Geraint Smith Photography

Fine Art Images from the American Southwest

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Month: August 2023

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.

Supernumerary bands
Supernumerary bands.

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

Rainbows with cattle in El Prado, Taos
Rainbows with cattle in El Prado, Taos

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
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

Bosque del Apache, Marsh Habitats. 08-23-2023

Geraint August 23, 2023 14 Comments

Greetings from San Cristobal, NM. This week, I’m revisiting the Bosque del Apache in the quiet off-season before the bulk of the birds and the crowds of tourists and photographers arrive. I have the place pretty much to myself.

Here are some quieter moments in the Bosque del Apache, beginning with Hammer Hank, one of the resident Great Blue Herons with this prime location for skewering fish that make it into the irrigation channel. You’ve got to love these opportunistic fishers.

Great Blue Heron, on an irrigation channel Bosque del Apache
Great Blue Heron, “Hammer Hank”

The marshes are flooded awaiting the arrival of thousands of birds. If you get a chance to go there, you won’t be disappointed.

Bosque del Apache tumbleweed willows.
Tumbleweed and willows in the marsh.

The willows and grasses add a lot of privacy for the birds and wildlife.

Grasses along the marshes
Grasses along the marshes.

Little nooks and crannies provide hiding places and make for mysterious-looking portals to the underworld of the march banks.

Grass form
Portal in the grasses.

Tumbleweeds are the ubiquitous and unofficial plant of New Mexico and the Southwest. Locally, they are known as mesa street sweepers. I have seen them with numerous pieces of styrofoam, cups, and plastic grocery bags attached.

Tumbleweed
Tumbleweed.

The marshes are often very calm, offering pristine reflections in the early morning light.

Marsh grasses BdA
Marsh reflections.

I titled this “Cornbird” although I suspect it is a Pine Siskin. I caught it on the hop from one corn row to the next.

Corn bird in the cornfileds
“Cornbird” in the cornfields.

Below is one of many sluice/headgates in the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge that divert water from the Rio Grande to the marshes.

Sluice gate BdA
Sluice or headgate.

And for those who like color, there’s plenty of that too.

Dawn in the National Wildlife Refuge
Dawn in the National Wildlife Refuge.

I hope you enjoyed this week’s trip.

As always, thanks for looking, commenting, and all the wonderful compliments. G

Black Mesa, Rainbow, And Walking Rain. 08-16-2023.

Geraint August 15, 2023 27 Comments

Greetings from San Cristobal, NM. This week a moonrise over the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, Black Mesa, the Capilla de la Sagrado Familia, and the iconic cemetery, near San Ildefonso Pueblo, NM.

Black mesa and Capilla de la Sagrado Familia, NM
Black mesa and Capilla de la Sagrado Familia, NM.

Rainbows have been intermittent this summer but they have been spectacular. Here’s one of my favorite scenes taken in El Prado with cattle and Taos Mountain (Pueblo Peak).

Rainbows in El Prado with Taos Mountain, (Pueblo Peak)
Rainbows in El Prado with Taos Mountain, (Pueblo Peak).

Walking Rain is a spiritual experience in my mind. If you visit New Mexico, primarily in the summer months, you will more than likely, see this phenomenon for yourself. Here are two shots I like.

Walking Rain across the plateau west of Taos
Walking Rain (virga) at sunset across the plateau west of Taos.

I also call walking rain, rain curtains. It’s technically called Virga rain. Check it out over the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, New Mexico.

Walking rain, rain curtain, Taos mountains
Walking rain, rain curtain, Taos mountains.
Walking rain, rain curtain, Taos mountains close up.
A close-up in the walking rain, in the rain curtain!

I hope you are enjoying my posts. Please feel free to share with your family and friends.

As always, thank you for looking. G.

On The Road, New Mexico, And Colorado. 08-09-2023

Geraint August 8, 2023 14 Comments

Greetings from San Cristobal, NM. This week on the road in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado. I spent a couple of days photo trekking last week discovering new sights and sites with longtime friend, and fellow trekker Ron. There are always new images waiting for us in familiar locations.

If you are planning to visit New Mexico this fall, check out my photo tour/workshops. Lets get started.

On the road at Saint Francis church
Saint Francis Church with hollyhocks.
Saint Francis church door
Door number seven, Saint Francis Church door, Ranchos de Taos.
Building, Cerro NM
Building in Cerro, NM.
Plant growing out of a building on the road in Dixon NM
Plant growing out of a building crack, Dixon NM
Street markings
Street parking markings.
Woodpile, on the road in Truchas, NM
Woodpile and corrugated steel roof, Truchas, NM.
Building with TV antenna, Truchas, NM
Building with TV antenna, Truchas, NM.
Penitente Morada, Truchas, NM
Penitente Morada, Truchas, NM.
Trailer, Colorado
Trailer, southern Colorado.
Chevrolet 1946 Fleetline, Garcia Colorado
Chevrolet 1946 Fleetline, Garcia Colorado.

As always, thank you for looking. G

Rio Grande Gorge, Black, White, And Color. 02-08-2023

Geraint August 2, 2023 12 Comments

Greetings from San Cristobal, NM. This week the Rio Grande Gorge, from its beginning to where it cuts deep into the canyon of the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument.

If you look closely, you can see the cliffs of the Rio Grande gorge uplifting left of center. I refer to this spot as where the river meets the rift. From this point, the river travels south, never leaving the Rio Grande Gorge. At the deepest point, the river is over eight hundred feet below the canyon rim.

The Rio Grande where the gorge begins, Colorado
The Rio Grande where the gorge begins, Colorado.

Below is a view of Ute Mountain with the Rio Grande as it makes its way through the Wild and Scenic Rivers Recreation Area of the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument. The sky and darkness in the canyon, with only the river and Ute Mountain, highlighted, made for a dramatic image. Click here for another view.

Ute Mountain with the Rio Grande gorge in the Wild Rivers Recreation Area
Ute Mountain with the Rio Grande Gorge.

Heading home on a photo tour with Scott last week, I couldn’t resist another picture of the red barn in the San Luis Valley. The barn, accompanied by a brooding sky, called for a black-and-white photo. I know the barn won’t be standing for much longer. It’s already losing its siding and beginning to corkscrew. With the high winds making direct hits and randomly carting off planks of wood across plains, more and more light gets through the building. In the background are a large field of potato plants and a center-pivot irrigation machine.

Red Barn, San Luis Valley, Colorado
Red Barn, San Luis Valley, Colorado.

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