2021 Photography Portfolio: San Francisco de Asis Mission

Each Fall the Northwest Houston Photography Club hosts a portfolio review. Any member can participate with eight to twelve images. Each person decides what their portfolio will focus on, a particular subject, a style of photography, a particular type of printing, a theme...  it's an opportunity for the photographer to explore, experiment, try something new.

Six professional photographers are invited in to critique the photos one on one with each photographer. Having a fresh set of trained and experienced eyes look at your project and offer critical comments is invaluable as one works to improve their images.

I chose the San Francisco de Asis Mission in Rancho de Taos as my subject this year. Mainly because I admire the structure, the culture and the people that maintain it. Here is my portfolio.

The artists' statement reads:

"one of the most beautiful buildings

left in the United States by the early Spaniards”

Georgia O’Keeffe

 

The San Francisco de Asís Mission Church is a historic and architecturally significant building in Ranchos de Taos, northern New Mexico. Built between 1772 and 1816 in the main plaza of a small Mexican - Indian agricultural community, it replaced an earlier mission that was destroyed in the 1680 Pueblo revolt.

 

This is one of the finest living examples of a Spanish Mission Church being the heart and soul of a pueblo. The edifice was built and has been maintained over the centuries by the blood, sweat and toil of the indigenous villagers. Every Spring they gather to apply mud and straw by hand to repair weather related erosion.

 

This mission has inspired some of the greatest number of depictions of any building in the United States. It was the subject of several paintings by Georgia O'Keeffe and photographs by Ansel Adams, Paul Strand and Ned Scott. Many artists spent months here studying, learning and looking for the perfect light to capture its beauty. Its adobe walls are everchanging with the high desert light, hour by hour, day by day, season by season.

 

This collection depicts but a few of the many facets 

of this revered living edifice. 

 

NOTE: As is common in many active pueblo missions,

 photography inside the church is strictly prohibited.

Let's start the show...

All of the missions initiated in the southwest by the Spaniards during the 1600's were lead by Franciscan priests. Thus many are named for San Francisco, their patron saint.

Taken at midnight, two small naked bulbs illuminate San Francisco and the front of the mission.

The morning sun breaks over the adobe mission, illuminating the most western of its' three crosses

As the sun rises, the mission's shape and form are revealed.

The texture of the adobe is accentuated by the intense noon day sun.

Each year the villagers gather to replaster the mission walls, repairing the damage caused by a winter's freeze. They mix mud, sand and straw using hoes in the central courtyard before applying it by hand to the church. 

Here you see the dark wet mud that was applied earlier in the day.

An infrequent snowstorm in the valley with an overnight freeze cracks the old adobe mud 

creating the need for the annual spring replaster.

A Fall late afternoon sun pulls a golden glow from the dry straw embedded in the walls.

Even at midnight, the mission is still an imposing structure, residing in the middle of the village plaza. Today year 2021, in one of the richest countries in the world, 

the plaza and the road around the old mission is a mixture mud and gravel.

And the final photo, 

"Written in the Heavens"

In all it was a great learning experience. Have new ideas and tips on how to improve.

Now to decide what next year's portfolio will be.... hmmmm.

Ride safe my friends,

CCjon

Followed Home - Part II

It's a 2018 Honda Goldwing 1800 DCT with a Hannigan Classic convertible sidecar. Was advertised on CYCLETRADER in Pittsburg, PA. with only 606 miles on it. Seller was having health issues and decided he could not use it as he wanted. 

Seller bought the Wing new, shipped it to Freedom Sidecars in Middleburg, PA to have a Hannigan Classic Double sidecar installed. The sidecar was painted to match the bike.

A custom Hannigan designed double wishbone front forks was installed. 

The Honda DCT model is an automatic transmission, no shifting or clutch lever.

The sidecar windshield is tall so the passenger's head doesn't hit the convertible top.  For me it is too tall and never carry a passenger, so have ordered a 6" windscreen and a flat tonneau cover to keep the rain out of the cockpit.

Am getting used to the clutchless shifting. Twist and go... but parking required learning a new habit. On regular motorcycles, we park and leave the bike in gear. That stops it from rolling on uneven ground. 

With the DCT, one cannot park in gear, it automatically goes into neutral when shutting off the engine. Therefore one must pull the parking brake to keep the bike from rolling on a slope, or moving when level. Too often one starts off riding forgetting the parking brake is engaged, causing excessive wear on the brakes. Plus the bike feels like it's dragging an anchor.

Have ordered a larger windscreen for the bike from F4, a highway peg for the left foot, a floor board for the right foot and a back rest. 

Have the East Texas-Louisiana Fall sidecar gathering coming up. That will be a good test ride on the new rig. It needs a nice long ride to earn a name. 

This might be a keeper, will get the fine tuning and tweaking done, give it a whirl, then decide. 

Ride safe y'all.

CCjon

Chama New Mexico Steam Trains

Last month I drove some of my family to the train depot in Chama New Mexico so they could ride the old narrow gauge steam train through the southern Rockies to Antonito, Colorado.

I hung around the rail yard in the early morning light capturing a few photos. 

Here are the results of those efforts.

Getting ready to back the engine up

Coal smoke fills the yard

The wheel's driving links

Waiting patiently for the engineer to finish his morning coffee

Old Iron slowly rusting, too tired and old to work the rails.

Building up a head of steam

Leaving the rail yard with passengers hoping to see eagles and elk in the high country.

That's quite the snowplow on the front.

Ride safe y'all

CCjon