Geraint Smith Photography

Fine Art Images from the American Southwest

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Geraint

Venus, Spica, Crescent Moon, Mercury, Taos Valley Lights

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Venus, Spica, Crescent Moon, Mercury, Taos Valley lights spread along the base of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, capped off with a slightly dense sunrise. This morning was a little colder than yesterday but I was prepared. Tea and a sandwich, thick gloves with figure tip access, and hand warmers. Yes! Then this view. I’m enjoying being the one on the road not in a hurry to get to work. New Mexico is in a two-week strict lockdown again. Not a problem. I’m ready to hibernate anyway. Thanks for looking. G

Venus, Crescent Moon, Spica, Mercury, Taos

Mercury, Spica, Venus, Crescent Moon, Arcturus

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Mercury, Spica, Venus, Crescent Moon, Arcturus, Taos Mountain, and the Sangre de Cristo foothills. Mercury, last to rise, Spica at one o’clock, Venus next with her escort, the moon. Arcturus is out there in left field. It was a crisp cold clear morning that started on the deck at 4:30 am with a meteor fireball directly overhead that elicited a loud gasp from me. It came out of the Pleiades in the constellation Taurus, passed directly in front of Orion’s belt and beyond until it fizzled out in a smokey stream. Then, a 30-minute drive to the Rio Grande Gorge for this expansive view of the Taos Valley. I’m pulling out the hand warmers when I’m out there tomorrow morning. The crescent will be further east nearer to Mercury. Thanks for looking. G

Mercury, Spica, Venus, Crescent Moon, Arcturus

Mercury, Spica, Venus, Crescent Moon, Arcturus

San Jose De Gracia De Las Trampas, NM

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San Jose de Gracia de Las Trampas, on the High Road to Taos, NM. On a little safari today, we stopped at the mission church and set up to photograph the adobe building with the fast-moving clouds. We spent a few hours in the location waiting as the clouds built and disappeared before our eyes, only to billow up again and vanish once more. Eventually, they returned and became thick, heavy storm clouds and the cold drove us back to Dixon on the Rio Embudo for coffee and snacks. Thanks for looking. G

San Jose de Gracia de Las Trampas, NM

Lone Tree, Black Lake, New Mexico

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Lone Tree, in Black Lake at the southern end of the Moreno Valley, New Mexico. In 1988 the Lonesome Dove miniseries/movie was filmed near here. The location substituted for Montana and the cabin they built near the lake can still be seen from the road. If you saw the movie you may have spotted this tree in one of the scenes where the cowboys were herding cattle. Thanks for looking. G

Lone Tree, Black Lake, New Mexico

Giant Cottonwood Leaf, Taos, Wetlands

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Giant cottonwood leaf we picked up where the cottonwoods grow in the Taos, wetlands. My son pointed it out. It is as big as my head, about the span of a dinner plate. The viens are such an intricate and beautiful design magnified by the leafs size. To me, it resembles an aerial view of the landscape somewhere in the Southwest. Thanks for looking. G

Giant Cottonwood Leaf, Taos, Wetlands

Giant Cottonwood Leaf, Taos, Wetlands

Evening Grosbeaks, In The Garden, San Cristobal

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Evening Grosbeaks, in the garden, San Cristobal. The variety of birds were in abundance last week. We had Robins, Magpies, Juncos, and Chickadees. Townsend Solitaires, Downy Woodpeckers, Northern Flickers, Crows, and a few straggler House Finches rounded out the thirsty bird species. When the ever vigilant Evening Grosbeaks showed up in their droves, the thirsty drinkers had to back off, all but the brave Robin back there. Thanks for looking. G

Evening Grosbeaks, In the Garden