Fine Art Images from the American Southwest

Tag: Geology

Plaza Blanca Window

Plaza Blanca window in Abiquiu, New Mexico. As the erosion occurs the window opening grows larger continually revealing more of the landscape beyond. Eventually the window will be gone, none of the formations will be the same. In the southwest nothing lasts very long except for the beauty, it remains! G

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Plaza Blanca, “The White Place”

On a trip to Abiquiu, New Mexico we stopped in to Plaza Blanca, “The White Place” made famous by Georgia O’Keefe and featured in many movies over the recent decades. Thanks for looking. G

Plaza Blanca Abiquiu New Mexico

Ute Mountain Emerges

Ute Mountain emerges from the clouds after last weekend’s snow storm. Ute Mountain is north of Taos on the road to Colorado and often appears protruding, fin like, moving through the clouds. It also creates it’s own weather system. I’ve often seen rain and snow falling solely on the dome of this extinct volcano, a major geological feature in the Taos Volcanic Field/Plateau. Here’s another image of Ute.

Ute mountain emerges from the clouds

Grasslands At Shiprock

Grasslands at Shiprock. Horses grazing in apparent contentment which reflects my mood and infuses my spirit when I gaze on the monumental formation known as Shiprock ‘sailing’ through the grasses on the Navajo Tribal Reservation in the four corners region of north western New Mexico.

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Red Rock

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The rock is only a quarter of an inch. The red on the grey caught my eye. I made five images. Each time, by rotating or moving the camera in closer, I eliminated extraneous, peripheral, clutter which was ok in a wider composition but didn’t add anything to the final image I had in mind. A tiny red rock lodged in a crack, a temporary resting place in the continuing erosion of the badlands in the desert southwest.

Lava Rock, In The Taos Volcanic Field

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Crossing arroyos at this time of year in the Taos Volcanic Field, one encounters slick rock formations where flash flood water collects in fissures and ice forms. The erosion cycle continues, expanding and contracting. Many forms of geology catch my attention in this place. I slow my pace, and line up some compositions. Secretly I enjoy a moment to breathe and fill my lungs, under the guise of image making. Sometimes that is what it takes.

Plaza Blanca Slot Canyon

Plaza Blanca slot canyon abiquiu new mexico photo tour
In Plaza Blanca on a warm fall day, the narrowing slot canyon walls are alternating zones of cool, noticeably moist, air and radiating warm dry air. As one proceeds, the canyon closes in, the growing feeling of solitude embellishes the senses and grounds the body in the womb of the earth. All the while, white cliffs languishing in the sun, under an intense blue sky, draws ones gaze upward.