Greetings from San Cristobal, NM. This week, random wildlife images from around and about. I hope everyone had a great week. I’ve had some great tour trips over the last couple of months and could plaster my website with fall color images but chose some random wildlife images this week that I haven’t shown for a while.
Hello from San Cristobal, New Mexico. This week more trees for the Taos Artist Combo V show at the Stables Gallery in downtown Taos, NM. From last week’s post on Lone Trees, I pulled more tree images from my archives and created a large composite on canvas. I printed it to a manageable 20″ x 46″ size, this morning, but it could occupy a much larger canvas or paper print, titled “Homage to Lone Trees”.
Lone trees from around northern NM.
•
I wanted to include the tree in the following picture taken at near Ghost Ranch, but it had fallen down. I may still find another view of it deeper in the archives.
Tree and red landscape near Ghost Ranch, NM
•
I did find the following image from 2015 taken on a winter photo trek to Abiquiu and the Rio Chama.
Winter on the Chama River road near Ghost Ranch, NM.
•
Taos Artist Combo V Exhibit & Sale. Stables Gallery, 133 Paseo del Pueblo Norte, Taos, NM 87571 October 9 – 11: Artist Reception, Friday October 9, 5-7PM
Check out my good friend and collector , Larry Hollars’s bird photography on instagram @ornithography_weekly Larry and I have made many excursions photographing the landscape, towns, villages and backroads of northern New Mexico and southern Colorado. Let me know if you’d like to sign up for his weekly birding email or follow him on instagram.
Greetings from New Mexico. This week, a section of a very large elk herd in the San Luis Valley, and a few more scans from my Kodachrome 64 slide transparency collection. There were many more elk than I could fit in the panorama, in a different area of the fields. Still, you get the idea!
Onto other things. I found this scene amusing, the one guy looking up. I never did find out what he found so interesting.
Bodie Ghost Town, California.
A favorite quote from T.E. Lawrence of Arabia, Kodachrome 64 converted to black and white in Photoshop.
T.E. Lawrence quote 1985 on a building in Pasadena, CA.
This girl left her shoes and beach shovel and went for a run on Bamburgh beach.
Girl running on Bamburgh beach, UK
One of my jobs in the 1980s was photographing for the planning and development departments, among others. I had a lot of fun and really liked this picture when I took it and again today. Read more here in my bio.
St. Andrews and construction, Pasadena, CA
Another vintage-style poster/postcard created using three of my images, the car, adobe buildings, and a landscape with sunset, along with some prompts in AI, to create the graphic design.
Vintage style poster/postcard.
As always, thanks for looking. Have a great week. G
Greetings from San Cristobal, NM. This week, a bald eagle on a day out shooting along the Rio Grande in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado, a moonrise from our field, and a few more images from my “New Mexico: First Impressions” series.
My friend John visited for a few days this week, so we decided to take a trip to Colorado and explore the Rio Grande in search of bird life. Although we spotted an otter, it was too elusive to capture a good image, so I don’t have a photo to share. We did see Mallards, Common Goldeneyes, and Common Mergansers. Red-tailed Hawks were abundant, and we were lucky enough to witness a Northern Harrier catch its prey right in front of us. Unfortunately, most of the wildlife, including wild horses and a herd of Pronghorn that I’m sure would have noticed us, were nowhere to be found. However, as we continued north along the Rio Grande, we were thrilled to spot a majestic bald eagle with the Rocky Mountains as a stunning backdrop. We knew the potential for spotting a Bald Eagle was good, as this is their domain, but we were still amazed when we saw it in this location with this backdrop.
Bald Eagle, Colorado.
Closer.
Common Goldeneye ducks landing, Rio Grande, Colorado.
“In Thanksgiving week 1984, I made my first of many trips to New Mexico. On this occasion, five of us friends set out on a foggy morning from Santa Fe and made our way north on the high road to Taos. The sites and sounds on the streets of Santa Fe soon opened up to the immense vistas of mesas, and beyond to the Taos Volcanic Plateau.
“We passed through the village of Chimayo, climbing the hill to Truchas (Spanish for Trout). Rapidly gaining elevation, the landscape changed to pristine hills of ponderosa pines and rust-colored tones of scrub oak in the undergrowth. The vast square miles of pine trees in the Carson National Forrest were punctuated by the bare, white highlights of lanky aspen. Through the misty veil of condensation on the window, we were afforded more than a subtle hint of what autumn in the high country of New Mexico might have looked like one month earlier.
“Leaving Truchas for Penasco, the fog set in. The temperature dropped in the sparsely populated, mountain communities of Las Trampas and Picuris. The colder air outside the car became magically enhanced by the aroma of piñon and juniper burning in the fireplaces of scattered homes. At this very moment… sometimes you just know it, the mystery of things unknown and northern New Mexico took a very palpable hold on me.
“Not more than four years later, in the spring of 1988 that hold tightened and I moved to a small adobe building, with two fireplaces, in Talpa, NM, and began stockpiling five cords of wood for what promised to be a cold winter that year…See More
Church cross, Taos Pueblo, 1985.
Taos Pueblo, 1985
Taos Pueblo, South House, 1984.
Apologies for the wrong date on last week’s post.
As. always, thanks for looking. Have a great week. G
Greetings from New Mexico. This week, I’m continuing with images from my New Mexico, First Impressions series.
I hope you enjoy traveling back in time with me. While some things have changed, dirt roads have been paved, some buildings have been replaced with box stores, and open fields and wetlands have given way to neighborhood apartment blocks—many iconic locations remain. For that, I am grateful.
A chile ristra is a string (or braid) of whole chile pods—traditionally New Mexico red chiles—tied together and hung up to dry. You’ll see them draped over doorways, portals, porch beams, or kitchen walls all across New Mexico. They’re food, folk art, and regional identity all rolled into one.
Chile ristras.
Koshare doll/artwork/sculpture in the window of a Santa Fe Art Gallery, 1984.
Koshare doll.
Taos Pueblo snowfall, thanksgiving, 1984.
Taos Pueblo snowfall.
San Geronimo Church, Taos Pueblo, 1985
San Geronimo Church, Taos Pueblo.
Taos Pueblo blowing snow, 1987
Taos Pueblo north house.
And one this week taken from the kitchen window. I love the view we have and feel very fortunate.
Sunset, San Cristobal.
As always, thank you for looking. Have a great week. G
Greetings from San Cristobal, NM. This week, a flashback to the village of Galisteo shot on 4×5 film, 1986, the Rio Grande Gorge, and a quick cellphone shot of the northern lights from our village.
House and fence shot on 4×5 film, Galisteo, NM 1986.
The northern lights and the little chapel from our village of San Cristobal. Not as impressive a display as previous auroras, but I liked the way the ambient light illuminated La Capella, setting off against the sky.
Northern lights, San Cristobal, NM
Over the next few week’s I’ll be posting more scanned images from approximately 40 years ago, taken on multiple trips to the Land of Enchantment during the 1980s, that I call “New Mexico, First Impressions“.
As always, thanks for looking. Have a great week. G
Greetings from San Cristobal, NM. This week’s photos include Taos Mountain (Pueblo Peak), before the foot of snow, Buddha in the garden after the snow, a northern Flicker in the old cottonwood, and a crescent moon.
I hope everyone had a good week. We enjoyed a weekend of snow. Now it’s back to sunny days and walks with the dogs in the snowy woods.
A northern flicker was busy burying seeds and whatever it had in the cottonwood tree. When I pulled into the driveway a couple of days later, my eyes witnessed an opportunistic magpie harvesting its stashes.
Northern Flicker in the old cottonwood tree.
Waiting until the crescent moon showed up. What a nice surprise!
Crescent Moon, through an opening in the clouds.
As always, thanks for looking. Have a great week. G
Thank you for a great year. Thanks for joining me here, for your support and friendship, and for joining me on one of my photo tour workshops. I hope everyone has a wonderful time. See you next week. G
Greetings from San Cristobal, NM. This week, mountain light and snow on the peaks.
It didn’t take much to draw me outside this last weekend. Below are a few images from our neighborhood, taken just a few miles from our home. The peaks of the Columbine Hondo Wilderness glowed beautifully in the waning light. Click on an image to view the full panoramic version.
I hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving and a great week.
Greetings from San Cristobal, NM. This week, minimalist abstract art in a square format.
In June 2024, I said there might be another post of random abstraction, and as I have so many of this type of image, mostly shot on an iPhone, here goes.
Click on an image to expand and click off it to go back. Enjoy!
I wrote some sentences and put them as prompts into Grammarly and ChatGPT. This is what they came up with, modified further by me. Let me know your thoughts.
The Allure of Minimalist Abstract Art in Square Format
In a world saturated with noise and complexity, minimalist abstract art offers a visual breath of fresh air—clean lines, subtle textures, and intentional simplicity. When paired with the symmetry of a square format, this genre takes on a uniquely balanced and meditative quality that resonates deeply in modern spaces.
Why Square? The square canvas provides perfect equilibrium. Unlike rectangles, which inherently suggest direction, the square is neutral—neither vertical nor horizontal. This neutrality invites the viewer to experience the artwork without predetermined movement, making it an ideal playground for minimalist expression.
Less is Powerful Minimalist abstract art thrives on reduction. It strips away the nonessential, leaving only what truly matters: form, color, space, and emotion. A single brushstroke, a subtle shift in tone, or a geometric repetition can evoke calm, curiosity, or contemplation.
Harmony in Design Whether hanging solo or as part of a grid, square-format minimalist pieces create rhythm and order. Their visual harmony complements contemporary interiors, bringing structure to eclectic rooms or serenity to stark spaces. They don’t shout—they whisper, and in that quietness, they speak volumes.
Final Thoughts Minimalist abstract art in a square format isn’t about what you see—it’s about what you feel. It’s not minimal for the sake of aesthetics but to create space: for thought, stillness, and connection. In its quiet, it offers a rare and refreshing clarity.
Explore the balance. Embrace the square. Let less say more.
As always, Thanks for looking. Have a great week. G
