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

Oak Leaves, Aspens, and Tipi

Geraint September 1, 2021 8 Comments

Greetings from a blustery evening in San Cristobal, NM, followed by heavy rain, the loudest thunder and huge lightning on the ridge behind the house.

After my trip to Colorado last week, I spent this week making prints in my digital darkroom, my well-lit office!
Last year I collected many oak leaves from the surrounding mountains, which in itself was a gorgeous time spent in the outdoors. I pressed the leaves collected in a heavy book of Andrew Wyeth prints. When flattened just enough to take out a little of the curl, I set up outdoors on the patio with a dark background and backlight from the sun. I used a roach clip to pin the leaves at eye level and started shooting. I got the idea from viewing the leaves on the trees in the field that were backlit. The wind was a little too much to contend with shooting in the mountains. It was much easier to control on the patio. Here are the results.

Sangre de Cristo Oak leaves Composite — Last year’s oak leaves, collected on Lama Mountain.

Oak Leaf, matted and framed — Matted, framed and signed archival prints.

This image was taken a couple of weeks ago and printed on cotton rag archival paper. I wanted to convey how sheltered and secluded it feels standing in the aspens. There’s always a way out.

Aspen grove, Cumbres Pass — Aspen Grove signed prints.

The brand new tipi standing in El Prado (the meadows) begged for a different view rather than a full-on standard, here’s the tipi shot. This is the image I came up with for a different angle. I processed it in an app called “Formulas”.

Taos Tipi Print — Taos Tipi signed prints.

If you are interested in any of the oak leaf prints, please message me here. They look great in groups. The aspen grove print is available here, and the tipi print is available here.

As always, thanks for looking. G

Tipis, Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico

Geraint December 22, 2020 2 Comments

Tipis south of Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico. I headed here first last night for the conjunction but the elements didn’t align. So I headed to the church shortly afterward. That worked out fine and print sales were brisk today. I did shoot some images at the tipis before heading to the church. I added the antique aged distressed look to the shot. Keep looking up! The planets are still passing in the night. Well, not really, Saturn is just under half a billion miles further out into space than mighty Jupiter. Thanks for looking. G

Comet, Tipi, Stars, One Last View

Geraint August 2, 2020 8 Comments

Comet Neowise, tipi and stars. One last view from where I saw it with binoculars first. It’s fading now but it sure has been a treat to see and observe it’s trajectory across our sky. Thanks for looking. G

Tipis, Comet, Stars, Northern New Mexico

Geraint July 17, 2020 10 Comments

Tipis, Comet, Stars, Northern New Mexico. A composition that, for me, captures the essence of what I feel when standing out under the night sky where I live. Thanks for looking. G

Tipi, Sky, Sunset, A Quote, Lama, NM

Geraint July 11, 2020 8 Comments

Tipi, sky, sunset, and a quote, Lama, NM. This quote has stayed with me since I first became aware of it many years ago. I dreamed of the wide open spaces of the west when I was a kid in South Wales. Here I am, and I’ve slept on the ground many nights with only the stars above me. Thanks for looking. G

Tipi Sky, Ranchos De Taos, New Mexico

Geraint November 6, 2019 2 Comments

Tipi sky, Ranchos De Taos, New Mexico. Digging in the archives and clearing out the virtual stuffed closet today I found this image of the tipis, south of Taos, near where I used to live. In the evening, around sunset, I would pop down the road, a mile or so from home, to watch and wait as the scene unfolded. Thanks for looking. G

Taos Tipis, Ranchos de Taos, NM

Geraint September 5, 2019 4 Comments

Taos Tipis, Ranchos de Taos, NM. Flash back to 2008 when there were four tipis south of Taos. Over the years they dwindled down to one tipi. It was always fun to check out the location with a gorgeous backdrop of a New Mexico sky. Currently a tipi has recently appeared in the last few weeks making two, so I’ll keep an eye out for future image opportunities. Thanks for looking. G

Full Moon, Stars, Taos Tipis, TBT

Geraint January 31, 2019 2 Comments

Full Moon and stars at the Taos Tipis. Throw back Thursday or flash back Friday depending on when you view this image. Delving in the archives from 2015 today, I came across this file. The light on the tipis came from the security light on the building and balanced nicely with the moon and stars. The tipis are gone. For a while they added some nice foreground subject matter against our crystal clear New Mexico skies. Things change. Thanks for looking. G

Window On The Tipis

Geraint March 29, 2018 No Comments

Window on the tipis, Ranchos de Taos, NM. Inside out. A throw back image, two springs ago, on a photo shoot at the tipis on Highway 68 south of Taos. Thanks for looking. G

Geraint Smith Photography

Tag: Tipis