Covid Respite #9 - More Than a Rock

 

This then:  to photograph a rock, have it look like a rock,

but be more than a rock.

                                                      -- Edward Weston

One of my favorite areas to photograph in the northwest New Mexico badlands is the Black Place . . . so named by Georgia O'Keeffe who would travel there from her home in Abiquiu to paint. I have visited it many times (including my first Covid Respite trip back in June) and have posted numerous blog installments about it -- here, here, here, and more.

In mid-November I went once again with my friend, Alan, this time to catch the late afternoon "golden hour" and post-sunset "blue hour" light.

The primary features of the Black Place that attracted Georgia O'Keeffe . . . and me . . . are the soft hills of ancient dried mud that have been sculpted by erosion over millennia.

At the same time, however, one feature of the Black Place has always vexed me:  rocks . . . rocks strewn like debris all over the place.  Little rocks, big rocks, flat rocks, round rocks . . . littering the entire area.  Visual clutter, the bane of a photographer's existence!

Some examples:

So on this visit, I made a point of trying to find a way to elevate the trashy rocks into something . . . I don't know . . . better, more interesting.  As Edward Weston said, photograph them somehow to have them "be more than a rock."

Here, then, are a few of my attempts (including the image at the top of this post):

In addition to the usual geological features, we were treated to a few astronomical phenomena as well.

A gorgeous sunset:

A waxing crescent moon:

And, by sheer luck, the International Space Station streaking across the sky until it disappeared in the Earth's shadow:

If you would like to see these images (and more) in a larger format, please visit my photography website, Todos Juntos Photography, by clicking here.

Enjoy!

Covid Respite #8 - Valley of Dreams from Above

 

A couple of weeks ago I made another trip to the Valley of Dreams in northwest New Mexico, this time accompanied by our younger son, Drew, who enjoys flying drones.  (See my previous posts about Valley of Dreams by clicking here and here.)  

With its hoodoos and other weird features, Valley of Dreams seemed like a great place for aerial photography, so I was happy to have Drew along to capture the area from a different point of view.  See below for a link to a short video with some aerial views from his drone-mounted camera.

Before we even got to the Valley of Dreams area, as we were hiking from the car, we saw horses!  

We stopped and watched silently as about a dozen crossed our path about 50 yards in front of us:

There are hundreds of hoodoos in the Valley of Dreams, so I see new ones every time I visit --                   big ones . . . 

and little ones (see second image below for scale):

We visited the now-familiar "Alien Throne" hoodoo:

For scale, here's Drew next to Alien Throne:

And speaking of scale, you may recall this image from my previous visit:

So how big is that pyramid, and how big is the rock?  Here's Drew again for scale:

We found a spire, a stack, and a wall:

In addition to the large features, I always enjoy seeing the textures and colors of the small stuff:

There were lots of pieces of petrified wood, which Drew had never seen before . . .

And always millions of pebbles . . .

As the sun began to set, we moved back around to the "front" side of the area so I could get ready for some "blue hour" photography.

I had scouted out a couple of possibilities in the same area as the pyramid I shot last time including this feature . . .

and another one . . .

. . . but finally settled on this composition and got lucky with some anticrepuscular rays from the clouds on the southwestern horizon (behind my camera position) casting shadows to the northeast (where the camera is looking):

While I was busy shooting all this, Drew climbed up a hill to capture the blue hour light with his drone.

You'll find a link to his drone video below -- keep reading!

As the sky grew darker, the crescent moon appeared, along with a jet and its pink contrail:

We headed for the car, but had one more photo op, thanks to a cloudless sky:

OK, so you made it this far, it's time for your reward:  the drone video from above the Valley of Dreams.  Click here.

If you would like to see these images (and more) in a larger format, please visit my photography website, Todos Juntos Photography, by clicking here.

Enjoy!