Greetings from New Mexico. This week, a section of a very large elk herd in the San Luis Valley, and a few more scans from my Kodachrome 64 slide transparency collection. There were many more elk than I could fit in the panorama, in a different area of the fields. Still, you get the idea!
I found this scene amusing, the one guy looking up. I never did find out what he found so interesting.
Bodie Ghost Town, California.
A favorite quote from T.E. Lawrence of Arabia, Kodachrome 64 converted to black and white in Photoshop.
T.E. Lawrence quote 1985 on a building in Pasadena, CA.
This girl left her shoes and beach shovel and went for a run on Bamburgh beach.
Girl running on Bamburgh beach, UK
One of my jobs in the 1980s was photographing for the planning and development departments, among others. I had a lot of fun and really liked this picture when I took it and again today. Read more here in my bio.
St. Andrews and construction, Pasadena, CA
Another vintage-style poster/postcard created using three of my images, the car, adobe buildings, and a landscape with sunset, along with some prompts in AI, to create the graphic design.
Vintage style poster/postcard.
As always, thanks for looking. Have a great week. G
Greetings from San Cristobal, NM! This week, I’m again dipping into a bit of randomness by exploring the archives. I’ve selected a few images from the past, including some that were captured on this day in February in previous years.
This photo was taken on a hillside in Elizabethtown, located in the Moreno Valley, New Mexico. The hillside was covered in ice, which was beginning to thaw around the small, ice-bound plants.
Ice Plant, Elizabethtown, NM.
Heading back a little further to 1985 and one of the most impressive castles, Bamburgh Castle, on the northeast coast of England.
Bamburgh Castle, Northumberland, England.
And a little further back to somewhere in Europe, Germany or Italy… I think.
“Destroy Power Not People”, graffiti, Europe, 1982.
Also, 1982 in Grindelwald, Switzerland. Who remembers photo booths on a random street corner or train station? I like this one for the randomness of the people and the center-bottom image of the little kid poking his tongue out!
Photo booth, Grindelwald, Switzerland, 1982.
One of the first photos I ever took was of my parents in 1965, using my dads Kodak (a bellows) camera with roll film. I was seven at the time. Originally, it was just a small, crumpled contact sheet image. Recently, I restored it using AI technology, bringing new life to this image.
Mam and Dad, South Wales, 1965.
As always, thanks for looking. It’s a lot of fun for me, going through the slide archives and old family photos, scanning them, and presenting them here. I hope you got some pleasure out of seeing these images as well. Have a great week. G
Greetings from San Cristobal, NM. This week, I’m revisiting Santa Fe, Taos, Abiquiu, and beyond, continuing my First Impressions series, including first impressions from other areas in the Southwest.
Doodlets of Santa Fe with their iconic geese. This was a surprise find while waiting to be seated at Pasqual’s restaurant in Santa Fe.
Doodlets of Santa Fe, 1985.
It seems that every photographer, whether they are a friend or a stranger, possesses a captivating collection of door images. These portals, each with a story to tell, have an irresistible allure that draws us in. My own archive is a testament to this fascination, spanning a diverse array of locations. From the charming streets of the United States to the historic avenues of Europe, the minimalist beauty of Scandinavia, and the timeless elegance of Britain. Each photograph is a window into the culture and history of its location, offering a glimpse into the lives and stories that lie beyond.
The image below was taken at the historic Chimayo Plaza and was one of many doorway photographs featured in my 1985 exhibit in Pasadena, CA. I presented 40 photographic works that sold out, and inspired me to make numerous trips to New Mexico, eventually leading me to settle here in 1988.
Door, Chimayo, NM.
Late afternoon light on the morada in Abiquiu, NM. Kodachrome 64 film, 1984.
In 1985, I visited Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park for the first time while driving back to California after spending the Christmas holidays in Taos. I captured the image below after waking up early, having arrived in the darkness the night before. Growing up in the UK, I had seen this landscape depicted in many westerns, but nothing could have prepared me for the awe-inspiring sight before me and the emotions it stirred within me.
Greetings from San Cristobal, NM. This week, a bald eagle on a day out shooting along the Rio Grande in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado, a moonrise from our field, and a few more images from my “New Mexico: First Impressions” series.
My friend John visited for a few days this week, so we decided to take a trip to Colorado and explore the Rio Grande in search of bird life. Although we spotted an otter, it was too elusive to capture a good image, so I don’t have a photo to share. We did see Mallards, Common Goldeneyes, and Common Mergansers. Red-tailed Hawks were abundant, and we were lucky enough to witness a Northern Harrier catch its prey right in front of us. Unfortunately, most of the wildlife, including wild horses and a herd of Pronghorn that I’m sure would have noticed us, were nowhere to be found. However, as we continued north along the Rio Grande, we were thrilled to spot a majestic bald eagle with the Rocky Mountains as a stunning backdrop. We knew the potential for spotting a Bald Eagle was good, as this is their domain, but we were still amazed when we saw it in this location with this backdrop.
Bald Eagle, Colorado.
Closer.
Common Goldeneye ducks landing, Rio Grande, Colorado.
“In Thanksgiving week 1984, I made my first of many trips to New Mexico. On this occasion, five of us friends set out on a foggy morning from Santa Fe and made our way north on the high road to Taos. The sites and sounds on the streets of Santa Fe soon opened up to the immense vistas of mesas, and beyond to the Taos Volcanic Plateau.
“We passed through the village of Chimayo, climbing the hill to Truchas (Spanish for Trout). Rapidly gaining elevation, the landscape changed to pristine hills of ponderosa pines and rust-colored tones of scrub oak in the undergrowth. The vast square miles of pine trees in the Carson National Forrest were punctuated by the bare, white highlights of lanky aspen. Through the misty veil of condensation on the window, we were afforded more than a subtle hint of what autumn in the high country of New Mexico might have looked like one month earlier.
“Leaving Truchas for Penasco, the fog set in. The temperature dropped in the sparsely populated, mountain communities of Las Trampas and Picuris. The colder air outside the car became magically enhanced by the aroma of piñon and juniper burning in the fireplaces of scattered homes. At this very moment… sometimes you just know it, the mystery of things unknown and northern New Mexico took a very palpable hold on me.
“Not more than four years later, in the spring of 1988 that hold tightened and I moved to a small adobe building, with two fireplaces, in Talpa, NM, and began stockpiling five cords of wood for what promised to be a cold winter that year…See More
Church cross, Taos Pueblo, 1985.
Taos Pueblo, 1985
Taos Pueblo, South House, 1984.
Apologies for the wrong date on last week’s post.
As. always, thanks for looking. Have a great week. G
Greetings from New Mexico. This week, I’m continuing with images from my New Mexico, First Impressions series.
I hope you enjoy traveling back in time with me. While some things have changed, dirt roads have been paved, some buildings have been replaced with box stores, and open fields and wetlands have given way to neighborhood apartment blocks—many iconic locations remain. For that, I am grateful.
A chile ristra is a string (or braid) of whole chile pods—traditionally New Mexico red chiles—tied together and hung up to dry. You’ll see them draped over doorways, portals, porch beams, or kitchen walls all across New Mexico. They’re food, folk art, and regional identity all rolled into one.
Chile ristras.
Koshare doll/artwork/sculpture in the window of a Santa Fe Art Gallery, 1984.
Koshare doll.
Taos Pueblo snowfall, thanksgiving, 1984.
Taos Pueblo snowfall.
San Geronimo Church, Taos Pueblo, 1985
San Geronimo Church, Taos Pueblo.
Taos Pueblo blowing snow, 1987
Taos Pueblo north house.
And one this week taken from the kitchen window. I love the view we have and feel very fortunate.
Sunset, San Cristobal.
As always, thank you for looking. Have a great week. G
Greetings from San Cristobal, NM. This week, a flashback to the village of Galisteo shot on 4×5 film, 1986, the Rio Grande Gorge, and a quick cellphone shot of the northern lights from our village.
House and fence shot on 4×5 film, Galisteo, NM 1986.
The northern lights and the little chapel from our village of San Cristobal. Not as impressive a display as previous auroras, but I liked the way the ambient light illuminated La Capella, setting off against the sky.
Northern lights, San Cristobal, NM
Over the next few week’s I’ll be posting more scanned images from approximately 40 years ago, taken on multiple trips to the Land of Enchantment during the 1980s, that I call “New Mexico, First Impressions“.
As always, thanks for looking. Have a great week. G
Greetings from San Cristobal, NM. This week’s photos include Taos Mountain (Pueblo Peak), before the foot of snow, Buddha in the garden after the snow, a northern Flicker in the old cottonwood, and a crescent moon.
I hope everyone had a good week. We enjoyed a weekend of snow. Now it’s back to sunny days and walks with the dogs in the snowy woods.
A northern flicker was busy burying seeds and whatever it had in the cottonwood tree. When I pulled into the driveway a couple of days later, my eyes witnessed an opportunistic magpie harvesting its stashes.
Northern Flicker in the old cottonwood tree.
Waiting until the crescent moon showed up. What a nice surprise!
Crescent Moon, through an opening in the clouds.
As always, thanks for looking. Have a great week. G
Greetings from San Cristobal, NM. Happy New Year! The first pictures of the new year, the first full moon of the year, the Wolf Moon, which is also known as “Canada Goose Moon”, “Greetings Moon”, and a favorite of mine, “Frost Exploding Moon”.
This year, I shot the moon rising from our driveway in order to avoid the big juniper trees on the property. It was a magnificent sight to behold.
When it first appeared behind the Sangre de Cristo foothills.
Happy New Year from Taos, NM. So many questions? I’m still waiting for the answers. Maybe next week there will be an answer. The random chair was a bonus with the ever-changing billboard, Taos, New Mexico.
So many questions? Billboard, Taos, NM.
And just around the corner, a random couch for free.
Also on the High Road to Taos, the church in Llano San Juan. I’ve been wanting to catch an image like this one! Three sunstars. I first caught one star burst, then two, and, waiting for the sun to rise ever so slightly, caught the third. The trinity. Here’s a photograph of the same church by FSA photographer Russell Lee.
Church in Llano San Juan.
As always, thanks for looking. Thank you for another good year. Have a happy New Year. G
Thank you for a great year. Thanks for joining me here, for your support and friendship, and for joining me on one of my photo tour workshops. I hope everyone has a wonderful time. See you next week. G
