as I do, the opportunities abound. In this case a Porcupine trucking across the road. I had to move fast. The porcupine was fast, but I was slightly faster and that’s how I got this picture of a sweet little creature.
Working backward from today, starting with the landscape around Ghost Ranch, New Mexico.
The Landscape near Abiquiu, NM.
I made a couple of trips on the high road over the last week. The aspens are doing their utmost to please fall color seekers. The horses performed perfectly, positioning themselves just right.
Horse backs on the High Road to Taos in Truchas, NM.
The forest floors were already full of fallen leaves. There are plenty more to go!
Dewdrops on the fallen aspen leaves.
The skies over New Mexico have performed quite admirably, as they usually do. This place, with the old wooden barn storage shed, is always a pleasing stop on Highway 64.
Wood barn off Highway 64 in northern New Mexico.
My favorite aspen group on the Cumbres Pass, just over the state line in Colorado. This is my go-to barometer for how things are progressing as far as the turning colors go. I’ll be back there tomorrow.
Aspen Copse on a hillside, Cumbres Pass, Colorado.
The colors in this image seemed appropriate for the season, on this old tractor parked in a field in Jaroso, Colorado.
From fog in the Arroyo Hondo Valley to a full moon rise over Taos Mountain. From a photo tour/workshop in Abiquiu and the Rio Chama Valley to a large cloud over the Taos Valley, Taos Mountain, and the Rio Grande Gorge.
It’s been all go for the last month with tours. I have a few more tours coming up and then a short break for a couple of days following up on some personal work. I’m grateful for the photography tours and workshops and the wonderful photography clients I get to work with.
In the first two photos, I got up and out early to shoot the moon setting. Well, it set, right into a big bank of fog. So I shot the fog lifting in the Arroyo Hondo Valley just south of where I intended to catch the moon. Fog is a rare occurrence in this area, but we’ve had so much rain recently that it was only a matter of time until it filled the valleys.
A foggy morning in Arroyo Hondo, northern NM
A tree in the fog in Arroyo Hondo, northern NM
In the following shot, I sat out on the deck waiting for the nearly full moon to appear from behind Taos Mountain. When it did, it had a pinkish hue to it from the fire smoke in the atmosphere. It was still beautiful nonetheless.
Nearly full moonrise over Taos Mountain from the deck in San Cristobal, NM
The cloud below formed very quickly and filled the sky from Taos to the west of the Rio Grande Gorge. I had to shoot three frames and stitch them together to capture the immense size. I liked the corkscrew-looking form. I’d not seen one like it before.
Rio Grande Gorge, with Taos Mountain and the cloud that developed into more rain.
Lastly, a fun panorama shot at the Rio Chama overlook in Abiquiu with William, a client on a cross-country road trip who stopped in Taos and joined me for a three-day photo tour.
Fun on a photo tour/workshop in Abiquiu, Rio Chama, NM
The valleys are beginning to show signs of green. The desert has water running through it. The light illuminates the many forms and geology of the area.
Cloud formations with a complimentary tree.As they say, “a river runs through it” in Ghost Ranch, NMMany intriguing rock formations in Arroyo Blanco, Abiquiu, New Mexico
I’m never at a loss for places to explore in this area. Thanks for looking. Stay well. G
Saturn, Jupiter, through the veil of trees off the deck in San Cristobal, NM. The planets are moving closer together, at least from our perspective on this planet. In actuality, they are millions of miles apart. If you have clear skies take a look outside over the next couple of weeks as this great conjunction comes closest on December 22, 2020. Thanks for looking. G
Apricot tree, winter colors, Orilla Verde RA, Rio Grande del Norte National Monument, NM. It’s beautiful and colorful along the Rio Grande, and a perfect time for a drive through the area. The red willows add warmth, contrasting with the snow on the branches. A splendid winter day in snowy northern New Mexico. Thanks for looking. G
La Luna with earthshine, framed by our old cottonwood tree in the field. This tree, half alive and half dead is a hang out for many species of birds who frequent the valley. They have an excellent view of the deck and hence the bird feeders. Last night when the moon came out they’d already left their perches or they would have seen this beautiful sight. Thanks for looking in too. G
