Greetings from San Cristobal, NM. This week a favorite location at Ghost Ranch near Abiquiu, NM followed by a few shots from the road getting there!
There was a lot of heavy rain in these dramatic clouds. The cabin is named “Curly’s Cabin” from the film City Slickers. Enjoy!
“Curly’s Cabin” Ghost Ranch, NM
Just off the highway to Ghost Ranch is the Piedra Lumbre, shining red rock country. Piedra Lumbre means shining rock in Spanish.
Red rock country.
Hollyhocks, Ojo Caliente, NM
There are numerous, delightful murals in Ojo Caliente. This is a new favorite.
Mural by VelaArt, Ojo Caliente, NM.
This sign has been fading away for a long time. I’m unsure whether or not you’ll still find pigs. Here’s one from my “Signs of Life” series shot in 2005.
“Pigs” Ojo Caliente, NM.
And sharing the love, back home in San Cristobal this morning, on a walk with the dogs.
Driveway mirror-heart, San Cristobal, NM.
All in all a colorful day.
As always, thanks for looking. Have a great week. G
Greetings from San Cristobal, NM. This week more black and white images. I had some time over the last few days to wallow in the hard drives, throw a virtual dart at the folders, and see what showed up.
The tree is long gone but the flat top peak, Cerro Pedernal, stands like a beacon and can be seen from multiple locations around northern, NM.
Cerro Pedernal and tree Rio Chama road, NM.
Many places in the southwest US are deteriorating and ultimately wind up going back to earth. How quickly they reach their demise, depends on the materials they are made of. Adobe, wood, and tin seem to get there quicker than the plastic one sees everywhere these days. I shot the image below in November 2017.
Adobe ruin, Villanueva, NM.
Wandering through the files from a trip to Britain in 2013 with Pami, I came across this image shot on the Holy Island of Lindisfarne, on the Northumbria Coast of northeast England. I’m guessing this boat, which wasn’t sea-worthy back then, has probably been overturned and is now used as a storage shed.
Lindisfarne, Holy Island, Northumbria, England.
An overturned fishing boat was reclaimed and made into a storage shed.
Beach shed and Lindisfarne Castle, England.
I always shoot a scene in color but sometimes a scene cries out for black and white. Sometimes the day and lighting inspire me to shoot for a later conversion.
I shot the picture below in color and converted it to black and white. It was taken on the Thames Embankment in November 2013.
Someone was feeding the gulls.
As always thank you for all the kind words comments and compliments. Have a great week. G.
Greetings from San Cristobal, NM. This week Arroyo Blanco, Abiquiu. Some abstract balloon images from the Taos Mountain Balloon Rally last weekend, and our Moon and Jupiter over northern New Mexico.
After two weeks of photo tours in the area with Harlan I’m finally going through images of some of the places we visited.
We visited Abiquiu and Arroyo Blanco, twice. We couldn’t get enough of it in the beautiful autumn light.
Landscape in Arroyo Blanco, Abiquiu, NM.
The strangely wonderful moonscape landscape in the “white arroyo”.
On the ground in Abiquiu, NM.
On our second trip to Abiquiu we made a short detour to La Madera for this scene. It has always fascinated me.
The door is the wall, La Madera, NM.
On the last day of touring we went to Taos Mountain Balloon Rally. A few balloons lifted off but winds were higher than anticipated so we photographed them on the ground instead. Shadowy figures zip up the envelope as it’s inflated.
Balloon shadows at the Taos Mountain Balloon Rally.
Checking the ropes!
Shadow.
Unfurling during inflating the balloon.
Design.
In the words of actor/author David Niven, “the moon’s a balloon”.
To cap off the week the moon met up with the planet Jupiter. Eerie enough for Hallooween. Jupiter is closest to earth during all of 2023 tonight.
Greetings from San Cristobal, NM. Happy Summer Solstice from here to where you are. I post the image below every summer solstice since I shot it, on June 20, 2018. I like it! This year it is scheduled to appear in the New Mexico Treasures Calendar, 2024.
Here’s a summer solstice “moment” in black and white, shot in Plaza Blanca, Abiquiu, NM
Plaza Blanca Summer Solstice Moment, Abiquiu, NM.
If you want to see what Plaza Blaca looks like on the outside, here’s a shot of rock and cloud formations.
Plaza Blanca rocks and sky.
Here’s another moment I shot in Plaza Blanca on June 22, 2022.
Plaza Blanca, June 22, 2022.
There’s no place like Chaco Canyon to experience the passing moments of the seasons. Here I am sitting under a picnic ramada with a view of the sacred rock formation, Fajada Butte.
The solar eclipse is coming up later in the year. I’m planning on a trip to Chaco Canyon with the rest of the state. We’ll see what happens with those plans.
As always, thank you for looking. It’s a privilege to share my photography with you. G
Greetings from San Cristobal and beyond. The colors last week on the Rio Chama and Abiquiu were stunning. This is a short post this week with an image of the fall colors in Abiquiu and a flashback of two tipis this week in the San Cristobal Valley in 2012.
Thank you to all who came out to see my exhibit, it has been an exciting and successful show. A very big thank you to those who purchased a work of art! Thank you!
Stay tuned for more info on my next group show in Taos.
Greetings from San Cristobal, NM, and beyond. We went to Abiquiu, Ghost Ranch, and the Rio Chama this week. We had the most changeable weather I’ve ever experienced in one eight-hour day.
If you’ve watched the movie “Silverado“ you’ll recognize this location in one of the earlier scenes. The four main characters come galloping across this landscape with a backdrop of spectacular lighting. If you haven’t seen the movie join me on a photo tour/workshop and I’ll take you out this way. On this day we were on an outing with friends Ron and Monica. It snowed, rained, and hailed with intermittent blue skies and sunshine, making for some dramatic images.
Ghost Ranch, NM landscape.
The landscape and light at Ghost Ranch, NM.
Returning home from Ghost Ranch we pulled over for a second time during the day. We watched it snow over the hills and Rio Chama as it winds and decides its way through to Abiquiu. The colors were astounding and the moisture made the air come alive.
The Rio Chama overlook with colorful cottonwoods.
My solo exhibition at Bareiss Gallery here in Taos continues through October 31, 2022. The gallery will be open 9 – 2 pm on weekdays. I’ll be there on Saturday, October 29, or by appointment. Come and visit. It will be great to meet you. If you purchased a piece of work in the show, thank you so much and please come by on Sunday, October 30, or Monday, October 31 to pick it up your new acquisition.
Bareiss Gallery is located at: 15 State Rd 150 Taos, NM 575-776-2284
Shoot! In the James Bond movie, Skyfall, Naomi Harris who plays Moneypenny, is told by ‘M’ to take the shot. Of course, she hits Bond, and he survives. That’s how it goes in movies. It’s not a bad motto for this photographer as the title suggests, shoot it because it’s there! So here are a few favorites from the ‘shoot it because it’s there’ category.
This truck is parked in Questa just north of Taos. In the color version, the vehicle is yellow. I much prefer the image in black and white.
A truck parked in Questa, New Mexico.
Below, I caught some early morning shadows at the Saint Francis Church on the High Road to Taos.
A number seven in the shadows at the Saint Francis Church in Ranchos de Taos.
Out for a morning coffee, where even the mundane is worth a shot for me.
Cafe table and chairs in Taos.
I shot this image of a line of box springs that created a fence around a property in Elizabethtown on the Enchanted Circle Drive in the mountains of northern NM.
A fence constructed of box springs in Elizabethtown, NM.
Lunch at an upstairs cafe on the Santa Fe Plaza above the outdoor diners below.
A restaurant awning over outside dining in Santa Fe.
On a photo tour to Abiquiu, the Rio Chama, and beyond, we stopped for lunch at the Abiquiu Inn. While waiting for the maître d’ I shot what I saw looking down.
The floor covering at the Abiquiu Inn, NM.
As always. Thank you for looking. Have a great week. G
Greetings from San Cristobal, the place for rainbows this week.
The skies turned almost black this week and brought more much-needed rain. We’ll take it! Being prepared for rainbows with one eye on the western sky, I saw a small opening in the clouds for the sun to work its magic on the landscape. It was still raining enough to get wet and just the right amount to make this rainbow happen. I thoroughly enjoyed standing out in the light and rain for ten minutes. Who doesn’t love rainbows?
Rainbows in San Cristobal with Taos Mountain lower center.
Detail of ‘supernumerary rainbows’ or ‘supernumerary bands’ in the clouds.
Earlier this year, I met up with my friend Larry for a trip to Abiquiu. I hauled an elk skull and antlers in the back of my 4 Runner. It is large and just fitted in there. I wanted to share a photo opportunity with Larry and create a Georgia O’Keeffe-inspired image. I chose to make an image of what Georgia may have encountered when she came across the remains before she sketched and painted them.
A Georgia O’Keeffe-inspired image in Arroyo Blanco, Abiquiu, NM.
The artist who created this outdoor art installation has been parked for a couple of weeks along the roadside in El Prado. On this day, I noticed that the painting of Jesus featured prominently front and center. He is juxtaposed with an alien and spaceship, accompanied by artworks of native American icons, two more dead guys, musicians Jerry Garcia and Jim Morrison, and a bevy of buxom women. Hallelujah!
The ‘Art bus’ roadside vendor in El Prado, Taos, NM.
Here’s an image of the fox that visited a few weeks ago. He was moving quickly, and the picture is blurry though it does depict the fleeting moment it happened despite being unable to grab the camera more rapidly.
Fox, (lock up your chickens), in the field, San Cristobal.
As always, I hope you enjoyed this week’s tour around the block, thank you for looking. G
Greetings from a blustery and chilly afternoon in San Cristobal, NM
We begin in Abiquiu along the banks of the Rio Chama underneath a cottonwood tree, its branches extending over the red willows to the river itself. Cerrito Blanco (butte) just north of the village of Abiquiu makes a natural focal point framed by a large tree limb.
Approximately four hours south is the Bosque del Apache (Woods of the Apache) NWR. This world-renowned National Wildlife Refuge is the wintering grounds for thousands of Sandhill Cranes and Snow Geese. Areas of the refuge are flooded to create marches which attract many more birds and waterfowl. The refuge is open year-round, but if you want to see it at its best then plan to visit between November and January.
Reflections in a marsh at the Bosque del Apache, NM
Besides the winged ones, the refuge is teeming with other wildlife. Bobcats, coyotes, elk, mountain lions, (I’ve yet to catch a glimpse of one), javelina, snakes, and this mule deer with many of its cousins!
Mule Deer, Bosque del Apache, NM
Below is one of numerous Great Blue Herons that frequent the area. Each bird seems almost territorial over its pond. I pretty much guarantee this bird will be here at this time, on this pond every morning, patiently waiting and watching. Patience and steadfastness are traits I like to aspire to. I think I’ve got the patience factor down.
Great Blue Heron, morning in the Bosque del Apache, NM
Sandhill Cranes are the biggest attraction at the refuge. Here at sunset visitors wait for the fly-in when the cranes land in the marshes to settle in for the night, safe from predators. In the morning at sunrise, they lift off in small groups and take to the skies bound for the pastures and cornfields up and down the refuge and the nearby Rio Grande. It’s quite a spectacular sight. If you want to be truly amazed, be sure to catch the thousand upon thousands of snow geese lift off simultaneously at sunrise. Here’s a short video I shot a couple of years ago. Pardon the ad at the beginning. There are some more images from the Bosque del Apache here.
Sandhill cranes, sunset at the Bosque del Apache
These birds watch and call to their family members as they fly in.
Sandhill crane, Bosque del Apache
Sandhill cranes, in-flight at the Bosque del Apache NWR, NM
Before dawn is the time I like best on one of the loop drives. While all the visitors are watching the snow geese and cranes fly out, I enjoy the rest of the refuge pretty much to myself. I’ve watched the lift-off many times. I also enjoy the refuge throughout other times of the day. When the many photographers and crowds are gone for lunch in nearby San Antonio and Socorro, again I enjoy the refuge mostly to myself. I prefer a picnic and solitude, in the presence of raptors perched high up looking for their lunch below.
Red-tailed Hawk roosting, Bosque del Apache NWR
The tree in the center is a popular roost for bald eagles. There’s one in the tree in this photo.
Eagle roosting tree, Bosque del Apache NWR, San Antonio, NM
Every time I go to town I pass this scene and often make an image documenting it at various times of day and in different seasons. It’s definitely a favorite on the drive, and I always slow down for a look. Sorry to all the other drivers rushing to or from work!
Cottonwood and Willows, Arroyo Hondo, NM
I posted a few images of this mini church from the Ghost Ranch movie set before. In the second image, I got an angle from the front with the door open, revealing the cross on the sanctuary wall. I added the candlelight for effect, after all, it is a movie set. I had fun playing in Photoshop® this week.
Movie set church at Ghost Ranch, NM
Movie set church at Ghost Ranch, NM with added ambiance.
Pami and I made a short trip out to Abiquiu Lake last weekend. I’m grateful for all the photographer clients I was able to introduce to this area over the last couple of months. So after a dozen or so visits to Abiquiu, it was time for a personal day out.
Cerro Pedernal with Abiquiu Lake.
Check out these petroglyph panels along the Rio Grande, in Velarde, NM. My particular favorite is the “pink panther” lower left!
Petroglyph panels along the Rio Grande, in Velarde, NM
Join me on a Photo Tour Workshop and I’ll introduce you to some of my favorite locations.
As always. Thank you for stopping in and looking. Stay well. G
