Fine Art Images from the American Southwest

La Manga Creek, Colorado

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La Manga Creek, Highway 17, Colorado. Stopped at this spot two times this week on photo tours. Wasn’t sure I liked the dead trees on the left at first. I consider myself an environmental, as well as a landscape photographer and as such this scene depicts this location quite well. The forest in transition not only between seasons, but stages of growth and decay! Thanks for looking. G

La Manga Creek, Colorado

Full Harvest Moon, San Cristobal, NM

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Full Harvest Moon rise, over the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, from San Cristobal, NM. Cutting right through some haze for the first few moments as it rose and then boom… it was crystal clear. I liked this image because I can still see the the ridge line of the mountains giving the whole scene context. Now, time to put on a jacket and wander out to sit and bath in the moonlight, sip a little whiskey and ponder all the beauty out there. Thanks for looking. G

Full Harvest Moon, San Cristobal, NM

Harvest Moon Rising Over Taos Pueblo

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The almost full Harvest Moon rising over the Sangre de Cristo foothills at the Taos Pueblo, New Mexico. I waited ten minutes at this location along the highway through El Prado, watching amidst roaring traffic noise, waiting with the camera trained on this spot where the phone app said the moon will rise. The app was correct and I made a sequence of images from the moment it peeped over the trees. As it rose all noise from the highway seemed to cease. I heard birds and crickets and the sound of a light breeze in the trees. The moon silenced my world in that moment. Thanks for looking and continuing to look. G

Harvest Moon Rising Over Taos Pueblo

Cumbres And Toltec Steam Locomotive

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Cumbres and Toltec steam locomotive, seconds before pulling out of the Antonito Depot in Colorado and heading to Chama with a full load of steam locomotive enthusiasts and tourists. I always love watching the engine build up steam and hearing the pulsating, throbbing sounds, whistles and bells. The people aboard wave and call out “hi!” and “bye!” as the train pulls out of the station and heads to the mountains and the Cumbres and Toltec Gorge. We take a more direct route on a photo tour to Chama NM. What a start to a day on the road in the aspens and mountain light. Thanks for looking. G

Cumbres And Toltec Steam Locomotive

Moreno Valley Corral And Clouds

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Moreno Valley corral and clouds northern New Mexico. We stopped at this delightful, dilapidated corral on the Enchanted Circle drive today in the Moreno Valley. We watched the shadows of clouds and the clouds over the mountain moving swiftly across the landscape. It was a good day to stop at a location where patience truly proved to be a virtue. Thanks for looking. G

Moreno Valley Corral And Clouds

Canyon Of The Rio Grande

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Canyon of the Rio Grande. The Rio Grande flows in a north south direction from Colorado, through New Mexico, Texas and Mexico where it finally reaches the Gulf of Mexico. Six hundred feet or so below the rim the river passes through what is known as the “box”, a steep sided canyon on the Taos Plateau, seen here from the Highway 64 high bridge. “Our Canyon” now part of the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument continues to amaze me and visitors alike. The views are very vast and one gets the sense of a place where earth meets sky and separation is intangible. “Our river” keeps on rolling. As it heads south the river gathers more stories to tell. It nourishes and replenishes the landscape, wildlife and people of the desert southwest. Thanks for looking. G

Canyon of the Rio Grande

Nature’s Banquet

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Nature’s Banquet. “The banquet is spread constantly, with no thought of whether anyone will attend. If I were receptive enough, perhaps I would see it in everything. But I’m not, so photography is one of the tools I use to help me concentrate, to help me see deeply, to block out all that is extraneous and see that which is essential.”
Dewitt Jones.
Sunset across the Taos Plateau from San Cristobal, New Mexico

Nature's Banquet, Sunset Taos Plateau