Greetings from San Cristobal and northern New Mexico, where the monsoon rains are abundant this year.
The monsoon season started early this season, and the forecast is for it to last through August. With a touch of shameless self-promotion, I can honestly say, now is the time to sign up for a photo tour/workshop.
Monsoon rains, over the Sangre de Cristo mountains, northern New Mexico.
I made a drive on a local backroad yesterday, and a pleasant drive it was. I shot some pictures of the dead and standing trees on the hillsides. The trees are remnants of the Hondo Fire that burned the area in May 1996. It’s a place of great solitude for me and a different kind of stark beauty. Despite the fire, the hillsides look very lush and green
Tree in shrouded in fog, Lama NM
And a rainbow this week from our field in San Cristobal, NM, is my favorite view of rainbows, second only to Taos Mountain. I only have to step outside the door and look. Things got a little wet after this moment.
Rainbow from our field, San Cristobal, NM
As always, thank you for looking. Have a great week. G
Taos Mountain beckoned across the meadows yesterday on my drive home. It always does! The lighting was intensely bright on the rocky outcroppings and peaks. It looked like snow had accumulated or, perhaps, hail.
Earlier, my son, Dylan, and I drove late afternoon along the Rio Grande south of Taos. The elusive wildlife was probably due to the number of paddlers on that stretch of the river. There were many areas of washouts along the roadside, evidenced in the very muddy river. Dylan spotted a Great Blue Heron who wasn’t having much luck fishing in the brown waters.
We drove on to the Taos Junction Bridge, where I shot the last image, in this post, of the headland that divides the confluence of the Rio Pueblo and the Rio Grande.
I’m beginning this blog at the end and winding up at the beginning.
I hope everyone is staying as hydrated and cool as possible where you are. If you enjoy the cool mountain air and a trip here appeals to you, join me on a photo tour/workshop in the high desert of northern New Mexico.
Taos Mountain storm in black and white.
… and in color. I’m partial to the black and white myself.
Taos Mountain storm in color.
I shot the image below in the Orilla Verde Recreation Area The storm clouds were building. I suspect it looked like this yesterday before the deluge that washed out parts of the roads in the area. I exposed the image for the lighter areas of the clouds and picked up the little highlight on the green grasses of the bench. I lightened the shadow to bring out the other green hues on the hillsides and the rock faces. Moody, just like I experienced the scene.
The sky over, Orilla Verde Recreation Area, NM.
If you are interested in seeing more images of Taos Mountain or the Orilla Verde Recreation Area you can put these search terms in the search bar on the website.
As always, thank you for looking. Have a great week. G
Greetings from San Cristobal and the beautiful White Pocket in the Vermilion Cliffs of Arizona three years ago.
Last week I was looking for some images on randomness when I came across these images in the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, in Arizona. I thought, why not post random photos from here.
The pictures reminded me of a head-spinning moment I had on a private photo tour/workshop with clients Ed and Kathleen. I was amazed by the landscape and didn’t know which way to look next. It is an incredible place to visit if you get a chance. I know I will return to White Pocket soon, albeit when the weather is cooler. In the meantime, I’ll stay here in San Cristobal where the temps last night were 68º F, perfect for a good night’s sleep.
Wave formations in the rock.
White Pocket rock formation with a cloud, AZ.
My client, Ed in Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, Arizona.
Photographer, not my client!
Rock forms and clouds Vermilion Cliffs, National Monument, AZ.
Rock formations in White Pocket, Ed included for scale.
Close-up detail of the rocky landscape.
Lastly, from the same trip, two random shots. One of the iconic trees in Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, Arizona, and one of a random rock.
Iconic tree in Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park.
Random rock, a tie-down for a vendors tent in Monument Valley, UT
As always, thank you for looking. I appreciate all the comments and compliments. Cheers. G
Shoot! In the James Bond movie, Skyfall, Naomi Harris who plays Moneypenny, is told by ‘M’ to take the shot. Of course, she hits Bond, and he survives. That’s how it goes in movies. It’s not a bad motto for this photographer as the title suggests, shoot it because it’s there! So here are a few favorites from the ‘shoot it because it’s there’ category.
This truck is parked in Questa just north of Taos. In the color version, the vehicle is yellow. I much prefer the image in black and white.
A truck parked in Questa, New Mexico.
Below, I caught some early morning shadows at the Saint Francis Church on the High Road to Taos.
A number seven in the shadows at the Saint Francis Church in Ranchos de Taos.
Out for a morning coffee, where even the mundane is worth a shot for me.
Cafe table and chairs in Taos.
I shot this image of a line of box springs that created a fence around a property in Elizabethtown on the Enchanted Circle Drive in the mountains of northern NM.
A fence constructed of box springs in Elizabethtown, NM.
Lunch at an upstairs cafe on the Santa Fe Plaza above the outdoor diners below.
A restaurant awning over outside dining in Santa Fe.
On a photo tour to Abiquiu, the Rio Chama, and beyond, we stopped for lunch at the Abiquiu Inn. While waiting for the maître d’ I shot what I saw looking down.
The floor covering at the Abiquiu Inn, NM.
As always. Thank you for looking. Have a great week. G
Greetings from San Cristobal, the place for rainbows this week.
The skies turned almost black this week and brought more much-needed rain. We’ll take it! Being prepared for rainbows with one eye on the western sky, I saw a small opening in the clouds for the sun to work its magic on the landscape. It was still raining enough to get wet and just the right amount to make this rainbow happen. I thoroughly enjoyed standing out in the light and rain for ten minutes. Who doesn’t love rainbows?
Rainbows in San Cristobal with Taos Mountain lower center.
Detail of ‘supernumerary rainbows’ or ‘supernumerary bands’ in the clouds.
Earlier this year, I met up with my friend Larry for a trip to Abiquiu. I hauled an elk skull and antlers in the back of my 4 Runner. It is large and just fitted in there. I wanted to share a photo opportunity with Larry and create a Georgia O’Keeffe-inspired image. I chose to make an image of what Georgia may have encountered when she came across the remains before she sketched and painted them.
A Georgia O’Keeffe-inspired image in Arroyo Blanco, Abiquiu, NM.
The artist who created this outdoor art installation has been parked for a couple of weeks along the roadside in El Prado. On this day, I noticed that the painting of Jesus featured prominently front and center. He is juxtaposed with an alien and spaceship, accompanied by artworks of native American icons, two more dead guys, musicians Jerry Garcia and Jim Morrison, and a bevy of buxom women. Hallelujah!
The ‘Art bus’ roadside vendor in El Prado, Taos, NM.
Here’s an image of the fox that visited a few weeks ago. He was moving quickly, and the picture is blurry though it does depict the fleeting moment it happened despite being unable to grab the camera more rapidly.
Fox, (lock up your chickens), in the field, San Cristobal.
As always, I hope you enjoyed this week’s tour around the block, thank you for looking. G
Greetings from the beautiful San Cristobal and Arroyo Hondo Valleys this week. We have virga skies and verdant pastures following this year’s early monsoon season.
The rain stopped briefly after raining straight for 48 hours. The sun came out for a moment before it began again. I hadn’t been out very much over the last two weeks. Drawn by the light, I grabbed my camera and headed out. I shot this first image of the virga rain from the driveway of our house.
Virga over the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, San Cristobal.
Within a few minutes after the first image, I hopped in the car and drove south towards Taos, where I would have access to a turnout and views across the Taos Plateau and the walking rain. You won’t find much about walking rain online, but the rain here looks like it is out for a stroll as it passes across the plateau west of Taos.
Walking rain across the Taos Plateau.
A little farther south is the beautiful Arroyo Hondo Valley. As I descended the hill and rounded the curve, this scene appeared. I stayed here for about fifteen minutes before heading home.
Pastures in the Arroyo Hondo Valley.
Sometimes all it takes is a brief moment outside to clear my head, watch the storms pass, and nature putting on a beautiful show.
A broader view of the verdant pastures in the village of Arroyo Hondo
Within an hour, it was raining again, a torrential downpour with hail hammering on the tin roof and skylights. Lightning and thunder pursued, giving our old dog the tremors. A cheese treat with a cracker cured it. We woke up this morning to clear skies and more rain in the forecast. I’m in no way complaining here about the moisture we need it. See how green the landscape is, compared to a week ago.
This week’s final image is of the garden Buddha surrounded by marigolds Pami planted. I made a double exposure, one of the buddha and the other to blur the marigolds. The garden is loving the rain. It reminds me of Wales. Except in Wales, it would be raining for three weeks.
Buddha statue features again in our garden in San Cristobal.
As always, thank you so much for looking. Stay well, and I’ll see you here next week. G
Greetings from a rain-soaked solstice and the first day of summer in Saan Cristobal, NM
A hike in Plaza Blanca is a great place to witness a solstice moment. This image is from a photo tour in 2018. The solstice this year found me asleep in bed. The clouds covered the sun, moon, and this week’s planetary alignments yesterday morning. I slept well all the same.
Summer Solstice, Plaza Blanca, Abiquiu, NM
There is a 12,000 feet peak in those clouds. Those two ravens know it. It’s great to know that the mountain peaks are shrouded in rain, clouds, mist, and not the choking fire smoke we experienced over the last two months. Today it has been raining for five hours straight. It feels a lot like Wales, where I grew up. Although in Wales, it would have been raining for three weeks straight.
Lastly, I wanted to add two bonus images from the High Raod to Taos. I often photograph throughout the day, well past the magic hours. The shadows in this image aren’t there any earlier. I find lots of subjects deserving almost any time of day.
Saint Francis Mission Church, Ranchos de Taos, NM
In this image of the big doors at the mission church San José de Gracia de Las Trampas, I lay on my back and took two photos. I stitched them together to create this different composition. Visiting places as often as I do, I like to inspire myself to find new and different angles. That’s the beauty of being able to make return trips to become familiar with the locations.
Under the big doors at San José de Gracia de las Trampas, NM.
If you are inclined to travel this summer, join me here in northern New Mexico for a private one-on-one photography tour/workshop. I’ll look forward to seeing you.
As always thank you for looking. Enjoy the weather where you are. I’m going for a walk in the rain. G
Yesterday I went on a trip with friends on the High Road to Taos. It was a lovely relaxing day with no schedule or plans except to have fun and make images.
We began our day trip in Ranchos de Taos and photographed the iconic Saint Francis Church. It’s easy to lose track of time when photo opportunities abound. When we final regrouped, we headed south, winding our way through the Rio Grande Gorge to Dixon, picking up the High Road in Peñasco, traveling on to Las Trampas, Truchas, then back to Dixon for a late lunch at the Dixon Cooperative Market and Cafe.
Saint Francis Church, San Francisco de Asis.
South through the Rio Grande Gorge brought us to the town of Dixon, where we found these two benches waiting for us in more ways than one.
Benches in Dixon, NM.
Bench back detail, Dixon, NM.
After an hour of wandering around Dixon, we headed to the Picuris Pueblo, (still closed to the public) and on to the church of San Jose de Gracia de Las Trampas in Las Trampas, the ‘place of traps.’
The church of San Jose de Gracia de Las Trampas, NM.
Truchas is a twenty-minute drive south on the High Road to Taos and abounds with fascinating and quirky visuals. Truchas was the setting for the movie of the John Nichols, book Milagro Beanfield War, filmed on location in the mid-1980s and directed by Robert Redford. Below is the Truchas Mission Church, Nuestra Señora del Sagrado Rosario.
Truchas Mission Church, Nuestra Señora del Sagrado Rosario.
The following few images are also located in Truchas, a short walk from the mission church.
House with TV antenna, Truchas, NM.
Hobby Horse in the cool shade of a portal on the High Road to Taos.
Ford F100 in Truchas, NM.
Mobile home, with tv antenna, Truchas, NM.
Before we began our trip, we visited Floras Valley Store in San Cristobal, where my friends came to meet me. I just had to show this sight to them.
Floras Valley Store, San Cristobal, NM.
We ended a fun day and said our farewells back in San Cristobal. I closed my day watching the “Strawberry Moon” rising over Taos Mountain.
Greetings from San Cristobal, the swallowtail butterfly capital, this week. They seem to like the San Cristobal Valley.
Many thanks for checking in and asking how we are doing with covid. One of us is doing better than the other. I’m getting there. The symptoms are mostly fatigue. I’m feeling a lot better today. Onwards.
Technically known as a Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly, it is the western variety of Swallowtail. They have been hanging around since the blossoms opened in May. It’s beautiful to watch their playfulness and when they land on plants, get a photograph!
In the garden, San Cristobal, NM.
A swallowtail butterfly was hanging on a hanging plant.
This tree, highlighted against a dark, red wall, caught my eye in the morning light in Santa Fe. I’m sure it’s all leafed out by now. I must go on another walkabout in Santa Fe soon or another urban area.
Tree, with a red wall, Santa Fe, NM.
Years ago, I did a series of images that amounted to a small portfolio of pictures of how the west was wired up and divided. I called it “The Wired West.” I found the image below recently. From a distance, I thought I’d seen a tumbleweed on the fence, not altogether unusual, but it turned out to be this jumble of wire stuffed down on top of the post. I surmised it was a leftover pile of baling wire from someone repairing the fence line. I added this image to the wired west folder.
Tumble-wire, Taos, New Mexico.
As always, thank you for looking, and all the comments, and compliments on my work. G
Greetings from San Cristobal, NM. Coming down from a case of covid, we haven’t been very far in the last week. From our chairs, looking out the living room window, we can watch the immediate world unfold a few feet away on the other side of the glass.
Our cheeky squirrel is back taunting the dogs and looking for birdseed. I removed the birdseed then it took to eating some of the plants instead. We enjoy watching his crazy antics on the fence and climbing on the old Celtic cross we have in the garden. We draw the line at the plants though, and let the dogs out. They can’t catch him but get a little exercise in the chase. The squirrel and our aged dogs seem to enjoy the whole game. I’m sure if the dogs caught up with it, it wouldn’t be pretty.
