Fine Art Images from the American Southwest

Category: Photo of the Week

Rio Chama, Orilla Verde. 12-04-2024

Greetings from San Cristobal, NM. This week, the Rio Chama and the Orilla Verde in the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument.

Sometimes I come across a photo I’d forgotten about but the moment I see it I instantly recall every detail, the environment surrounding me, the feeling and gratification of the moment. It also took me back remembering the many trips I’ve made to this area.

The picture was recently acquired to illustrate an “Outstanding National Resource Water (ONRW)“. I hope you like it, and can feel the moment?

Rio Chama NM
Rio Chama NM.

While looking for the above photo of the Rio Chama, I came across the following images in a sub-folder, all shot in the Orilla Verde Recreation Area of the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument.

Bald eagle, Ponderosa tree orilla verde
Bald eagle in a ponderosa pine tree.
close up of Bald eagle, Ponderosa tree orilla verde
Close up.

The squirrel was tempting providence …

Squirrel in the Orilla Verde NM
Squirrel in the Orilla Verde.

And the hunter …

Red -tailed Hawk lifting off in the Orilla Verde NM
Red – tailed Hawk lifting off in the Orilla Verde NM.

More occupants of the canyon …

Bighorn sheep, Orilla Verde, NM
Bighorn sheep navigating the canyon rocks.

As always, thanks for looking. Have a great week. G

Snow Geese, And Two Turkeys. 11-27-2024

Greetings from San Cristobal, NM. This week a bunch of snow geese and a couple of turkeys shot in the Bosque del Apache around this time of year almost twenty years ago.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Snow geese, Bosque del Apache, NWR, New Mexico
Snow geese, Bosque del Apache, NWR, New Mexico

Formation flying is a thing.

Formation flying, Bosque del Apache, NWR, New Mexico
Formation.
Formation flying
Formation flying.

And stealth formation at the Bosque del Apache NWR, NM

Formation flying, stealth
Formation flying, stealth mode.

Two wild turkeys, and if you’d like to see more birds check out this post from last year.

Wild Turkeys
Wild Turkeys.

As always, thanks for looking. Have a great week and holiday. G

Leaves, Lots Of Them. 11-20-2024

Greetings from San Cristobal, NM. This week, Leaves. There are so many. They make for fun photo opportunities and good earth.

Pond Leaves
Leaves floating on a pond.
Forest with raindrops
In the forest.
Garden San Cristobal
In the garden, San Cristobal.
Aspen Leaves
In the Aspen Grove.
Snow fall on maple
Snow on ornate maple.
Ice pond
Cottonwood on ice.

and on water in the rain.

Lastly a composite image, between seasons on Upper Ranchitos Road in Taos.

Mirror Image,Upper Ranchitos road
Between Seasons or when Seasons Collide.

As always, thank you for looking. Have a great week. G

Winter Weather, Snow, Book Covers. 11-13-24

Greetings from San Cristobal, NM. This week, some scenes of winter weather, two new book covers, and snow. It’s been a cold week, but it’s warming up again. The heaters are cleaned and running, and the sun is shining. I hope it’s beautiful where you are.

Winter weather, Ranchos de Taos  pond
Winter weather, Ranchos Valley.

Last week we took a drive during the snowfall here. Little did we know that the 12 to 15 inches we received in San Cristobal amounted to about an inch in downtown Taos as you can see from the image of the little chapel on La Loma Plaza in Taos. We have been fortunate to get hit by lots of moisture this year in our village north of Taos.

Snow, La Loma Plaza Chapel Taos
Snow, La Loma Plaza Chapel Taos.

St Clare’s statue was huddled under a cloak of snow before it slid off.

Saint Clare, Saint Francis church, Ranchos de Taos
Saint Clare’s statue at the Saint Francis church, Ranchos de Taos.

Sunflower seed pods wearing snow cap crowns.

Sunflower pods in winter weather
Sunflower seed pods.

The following are two of my images used on the covers of recently published books. I’m honored to share these publications with you.

Ranchitos road Taos, mirror image
Ranchitos Road, Taos, mirror image.

Lise Goett’s book of poetry, “The Radiant”

Lisa Goett's book cover "The Radiant"
Lise Goett’s book cover “The Radiant”

The second cover is from J.M. Mitchell’s Novel “Migrations of Butterflies and Lies”, Check it out here on Amazon

Ghost Ranch NM
J.M. Mitchell’s Novel “Migrations of Butterflies and Lies”

And the cover…

J.M. Mitchell's book cover Migrations of Butterflies and Lies
Book Cover.

You can also purchase a copy of J.M. Mitchell’s book “Migrations of Butterflies and Lies.” at Barnes and Noble.

If you are writing a book and would like to use an image of mine on the cover or inside, please get in touch. All proceeds go to a local Taos non-profit for kids.

And finally an autumn leaf on a winter pond.

Leaf floating on a pond
Leaf floating on a pond.

As always, thanks for looking. Have a great week. G

Pond Ripples, The Second Coming. 11-06-24

Greetings from San Cristobal, NM. This week Pond Ripples, a photo I shot in a mountain lake almost twenty years ago, and a poem by W.B. Yeats.

Click on the image to enlarge.

Pond ripples in a mountain lake.
Pond ripples in a mountain lake.

The Second Coming

Turning and turning in the widening gyre   
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere   
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst   
Are full of passionate intensity.

Surely some revelation is at hand;
Surely the Second Coming is at hand.   
The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out   
When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi
Troubles my sight: somewhere in sands of the desert   
A shape with lion body and the head of a man,   
A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,   
Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it   
Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds.   
The darkness drops again; but now I know   
That twenty centuries of stony sleep
Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,   
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,   
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?

William Butler Yeats

As always, thank you for looking. G

Pond ripples, bosque del apache NWR
Bosque del apache NWR

Red Barn, Awesome Comet, Snow. 10-30-2024.

Greetings from San Cristobal, NM. This week, the red barn and its neighbors, Comet Atlas, the Arroyo Hondo cottonwood tree, and an image from October 27, 2020, with the piles of snow we have unfortunately not received this year.

The red barn is deteriorating before my eyes. The siding might as well fall off while I’m standing there looking, and it’s also starting to twist from the prevailing winds.

Red barn with anthill and Ute Mountain San Luis Valley Colorado
Red barn with anthill and Ute Mountain, San Luis Valley Colorado.

If we ever get snow again the scene will look like this.

Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS (C/2023 A3) shot on an iPhone 13 Pro Max on October 13, 2024. I couldn’t resist the ease of what the iPhone can accomplish these days. The comet image is a little soft however, night mode on the phone is very good for handheld shots. It’s even better on a tripod.

Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS (C/2023 A3)
Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS (C/2023 A3)

Arroyo Hondo cottonwood, October29, 2024
Arroyo Hondo Cottonwood, October 29, 2024.

The same scene on November 1, 2018.

This scene below is on our deck on October 27, 2020.

Snow cover on the deck, San Cristobal, October 27 2020
Snow cover San Cristobal, October 27, 2020

As always, thanks for looking. Have a great week where you are. G

Powerful Bighorn Sheep, A Petroglyph, And More. 10-23-2024

Greetings from San Cristobal, NM. This week, Bighorn sheep in the Wild Rivers Recreation Area, along with some random mages from the last few weeks. Autumn colors have been stunning this year, and I’ve been busy on photo tours with great photographers/clients. Now it’s time to settle in, light the fires, and enjoy the remaining colors and exceptional light around us.

These bighorn sheep in the Wild Rivers Recreation Area were head-butting each other. When I pulled up they stopped. The dogs had never seen anything like it.

Bighorn Sheep, Wild and Scenic Rivers Recreation Area
Bighorn Sheep, Wild and Scenic Rivers Recreation Area, NM.

Avanyu. A water serpent petroglyph along the Rio Grande south of Taos.

Avanyu, water serpent petroglyph
Avanyu, water serpent petroglyph.

The fall colors keep on giving in the woods near Hopewell Lake where I spent seven days this month.

Aspen Leaf, Hopewell Lake
Aspen Leaf, Hopewell Lake.

That cottonwood tree in last weekend’s storm in Arroyo Hondo!

Cottonwood, Arroyo Hondo, NM
Cottonwood, Arroyo Hondo, NM.

I was surprised to see these hardy plants thriving in the colder temperatures. It was the only group of this plant, that I spotted on my two-mile walk with the dogs.

Blanket Flower, Wild and Scenic Rivers Recreation Area
Blanket Flower, Wild and Scenic Rivers Recreation Area.

I took a short drive on the night that nearly everyone in the northern hemisphere could see the aurora borealis. This was the view I had from the foothills behind our house. I used an iPhone and stitched six images together. The next evening I was prepared with a camera and tripod but the northern lights weren’t visible.

Aurora Borealis, Northern Lights.
Aurora Borealis, Northern Lights.

As always, thank you for looking. Have a great week where you are. G

Falling Leaves In The Forest, 10-16-2024

Greetings from San Cristobal, NM. This week falling leaves in the aspen groves around northern New Mexico.

Over the last three weeks, I’ve spent many hours in the woods on photo tours with clients from the East Coast, West Coast, Dallas, Houston, Albuquerque, and beyond.

One thing that always moves me is being overwhelmed by the golden light underneath the aspen canopy. Standing in the aspen groves with leaves falling all around is another.

In the following images, I wanted to create a feeling of standing amongst the aspens with leaves falling around me. I hope you like them.

Falling leaves and aspen trunks
Falling leaves and aspen trunks.
Aspen grove with leaves
Leaves and aspen trunks.

As always thank you for looking. I hope you have a great week. G

On The Taos Plateau, 10-09-2024

Greetings from San Cristobal, NM. This week on the Taos Plateau, a last shot today on an exhilerating photo tour with Scott Purdy. Sorry for the delay in posting… I spaced out what day it was.

I’m thinking of all my friends in Florida as I look at this cloud, and send love.

San Antonio Mountain corral
San Antonio Mountain with the old corral.

The old corral west of Taos on the western edge of the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument.

Old corral, Taos Plateau
Old sheep corral on the Taos Plateau.

I think it’s a sheep herders corral. It looks like it would never pen in a herd of cattle.

Thanks for looking. I apologize again for the limited post. I really did forget what day it was. G

In the Aspens, Fall In New Mexico. 10-01-2024

Greetings from San Cristobal, NM. This week, in the aspens. It’s leaf-peeping time in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado. I hope you’re able to get out there. I’ll have six days on the road with wonderful friends and great clients.

I did some intentional camera movement (ICM) in the first few shots. I’ve done it before, no two pictures are alike.

All were shot around Hopewell Lake along Highway 64 in NM.

Intentional camera movement-ICM
Intentional camera movement at Hopewell Lake, NM

Intentional camera movement-ICM
“The woods are lovely dark and deep…”

Intentional camera movement-ICM
… and very colorful.

A favorite spot.

Aspens and cloud Cumbres Pass, Colorado
Aspens and Cloud, Cumbres Pass, Colorado.

As always, thanks for looking. I hope it’s a beautiful Fall/Autumn where you are. G