Fine Art Images from the American Southwest
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Adobe Route, Free Climbing Pigeons. “I got this… I got this!” at the St. Francis Church Ranchos de Taos, NM. I’m guessing here… perhaps they were eating seeds they discovered in the mud or bits of gravel for their crop. One thing I’m certain about, as I watched them work their way up the building, flying would have been the easier route to take. Thanks for looking. G
Greetings from San Cristobal, NM. This week features the day of April 17th from ten years of my archives.
I hope everyone had a good week. April has been beautiful in northern New Mexico,,, so far. I know I said I wouldn’t say anymore regarding my feet but I’m averaging 2-3 miles a day and getting 4-6 mile hikes in. I’m so happy with my two new feet.
Over the last month, my friend, David, and I have been hiking stretches of the road through the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument that traverses the gorge rim and skirts around the base of Ute Mountain. We have hiked a different section each week with the mountain always present, beckoning. All being well, this summer will culminate in an accent of Ute Mountain.
Back to the present that began in the past, here are pictures from April 17th taken from my photo of the day archive from 2006 to 2016.
Beginning in 2016 and working back to 2006. This day we had snow and I made this image. It makes a beautiful print. A couple of hours after taking this photo, the snow was all gone.
A roadside Descanso, San Ildefonso, 2015. The internet says “Descansos are deeply rooted in Southwestern Hispanic culture. The word means “resting place” and is believed to refer to the days when coffins were transported by horse and cart or carried by hand over many miles for burial in a camposanto.”
Some vistas around Taos have since been transformed… developed. 2014
Here’s a shot of mine and Pami’s shadow in Arroyo Hondo on the drive home from Taos back in 2013.
Here’s a former living plant that grew out of a crack in a rock in the Orilla Verde Recreation Area of the now Rio Grande del Norte National Monument, 2012.
A ubiquitous Taos Raven. They are known to perch in ones or twos. This raven was probably calling for or waiting on its better half. 2011
I’m still searching for the original high resolution file of this picture of Garetto Rivas, so I’ve added a higher resolution second image from the same day below this one. I’ve forgotten the name of his gorgeous blond horse. The second horse in tow and in training is named “Beauty”.
The image below was scanned from a Kodachrome 64, transparency shot in the mid 1990’s and published on my website’s photo of the day archive on April 17, 2009.
Just around the corner from my former gallery in Arroyo Seco was a yoga studio festooned in Tibetan prayer flags. I recall shooting this one out of my car window in 2008.
I shot the image below in 1990 and published it on my website in 2007. It has since been published in a couple of local magazines.
On April 17, 2006 I paid a visit to the National Cemetery in Santa Fe NM. It’s the only time I’ve been there. Since then I usually post this image on social media on Memorial Day.
As always, thank you for looking. I hope you enjoyed the trip down memory lane. You can see more from my photo of the day archive here.
Have a great week. G
Greetings from San Cristobal and beyond. This week a two-day photo tour around northern New Mexico and southern Colorado. Nature and the elements gave up some wonderful photo opportunities, beginning with Taos Mountain and the iconic grove of cottonwoods.
The next stop on the photo tour was in Questa at an old house off the highway set back amongst some trees. I checked with a friend who said he would try and find me some information on this charming building and quiet setting.
Following a couple of stops en route, to photograph some wild horses, we wound up at this lake in the San Luis Valley. Moody and brooding skies were the order of the day.
Speaking of the skies. Highway 142 crosses the Rio Grande in Colorado between the old town of San Luis and Heading west to Manassa home of Jack Dempsey, the “Manassa Mauler”.
Continuing the photo tour, there is also a stark view of a very subdued Rio Grande from the road bridge as it crosses the river.
I came across some of last year’s milkweed pods enduring against the elements. Did I mention the frigid cold winds? My guests were admirably brave, and filled with enthusiasm for whatever conditions confronted us.
Milkweed plants are a favorite subject of mine. Consider this image.
On the second day, we encountered a troupe of young Bighorn Sheep in the Orilla Verde area of the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument walking on the road ahead of us.
We parked the car and followed uphill and enjoyed watching and photographing them in their prime, natural environment. I can’t help but think that the one in the middle is telling them to “gather round” and show us their best side!
There were many more picture opportunities. I had to stop at some point. If you are planning to be in the area this year, join me on a photo tour/workshop and I’ll show you around.
As always, thank you for looking. Have a great week. G
Greetings from San Cristobal, NM. This week, a Taos Mountain House in a spectacular location. It’s on Taos Pueblo land. Known as Taos Mountain, its true name in English is Pueblo Peak. A bald eagle has visited the area for the last couple of weeks. The ranch hands still guard the ranch gate on Highway 64 and the eternal fight between light and darkness continues in the shadows at the Saint Francis Church, Ranchos de Taos. My neighbor’s tree lights up at sunset during a mountain snowstorm. Click to enlarge pictures.
There must be a fabulous view from the back porch! Taos Mountain House is my name for this place. I made it up. Apologies in advance.
A visitor showed up in the Arroyo Hondo Valley a couple of weeks ago. A Bald Eagle usurped the Red-tailed Hawks roost. I watched it indulge in its morning ablutions after which it was ready for the hunt.
Eyes on the valley’s rodent population… please.
The Ranch Hands (my name for it) sculpture at a ranch gate on Highway 64. You might recognize it from a previous post.
Down at the church in Ranchos de Taos after last weekend’s snow.
My neighbor’s tree yesterday evening when the sun broke through the clouds just before setting. A fitting start to the beginning of Spring.
As always, thanks for looking and for all the kind words, comments, and compliments. Have a great week. G
Greetings from San Cristobal, NM. This week a trip to the Wild Rivers area of the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument.
The Wild Rivers Recreation Area lies north in the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument. Below is pictured a ‘small’ part of it. Come this Spring, there will be some class 5 rapids in this section. You can see how relatively low the river is right now. This was Sunday. You can also discern the level at which the river can rise from this image. That’s Ute Mountain in the clouds with snow falling.
If you want to experience solitude, Wild Rivers will give you just that. Step into the Monument for a walk in falling snow, where you can hear the silence.
“Adventuring out on a photography trip through the gorge and along the river during a winter storm, I am rewarded with images of large snowflakes alighting on cholla cactus, cottonwoods, and red willows, turning them into instant New Mexico-style Christmas ornaments. A great peace returns to the river at this time of year. The pace slows as the days grow shorter and life retreats within for what the Irish writer John O’Donohue refers to as “the secret work of winter” of restoration and rejuvenation as the river ecosystems prepare for the ecstasy of spring growth. In any season the beauty and pristine stillness of the Rio Grande del Norte is available to those who visit.” From my book, Rio Grande del Norte: An Intimate Portrait.
To the south lies the deepest section the the Rio Grande Gorge. This is where the Bighorn Sheep roam and sometimes play!
Or rest up on a sunny ledge.
It’s that time of year in the National Monument. Spring is sprung!
And above it all, another unique cloud formation.
I have to end this week with this sky-blue mural with sunflowers and an ornate window in Los Cerrillos that I forgot to post last week.
As always, thank you for looking. Have a great week. G
Greetings from San Cristobal, NM. This week, under a full moon rise, as seen from our driveway. The dark shapes of the Sangre de Cristo foothills and the deep blue of a New Mexico crisp and clear sky made the full moon appear its brightest. Later that night the light from the moon kept me awake for a couple of hours from 1:30 to 3:30 am. So I played solitaire on the phone and eventually fell asleep from boredom!
Let’s call this “anatomy of a moon rise.” Click on images to enlarge.
I love our commute to Taos from San Cristobal. I’ve said it many times, and I never tire of it. I shot the image below last night on the way home. There are more spectacular moments, but I enjoyed the way the tip of the peak was lit up.
This image with the horses is from March 2014. We had lunch and a view similar to this yesterday, almost 2 years to the day.
This is the view of Taos Mountain mid-winter shot in El Prado (the meadows), a flashback to 2013.
Below is a scene long gone. There’s a 12,000-foot mountain in the clouds beyond the trees.
As always, thank you for looking. G
Greetings from San Cristobal, NM. This week two sides of winter in Arroyo Seco and Arroyo Hondo.
As they say… “if you don’t like the weather, wait for five minutes”. The scene in the second image was shot a few days apart from the first image and about a 20º F warmer difference in temperature. Looking outside today we’ve had rain sleet, snow, hail, and blue skies. Tomorrow?… tee-shirt weather, who knows!
The weather in the mountains continues to leave a lot of snow in its wake. I heard that the ski areas are doing well from the last three storms that moved through the area. That’s good for the spring run-off and the farmers. The skiers are enjoying it and apparently, it’s good powder skiing, but that part is lost on me. I’m looking forward to the peace and solitude of cross-country, and snowshoeing again.
If you look closely in the sky, upper right, in the following image you can see a flock of birds, commonly named Pinyon Jays. I waited for them to come closer but they had other intentions. Last year we had very large flocks of Pinyon Jays in the thousands in our San Cristobal Valley. I just counted 157 in this shot, a small number of the ones I saw.
On the day I shot the image above I drove with the windows down from Taos, across the mesa. When I got to this spot I made a U-turn to photograph one of my favorite locations.
The Pinyon Jay was outside the kitchen window feeding off seeds on the fence that the squirrels stole from the bird feeders and dropped. I was watching the bird through the iPhone wifi tether app on my camera with a 300mm lens.
As always, thank you for looking. I hope it’s a good week where you are. To all my friends in California, stay safe. G