Fine Art Images from the American Southwest
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Amalia, Northern New Mexico. On the road to the Valle Vidal we passed through the the village of Amalia in the Rio Costilla Valley. The clouds were playing chase, swirling in circles around the sun, casting intermittent, repeating shadow patterns across the landscape. It was fun for us to catch them too! Thanks for looking. G
Comanche Point, Valle Vidal, NM. On a photo tour today in the Valle Vidal (Valley of Life) at Comanche Point where the Rio Costilla and Comanche Creek meet. The temps were in the low 30’s F. and the windchill ten degrees colder. Flocks of Cowbirds, Mountain Bluebirds, and Robins were in abundance, impervious to the snow and cold. By noon the snow was gone. The wind eased up by mid afternoon as we photographed hawks, wild horses and old homesteads in the San Luis Valley. By the end of day 6oº F felt positively tropical. Thanks for looking. G
Comanche Point in the Valle Vidal (Valley of Life), New Mexico. Beautiful evening light in the Valle Vidal Unit of the Carson National Forest at Comanche Point and the confluence of the Rio Costilla and Comanche Creek. Thank you for looking. G
Bull elk in the Valle Vidal unit of the Carson National Forest, NM. After a thunderous downpour this bull elk was spotted in an arroyo, watching us watching him. Along with a bear, another bull elk, a flock of eighteen young Merganser ducks floating down the Rio Costilla, the day was capped of by a torrential hail storm followed by massive clouds and Red-tailed Hawks on the plains. All in all it turned out to be a fantastic day on a photo safari through the high country to Cimarron. Thanks for looking. G
Greetings from New Mexico. This week a random selection of lone trees around this area, in black and white.
I’m rather partial to lone trees and since the fall of the iconic Taos Welcome Tree, I see them everywhere, especially out in the vast open places.
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I like the single bird in silhouette.
As always, thanks for visiting and looking. G
Greetings from New Mexico, the land of enchantment.. This week, scenes in the land of enchantment. Some say the land of entrapment. Once here, it’s hard to leave. I can attest to that statement. I first arrived here in 1984, moving here permanently in 1988. My friend, Harry you met last week, and his wife, Noreen, were two of the first people I met. It’s been 41 years this coming Thanksgiving.
Below is a piece I wrote about my first time on the High Road to Taos.
“In Thanksgiving week 1984, I made my first of many trips to New Mexico. On this occasion, five of us friends set out on a foggy morning from Santa Fe and made our way north on the high road to Taos. The sites and sounds on the streets of Santa Fe soon opened up to the immense vistas of mesas, and beyond to the Taos Volcanic Plateau.
We passed through the village of Chimayo, climbing the hill to Truchas (Spanish for Trout). Rapidly gaining elevation, the landscape changed to pristine hills of ponderosa pines and rust-colored tones of scrub oak in the undergrowth. Bare white highlights of lanky aspen punctuated the vast square miles of pine trees in the Carson National Forrest. Through the misty veil of condensation on the window, we were afforded more than a subtle hint of what autumn in the high country of New Mexico might have looked like one month earlier.
Leaving Truchas for Penasco, the fog set in. The temperature dropped in the sparsely populated, mountain communities of Las Trampas and Picuris. The colder air outside the car became magically enhanced from the aroma of piñon and juniper burning in the fireplaces of scattered homes. At this very moment… sometimes you just know it, the mystery of things unknown and northern New Mexico took a very palpable hold on me.
Not more than four years later, in the spring of 1988, that hold tightened and I moved to a small adobe building with two fireplaces, in Talpa, NM and began stockpiling five cords of wood for what promised to be a cold winter that year…“
The land of Enchantment, and every day I go to Town, I pass this scene of Taos Pueblo Peak. A little dusting of snow today with more promising accumulations tonight.
Many places here in the Land of Enchantment never get old for me. You know this one!
Details in the land of enchantment, a tiny pine cone among this year’s fallen leaves.
Costilla, New Mexico, located in the San Luis Valley, on the New Mexico/Colorado state line, is about as far north as one can go in this land of enchantment. No less enchanting, this area and its abandoned farms and buildings inspired John Nichols’ book, Milagro Beanfield War. The movie was filmed in Truchas on the High Road to Taos.
New work in the making. “Three chairs and a tree.”
As always, thank you for looking and all the kind words of support and compliments. Have a great week. G
Greetings from San Cristobal, NM. This week Fajada Butte. This iconic mesa is the focal point of Chaco Culture National Historical Park, typically abbreviated to Chaco Canyon.
Fajada Butte can be seen from many locations in the park. Have you been?
I’m returning after a few years of absence, and I’m looking forward to it later this month. It will be a treat after four years since my last trip. I’ll be camping but well prepared. Once, I spent a few days in Chaco Canyon on the winter solstice. Now that was cold. The largest great house is known as Pueblo Bonito. There’s a lot to see there and it can occupy your time, especially as a photographer.
If you’d like to see some interior shots, keep scrolling.
Below is one of my favorite shots of Pueblo Bonito taken on my last trip there. Confusion?
If you go there at a time of year when the heat is almost unbearable, step inside one of the small rooms. You will soon realize what works to stay cool in the desert. Pause for a few moments, you may find a few ancient ones hanging around with you. You may or may not be joined by other travelers.
Moving on to more doors. I stopped in Los Cerrillos NM, on the Turquoise Trail last week. I stopped in other locations as well but was impressed with the following two doors/gates in Cerrillos.
You may recognize the town from a movie named “Young Guns” that was filmed there. On this day I was there purely for the pleasure of the place on my detour drive.
Join me on a photo tour/workshop, I’ll take you to this and many other locations.
Lastly, a little closer to home, another blue door with painted red chiles and snow falling. These chiles stay fresh all year long and beyond.
As always, thanks for looking. Have a great week. G
Greetings from San Cristobal. Jaroso, Eastdale, and the San Luis Valley of southern Colorado.
Yesterday, my friend Tom picked me up at home and we headed north for the afternoon in southern Colorado. It was my first trip out for any length of time since my surgery. It was nice to get out in the fresh air, get windswept, and in some spots nearly swept off our feet. The Rio Grande was in full flow with the illusion that it was running upstream in the wind.
The main street of Jaroso is divided by a row of tall pines. Anderson’s occupy the south side of the street, with the Jaroso Hotel and a number of artists’ studios on the north side. It’s a step back in time and I always enjoy a trip here.
Harold Anderson is a friendly gentleman with a pleasant disposition. We didn’t bump into him yesterday, though it is spring and a busy time on the farm.
Harold has a collection of Minneapolis Moline-made farm vehicles.
A country block away from Jaroso is the extinct town of Eastdale, Colorado. The monument in the pictures below is inscribed with words that denote the brief history of its existence.
The obelisk reads:
“Mormon pioneers settled here 1890. They built reservoirs, homes, school, and a church.
By 1900 there were 120 pop, and post office. A water dispute led to the demise of town and sale of lands to Costilla Estate Development Co. in 1909.”
If you would like to see more of this area please visit my San Luis Valley tour page to sign up for a photo workshop. Don’t let the wind deter you
As always, thank you for looking. G
Greetings from San Cristobal. This week some views of Ute Mountain.
“Ute Mountain is a free-standing, Dacitic, extinct Pliocene volcanic cone”. That’s a mouthful. Besides being one of my revered peaks, it is also set in one of my favorite areas, the Taos Plateau Volcanic Field and the San Luis Valley. The mountain also lies within the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument.
The images below encompass a span of almost twenty years.
On the home front, I feel the surgery on my foot will make my photo treks much more enjoyable for years to come.
The image below is the one that initiated my fascination with this iconic landmark. Often, I will take a drive north, a pilgrimage of sorts, to visit the mountain. Click here if you want to see more images.
Lastly, a couple of shots from closer to home.
And a view across the plateau and beyond to Cerro Pedernal (not a volcano but very much resembles one), “flint peak” near Abiquiu, NM. Immortalized by the artist Georgia O’Keeffe it can be seen from a vantage point behind our home. In the photo, Cerro Pedernal is probably 65-70 miles as the crow flies. The views out west extend a hundred miles or more on clear days. The vistas open like nowhere else, and the skies go on forever.
As always thank you for looking and visiting. And thank you for all the continued well wishes, comments, and compliments.
If you want the name of a wonderful foot and ankle specialist I can give you a recommendation! G
Greetings from San Cristobal and beyond. Last weekend, we had a fabulous, showing of work at the Stables Gallery in Taos. I want to thank everyone who came out and for your support in comments, compliments, and purchases. Many new works found homes. Thank you!
It’s Milky Way season! My friend, photographer, and filmmaker John Williams visited us from Boulder during the weekend. We took the opportunity to make a drive out to the Lobatos Bridge that crosses the Rio Grande in southern Colorado to capture the milky way. It was very dark on the edge of the cliffs, but we managed to pull off a decent image when an old truck crossed over, filling the area with light and fumes. One more vehicle drove over a little later, and that was it, just us, the river, the bridge, and the stars in a pristine, clear sky.
The bridge with the ghostly figure of John in the middle.
Fast approaching is my solo exhibit at Bareiss Gallery here in Taos. I look forward to seeing those who can make it. The opening reception will be on October 7, from 3 – 6 pm (maybe it will last longer). The gallery will be open 9 – 2 pm on weekdays. I’ll be there on the weekends and by appointment. Come and visit. It will be great to meet you.
As always thanks for looking. Have a great week. G