Family Portraits in the Bosque

It is always a pleasure to photograph friends with their loved ones. Photographs can be a tool to document those you love in the different seasons of life. It can also give you something physical, or digital now-a-days as an image of those who matter. Images are magical and it is always wonderful to be part of the creative process.

Here are few of my favorite images of this last season of portraits.

Gila Wilderness

The Gila Wilderness National Forest is based in the southern part of New Mexico with over 550,000 acres. One of the main interests are the cliff dwellings, and is known as a national monument. As with many archaeological sites, there are many questions about the origins and history of the area. People of the Mogollon culture lived in these dwellings between 1275 AD and 1300 AD and it is unknown why it was abandoned. 

Below are a few images of my journey visiting this historical land marker. 

Hunting for Moments

 New Mexico is full of hidden gems, including Grants, New Mexico. Recently I was invited to join an elk hunt for one day. No elk were spotted, but the views were incredible.

I enjoy hiking in different terrains, and learned a  few things during this journey. First, I learned that hunting is a waiting game, and it is usually a quiet one at that. As they travelled the area, they looked for clues to the different wildlife that had been around the area. Many times we stopped to observe the scenery to make sure we hadn't missed an animal within our view. We came to a cliff and just spent time looking at the vastness of the our surroundings. I felt small in comparison and began to wonder how many others have passed this way before? And for how long have people walked along this view. Made me feel like I had an inner connection with those in the past in my present.

Now while, they were hunting for elk, I was hunting for moments. Moments that captured their experience and documented the wilderness we were in. Moments that would pass my by if I did not take the time to stop for them and soak them in. While they observed for prey, I observed for light and the right subjects for images. You see, we were both hunting, but for different things.

Below are a few of my observations in photographs.

Dream Cows

Has there ever been something that you've wanted to do and the opportunity finally came?  I have many things that are slightly quirky that I would like to do. Recently though, I was able to accomplish one of my ideal situations for a photo: photographing a cow in nature.

Why? Well, part of the reason this would be special to me is that animals out in nature are hard to photograph. They will generally run away if you approach them and it takes time to photograph them. I know cows are a common view of the landscape, but it was my desire to take a great cow photo.

I hiked Mount Taylor with my sturdy camera in hand. Although the landscape was beautiful, the apple of my eyes were the cattle. At one point we came across a beautiful field of yellow wild flowers with a small family of cows. We spent some time in the field trying to approach them gently. They eventually left and we went on our way.

We finished our pleasant hike, then driving out we came across more cows. One even came to my car window and posed. We drove a little bit more and stopped to find a very flexible cow licking his back with a swarm of flies being kissed by the beautiful light of dusk.

Moral of the story? Well, it's the little things that count and dreams do come true....one at a time.

New Mexico Summer Storms

July is the the kick-off season of our monsoon rains in New Mexico. With that come many opportunities for photographing lightning and the natural elements at work. 

So during one of the stormy evenings I decided that I needed to capture these unique moments to my city. During storms, I feel that most people seek shelter from the rain and miss the beauty of the landscape after or during the rains. I geared up in my adventure combat boots, hoodie and weather-proofed camera and found a great spot overlooking Four Hills. I spent about an hour photographing an epic sunset being graced by our dramatic clouds and rains in the distance.

Below are a few of my favorite images from this shoot and I hope to storm chase more!

Recent Wedding

The last wedding I shot was with a close colleague of mine, Guadalupe Chavez. I was the second shooter, which took away all the normal pressures of photographing a wedding. During the familial shots, I was able to use explore our environment more in depth and realized that beautiful bokeh would be produced by shooting through Christmas lights.

I've learned over the past few years that one of the most important qualities you can have a photography is the ability to pay attention. It's also a great life skill and helps you anticipate what may happen as you are in linear timeline of string of moments. The little things make a big difference and will be captured through whatever you do. 

Salinas Pueblo Missions

 South of Mountaineer, NM there are 3 sites of ruins. The original inhabitants of the land had a great community in place when the Spaniards arrived. They used the existing structures to colonize this area of civilization to Roman Catholicism and civil government. They built over the existing circular kivas and made a community under the Franciscan missionaries. The missions were abandoned in the late 1600s, then reoccupied in the mid-1800s. They were declared a National Monument in 1909 and later excavated in 1938.

The architecture at the sites are quite amazing. Every detail of the construction is used for lighting and interior building when electricity did not exist. This is mind-blowing since we rely on technology for nearly every aspect of life. It reveals how aware of lighting that these people were.

Below are a few images from the Gran Quivira followed by the Abo site. The Quarai site is the last of the missions part of the monument, which I was unable to visit.

Here is a link to a more detailed history of the missions:
http://www.nps.gov/sapu/historyculture/upload/SAPU_hsr.pdf

El Malpais

El Malpais is a national monument near Grants, NM. In spanish, malpais means badlands. My photography friends and I decided to venture this direction in pursuit of photos. We found ourselves in the midst of vast caves with beautiful sky windows. This experience along with many others in the state must be why New Mexico is dubbed the "Land of Enchantment." 

On our way back we ran into grazing horses that really captured our hearts. It's just a beautiful thing to run into wildlife in the desert. 

Salt Lakes in Portales

While visiting a friend in Portales, NM  a few weekends ago, we went to the Salt Lakes. The environment was like experiencing a miniature White Sands near Texas. We explored the vast territory, reflected on the wonders of earth and enjoyed our afternoon in the company of great friends. Of course I brought my camera and captured the following images.

Morning Fog

This past weekend Albuquerque experienced a rare occurrence in the city- fog! As many know, we are in a drought, so when there is precipitation of any kind, it is noted. This particular Saturday morning, we experienced a few hours of rain the previous night. The fog stayed in the city for a few hours of morning, and I was able to capture part of its beauty from my vantage point. It was quite a treat!

Albuquerque's Volcanoes

This past weekend I was able to spend time with a dear friend and colleague in the Petroglyph National Monument. We hiked around the volcanoes with the purpose of creating images and practicing our photography. We discussed the need to improve our landscape photographs, but how we love the human element in an image.

When it comes to landscape photography, I feel that the human connection is essential in a photograph. It makes the image more interesting to me to look at and to make. Landscape photographs don't always require a person in the image. Whenever I am out in nature, I feel that the best experience is being right there in the moment of wherever I am. I have come to realize that many will not get to or want to experience nature in this way and that a photograph is the closest thing they will ever experience. So although I do not particularly enjoy taking landscape photos because the quality of nature is better in the flesh, I take photos because I feel like it is a responsibility to share these images with others that may not have the opportunity to venture in the wonders given to us. 

Throwback Thursday

I was looking back through my hard drive and found these scans from high school. These photos were taken with traditional film, and made in the beautiful darkroom. The darkroom is where I fell in love with photography and nothing can replace the feeling of seeing an image come to life in a tray of developer cured by fix.

Film Adventures

In years past, I have spent much of my free time going on "Photo Adventures," as coined by my good friend Gabbi. Together we went on our first adventures during our college days. There is nothing like a solid photo adventure, especially with her or other good friends willing to explore unknown places. 

I have not gone on any photo adventures yet this year, but I believe I have found the next level of adventures- Film Adventures, as introduced by photography colleague, and distinguished film-maker Daniel Zollinger. The last two weeks I've had the privilege to story board and film a few shorts with him. The process is creative, fun and exhilarating. I would like to delve deeper into this world of film and create more shorts.

Below are links to the shorts we made. Of Something features, Tory, who worked with us with an amazing attitude. The latter film, Remnant, features Deserai and her brother John who were in town for the weekend. They had great patience with us and helped capture the intent of the film. We are always looking for new victims to feature in our films!

Of Something

Remnant