RETRIEVING MEMORABLE MOMENTS

Fall colors at a bridge across the Rio Grande del Norte, New Mexico

A lovely email we received today from friends in Montana, whom we met during our trip through New Mexico in 2021, made me dig out this shot. This bridge across the Rio Grande del Norte in ”killer light”sums up the essence of this road trip. While during the height of a day, when most traveling takes place, colors and light may not always be flattering in the rocky canyons of New Mexico, but the hours around sunset can reward you for a day with nothing but a bald blue sky. Well, right now we don’t care if it is a day with just blue sky, we are longing here for some spring colors and warmer temperatures…😉

ADOBE STYLE IN DETAILS

Adobe style details, Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico

I haven’t created any interesting photos during the last couple days but I still work with some of the images I made in October last year during our road trip to New Mexico. Long before we went there I have been fascinated with adobe buildings and the way they are designed and built. Many places in New Mexico have adobe style architecture, even if some newer ones use modern construction materials but are made to look like the historic churches found in the area.

All photos in today’s blog post were shot just around the famous San Francisco de Asís Mission Church in Rancho de Taos, New Mexico. We visited the church on two days at different times and with different light. Many of my detail images were made while strolling around the church, apparently with black & white in mind, and this will certainly happen. However, some pictures live also from their colors or color contrast and triggered my desire to develop them the way you see them here. I hope you enjoy!

BOSQUE DEL APACHE

Snow Geese, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, NM

Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, a wetland in the New Mexico high desert, is known as a wintering place for ten-thousands of Sandhill Cranes, Snow and Ross’s Geese. More than 370 species of birds have been observed since 1981, making it a favorite destination for nature lovers and photographers year-round. We stopped there exactly a month ago, which was a little early. Large numbers of cranes and geese arrive late November and stay until the end of February according to several websites. However, a few hundred birds were present during our visit. Bosque del Apache NWR remains on my list of places to visit for a longer period of time. Now, since we scouted the area, I have a better idea what to expect and how to plan a trip back to these floodplains of the Rio Grande River.

Shooting with 600 mm at the height of the day and no clouds in the sky makes heat shimmer inevitable. Nothing is really sharp in this photo but it still tells a story.

WILDLIFE IN THE VALLES CALDERA

Valles Caldera, National Preserve, New Mexico

About 1.25 million years ago, a spectacular volcanic eruption created the 13-mile wide circular depression now known as the Valles Caldera. This National Preserve is known for its huge mountain meadows, abundant wildlife, and meandering streams. The area also preserves the homeland of ancestral native peoples and embraces a rich ranching history. (source: park website) 

The Valles Caldera is not far from Bandelier National Monument and we spent a couple evenings in the area, hoping to see some wildlife. A herd of grazing elk was in the distance, but too far away for any decent photo. Near the visitor center we were lucky to see this coyote roaming around. With its wonderful fur the animal blent well in between grass and sage brush. A prairie dog colony was not very far and the coyote knew probably where to find them.

A day earlier these two Common Ravens enjoyed the rays of the last sun on top of a metal structure. I always think it is the most difficult bird to photograph. Although they sat pretty still, finding the right exposure and a point to focus on their black feathers seems always to be a challenge. Well, they gave me plenty of time to try out different settings in the camera…

COLORFUL SANTA FE

Santa Fe Plaza - Fall colors right at downtown

Santa Fe, New Mexico is a wonderful city, with history, culture, and art everywhere you go. It is not difficult to find interesting subjects to photograph. As so often, there wasn’t enough time to explore everything but we had a very nice day, fully packed with sightseeing, looking at art, and of course, good food and drinks.

With more than 250 galleries to explore in Santa Fe you have a lot of choices. There is one I had on my list to visit since a long time. The Monroe Gallery of Photography specializes in 20th- and 21st-century photojournalism and humanist imagery and even if this is not your field in your own photography, it is a very inspiring place. Highly recommended!

Synonymous with New Mexican cuisine, chile peppers are part of New Mexican identity. These decorative clusters were hooked to each lamp post at the plaza.

This wedding wasn’t the only one we saw in town. The traditional march by the newlyweds and their guests through the streets to their venue is led by a Mariachi band.

New Mexico Museum of Art - The style of the building, called Pueblo Revival, uses modern construction materials made to look like the historic adobe churches found throughout the state's Pueblos.

Some souvenirs need a little more space in your luggage than others…

NATURAL CARVINGS

Bandelier National Monument, New Mexico protects Ancestral Pueblo archeological sites and a diverse and scenic landscape. Much of the area was covered with volcanic ash (the Bandelier Tuff) from an eruption of the Valles Caldera volcano 1.14 million years ago. Ancestral Puebloans broke up the firmer materials to use as bricks, while they carved out dwellings from the softer material. (source: Wikipedia) I was also intrigued by the natural carvings from wind and weather and with a little fantasy you can find interesting sculptures, like this tree shape, in the walls of Cañon de los Frijoles.

GUADALUPITA MESA

Guadalupita Mesa, Jemez Mountains, New Mexico

From our camp at Bandelier National Monument we explored other areas nearby. One of them was Jemez National Recreation Area in the Jemez Mountains with its valleys and canyons. As we drove back from Gilman Tunnels through the box canyon and along the Guadalupe River, the canyon suddenly widened and we had a grandios view at Guadalupita Mesa. I saw the swirling cloud above the mesa and knew immediately that this would work for a black and white photo. Sure, the colors in my RAW file are brilliant too, but the deep shadows and bright vertical rock bands made for a nice contrasting image.

BANDELIER NATIONAL MONUMENT

The village of Tyuonyi on the floor of Frijoles Canyon.

Bandelier National Monument protects over 33,000 acres of rugged but beautiful canyon and mesa country as well as evidence of a human presence here going back over 11,000 years.  Petroglyphs, dwellings carved into the soft rock cliffs, and standing masonry walls pay tribute to the early days of a culture that still survives in the surrounding communities. (source: park website).

We camped in the park for three nights but trails are open only from dawn to dusk. Beside history and culture the park offers also much for any nature lover. As we wanted to see as much as possible we couldn’t be choosy about the times and some of the photography had to be done, well, at the height of the day. I hope these five photos give you still an idea about the beauty of this place.

COLORS IN THE CANYON

Cimarron Canyon, New Mexico

While traveling in the fall the eyes are always open for some fall colors. One of the places we found them was Cimarron Canyon in the northern part of New Mexico. The light has a different quality in high altitude environments and although we have experienced it before, I’m still amazed about how deep the blue in the sky is rendered in certain situations.

These cliffs are cut by the Cimarron River and are formed from fine-grained porphyritic dacite sill, called Palisades Sill. A spectacular canyon!

LONG TIME ON MY LIST

San Francisco de Asís Mission Church, Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico, 2021

Years ago, when I saw for the first time Ansel Adam’s photo Saint Francis Church, Ranchos de Taos, from circa 1929, in one of his books, I put this great architectural monument on my mental list of things I wanted to photograph sometime in the future.

Construction of this church began in 1772 and it is an example of a New Mexico Spanish Colonial Church. The San Francisco de Asís Mission Church is a large Adobe structure with a cruciform plan and it has attracted many painters and photographers in the past. It is the rear side of the church with its massive buttress and its adobe plaster surface that inspired many artists, like Georgia O’Keeffe, Ansel Adams, or Paul Strand.

We visited the church on two different days and at different times and each provided its own challenges with lighting and keeping unwanted elements out of the frame. In fact I zoomed with my feet a lot and went relatively close to the structure and with the 16-35 mm lens on camera.

The photo above was made at our second visit during late afternoon. The side light gives the structure depth and the adobe plaster surface reveals its texture.

Ansel Adams describes the front aspects of the church in his book Examples: The Making of 40 photographs as being “moderately impressive” and points out that “the rear elevation defines the building as one of the great monuments of America”. I only can agree and also realized that the surrounding of the church on either side is probably a lot busier than it was more than 90 years ago when he created his famous photograph.

Photographed during late morning on our first visit. The only way to work from the rear side was to keep the powerful sun behind the building and use it as a backlight. I darkened the sky a bit and used the sun to outline the structure at the top. The Saint Francis Church is a wonderful subject to photograph, but as so often, back at home and in front of the computer I find out what I missed and want to go back again…