Across the Southwest » Taos

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

Rio Grande Gorge with the Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II

Adam Schallau — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 05:25:29 +0000

When it comes to getting new toys, there’s nothing better than getting a new lens. Sure, a new camera body can be great but it doesn’t necessarily change the way you see the world like a new lens does.

I recently purchased a Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II ultra-wide angle zoom lens to replace my EF 17-40mm f/4L lens. You might ask yourself, what’s the difference? Let me start by saying that the 17-40/4L is a great lens and is definitely the better deal of the two in terms of the cost-to-performance ratio. The 17-40/4L is half the price, takes a slightly smaller filter, and is both lighter and shorter than the 16-35/2.8L II. Wait, now I’m having second thoughts about selling my 17-40/4L and getting the 16-35/2.8L II. Should I have done it?

After one day out shooting with the 16-35/2.8L, I can say “yes”, it was the right move for me. The advantages of the 16-35/.8L II are a brighter viewfinder thanks to the f/2.8 maximum aperture which helps with manual focusing in low light and allows for faster shutter speeds when trying to stop motion. This lens is also capable of producing stunning sunstars which I hope to have sample to share soon.

On to the photo. One of the first places I usually visit to test a new lens is the Rio Grande gorge just west of Taos, New Mexico. For the shot shown above, I shot from the bridge with camera on a tripod and the lens set to its widest setting to include as much of the gorge as possible while not cutting-off the top of the clouds. One of the biggest problems with shooting from the bridge is the vibrations that rattle across it everytime a vehicle crosses the bridge. You have to hope that there will be very little traffic and you have to time your shot between the vehicles. I got lucky and was able to capture a few frames when there was absolutely no vibration from passing cars.

Today’s Image ~ Patience of a Saint

Adam Schallau — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 17:34:29 +0000

I had to dig into my archives for this one, all the way back to my days of shooting Fuji Velvia slide film. I’ve shot countless photos in the Taos area over the years, but this is still one of my favorites.

For my first two years living hear I rented a small place in Ranchos de Taos, one block from the historic Saint Francis de Asis church which is easily one of the most photographed buildings in North America. When the light was good I’d make my way to the church with camera in hand. On this particular evening I was being shadowed by a dog (probably looking for a handout) as I explored the light on the church. I kept tripping over him as I’d back up to reposition my tripod, or he would wonder into the shot often getting right in front of the camera. The dog was frustrating the heck out of me.

Then it came to me. I’ve got plenty of photos of the church, why couldn’t the dog be the subject? I couldn’t believe it when I patted the top of the adobe wall that surrounds the church’s plaza and the dog obediently jumped up onto it. He sat there very patiently as I took several photos of him basked in the late afternoon light with the church in the background. What a great dog and another great moment in Taos.