Returning to Socorro County New Mexico for rural land real estate photography for the first time in 2021, an area I have been to many times before, I knew what to expect. It would be windy, very windy, Google Maps would show roads where there is only open desert, and eventually, the cows would come home. I experienced all of the above, but those challenges did not stop me from getting the results the client wanted with the right combination of clouds, light, and sunset. If you would like to own these views, check out Hemingway Land.
Hustling to 20 properties in the Socorro County Desert
Typically on rural land real estate shoots for Hemingway Land, it is one property, one evening, starting about 2 hours before actual sunset, making 40 photos of the one property and often a drone video as well. Every now and then they get a bulk purchase and the shooting is very different like on a recent trip to Socorro County, New Mexico. There were 20 properties to shoot, I had to start early in the afternoon in order to finish with enough light, and I only made 3 photos per property. During these bulk shoots I am hustling like crazy from property to property, passing cows and big piles of tires truly out in the middle of nowhere miles from paved road, which in turn is miles from any kind of town. How do these tires get out here??
My work for Hemingway Land Company takes me to many well off the beaten path places in New Mexico and I share those photos here on Jason Collin Photography regularly.. The town of Belen is itself a small town about 40 minutes south of Albuquerque, but when you add in 8 miles of dirt road, one finds oneself in places only cows usually venture. Thus, on the drive back from a property shoot in this remote area cows were blocking the dirt road. Now there are thousands of acres out there, and maybe the width of the road takes up 0.000001% of it, yet nearly every time I come and go in the spring time in this area, I have to slow down and wait for cows to get out of the road. This time I thought, “ok, if you are going to make me stop, I am going to make you pose for photos!” Then one cow wanted to perhaps come home with me (see the last photo), but I do not think the amount of grass I have in my backyard would sustain a growing calf!
I found myself at 5:50am on a piece of ranch land just outside of Artesia, New Mexico recently. After somehow getting buzzed by a semi on the tiny dirt road as I stepped out of my Jeep, it was all quiet after that, save for the sounds of farm animals on the neighboring ranches. I like to make animal friends when I am out on these rural shoots, like these horses in Belen earlier this year. So I was glad that two cows came over to see me this sunrise time and even prop up an ear in curiosity at perhaps the two large cameras and lenses I had on my person. It was nice to have company, but I eventually had to move on and finish up photographing the property. I feel like the cows, like the horses, were sad I went away. Maybe some day I can have an animal sanctuary as long has been my dream and then I can stay with all the animals all the time!
