Every now and then, you get lucky. I was eating dinner this evening at the Ranchos Grille, on the patio, when this beautiful red and white ‘56 Chevy pulled into the parking lot.
The driver parked among all the other cars, and my first thought was “cool, I’ll get some shots when I’m done eating”. I went about eating my dinner of chicken enchiladas smothered in green chile (yum!) Continue Reading »
Here are a few photos from my visit to the Very Large Array (VLA) on the Plains of San Agustin. Located approximately 50 miles west of Socorro, New Mexico, the VLA is part of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO). The VLA consists of 27 massive antennas (satellite dishes) that can be spread out along three arms of a Y-shaped railroad track to expand and contract the overall size of the array.
Photographers visiting the VLA should be prepared to use every lens in their bag, but in my opinion, a super-wide such as Canon’s 17-40 on a full-frame camera, and telephoto-zoom are probably the most useful. For the first photo I used a 300mm lens and a 1.4x teleconverter (420mm equivalent) to compress the scene making the antennas look closer together. For the second image with the woman walking in front of the array I used the 70-200 at about 80mm. Continue Reading »
This is from my flight back into Albuquerque as we made our turn for final approach into the Sunport. We were passing over the Rio Grande River a few miles south of Isleta Pueblo and the bridges that span the river on I-25. Can you tell that we’ve had a lot of rain in New Mexico? The monsoon has been very generous and has provided some insanely green crops, pastures and trees along the Rio Grande. Please click on the image for an expanded view.
Things are quiet now on the ExpressJet ramp. The airline ceased branded, scheduled service on September 1st, 2008, citing higher fuel costs as the main factor. According to xjet.com, ExpressJet will continue to provide charter services and will continue flying for Continental Airlines as Continental Express.
My wife and I have flown ExpressJet several times this past year in our trips back to Texas to see friends and family. A lot of them have asked why we don’t drive, after all Texas is the next state over. My answer; because it’s a 12-hour drive if you make ‘good’ time, and sometimes up to 14-hours just to get to San Antonio. Taking ExpressJet still required the 2-hour drive to Albuquerque, but it’s only an hour and 45 minutes by air. Continue Reading »
I had another opportunity to contribute to the September 2008 issue of New Mexico Magazine. This time it’s for the article titled Enchanting Decanting about New Mexico wineries.
I have several photographs accompanying the article. I’d like to thank Chris, Jesse, Michele and Liliana at Vivác Winery in Dixon, New Mexico, for their time and hospitality. Here are the pictures that accompany the article.
Click an image to enlarge
The September issue of New Mexico Magazine is in the mail and I’ve got a full page image on page 35! This image was created this past fall in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains near the town of Red River, New Mexico.
If you are interested in ordering a print of this image, please give me a call or contact me using the contact button at the top of this page.
What a difference two years makes.
I’ve driven Mokee Dugway on Highway 261 countless times and I remember always seeing a few stickers on the sign at the top of the switcbacks, but I wasn’t prepared for what i found this past May on my drive to the top. As you can see in the above photo, the sign is nearly completely covered with stickers from passing tourists. I wonder how long it will be before the Utah Department of Transportation replaces the sign and the process starts all over.
It’s time to start posting some new images again. Today I offer a panoramic of dawn over Monument Valley. I had actually captured this same scene 4 years ago with my old 6 megapixel Canon Rebel and cropped it down to create a panoramic crop. I loved that image but it was impossible to make a large print since I was only working with 3 megapixels after the crop. Continue Reading »
It’s been awhile since I last posted here on Across the Southwest. In the past five weeks I’ve been very busy keywording and writing descriptions for all of my stock images. I’ll be the first to admit that keywording is a the worst part of the job when it comes to photography, but it is also one of the most essential tasks. Lets face-it, if a buyer (or worse, you) can’t find your work then there’s little chance its going to sell. With that in mind, six weeks ago I set out to keyword all of my images, but what I didn’t plan on at the time was getting the crazy idea to completely reorganize my website.
I’m now displaying my fine art photo galleries separate from my stock database with a new look to that part of the website. The end result is that all of my images can now be efficiently found through a keyword search, and many of my best fine art images can be viewed in one place.
I will continue to add images to both the fine art pages and the stock database as I create new work.
Late last month I was exploring along the San Juan River near the town of Mexican Hat, Utah. It was nearly 100 degrees, not a cloud in the sky, and the wind was blowing. To be honest, I was prepared to write the day off when I spotted a bit of color among the drab brush. What I found was a single cactus in bloom with a brilliant flower perched atop it’s spiny base. With my wife holding a diffuser to soften the light, I was able to create the image you see here.
Details: Canon EOS 5D, 70-200mm f/4L IS @ 200mm.
This was one of my last images from my recent trip to Grand Canyon National Park. I came across this agave while hiking back up to the rim from my morning shoot.
Details: Canon 5D, 24-70mm f/2.8L at 48mm.
I’d like to invite you to attend the Taos Land Trust’s 14th Annual Art & Adventures Auction on Saturday, June 14, 2008 at the Kachina Lodge Convention Center in Taos, New Mexico. There will be a silent auction, live auction preview that runs from 2:30 - 5:30PM with the live auction from 6:30 - 8:30PM.
I have donated a framed print of my photo titled ‘Pre-dawn, Monument Valley, and a 1-hour private photography or Photoshop lesson to the Land Trust for the auction.
For more information about the auction and the Taos Land Trust, please visit their website at www.taoslandtrust.org.
Here are a few images from an afternoon spent photographing the mules and cowboys at the Grand Canyon upon their return from another successful trip down (and back up) the Bright Angel Trail. All images were captured with a Canon 5D and the wonderful 70-200mm f/4L IS lens.
After completing our orbit around the confluence of the Colorado and Little Colorado rivers we headed north towards Nankoweap Butte and Marble Canyon. By this point in the flight my hands were beginning to get very cold and numb. We were flying at an altitude of 9,500 feet and I had the window open for nearly the entire flight to avoid photographing through the plexiglas. I wish I had brought some light-weight gloves along on the flight. Continue Reading »
If you are looking for a unique experience and a different view of the Grand Canyon, you may want to consider a scenic helicopter flight. Flights depart the South Rim heliport and make either a quick trip across the canyon, or circumnavigate it in a counter-clockwise direction.
My wife and I chose the latter. After liftoff from Grand Canyon Airport you head east 500 feet over one of the world’s largest Ponderosa Pine forests as you make your way to Desert View and the eastern canyon. For the first few minutes of the flight, the canyon is barely visible off to the left as the pilot follows the FAA approved corridor for helicopter operations. Just before Desert View the helicopter turns north and within seconds the world drops out from underneath us as we begin our experience over the Grand Canyon. Continue Reading »
