Greetings from San Cristobal and beyond to Mounument Valley Navajo Tribal Park.
This week I was digging in the archive, searching for stock images and a selection for a local photography exhibition. I got distracted and went down the rabbit hole. An image of the shadow event in Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park last spring drew me deeper down the hole. Revisiting a photo, I tend to reminisce and then often edit it to represent more of what I felt than what I initially saw.
Click on an image to enlarge.
Shadow event last spring in Mounument Valley Navajo Tribal Park.
Monument Valley and southeast Utah are one of my all-time favorite areas. I’ve been there many, many times since my first trip in 1985. It did me a world of good to revisit there, although virtually this week.
Secondly, a picture of Taos Mountain from a few years ago, bathed in the last light before the sun set. I wanted to edit it again, bringing out the details in the little creek in the foreground.
Pueblo Peak/Taos Mountain winter.
A few days ago, Pami and I made a short drive to a favorite spot in the San Luis Valley, you know which one. First, we enjoyed the scene of hay trucks hauling half-ton bales down the narrow roads to one of the many pole barns scattered throughout the valley. A lot of the fields, and some equipment, were put to bed for winter. The pivot irrigator languished on its side wheels up, either for repair or ready to be dismantled and stored. It reminded me of a turtle on its back with legs in the air.
Pivot irrigator, San Luis Valley, CO.
Roadside tree with hay bales, San Luis, Valley CO.
The tree above is home to nesting raptors. I’ve often photographed them in this tree in this area. Of course, no trip to the valley would be complete without a visit to the old homestead.
Greetings from San Cristobal and beyond. Autumn colors and clouds reflecting in Hopewell Lake and two images from my solo exhibit at Bareiss Gallery. My show is up until October 31, 2022. So far, visitors, sales, and many new collectors have made the show very successful. Thank you to all who came out, I am honored and grateful.
Click on an image to enlarge it.
Autumn at Hopewell Lake, NM
The cottonwoods were peaking when we took a short walk along the lake shore. I’m on a photo tour/workshop this week and we’ve seen some color changes on a grand scale. Hopewell Lake on Highway 64 is a go-to location, and if I go nowhere else in the fall I’ll be happy.
Cottonwood colors Hopewell Lake, northern NM
Two images from my show titled “The Eloquence of Silence, #1 and #2” I would welcome the opportunity to share my exhibit and new work with you. I’ll be in the gallery Saturday from 11 am -5 pm. I look forward to meeting you.
Eloquence of Silence #1
Eloquence of Silence #2
Silence has an eloquence surpassing that of speech; creating a space in which the heart’s thoughts can resound, and deeply-felt emotion can echo with a voice profound in another’s heart, that listens in the silence. (Howard Owen Smith – My Dad).
These two images work very well together as a pair.
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 Saturdays and by appointment. Come and visit. It will be great to meet you. G
Bareiss Gallery is located at: 15 State Rd 150 Taos, NM 575-776-2284
Well, we did make it to the Monte Vista NWR in southern Colorado last week, a couple of hours drive each way from home. There were plenty of Sandhill Cranes, not as many as there will be next week and the week after. My only complaint (not really a complaint) the cranes were quite far away from the accessible areas. I got this first image as they flew overhead from one marsh to another. I thank them for that! Hearing the primordial sounds the cranes make made the trip worthwhile.
Sandhill Cranes, Monte Vista NWR
Driving north from home we ran into these two creatures having a chat along the roadside. I should clarify, the raven was doing all the yacking. The eagle had nothing to say and was unperturbed by the raven or our presence. Incidentally, this is a very large raven.
Bald Eagle and a Raven on the wire in the San Luis Valley.
It’s difficult to pass by this location on the drive to the grocery store. I whipped past this time but decided to turn around and make yet another image, (I have a lot of pictures from this location). One thing, certainly not the only thing about photography, it gets me outdoors and into nature. As cold and windy as it was, any time I am out in the environment it is a good thing.
Red Willows and Cottonwood, Arroyo Hondo, NM
Below is another favorite location, the “welcome tree” greeting visitors as they crest the hill rising from the Rio Grande Gorge. The tree accompanies the massive vista of the Gorge extending as far as the eye can see, that would be Colorado. I first saw this tree when I arrived in New Mexico in 1984. The tree, sadly, is on its last legs. I keep making images when I pass and I reckon I’ll be making images until it’s gone, that’s my way of honoring its presence after all these years.
The Taos “Welcome Tree” at the gorge overlook.
Last week this crescent moon made an appearance the day after the new moon, (no moon). It was 1-2% and difficult to spot. I found it by looking through the lens in the general direction suggested by my TPE app on the phone. The clouds gave way just enough at the right time.
Waxing crescent moon setting, taken from our front steps in San Cristobal.
As always, thank you for looking. I really appreciate all the wonderful comments and compliments. Have a great week. I’m planning on it. G
We’re on the road today, heading out to the Monte Vista NWR in Colorado. I’ll be looking for Sandhill Cranes on the migratory path north after wintering in the southern climates. Assuming I get what I’m looking for, I’ll post those photos next week.
The Monte Vista refuge is situated northwest in the San Luis Valley. This week’s images are of the Blanca Peak Massif visible from just about everywhere in the Valley. The mountain range can be seen from a hundred miles south at the Rio Grande Gorge rim when hiking a little south of the high bridge over the river. I’m posting three images of my favorite views today. One I shot in black and white. I liked it so much that I converted the two others into black and whites.
Click on images to enlarge.
Blanca Peak with the Rio Grande, Colorado.
Blanca Peak across the sage brush, Colorado.
Blanca Peak Massif from highway 139, Colorado.
Driving north from Taos, this mountain range looms very large on the horizon for the whole drive, drawing one onwards to where the highway ends in Fort Garland, right at the foot of these spectacular mountains.
As always, thank you for looking and all the wonderful comments. G
We had some snow last night, about three inches in our neighborhood. Not a huge amount but a very welcome amount. I went out early this morning to catch this scene of an old adobe home on the hill in the San Cristobal Valley.
Home on the hill, San Cristobal.
Last week I was on a Photo Tour/Workshop with two clients in the Rio Chama Valley. There was no wind and Abiquiu Lake was reflecting Cerro Pedernal very nicely. We wandered down to the rocks surrounding the lakeshore for the shot. I like the way his image looked in black and white, almost like a drawing. Cerro Pedernal means flint hill, the place where indigenous people collected obsidian for their weapons.
Abiquiu Lake reflecting Cerro Pedernal, (flint peak).
While in Abiquiu, we visited the ruin of Santa Rosa de Lima, one of my favorite locations on the banks of Rio Chama. Like planets, the shadows aligned perfectly.
Santa Rosa de Lima, gate and shadows.
There’s always time for a visit to the iconic Saint Francis Church in Ranchos de Taos, arguably the most photographed church in the world. Because I visit this place often I know where the shadows fall at different times of day and seasons. This was mid December at 8:33 in the morning.
Saint Francis Church Shadows
I came across this photo of the red barn from last summer, it felt like yesterday, that’s probably because I’m in the San Luis Valley every couple of weeks. I liked the geometric composition of this image.
Red Barn in black and white San Luis Valley, Colorado.
Last but not least, below is the full panorama of the wolfmoon rising. I wanted to take a few days to put it together and work up a print file. If you would like a print and have a large space to fill please get in touch.
Wolf Moon over the Sangre de Cristo Mountains full panorama.
Have a great week. I hope it’s beautiful where you are. As always, thanks for looking. G
It’s been a busy week, so I’m making a short blog post of an epic wolf moon rising in color and black and white, over the Sangre de Cristo section of the Rocky Mountains in southern Colorado. The moon was huge when it rose behind the snow-capped peaks. I was on a photo tour with my client at the time. I think we positioned ourselves just right. I had a good idea where the moon would rise drawing on my experience from my many trips throughout the area. That said, I used “The Photographer’s Ephemeris” to confirm the location. It’s a wonderful app. Click on the images to enlarge.
Wolf Moon, over the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of southern Colorado.
Wolf Moon rising in black and white.
Of course, I can’t drive past this spot without stopping to take a photo, if it’s remotely nice. The forecast calls for snow on the peaks again this evening. I’m looking forward to it. We need it!
Pueblo Peak, Taos Mountain from El Prado, (The Meadows).
A minimalist composition of a bench overlooking the boat dock at Abiquiu Lake. We were photographing the stark reflection of Cerro Pedernal in a glassy lake. I always remember to look in the opposite direction.
Bench and boat dock at Abiquiu Lake, NM
As always, thank you for looking, for all the comments and compliments. Have a good week. G
Here’s the tree I promised in last week’s post. I headed north in a dust storm. Inclement weather could be my middle name. What the dust afforded me besides spots on my sensor was a slight separation of the tree and mountain. The sky in this image of the lone tree was unexpected. The tree had lost a small limb since my previous trip. I didn’t mind. It cleaned up the composition. (Click on images to enlarge).
Ute Mountain lone tree, San Luis Valley, CO.
The dust created a nice veil of diffuse light so the poles and trees stood out. I’d not seen them so prominent before.
Ute Mountain with power poles and a big sky.
In the following photo, you can see the dust storm is more apparent. The trees really stood out against Ute Mountain like guardians.
Ute Mountain trees with San Luis Valley dust storm.
Heading home a little later the wind at Sanchez Reservoir was so strong. When I stopped to shoot the ice on the shoreline I could barely open the car door. I got out and made a few so-so images then had to jump back in the car and get my legs in fast before the door slammed shut on my ankles. Did I say how cold the wind chill was? I wish I’d looked. All I can say is it was cold!!!
I knew I wanted to catch the light on the fresh snow on the peaks in the Latir Peaks Wilderness, so I headed in that direction. I’ve done this shot before almost to the day. I wasn’t disappointed this time either. The wind had subsided but the cold remained. So I parked with a view and rested the camera on the open window. With the heat on and music playing, I was comfy and waited. The last bit of light through the clouds caught Cabresto Peak just right. In the second image below, I zoomed in for a close-up.
Wide view of snow on Cabresto Peak, in the Latir Peaks Wilderness, NM.
A little closer in on Cabresto Peak..
… And a couple of my favorite images of Taos Mountain. The first shot is from the Ranchos Valley with an acequia (irrigation ditch), red willows, and snow-capped peaks of Taos Mountain.
Taos Mountain red willows and snow, Ranchos de Taos, NM.
This image of Taos Mountain was when it was bathed in the last glow of sunlight through the letterbox opening in the clouds.
Taos Mountain with winter sunset light.
Phew, we made it another year. As always thanks for looking, happy new year. G
Greetings from San Cristobal on the Winter Solstice.
I’m back on track this week, after last week’s 55-hour power outage. Though not as badly hit as some areas in northern New Mexico that were out of power for a week, I’m really happy that it came back on when it did. I was due my weekly bath night. I’m British and we bathe once a week whether we need it or not! I’m kidding. I knew as soon as I stocked up on water, food, and propane for the camp stove things would return to normal, that’s Murphey’s law, right?
I found the scene below in our back forty, a little wooded area behind our house, and really nice to wander around in the mornings. It’s not a huge expanse of trees but I like to explore with the camera and find little vignettes such as this. I shot this on the winter solstice, an alignment at the moment of the solstice at 8:59 am MT yesterday. I’d had big plans to return to Chaco Canyon for the winter solstice this year but as I would be camping the freezing temps put me off. The last time I spent the winter solstice in Chaco was in 2010 on an assignment for AAA Magazine. It was fairly mild that year. This year I stayed home and wandered around the neighborhood.
The Solstice moment and alignment in San Cristobal, NM.
We drove north later in the day yesterday to get this image of my favorite red barn in black and white. I’ve done this type of shot here before, but at a different time of year, so I had a clue what to expect though not the position of the sun and the alignment with the holes in the roof and walls. This is as far south as the sun reaches. As you can imagine the barn was in silhouette with not much color so I went for a black and white. I like it a lot.
Red Barn in black and white, with Ute Mountain.
A few country blocks, about a mile up the road is a tree with Ute Mountain. I’m saving that particular image for another day. Over my shoulder was this picture. The two crosses are actually a fallen power pole. I’d not seen this before on many trips in the San Luis Valley so it may have occurred in a recent wind storm. I like the languishing nature of the pole.
Farm buildings in the opposite direction from the red barn.
On a photo tour a week ago we came across a Bighorn Sheep crossing the Rio Grande, with this Great Blue Heron, and the Bald eagle below, all in the same vicinity. The bighorn was crossing away from us, showing us his best side! The blue heron took up a vantage point with a commanding view of the river. We waited for it to fly and strike a fish. That didn’t happen this time. We returned to the eagle also nearby. The eagle launched off and after chasing a raven who had food returned to this familiar tree. The bald eagles are opportunistic, to say the least, and will steal what they can rather than waste energy getting it for themselves. The raven got away with its catch, probably stolen too. I love nature, and the rams behind!
Great Blue Heron, Orilla Verde, Pilar, NM.
Bald Eagle, Orilla Verde, Rio Grande del Norte National Monument, NM.
Bighorn Sheep, ram crossing the Rio Grande, NM.
And finally, the mule deer buck who visited our field last week during the full moon. Not a bad week after the blackout. Now it’s getting brighter from here on.
Mule Deer, a young buck.
Mule Deer in our field.
Coming to you from my warm office this week, as always, thank you 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
We went looking for wild horses and found them! It wasn’t the most solitary moment because there were two of us watching these beauties, but… they looked rather solitary out there on the plateau with vast amounts of space to roam.
Wild Horses, San Luis Valley, Colorado
These two chairs popped up in my archive from 2007. They had a view of the meadows and Taos Mountain. Had there been someone sitting in them they wouldn’t have exuded a lonely feeling, but… the desire to sit in them overcame me so I sat in one of them.
Two chairs, Taos New Mexico
A cash register from days gone by at the Chile Line Depot (a cafe) in Tres Piedras, NM. I had fish and chips, my buddy David had beef and green chile quesadilla. He had apple pie a la mode for dessert and I had a pinon nut brownie. The cash register was a side attraction, but… the food, the main event, was most excellent. Check them out if you’re passing by on 285, in northern New Mexico.
Cash register at the Chile Line Depot, Tres Piedras, NM
West of Taos, west of the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge, is a ranch where the ranch hands keep an ever-watchful eye at the ranch gate. I’ve shot this before. I like the illusion of the cowboys coming over the ridge. A sunset always adds a cinematic quality to the scene. But…..
The ranch hands at sunset, west of Taos, NM
…about 20 miles north of Taos and 8 miles from San Cristobal is the village of Questa. It is a thriving community of families and newcomers who take pride in their town. I shot this image out of the car windshield. I liked the old photo feeling it had.
At the intersection of highway 522 and 38 in Questa, NM
About 30 miles north and west of Questa is a halt on the San Luis & Rio Grande Railroad, named Bountiful. There’s not a lot happening here on most days, but.. on this day, a sweet sheepherder, her husband on an ATV asked for help in getting their sheep and a donkey across the enormously busy US Highway 285. Following the perilous road crossing by the sheep and a forlorn looking donkey, a woman, independent of the others, appeared out of nowhere and trundled up. Smoking a cigarette, she blessed the day, and thanked God for everyone in it. She was followed close on her heels by her husband, he took her gently by her arm. But… unlike the sheep and the donkey, the husband seemed impervious to the traffic whizzing past. As they made their way across the same busy highway, with his wife on his arm he revealed that she had dementia. He made sure to let me know, that I had an open invite for coffee. I’ll visit one day soon. On a side note, those grain elevators and nearby silos are full of Coors barley.
Bountiful, Colorado.
As always, thank you for looking. Stay healthy happy and well. G
