Across the Southwest » Cultural

Route 66 – Getting Geared Up

Adam Schallau — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 02:57:02 +0000

The remains of an abandoned car on Route 66, somewhere in Arizona. Click on the photo for an expanded view.

A Day Along Historic Route 66

A Day Along Historic Route 66

Adam Schallau — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 03:33:34 +0000

It was known as “the Mother Road” and “Main Street America”, but it was best known as Route 66. A long section of Route 66 once made it’s way through New Mexico and Arizona, paralleling the modern day route that I often take on the way to the Grand Canyon.

Crossing the wide open desert, it traverses a magnificent stretch of real estate that most drivers simply pass by at 80 miles per hour, doing their best to quickly close the gap between Albuquerque and Flagstaff. But along the way, if you slow down, look around, you will find a piece of American history.

Over the next few days I’ll be sharing with you some of my favorite photos from Route 66. Please click on the image for an expanded view.

Please leave a comment, I’d love to hear what you think.

A visit to Chaco Canyon

Adam Schallau — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 05:52:52 +0000

A place far from the modern, civilized, world. A place of extremes with brutally frigid winters and scorching hot summers. A place that was once inhabited by the Ancestral Puebloans and was perhaps the trade and spiritual center of their world. A place called Chaco.

Located in Chaco Canyon in far northwestern New Mexico, Chaco Culture National Historical Park protects some of the largest Ancestral Puebloan ruins in the American Southwest. Among these ruins is Pueblo Bonito, the largest Great House in the park which is believed to have been inhabited between AD 828 and 1126. Covering nearly two acres of land it was once four stories tall and may have contained as many as 800 rooms.

Photographically speaking, Pueblo Bonito is an extremely exciting subject to work with. I suggest that photographers come prepared with ultra-wide angle and medium length zooms to capture the interior of the pueblo. The photo of the T-shaped door above and the photo looking up through the pueblo on the left were both created using a Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L lens at the 16mm setting on a 5D Mark II camera.

The exterior of the pueblo can be captured using a a full-array of focal lengths from ultra-wide to telephoto. The photo on the right was captured with my Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L IS lens set at 150mm. I chose this lens to isolate the back wall of the pueblo against the canyon wall, both of which were bathed in a warm, late-evening light.

In a few days I’ll be sharing more photos from my trip to Chaco Canyon and will be discussing additional photo opportunities in the area.

Desert View at Twilight ~ Grand Canyon

Adam Schallau — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 04:45:18 +0000

The sun has set on another day at Grand Canyon National Park, but a bit of light remains. It is twilight and the watchtower at Desert View soaks up the remaining light as the night sky approaches. In the distance at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, the Colorado River reflects the blue sky above.

Twilight ~ Desert View Watchtower, Grand Canyon National Park

This image of the Desert View Watchtower at Grand Canyon National Park and others like it are available for purchase at my website AdamSchallau.com.

~Tech details~

Camera & Lens: Canon EOS 5D Mark II and EF17-40mm f/4L USM lens

Exposure: 6 seconds, f/8 and ISO 100

Filters: none

Storm over Pecos National Historical Park

Adam Schallau — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 04:37:05 +0000

A monsoon storm , common in New Mexico during the months of July and August, spreads out over the church ruins of the Spanish mission at Pecos National Historical Park. The mudding used as stucco has fallen away revealing the adobe bricks used to form the walls of the church. Near the village of Pecos, New Mexico.

Pecos National Historical Park

This image of the Pecos National Historical Park and others like it are available for purchase at my website AdamSchallau.com.

~Tech details~

Camera & Lens: Canon EOS 5D Mark II and EF16-35mm f/2.8L II USM lens

Exposure: f/11, 1/80 second and ISO 100

Filters: Hoya HD circular polarizer

Kiva ~ Pecos National Historical Park

Adam Schallau — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 02:33:06 +0000

A beam of light from the mid-day sun illuminates the interior of a kiva at Pecos National Historical Park just east of Santa Fe, New Mexico. A kiva is a subterranean ceremonial chamber built by pueblo indians. I love photographing kivas, especially in the summer because they are considerably cooler than the outside air temperature.

This image of a kiva at Pecos National Historical Park and others like it are available for purchase at my website AdamSchallau.com.

~Tech details~

Camera & Lens: Canon EOS 5D Mark II and EF16-35mm f/2.8 II USM lens

Exposure: f/16, 10 seconds and ISO 100

Filters: none

Notes: I used a large collapsible diffuser over the entrance to the kiva to soften the light that was entering the chamber.

Rio Grande Kayaker

Adam Schallau — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 04:50:02 +0000

A kayaker navigates the rapids on the “Race Course”, a section of rough water on the Rio Grande near Taos, New Mexico.

~Tech details~

Camera & Lens: Canon EOS 50D and EF70-200 f/4L IS USM lens

Exposure: f/5.6, 1/125 second and ISO 320

Filters: Hoya HD circular polarizer

Notes: Shot hand-held.

Adobe wall, window, and flowers

Adam Schallau — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 22:19:39 +0000

A bouquet of spring flowers brings life to an old window surrounded by blue shutters and an adobe wall. A common spring-time scene in northern New Mexico. Photographed near the village of La Cueva on the eastern slope of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.

Alan Heuer – Artist at work

Adam Schallau — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 04:37:11 +0000

My wife and I were walking the Taos Plaza this afternoon when we stopped in Sage Fine Art on the southeast corner of the plaza. Inside, artist Alan Heuer was working on one of his latest paintings. Alan was kind enough to let me look over his shoulder as he worked and we talked about his art. If you would like to see more of his work, I suggest you visit Sage Fine Art and Alan’s website and blog.

Today’s Image ~ Patience of a Saint

Salman Ranch Mill in La Cueva, New Mexico

Adam Schallau — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 01:47:18 +0000

The historic roller mill located in La Cueva, New Mexico. Now part of the Salman Ranch, the mill dates to the 1860s and was part of a major shipping center for the livestock and agricultural produce grown by a local family and their neighbors.