Photo of the Day archive updated daily with images from the American Southwest, Taos, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, National Parks, Landscapes, Wild Life, Nature, People and Architecture.
Northern Pintail ducks in the Bosque del Apache (Woods of the Apache) NWR, Socorro, NM. It’s not hard to make a good image in the National Wildlife Refuge. At this time of year there is an abundance of waterfowl wintering in the somewhat more temperate climate of central New Mexico. These particular ducks came out of the reeds and marsh grasses in tandem. Observing them through the lens I had a feeling they knew where they were going. I had no clue what they were about, effortlessly gliding along. I got to watch and enjoy this moment and create a few compositions of the scene. Reviewing the image later I recalled, if nothing else, the reverence for a moment when I saw the three of them emerge from the reeds and marsh grasses taking my breath away in their wake.
Morning in the cold and frosty valley with the sun beginning to break through the heavy fog. It would be a while before things cleared. In the meantime we get to watch the horse stir itself and mosey along nudging clumps of snow for any fodder.
Red-tailed Hawk on a cold and frosty morning, NM Highway 150. I was heading into my gallery in Arroyo Seco on my morning commute. I often spot hawks on fence posts, power poles, or in a dead tree as in this case. Power poles provide the hawk with a vantage point, it’s true, but there is something un-romantic about a ridged post with a transformer constantly humming and wires everywhere ruining the picture. Maybe, secretly, the raptor likes that sort of thing. Well… when I spotted this bird in all it’s pristine glory, bathed in morning sunlight, I had to pull over and make an image. Thanks for looking. G
Moon set from San Cristobal NM. It feels very comforting to me when I step outside in freezing temperatures and simply enjoy watching the morning moon set and know that this is the order of things…. Oh! and make an image!
Sometimes the image is about what I drive by on my way home. The subject captivated me … it has done so since 2006 when I made some images of this tree … I pulled over this time to explore the scene. I liked the simplicity of the tree illuminated by a shaft of light with a stroke of light on the foreground grasses. Within half a minute of this image the light was gone. Upon reflection, it was a moment of splendid respite, for me to pause and take in the nature around me as I headed home.
The rock is only a quarter of an inch. The red on the grey caught my eye. I made five images. Each time, by rotating or moving the camera in closer, I eliminated extraneous, peripheral, clutter which was ok in a wider composition but didn’t add anything to the final image I had in mind. A tiny red rock lodged in a crack, a temporary resting place in the continuing erosion of the badlands in the desert southwest.
I was attracted right away to this scene by the five trees and the four fence posts. I like numbers and spacing as a compositional element. I made this image of the winter aspens near Hopewell Lake in northern NM.
It was so quiet in Chaco Canyon at Pueblo Bonito. There are sounds and echos which may be interrupted by the wind or ghosts moving through the ruins or it could have been the sound of me waving, traveling around the walls of the great kiva. Thanks for looking.
