Tag Archives: photography

June 25, 2012 · 5:46 am

Why I Love Northern New Mexico—Part 1

This week I’m going to let photography do most of the speaking. But in short, I love Northern New Mexico for the old missions, the art communities, the scenery, and the cuisine. I love towns such as Chimayo, Abiquiú, Santa Fe, and Taos. I love Canyon Road in Santa Fe for its 100+ art galleries, each one as distinct and individual as is the state of New Mexico itself.

So, today we begin a three-part photo journey into The Land of Enchantment:

: Northern New Mexico

: Chimayo

: Northern New Mexico

: Northern New Mexico

: Northern New Mexico

: David Pearson sculpture in the Patricia Carlisle Fine Art Gallery—Santa Fe

: Canyon Road—Santa Fe

: Chimayo

: Taos

: Northern New Mexico

: Northern New Mexico

: Northern New Mexico

: Ice on a Pond—Northern New Mexico

: Traditional Chili Ristra

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Filed under Photography, travel

Tagged as Abiquiu, Chimayo, New Mexico, photography, Santa Fe, Taos, travel

June 15, 2012 · 5:58 am

Fun Foto Friday

Views, sunsets, and views of sunsets. El Paso has it all. If you’re squeamish about heights, then perhaps the Wyler Aerial Tramway is not for you. But keeping your two feet firmly planted upon the ground doesn’t mean that you have to miss out of views of this magnificent gem of the Chihuahuan Desert. There are other views that may be reached by automobile or, if you’re so inclined, even bicycle. One such place is Scenic Drive.

Unfortunately on this particular day we had in the air a thick layer of smoke. No, not urban smog. This smog was of the forest fire variety—in this case, from the devastating Whitewater-Baldy fire in the Gila National Forest several hundred miles west northwest of El Paso. Yeah, the fire was that bad. The daytime shots below were taken on June 3, and the smoke was much worse than it appears. I managed to marginally mitigate the smokey effects by upping the contrast and increasing saturation in post-processing.

But visibility-reducing smoke during the day often means spectacular skies with vivid colors after sunset. The twilight pictures shown below were taken June 12 after sunset. The camera used was my new Canon PowerShot G1 X set atop a carbon fiber tripod. Shot settings were ISO 100, 1 second exposures, with f-Stop set between f2.8 and f5.6. Final images were tweaked in post processing for color saturation and contrast.

: Fiery Skies 4

: Fiery Skies 3

: Fiery Skies 2

: Fiery Skies 1

: University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP)

: Downtown El Paso and the Juarez Mountains beyond

: A river divides two nations

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Filed under Photography, travel

Tagged as El Paso, photography, Scenic Drive, sunsets, travel

June 6, 2012 · 5:48 am

Portmeirion—Part 2

Today we continue with the second of our three-part tour of Portmeirion, Wales.

There are three things for which Portmeirion is most famous. We’ve touched upon two—the exquisite Italianate architecture of Sir Clough Williams-Ellis; and the use of Portmeirion as The Village in the 1960s cult television classic The Prisoner. The third claim to fame is, of course, Portmeirion Pottery and china. Portmeirion’s pottery and china business was the brainchild of Susan Williams-Ellis, daughter of Sir Clough, and the intent was to sell these creations in a Portmeirion-based souvenir shop. So, Portmeirion Pottery gets its name not from the site of manufacture, but rather from the original site of sale. The actual pottery is made at factories in Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England. Interested shoppers and collectors can click on this link to peruse Portmeirion wares. I’m sure you’ll recognize some of the various patterns and styles, as they’re sold around the world (including here in the U.S.).

Some of the interesting sights you’ll see today include White Horses Cottage, on the beach just beyond the main hotel. White Horses’ claim to fame is that actor Patrick McGoohan chose this cottage as his residence whenever he filmed on-site in Portmeirion.

Also pictured below are various angles of Round House, which currently hosts a shop that sells collectibles, memorabilia, and books related to the television series The Prisoner. But, during filming of The Prisoner back in 1966-1967, it was transformed into Number Six’s residence.

Below the main village you’ll see the main hotel, which in the series doubled as the “Retirement Home.” It was where those who gave up their secrets to their village captors lived out their golden years. Both the main hotel and White Horses lie along the beach. The beach itself is a very interesting feature. One can walk out onto it for hundreds of yards during low tide, but at high tide it completely floods. Indeed, during spring tides, this flooding can extend into the first floor of White Horses, making it uninhabitable during that time.

And, finally, while on Monday you got to see pictures of Ursula and me, today you’ll get to see the third member of our expedition, our eldest daughter Cherry.

More to follow in Friday but, until then, content yourselves with these: