Full Moon over Taos

Am back in northern New Mexico for a week. Of course I had to make a trip into Rancho de Taos to photograph the St Francis de Asis Mission once again. 

This Mission is my favorite go-to place for Southwest photography.

 This time it was to capture images of the Passover Moon above the Mission. 

Here are a couple of the results of that trip.

Starting off with,

on the west side of the Plaza is the Plaza Cafe.

 It has been here serving New Mexican family recipes for many generations. 

It is a very popular local family-owned and operated restaurant.

The clouds were quickly moving across the sky...

Sometimes, almost totally blocking the moonlight and other times opening up for a bright moon.

Had to play with the light and camera settings to capture an acceptable image.

As the moon was slowly setting in the west,  

the sun had awakened the dark sky, burning off the clouds.

This photo is a homage to two of Ansel Adam's NM photos:

one, the St Francis Mission, and the other, his famous "Moon Over Hernandez, NM".

Maybe I should call this "Ansel's Moon".

After being here since 4:30 A.M., I was ready to find some coffee and a bite to eat. 

The Plaza Cafe would not open until 11 A.M., but it is only a short ten-minute drive to downtown Taos 

and its popular Michael's Bakery. Their fresh-ground coffee and cinnamon bread French Toast with strawberries and whipped cream was a delicious, tummy-warming treat.

Through an east-facing window, the bright Taos sun shown in,

illuminating the lady at the table next to me.

It immediately reminded me of that southwest style of painting that many Taos artists apply in their oils.

Artists have been coming to the Southwest and Taos in particular since 1920, 

in search of that special Taos light.

I was delighted to be able to capture this image without disturbing her thoughts.

In a few days, I will head back down to the Houston area. 

Ride safe my friends

CCjon

2024 Spring Wanderings

 Though I have been taking a variety of photos this Spring, have been distracted from posting them. 

Time to catch up a little.

Driving across southern New Mexico, captured an image of this abandoned building after a rain storm.

The next afternoon we visited the San Francisco de Asis Mission in Rancho de Taos, NM.

The warm late afternoon sun painted the broad west stucco wall with shadows

Of course, while there, I had to try a couple of B&W shots, too.

Every winter the freezing temperatures cause the abode walls to flake. Each Spring the parishioners gather to hand plaster the stucco for another year.

Someone's backyard door opens up to the Mission Plaza. 

The cold blue gate with the sun warming the inner courtyard caught my attention. 

Felt like you were standing in the cold, looking at a warm, sunny world on the other side.

"24"

The failing light cast long shadows across the old Mission's gravel plaza.

******************

A month later we made a trip to Georgia. 

After raining hard all night long, 

a bright morning sun beckoned to explore the woods behind the motel...

...so with the camera in hand, I did.

Among the trees and brush, I tried different compositions, with and without color.

This started with a 'meh' picture, 

Then remembered that a well-known photographer stated, 

"if a photo is uninteresting, get closer... (or crop tighter)".

So I did.

Catching sunlight reflecting off the new leaf growth.

Then again with dead leaves that refused to fall...

...crop tighter. That's better.

We'll wrap up this Blog Post with a moss-covered fallen tree. 

Here I was playing with light and shadows. Letting the sun illuminate bits and pieces of a scene while I tried different camera settings.

What I enjoy about photography, besides satisfying my creative urges, is there is no final destination. It is a never-ending journey of learning to see and try new techniques and different processes. 

One is constantly learning. There is no end game, no graduation, no diploma certifying one is a photographer. Just the satisfaction of knowing one is engaged and learning something new every day you pick up the camera.

Ride safe, ride far my friends

CCjon