Geraint Smith Photography

Fine Art Images from the American Southwest

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Geraint

“It’s mine, I killed it and now I’m going to eat it!”

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Merlin. “It’s mine, I killed it and now I’m going to eat it!”  I made this image yesterday on my way home from my gallery in Arroyo Seco. I spotted the raptor on the fence post as I drove along. I pulled over, reversed about 100 feet and wound down my window. I said to myself, ‘that’s a male Merlin falcon, perhaps a juvenile’. I stopped about 20 feet away and while I was changing lenses I observed the Merlin tear at a dead bird’s chest … at least I’m pretty sure it was dead. I made about a dozen images, each, very much like this one. A few minutes later when a pickup came whipping by me, scaring the Merlin, the raptor took off clenching it’s prey. This evening I wrote to my friend Jean-Luc Catron, author of Raptors of New Mexico to confirm my ID of the bird. This is his reply … “What a beautiful photo!! You are right, it is a merlin, and because of the muted facial markings I can also say that it belongs to the subspecies richardsonii (prairie or Richardson’s merlin). It is a male because of the blue gray dorsal plumage”.   Thank you Jean-Luc.  Thank you for looking. G

Merlin, Prairie or Richardson's Merlin, Falcon

Adobe Route, Free Climbing Pigeons

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Adobe Route, Free Climbing Pigeons. “I got this… I got this!” at the St. Francis Church Ranchos de Taos, NM. I’m guessing here… perhaps they were eating seeds they discovered in the mud or bits of gravel for their crop. One thing I’m certain about, as I watched them work their way up the building, flying would have been the easier route to take. Thanks for looking. G

Adobe route pigeons on adobe buttress saint francis church ranchos de taos

Old Martina’s Hall

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Old Martina’s Hall, Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico. A play on words: Old Martinez Hall now Old Martina’s Hall. Martina being the new owner. I’ve driven by this building for a while now and the sculptural lines have always fascinated me. In the past, I’ve made images of the “Old Martinez Hall” and purchased beer at the now defunct drive up liquor window before the state rightfully banned drive up liquor  windows. On this occasion, I can safely say, it was the snow accentuating the sculptured form of the building that caught my eye as I drove past. Thanks for looking. G

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Pilar, New Mexico

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Homestead in Pilar NM. This is a fairly recent image although it looks like time stood still at the end of the last century and we happened upon it via a time travel machine. Very much of New Mexico looks a lot like this. Pilar is a vibrant hamlet on the banks of the Rio Grande twenty minutes south of Taos. There are resident artists, bald and golden eagles, beaver, otter and river rafting outfits. Come and visit sometime. Thanks for looking. Oh! … the cross shaped structure is one end of a washing line.

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