Fountain in Hotel Chaco for downtime photography in Albuquerque
I was photographing a conference at Hotel Chaco last summer and had some time in between events to photograph the flora and fountain found in the inner courtyard of the hotel. I don't often have time to look for shots like this while photographing an event, and almost never go on a photo walk in my personal time anymore, so it was nice to just look for photos like I used to before I became a full-time professional photographer 14 years ago.
While at Hotel Albuquerque photographing an event taking place in its courtyard, in the moments finding different points from which to photograph the event itself, which was just a reception and not very fast paced, I had the chance to take a few photos of the features inside the courtyard like the large water fountain, the flora, and the event tent itself in place no doubt in case of any unscheduled rain. All these photos were taking with the amazing Sony 50mm f/1.2 GM lens. Every time I use it, I find myself re-remembering this lens not only has magical properties, but it can be used for a much wider variety of photo than one may think. For a 50mm lens, it is nearly ten times what I paid for my very first 50mm lens (Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D) back in 2008, but it just might be ten times the lens!
Have you ever sat and stared in bemused amazement at the water feature in Civic Plaza in downtown Albuquerque, New Mexico? It was designed by Aqua Design International. They contacted me about making a creative drone video of the water feature really showing off the range of fountains and colors they display at dusk. This was my first time to fly my DJI Mavic Pro drone in such low light. After a brief test flight I was very glad to find out it could record video in these conditions and that the final, edited 4K drone video made Aqua Design so happy. The music I selected I think really compliments the visuals. Press play, and take a 3 minute whimsical break!
