This is a continuation of my attempt to capture some of the charm of Santa Fe, New Mexico, while avoiding the horde of tourists.
Window ReflectionIron Man
I do not know the actual title of this work of art that is in the open plaza area behind the Santa Fe Museum of Fine Art. I made this photograph from the street, shooting through an iron picket gate. I simply called it “Iron Man” for convenience, but I expect it has an official name given by the artist.
Angst
I’m again using artistic license to label this photo “Angst”, as I’m imagining hands on head below a threatening sky, but I’m sure this was not the artist’s intention.
Light Center
This is the center of a red Hibiscus flower and the white center is actually yellow in the color version.
Light Center 2 – Red Hibiscus flower in Black and White.Light Center 3 – Red, White, Pink Hibiscus flower in monochromeRose PetalsShadow on Adobe WallClouds over Santa FeThe Church of Antioch, Santa Fe
Santa Fe, New Mexico has a picturesque downtown area with its Southwestern Adobe architecture, but it is a busy, tourist filled city, which negates some of its charm. Walking down almost any downtown street one is sure to be accosted numerous times by business hawkers trying to give “free” samples with a spiel designed to lure a passerby into their shops.
The crowds make it difficult to photograph the city. I thought about getting out in the very early morning hours, even before daylight, to try to capture the city streets with no people in them, but I never did that. I still think that would be a good way to capture the essence of the city’s architecture and charm without the distraction of the crowds.
In any case, I wanted to try to photograph Santa Fe in a way that showcased its charm without the people. So one afternoon I went for a walk around the city and managed to capture a few images with my iPhone camera, while avoiding the crowds and mostly keeping people out of my images. While I’m not opposed to street photography with people in the images, some folks don’t like to be photographed and I don’t want to be involved in any altercations with those objecting to being photographed. So while I might photograph some street people and crowd scenes, I usually keep that to a minimum and exercise caution in posting such images.
Foliage Man
In the Plaza, where there were often crowds, especially when there was entertainment, I spotted this “camouflaged” man standing against a tree. He would suddenly emerge to frighten those unobservant enough not to have noticed him, scaring little kids and adults. I’m not sure this is a good idea as some older folks with heart conditions might suffer from such a shock. Or some might even react negatively to being so startled.
Red, Not a Rose
There are plenty of flowers decorating the public areas and private businesses in Santa Fe, which adds much to the beauty of the downtown area.
Storm Clouds over Santa Fe 1
It was not uncommon for an afternoon thunderstorm to pop up in the general area, but only light rain fell in the downtown area during this visit.
Clouds over Tree TopsGrass against an Adobe WallClouds over Santa Fe 2Adobe WallClouds over Santa Fe 3Grass and ShadowClouds over Santa Fe Museum of Fine Arts
On my way home from my March road trip, a fierce storm was blowing in from the west. In the wide open space of the high plains, the distant storm front was visible for much of my journey. The storm front itself was interesting, but when I came upon an area with windmills, I had to stop to capture a few images.
This wide angle view captures the old ranch windmill and structure along with the modern, electric generating windmills in the distance and the massive storm clouds with rain in the distance.
I zoomed in to get more detail of the old windmill and its contrast with the modern windmills.
As I continued my journey to my overnight stop in Amarillo, Texas, the wind became more fierce, buffeting my vehicle all the way. The wind whipped up much dust north of Amarillo. The storm continued through out the night and I awoke to a dusting of snow and a light blowing snow, which continued for a short distance on the final day of my homeward bound journey.
I arrive home safely in the afternoon and now I have to look forward to another, as yet unplanned journey.
This is a continuation of a late day shoot in Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada, March 2023.
Storm Light 13Storm Shooter
My oldest son (on top of the peak in the lower right) shot the storm from other higher elevation vantage points and complained that I did not come up to join him. I have not seen his photos, so I don’t know how to compare his to mine, but he is of the opinion that he had better views than I did. I was busy shooting what I saw from my location and I thought I might miss out on the scene by taking time to move elsewhere and at least I know that we did not get identical shots.
Storm Shooter 2When Gold Turns to PinkMystical DesertSunset Clouds and Distant StormOver The Hill StormOver The Hill Storm 2Desert EveStorm Light 14Storm Light 15Storm Light 16
This wraps up today’s sunset shoot. Next up, sunrise in the desert near the campground in Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada.
This is a continuation of a March 2023 sunset shoot in Valley of Fire, Nevada.
Seeking ShelterSkylineCalm before the StormLight before the DarkSkylightStorm Light
I made many images with the late day light changing as the sun sank into the western horizon with clouds moving overhead and a distant storm on the easterly horizon. I’m presenting a few selected images in this post.
It seems suitable, at this time of the day, that the clouds in the sky and the geology in Valley of Fire, Nevada came together to create an hourglass shape, if one has the imagination to see it.
Light before the Storm
Another late day storm was brewing over the desert, which resulted in dramatic sky for background.
The Light and the Storm
I composed this image to have the rocks along the diagonal pointing towards the distant storm.
Then I thought maybe I had too much in this image, so I moved in close to the end portion of the foreground rock, keeping a portion of the little bush at the edge of the rock.
The Light and the Storm 2
This emphasized the foreground rock, but reduced the background and the stormy, cloudy sky, which I think is not an improvement. The wider angle view is better, I think.
The Light and the Storm 3
I like the way the rock texture looks, even on its own, but with the late day light and a stormy sky background it seems to really pop.
The Light and the Storm 4
In this image I like the foreground shadows that contrast with the late day light on the middle ground and the background sky and the rugged geology.
Skyway – Walk this way to reach the clouds.Symmetric Reflection – Earth and Sky Symmetry
Maybe the correct word is “symmetrical”, but the image is not exactly symmetrical, so I will stick with the “Symmetric” label.
Storm Reveal
I used the many linear features in the rock as leading lines in this photo, which is a cropped version of the original. The original included much more of the foreground, as I like those linear features, but upon reviewing, I thought maybe I over did it with the foreground.
Rain Wish
To be continued with much more of that late day desert storm,
There was a late day storm on the eastern horizon during this cloudy, sunset shoot. Such desert storms contribute to the slow, but certain evolution of the rock features found here. These are a few of those images.
Relentless Evolution 2
I made many images, capturing the changes in the sky as the storm and the late day lighting progressed.
I hope the similarity of these images is not boring to the reader. It was fascinating to see how the sky changed with the storm’s advanced across the landscape and the subtle changes in the light on the landscape.
This is a continuation of road trip photography of September 2022.
Prairie Home, Nebraska High PlainsThe GateHomeward LeanStill Spins
After shooting and driving away from this abandoned Nebraska home, I realized that I should have used a slow shutter speed to capture the motion of the windmill. The windmill still spins, but the pump is disconnected.
Old Prairie HomeStormy HorizonDuplex Model 55
This is apparently a popular pump gear box that is or was used with windmills. In researching this item, I found online listing for parts for this model gear box.
Listing Porch RoofNo PanesDistraught Tree
The evergreen tree on the left seems to be distraught about the dilapidated condition of this abandoned farm house. Maybe children once played around that tree. This image was chosen for Flickr’s Explore Page.
This is a continuation of my morning shoot on the fourth full day of this visit to Badlands NP.
Grassland and Badland
I parked at a small pullout along SD240, where I noted a path through the grassland. I took that path into the grasslands to see what opportunities I might find for photographing a large badlands feature in the distance.
Prickly Edge
The sky was still heavily overcast, which at this time of the morning was better for photography than having a clear sky and overly brightly lit landscape.
Prickly Edge – Wide View
Normally, I would not put the horizon at or near the center of an image, but here the sky was as interesting, perhaps more so, than the foreground. So I’ve ignored that general rule about horizon placement in a number of my compositions here.
This is the WayDarkland
This concludes my morning shooting in Badlands NP today. Time to explore more of the park.
