Tag: San Cristobal

San Luis Valley, Horses, Birds, Sunset, 01-04-2023

Geraint January 4, 2023 16 Comments

Greetings from San Cristobal. I had a lovely time shooting in the San Luis Valley, Colorado, which always makes me smile, followed by some random images around the area this holiday season. You may recognize this scene. I visit it often on photo tours and workshops in southern Colorado.

Blanca peak and wild horses san luis valley, Colorado — Blanca Peak with wild horses in the San Luis Valley, Colorado.

Wild Horses, San Luis Valley — Wild Horses and crows.

Corraled by the creek, and then the escape. I opened the car door to get out, and the horses, surprised, jumped the fence. I missed that! The payoff came in the following two images.

Wild Horses running through fields in Colorado — Wild horses running through fields in Colorado.

Wild Horses running, San Luis Valley — Wild horses, southern Colorado.

One mild morning last week, my son Dylan and I walked through the Fred Baca Park Wetlands and Rio Fernando Park. There wasn’t a lot going on, which was very nice. I did take a camera and caught a shot of a Townsend’s Solitaire being solitary in a bare tree. A peaceful walk surrounded the muted colors of winter.

Townsend's Solitaire, Fred Baca Park Wetlands, Taos — Townsend Solitaire, Fred Baca Park Wetlands, Taos.

One afternoon a Woodhouse’s Scrub Jay and Northern Flicker, settled in our old cottonwood tree in San Cristobal.

Northern Flicker, and Western Scrub Jay San Cristobal — Woodhouse’s Scrub Jay and Northern Flicker.

Seeing out the New Year, we were watching a sunset cloud from the deck.

Sunset Cloud San Cristobal — Sunset Cloud over Taos Mountain, from San Cristobal.

Lastly, a flashback to Spring 1987, on a trip I made with four friends, Martin, Frank, Ken, and Dave. Frank and I got set up each morning and evening at our primitive campsite to capture the sunrise, or in this instance, waiting on the sunset. I took this shot of our two Rollei’s, Franks Deerdorf, and my Nikon F3.

Monument Valley cameras — Cameras set up at the Mittens, Monument Valley.

As always, Thank you for looking. Happy New Year. G

Lunar Eclipse, Taos Mountains, Snow. 11-09-22

Geraint November 9, 2022 25 Comments

Greetings from San Cristobal and beyond. This week I got up to watch the lunar eclipse. I hadn’t intended to photograph it. I’ve shot it so many times before. When I looked out the window I couldn’t resist. The sky was crystal clear, and the stars were genuinely twinkling. The “cold-hearted orb” wasn’t. It warmed up the night sky and I felt it. I got the camera set up in the front doorway, out of the cold and wind, and began shooting. The most significant impact it had on Pami and me was how three-dimensional it appeared suspended amongst the stars. It was another wonderful, lunar eclipse-watching night. I can honestly say that I will continue to get up to watch future eclipses from now on.

Click on images to enlarge and view individually.

Total lunar eclipse moon — Lunar eclipse, totality, from our front door, San Cristobal, NM

The day before the eclipse our moon rose unblemished in clear skies, visible out the dining room window, although I did go outside for this shot.

New snow in our mountains last week.

Significant snowfall on Taos Mountains — Snowfall on Pueblo Peak, Taos Mountain in El Prado, Taos, NM

Snowfall on Pueblo Peak, Taos Mountain in El Prado — Snowfall on Pueblo Peak, Taos Mountain shot on iPhone 13 Pro Max

I had originally considered driving south to the Taos tipis for a shot. I thought of a composite instead. This is what I came up with. Here’s the image with the tipis and lunar eclipse from April 2015

As always, thank you for looking. G

Rio Chama, Abiquiu, Two Tipis, 11-02-22

Geraint November 2, 2022 10 Comments

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.

Fall colors along the Rio Chama, Abiquiu, NM

Have a wonderful rest of your fall.

As always, thank you for looking. G

And The New Mexico Treasures Calendar Winners Are… 09-07-22

Geraint September 7, 2022 10 Comments

Greetings from San Cristobal, NM. It’s time to announce the winners of the New Mexico Treasures calendar. Drumroll, please!

New Mexico Treasures 2023 desk top calendar.

There were 116 entries.

Congratulations to the winners of the drawing for the New Mexico Treasures 2023 Calendar, Bob Freudenheim, Mary Alston, Linda Flanagan, and Joe Riter. I will be in touch this weekend to get your mailing addresses or send me a message here on my website with your mailing address through my contact form.

Thank you to everyone who participated. It was fun for me to read all the comments and although there were too many to answer, I read every one!

This coming week I’ll be on photo tours on the High Road to Taos, the Rio Grande Gorge, Abiquiu, the San Luis Valley, and Salida, Colorado.

I’ll have some new images to post next week from the above locations. In the meantime, I’ll be preparing for my two upcoming exhibits.

I’m honored to join the other fine artists in “The Taos Artist Combo II Exhibit and Sale” join us and bring all your friends and family for this special Taos art celebration and gathering at the Stables Gallery at the TCA in Taos from Sept 23-25. A special meet the artist’s reception takes place at the Grand Opening Friday, Sept 23 from 4-7 PM. Artists include Frederick Aragon, Bill Davis, Audrey Davis, Gene Gray, Sara Jean Gray, Celesa Lucien, Rob Nightingale, Margery Reading, George Schaub, Geraint Smith, and Doug Yeager. The gallery is open Friday to Sunday from 11 AM – 5 PM

The Stables Gallery is located at: 133 Paseo del Pueblo Norte Taos, NM 87571

And…

Geraint Smith Exhibit at the Bareiss Galley Taos

… coming up in October! Mark your calendars.

On October 7-31, 2022, I will have a solo exhibition of my Sculpture and Photography, all new work, at the Bareiss Gallery here in Taos

If you get a chance to visit either show or both shows it will be great to see/meet you.

Preparing the exhibit. — Preparing for the exhibit at Bareiss Gallery, Taos.

As always, thank you for looking, your support and friendship, purchases, comments, and compliments.
Geraint.

Storm clouds with Taos Mountain, 08-24-22

Geraint August 24, 2022 118 Comments

Greetings from San Cristobal, NM.

Taos Mountain was shrouded in storm clouds with a big storm brewing. The storm brought heavy rains to the valley, flooding arroyos and causing acres of yellow daisies to bust out everywhere in the county.

Here is my favorite view of Taos Mountain with storm clouds this week in El Prado (the meadows).

Taos Mountain Storm Clouds — Taos Mountain storm clouds.

I had to go and risk a sneezing fit to get a couple of shots of the Verbesina, commonly known as Golden Crownbeard, Cowpen, or Butter daisies. They are also known as American Dogweed daisies.

Verbesina, Golden Crownbeard, and Cowpen daisies alongside RC Gorman’s wall.

Verbesina, Golden Crownbeard, and Cowpen daisies with RC Gormans wall — Verbesina, Golden Crownbeard, and Cowpen daisies with RC Gorman’s wall.

Soon the birds will start to gather on wires for their annual migration. I’m always fascinated by the seemingly mathematical precision placement on the powerlines.

The morning Mourning Dove perches in our almost dead cottonwood. I suspect these doves are Eurasian Collared Doves. They begin their morning cooing ritual outside the bedroom windows when I wake up. I call them ‘moaning’ doves because there’s no chance of going back to sleep with all their cooing that sounds like moaning to me.

Mourning dove in the morning — Mourning Dove in the morning, San Cristobal.

Lastly, a couple of shots from a walk around the Saint Francis church, (San Francisco de Asis), in Ranchos de Taos, NM.

Afternoon light at the Saint Francis church Ranchos de Taos, NM.

Finally, I have four extra copies of the New Mexico Treasures Calendar. I’ve contributed images to this calendar for the last decade. In two weeks, I’ll have a drawing of the names of those who comment on this post. I’ll put everyone’s name in a hat and draw four winners.

As always, thanks for looking. Have a great week. G

Monsoon Rains, Fog, Rainbow, August 3, 2022

Geraint August 3, 2022 28 Comments

Greetings from San Cristobal and northern New Mexico, where the monsoon rains are abundant this year.

The monsoon season started early this season, and the forecast is for it to last through August. With a touch of shameless self-promotion, I can honestly say, now is the time to sign up for a photo tour/workshop.

Monsoon rains, northern New Mexico — Monsoon rains, over the Sangre de Cristo mountains, northern New Mexico.

I made a drive on a local backroad yesterday, and a pleasant drive it was. I shot some pictures of the dead and standing trees on the hillsides. The trees are remnants of the Hondo Fire that burned the area in May 1996. It’s a place of great solitude for me and a different kind of stark beauty. Despite the fire, the hillsides look very lush and green

Tree in fog, Lama NM — Tree in shrouded in fog, Lama NM

And a rainbow this week from our field in San Cristobal, NM, is my favorite view of rainbows, second only to Taos Mountain. I only have to step outside the door and look. Things got a little wet after this moment.

Rainbow San Cristobal NM — Rainbow from our field, San Cristobal, NM

As always, thank you for looking. Have a great week. G

Rainbows, Elk, Art Bus, July 6, 2022

Geraint July 6, 2022 10 Comments

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, Taos Mountain, New Mexico — Rainbows in San Cristobal with Taos Mountain lower center.

At the apex of the rainbow in the image, multiple ‘supernumerary rainbows’ or ‘supernumerary bands’s are visible. Below is the close-up.

Supernumerary rainbows or supernumerary bands, San Cristobal — 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.

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!

Art Bus in El Prado, Taos, NM — 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, San Cristobal — 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

Virga Rain, Pastures, and Buddha, June 29, 2022

Geraint June 29, 2022 26 Comments

Greetings from the beautiful San Cristobal and Arroyo Hondo Valleys this week. We have virga skies and verdant pastures following this year’s early monsoon season.

The rain stopped briefly after raining straight for 48 hours. The sun came out for a moment before it began again. I hadn’t been out very much over the last two weeks. Drawn by the light, I grabbed my camera and headed out. I shot this first image of the virga rain from the driveway of our house.

Virga, San Cristobal — Virga over the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, San Cristobal.

Within a few minutes after the first image, I hopped in the car and drove south towards Taos, where I would have access to a turnout and views across the Taos Plateau and the walking rain. You won’t find much about walking rain online, but the rain here looks like it is out for a stroll as it passes across the plateau west of Taos.

Walking Rain, Taos Plateau — Walking rain across the Taos Plateau.

A little farther south is the beautiful Arroyo Hondo Valley. As I descended the hill and rounded the curve, this scene appeared. I stayed here for about fifteen minutes before heading home.

Arroyo Hondo pasture and cattle — Pastures in the Arroyo Hondo Valley.

Sometimes all it takes is a brief moment outside to clear my head, watch the storms pass, and nature putting on a beautiful show.

Within an hour, it was raining again, a torrential downpour with hail hammering on the tin roof and skylights. Lightning and thunder pursued, giving our old dog the tremors. A cheese treat with a cracker cured it. We woke up this morning to clear skies and more rain in the forecast. I’m in no way complaining here about the moisture we need it. See how green the landscape is, compared to a week ago.

This week’s final image is of the garden Buddha surrounded by marigolds Pami planted. I made a double exposure, one of the buddha and the other to blur the marigolds. The garden is loving the rain. It reminds me of Wales. Except in Wales, it would be raining for three weeks.

Garden Budha with marigolds — Buddha statue features again in our garden in San Cristobal.

As always, thank you so much for looking. Stay well, and I’ll see you here next week. G

A Solstice Moment, Wonderful Rain, June 22, 2022

Geraint June 22, 2022 8 Comments

Greetings from a rain-soaked solstice and the first day of summer in Saan Cristobal, NM

A hike in Plaza Blanca is a great place to witness a solstice moment. This image is from a photo tour in 2018. The solstice this year found me asleep in bed. The clouds covered the sun, moon, and this week’s planetary alignments yesterday morning. I slept well all the same.

Summer solstice Plaza Blanca — Summer Solstice, Plaza Blanca, Abiquiu, NM

There is a 12,000 feet peak in those clouds. Those two ravens know it. It’s great to know that the mountain peaks are shrouded in rain, clouds, mist, and not the choking fire smoke we experienced over the last two months. Today it has been raining for five hours straight. It feels a lot like Wales, where I grew up. Although in Wales, it would have been raining for three weeks straight.

In the garden, the Apache Plume plant is bedraggled looking. However, the raindrops hang suspended like tiny jewels. Click here to see a picture of an apache plume plant growing from a rock in Plaza Blanca.

Lastly, I wanted to add two bonus images from the High Raod to Taos. I often photograph throughout the day, well past the magic hours. The shadows in this image aren’t there any earlier. I find lots of subjects deserving almost any time of day.

Saint Francis Mission Church, Ranchos de Taos, NM

In this image of the big doors at the mission church San José de Gracia de Las Trampas, I lay on my back and took two photos. I stitched them together to create this different composition. Visiting places as often as I do, I like to inspire myself to find new and different angles. That’s the beauty of being able to make return trips to become familiar with the locations.

San Jose de Gracia de Las Trampas — Under the big doors at San José de Gracia de las Trampas, NM.

If you are inclined to travel this summer, join me here in northern New Mexico for a private one-on-one photography tour/workshop. I’ll look forward to seeing you.

As always thank you for looking. Enjoy the weather where you are. I’m going for a walk in the rain. G

High Road to Taos, New Mexico, June 15, 2022

Geraint June 15, 2022 24 Comments

Yesterday I went on a trip with friends on the High Road to Taos. It was a lovely relaxing day with no schedule or plans except to have fun and make images.

We began our day trip in Ranchos de Taos and photographed the iconic Saint Francis Church. It’s easy to lose track of time when photo opportunities abound. When we final regrouped, we headed south, winding our way through the Rio Grande Gorge to Dixon, picking up the High Road in Peñasco, traveling on to Las Trampas, Truchas, then back to Dixon for a late lunch at the Dixon Cooperative Market and Cafe.

Saint Francis Church on the High Road to Taos — Saint Francis Church, San Francisco de Asis.

South through the Rio Grande Gorge brought us to the town of Dixon, where we found these two benches waiting for us in more ways than one.

Bench back, Dixon, NM — Bench back detail, Dixon, NM.

After an hour of wandering around Dixon, we headed to the Picuris Pueblo, (still closed to the public) and on to the church of San Jose de Gracia de Las Trampas in Las Trampas, the ‘place of traps.’

San Jose de Gracia de Loas Trampas — The church of San Jose de Gracia de Las Trampas, NM.

Truchas is a twenty-minute drive south on the High Road to Taos and abounds with fascinating and quirky visuals. Truchas was the setting for the movie of the John Nichols, book Milagro Beanfield War, filmed on location in the mid-1980s and directed by Robert Redford. Below is the Truchas Mission Church, Nuestra Señora del Sagrado Rosario.

Truchas Mission Church on the High Road to Taos — Truchas Mission Church, Nuestra Señora del Sagrado Rosario.

The following few images are also located in Truchas, a short walk from the mission church.

Hobby Horse in the cool shade of a portal on the High Road to Taos.

Ford F100, Truchas — Ford F100 in Truchas, NM.

Mobile Home, with antenna, Truchas NM — Mobile home, with tv antenna, Truchas, NM.

Before we began our trip, we visited Floras Valley Store in San Cristobal, where my friends came to meet me. I just had to show this sight to them.

We ended a fun day and said our farewells back in San Cristobal. I closed my day watching the “Strawberry Moon” rising over Taos Mountain.

Full "Strawberry Moon" with Taos Mountain — Full “Strawberry Moon” with Taos Mountain, NM.

As always, thank you for looking. G