Moon and Venus, San Cristobal. I was outside at 6 am with the tripod and camera set up, cuppa tea in hand, ready for one of the last good views of Venus in the dawn light at this time of year. She rises closer to the sun from this point in her orbit. I thought I was ready, as my phone app giving the precise location indicated I would observe the celestial event slightly north of where I had set up. Well, next time I won’t stand so close to my parked vehicle’s magnetic field. I stuffed some hand warmers in my gloves, it was 7º F, and with my tea in hand, I waited. My set up was spot on target. At 6:23 am, coyotes in the village made their announcement loud and very clear across the valley. At 6:24 am, a waning crescent moon peeked over Taos Mountain. At 6:29 am, Venus joined her. This was the most heart-stopping sight that I have seen in a while. Then, around 7 am when my heart started pumping again, when my hand warmers stopped making a difference, I went in and had more tea. Thanks for looking. G
High Road to Taos. We made a few images on a short trip to Dixon, in the Rio Grande Valley last week. After exploring Dixon for a couple of hours, we drove a short way up the hill into the Sangre de Cristos Mountains. We passed by Picuris Pueblo, which is still closed for the safety of the tribal members, and stopped at the little chapel of Sagrado Corazón. Then on to the village of Llano de San Juan where we visited some familiar pinto ponies. Black and white seemed an appropriate choice for this particular day. G
I hope you enjoyed the tour and my first expanded blog, “Photo/photos of the Week.” As always, Thank you for looking. Stay safe and be well.
Geraint
20 thoughts on “Moon, Venus, High Road to Taos”
Oh wow! Breathtaking shots of the Moon & Venus – Thanks so much for sharing!
Dixon shots are great. I love shadows ~
Thank you, Elaine. I’m glad you liked them. I really appreciate you checking in. G
Black and white day, indeed. What great shots, thank you for this new format. And you got the great detail on the moon. I like all those shots very much.
Thank you, Larry. I appreciate the compliments. G
Moon & Venus shots were amazing. Your accompanying words brings one into those moments even more. Also like the abstract closeup of the horse’s coat and the old bus in B&W. Thank you for sharing your week!
Thanks so much, Shelley. I appreciate you spending the time looking. G
Hi Geraint, Thankyou for your photo sharing. The moon and then the shadows all great. I have ordered your book from Amazon they had just 3 available so hopefully it’s on its way.
Visual Symphony!
Thank you, Roy. G
Hi Alison. Thank you. And thank you for ordering my book. I hope you enjoy your own copy. G
Hi Geraint. Thanks for sharing your week. Loved the old bus, (reminded me of the one in the film) “Independence day, and the black and white horses. Stunning photos of the Moon and Venus. Just ordered your book from Amazon.
Thank you, Elizabeth. I’m glad you enjoyed the photos. And thank you for purchasing my book. G
Oh, I miss NM.
Thank you for the frequent reminders.
Thanks, Gary. I hope to see you here one day. Thank you for sharing your images and vision online. G
Dear Geraint, You continue to capture and communicate, together, both the subtle and the profound in your work, imho. Thank you so much for sharing, and for honoring, the Southwest with us in all its spectacular beauty, depth, profound mystique, and meaning. Always and every time: Wow, just wow! (The late Brett Weston was a mentor to me. He and his father graced the world with incredible images, as you are now doing yourself, dear one.) Thank you!?
Thank you, Andrea. That’s quite a compliment. Thank you for sharing it with me. I appreciate it very much and hope you’ll continue looking and enjoying my work. G
You definitely have the artist eye.
As always, thank you so much, Jamie. G
I have only tasted a glimpse of your work. I have just sent you a message about group called Reflection Addiction that you may be interested in knowing about at least. Your teepee photo and the chapel cross reflection photos are noteworthy. I am writing as I studied photography at Phoenix college in Arizona under Allen Dutton who recently passed away. I’m 67 and was at Phoenix college in early 70s. I was second in my family to have Allen Dutton for a teacher. My interest in photography has always been on the fringe and now that I have my 4 year old iPhone 6s Plus and it is always displaying “iPhone storage full” warning I have to make some decisions. Haha
I worked at a camera store in downtown Phoenix back in mid 70s. Unfortunately it was as stockroom clerk/boy for a family friend. But it was working for Wilson camera back then that I even know about Allen Dutton book-“the Great Stone Tit” and I bring it to your awareness now. I don’t own a copy but I remember the book being for sale. Pretty racy for those times!!
Just passing along some camera stuff before it goes with me to my grave. I’m ok. Just don’t get to talk shop with a perfect stranger that often.
I have been fortunate to have the curiosity to find happenstance either by yard sale or want ad or gift back in the day to have used a Kodak bellows camera (620) and Zeiss Ikon (120). My older brother brought back a fully automatic Yashica from his tour in Viet Nam. And my mom lost interest in her canon AE-1 program. Now I’m stuck with this pretty damn good 6s plus but there are better out there I know.
Thanks for letting me bend your ear
Thank you for following along, Brian. The first SLR camera I purchased back in 1978 was the Canon AT-1. All manual with a built-in light meter. I had a lot of fun with it. Prior to that, I had a number of different range finder type camera including the Russian, ‘Zorki’. One day I must pull the negs. Thank you for sharing, Brian. G