Fine Art Images from the American Southwest

Day: January 27, 2021

Location Scouting, Rio Grande del Norte, National Monument, NM

It’s fun to hit the road or lack thereof, just for a day out. We made this day a fun day out with photography the secondary factor. I always have my camera on hand for when images present themselves when I least expect it. Then there is the other perspective of a preconceived image. Ansel Adams referred to it as pre-visualization. The former is how I mostly find subjects by allowing the day to unfold and present itself to me. I guess one would call it being open to the moment. I’ll settle for that. On this day we were out with our friends, Chris and Carla. Company is a good thing when going off the highway on muddy, rutted roads. The Rio Grande del Norte National Monument is a place where you are pretty much as far away from civilization as you can get in this part of New Mexico. Speaking of location scouting, I found several locations worthy of different weather conditions with dramatic lighting pre-visualized for future trips. Thanks for looking. G

San Antonio Mountain
San Antonio Mountain from the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument.

Road through the Monument
The road through the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument.

Rocky field with Cerro Chiflo
A rocky field with Cerro Chiflo in the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument.

I’ve added a few images below from previous trips’ location scouting in the National Monument. Enjoy!

Ground cover on the Volcanic Plateau
Ground cover on the Volcanic Plateau in the RGdN National Monument.

Lone tree on the plateau
Lone tree on the Volcanic Plateau.

Elk herd in the Rio Grande del Norte
Elk herd in the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument looking east to near where we live.

Pronghorn in the Rio Grande del Norte
Pronghorn in the National Monument looking to the east and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.

Rain on the plateau in the National Monument
Rain on the plateau in the RGdN National Monument.

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On the east rim of the Rio Grande Gorge with Ute Mountain.

You can read more on the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument here.