Well, I got out there as I said I would last week for this partial eclipse. It wasn’t as cold as I thought it would be but there were some clouds that created a weird maroon halo-ee thing. In the second image, you’ll see the Pleiades to the upper right. The clouds added a kind of mystery to the scene but they didn’t help make for a crystal clear lunar eclipse, the sort I’m used to. I like that the extent of the partial eclipse is defined very clearly. I’m sure there’ll be more eclipses to come. I will say, that I’m finally recovered from the stiff neck I got looking straight up overhead!
Lunar Eclipse, November 19, 2021, San Cristobal, NM
Lunar Eclipse with the Pleiades (upper right), November 19, 2021.
Driving home from Taos last weekend I found I had competition in the pasture, a cow racing me and my car.
Racing a cow in the Arroyo Hondo Valley.
… and today the clouds lifted enough to give a glimpse of the thin layer of snow on Taos Mountain.
Taos Mountain clouds, El Prado (the Meadows), NM
Happy Thanksgiving. I hope it’s a good one. Thanks for looking. G
Just three images this week. A Cedar Waxwing visited the crab apple tree in the garden yesterday and got well fed up before heading out. I was surprised it stayed around as long as it did, about thirty minutes. I got a lot of very similar images. I chose this image as it showed the bird’s bright yellow tail tips. If you expand the image you will see bits of crab apple on the wings. It was a messy eater. The second image is from the San Luis Valley on a late afternoon trip to Colorado. We live about half an hour from the state line and enjoyed watching these wild horses. A different band from last week’s photo. The third image caught my eye on the road to town. I shot it shortly before the sun dipped below the horizon. I’m saving my energy this week for the eclipse tomorrow night, the peak happens around 2 am, long after my bedtime, but I’m looking forward to a clear sky and a beautiful partial lunar eclipse.
Cedar Waxwing in our crab apple tree, San Cristobal, NM
Wild horses, San Luis Valley, Colorado.
Tree in evening light on Highway 522 NM.
Thanks for looking. Wish me a good night shooting the eclipse tomorrow. I hope you get to see it where you are. G
The iconic, autumn “Hunter’s Moon” rising over the Sangre de Cristo Mountains from our driveway in San Cristobal, NM. The “Hunter’s Moon” is a favorite of all the moon names. Although I don’t hunt, the name evokes some primordial feeling in me of a greater sense of place in the grand scheme of things. Whatever it conjures up for you, I hope it’s a good feeling. The final image is from the old homestead in the San Luis Valley, Colorado.
Hunter’s moon rises over the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, NM.
Hunter’s moon rising a little further.
Hunter’s moonrise breaks the tree line over the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, NM.
Hunter’s moon and the old homestead in the San Luis Valley, CO.
The light, it’s all about the light. Waiting until the sunlight lit up the road and the aspens ahead didn’t take very long but it did require a few moments until the sun emerged from the clouds. The moment and the picture happen, click!!!
Fall color and light on Highway 64, northern NM.
The following three images depict a local pond, a different way the leaves turn in one particular area, and a spontaneous composition on a log in the Carson National Forest a few days ago.
Aspen leaves on a mountain pond, in the Sangre de Cristos.
Aspen leaves in the high country of northern New Mexico.
Aspen leaves on a log in the Carson National Forest.
One fallen aspen tree leads the eye through the standing trees to the copse beyond.
Aspen tree Hopewell Lake, New Mexico.
A nice hillside of aspens in various stages of fall. There are still a number of weeks of turning colors to come. Join me on a photo tour and I’ll share some of my favorite locations with you.
Aspens on the flanks of the Brazos Cliffs, New Mexico.
I frequently enjoy visiting this pond in the mountains between Taos and Angel Fire and this week we hit it with precision timing. The leaves were falling like rain on and around us. Here’s a video I shared on Facebook. Turn up the sound if you watch!
Autumn pond in Valle Escondido, NM.
And… last but not least, spending as much time on the road as I do, the opportunities abound. In this case a Porcupine trucking across the road. I had to move fast. The porcupine was fast, but I was slightly faster and that’s how I got this picture of a sweet little creature.
A couple of nights ago I walked out to our driveway to watch this month’s Harvest moon rise over the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. I watched this celestial event in its entirety, unencumbered by foreground buildings and landscape features on a crisp, autumn evening. It was so clear it felt like I could reach out and touch the moon. I hope you got to watch it where you are.
Harvest Moonrise, San Cristobal, NM
Today I had to get a rock chip repaired in my windshield. I had an hour to kill so I wandered around the neighborhood and came up with the following shot.
Taos Mountain with Culverts, Taos, NM
Earlier this evening I had another wander through my hard drives. I found this picture of a Javelina. This was from a few years ago in the Bosque del Apache NWR. It’s sort of appropriate as I’m planning a trip there this coming November. It’s been a couple of years since I was there last so I’m looking forward to going again. I recall the moment when this little guy popped up from an arroyo, surprising me, and ran across the trail ahead.
Javelina in the Bosque del Apache NWR, NM
This image came up in my favorites on my phone. In 2019, my friend Ron and I ended a great five-day photo trek in Lamy, NM. He went on and I went home. I’ve caught the train here many times and ridden it to Los Angeles and back. The Amtrak train still stops here on its route from Chicago to LA.
Lamy Train Depot, Lamy, New Mexico
Going back further still, I came across this beautiful fall scene taken at the Mabel Dodge Luhan House in Taos, NM. I thought it worthy of a repeat performance on my website.
Gatehouse and dovecots at the Mabel Dodge Luhan House, Taos, NM
If you’d like to see fall colors in the high desert, I still have a few days open between now and the end of October for my photography tour/workshops in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado.
As always, thank you for looking. Have a great week. G
The full moon rising last Saturday over the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of southern Colorado. Commonly known as the “Worm Moon” it’s also known by these names in other cultures. Crow Moon, Sap Moon, Moon of Winds, Fish Moon. Here’s a link to the names of full moons in many other cultures. I’m rather partial to “Crow moon”. The crows in our field get busy at this time of year and show up every morning before sunrise. This is a photo of a crow with the full moon back in early December. Despite the names bestowed on a full moon, it’s a most wondrous site to behold rising over fresh snow-covered peaks of the “Sangres”. This was shot and cropped from a very large panoramic image on a photo tour/workshop. Join me in this area for a trip to see sights like this.
The full “worm moon” rising last Saturday over the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of southern Colorado
Here’s the panorama of the whole scene. If you have room for a large print, the detail in both is amazing. Prints will be available soon.
Large panorama of the full moon rising over the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of southern Colorado
Last light on the mountain snows and cloud, Sangre de Cristos, NM. The last glimmer of light on the foothills before the sun slipped over the horizon and the warmth of the day with it. Stay warm, and healthy. Thanks for looking. G
Arroyo Hondo Valley and a Mountain Moonrise, northern New Mexico. We went out to watch the moon rising and pick up some peach pie. On the way home, we stopped numerous times to photograph the moon and landscape. We pulled over in the Arroyo Hondo Valley with one of its residents enjoying a cool drink in the snowmelt and munching on some soft green shoots with the moon watching over it all. Remember the “blue moon” on Saturday, the second full moon of October. Thanks for looking. G
Fall Color in the San Cristobal Valley, northern New Mexico. This is the valley where we live and a scene we look at every time we go south to town. On this occasion, I squeezed over on the shoulder to get this photo, dodging disturbing the powdery rabbitbrush that makes me sneeze. I just had a sneezing fit looking at this photo. I hope you don’t get an allergic reaction when looking. Thanks for checking in. G
Hopewell Lake on a photography tour northern New Mexico and southern Colorado today. We spent some of the morning working the lakeshore for reflections. Later we hiked into nearby aspen groves with carpets of fallen leaves, and lying on our backs we photographed the lanky tree trunks and canopy against the blue sky. On the drive home, we stopped and to enjoy the many aspen vistas around nearly every bend in the road. Thanks for looking. G
