The Old West

Certain images arise in my brain when I read those three words.  Some of them come courtesy of Hollywood film factories, where westerns were made by the thousands from the 1930s through the 1960s.  Regardless of whether the format was a movie or an episode for television, The Old West conjures wide open spaces with tumbleweeds, cattle grazing, cowboys and Indians.

An extremely beautiful but frequently ignored part of New Mexico fits those specifications.  We don't often hear about Wagon Mound, Maxwell, Watrous, or Clayton, but these are all places steeped in history, and are part of the geography where mountains give way to the plains, and where the wind sometimes runs roughshod over the landscape.

When photographer Steve Immel and I recently drove through Mora County to Fort Union across the plains, the vast expanses were mesmerizing.

Even through one of the doorways of the Mechanics' Corral at Ft. Union, the horizon is endless.

until next Monday,

DB

a passion for the image

  

Gung Hey Fat Choy

Photographer Steve Immel and I photographed the plains of Mora County and Fort Union on Friday.  A great day with the perfect combination of subdued light and cloud artistry, and enough wind to make us wonder if our images would show physical shaking or hair flying across the lense.  You will see some of the results next week.

But since today is Chinese New Year, one of the, if not the most celebrated holidays around the world, I thought I would present some images from a new year's celebration in Philadelphia during an American Library Association mid-winter conference some years ago.  Fujichrome Velvia slide film was used and the slides were scanned into Lightroom.

The town gate carries weight, rhythm, and color to new levels.

The detail of this restaurant entry is complex but uncluttered. 

Below is an image of a kung fu demonstration in the street.  All the red paper is part of what must have been a million firecrackers, hung like chile peppers from every light, overhang, and post.

Happy Year of the Dragon!

until next Monday,

DB

a passion for the image

Tent Rocks

Although the high country is experiencing an early thaw, and walking surfaces vary between snow, ice, and mud (to be exact, it is snowing here right now), there is a place that offers perfect winter hiking.  At elevations between 5,570 and 6,760 feet, Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument between Santa Fe and Albuquerque is an other-wordly place of hoodoos, occasional slot canyons and geologic wonders created by explosions 6 and 7 million years ago in the Jemez volcanic field.   

  

Tent Rocks is open in the winter months (November 1-March 10) from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Your canine friends will need to stay at home while you enjoy the formations but you will definitely need to bring your photography equipment!

until next Monday,

DB

a passion for the image

Happy New Year!

I hope the holidays held joy and peace for all of you, and that 2012 will be a year filled with creativity and sanity in the world!

This first blog is dedicated to Sam Taylor - artist, sculptor, and photographer - who found bones and antlers fascinating subjects, and never ceased in his pursuit of art in whatever form.

Elk and deer are amazing animals for many reasons.  They belong to the same family and genus.  Males produce incredible sets of antlers, which are used during the rut to compete with other males. When the rut ends, they no longer need the antlers and will go to great lengths to remove their head dresses.  If you walk in a forest of aspen, you will notice that the lowest branches seem to be above about six feet.  This is because the elk have rubbed their antlers against those branches to rid themselves of the annoying appendages.  Thank you, Donna and Dave, for providing these beautiful subjects.

Antler base

until next Monday,

DB

a passion for the iamge