Waking up Saturday morning and not wanting to spend a hot weekend in Albuquerque just sweltering, I headed to Santa Rosa with intentions of swimming in the natural spring they have there, called the Blue Hole. I actually first saw the Blue Hole five years ago, but returning from a 2 month road trip, I just wanted to make it back to ABQ dry. This time I was ready with swimsuit on from leaving the house! However, it was overwhelmingly busy upon first arrival, but after 5pm there were only a few people left and I finally had my chance to make the jump. People of all ages were jumping in, including kids, and I am a very strong and confident swimmer. Nevertheless, upon standing on the rocky overhang, which of course looked much higher up once actually on it than it did from the angle you see above where I took the photo, I felt a bit of hesitation. It is definitely not nothing jumping in from up there! I jumped in feet first and the 61F felt refreshing as I made my way back up to the surface then swam to the steps.
While out on a rural land real estate shoot for Hemingway Land, the client wanted me to get some photos of the local color, as he put it. These photos represent that. Even if you live in Albuquerque, you may not have ever been to nearby Moriarty, NM. The town’s nickname is the Crossroads of Opportunity. Many small New Mexico towns have such monikers attached to their welcome signs. I find them interesting. So this small town may not be the first thing you think of when someone says Moriarty. Most likely you think Sherlock Holmes’ nemesis, but now you can bring up knowledge of a second Moriarty in conversation!
At the end of a rural land photography shoot in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, I turned from the west after getting the required sunset shots to see the moon rising over the Sandia Mountains. I would come to learn that in a few days this would be a very rare full (blue) moon on Halloween night. To get unique views one must go to unique places, and not many go miles off road in the desert northwest of Rio Rancho wit a camera.
Almost exactly two years later, I returned to Quarai Mission Ruins for a second visit (see first visit photos), this time as part of a drive with the BMW Car Club of America, New Mexico Chapter. I actually did not know for sure we would be stopping at these ruins, so it was a nice surprise for me to see them again. A lot has changed in two years, as I did not have the car i drove their in then, and I was still shooting with a DSLR camera, not the most advanced Sony mirrorless camera there is. One thing that did not change, though, was Quarai itself. Still not a single cloud in the sky there to enhance my photos, so I used the sun to create lens flares to add drama to the tall stone walls of the mission. Have you been to Quarai? Let me know in the comments below.
For regular followers, you will know that I have been spending a lot of time in Valencia County, New Mexico off of Highway 6 that leads from I-40 to Las Lunas. It just so happened that due to their suddenly being good clouds, I made an all afternoon return trip for a 6-property shoot on a Sunday afternoon. I try and not even look at my cameras or my desk, or anything like that on Sundays, but I knew the forecast was not great for the rest of the week and the client really wanted good clouds in the sky. So to get the shots wanted I went even on a Sunday afternoon, which is what one needs to do if you want to be the best rural land real estate photographer in the state, you go when there are clouds.
I had the opportunity to present the story of how I became a professional photographer at 1 Million Cups this week here in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It was a chance for me to really think about what was the start of my path to becoming a professional photographer. I realized it began back in 2001, on a trip to Thailand and Cambodia. I invite you to watch the video below to hear the full story. I begin presenting just a couple minutes into the video.
I have now been to Navajo Dam more times than any other place in New Mexico for my rural land photography and drone video work, that is an overnight drive away from Albuquerque. In the first 6 months of 2019, I have been there 4 times already! At the end of my most recent trip, due to the land of the property being behind a hill and thus sunset coming earlier to it, I was able to leave the property in time to my surprise with the actual sunset still visible some 10 minutes down the road where you can see a large expanse of Navajo Dam Lake and the marina itself too. A real photographer never passes by a chance to stop and make a photo, so even thought I was tired, and all my photo gear and tripod were well put away, I got my Nikon out and hustled to the road’s edge to make theses New Mexico True photos to share with you.
