The beauty of Angel Fire in winter in drone aerial photos
For regular readers of this website, it is no secret Angel Fire has become my favorite place in New Mexico. I have been here many times in the past, but all in summer, and since Angel Fire is most famous for being a ski area, it was great to finally visit the town in winter with snow on the ground! I had a dual mission here, getting drone video of a vacation rental house (which the owner kindly let me stay in!) and working for my main rural land client getting drone photos of his property that just happened to be only 8 minutes from the rental house. I actually thought there would be a lot more snow on the ground here in Angel Fire, but it is the start of March, and the temps have been in the 50s the past few days. It has been great to be in the quiet and beauty of Angel Fire in winter. If I could only run my business from Angel Fire, that would be fantastic!
Farewell to a loyal friend in the Jeep Renegade Trailhawk
It is the end of an era in vehicle ownership for me, as I have had the last adventure in my beloved Jeep Renegade Trailhawk. What started in March of 2019 and took me on 73,000 miles all over New Mexico, Texas, Colorado, Arizona, and Utah, comes to a conclusion in February 2022. In all those miles the Jeep never let me down once, not on road or offroad. It is very bittersweet selling it, just like it was selling the Mazda3 I had before the Jeep. I guess this is the way it goes. In the last two months though, the Jeep went out in style driving on the national seashore in Corpus Christi, up to the top of a mountain in Tucson, and on the snow in Valles Caldera National Preserve with four people and three dogs in it! Just like the Mazda3 got me and Kiki out of Florida, and the Jeep was at the heart of desert adventure in New Mexico, perhaps the next vehicle will take us to the completion of our journey all the way to where the Road meets the Sea.
Albuquerque is not supposed to be a very snowy city. There are other places in New Mexico that do get their fair bit of snow, which might be surprising for a desert state, but even though ABQ is a mile high city, significant snow is rare, at least in my now going on 4 winters here. So getting over 6 inches of snow while still in October after it was just 81F two days earlier is quite the shock! I sent the drone up to document the snowfall in all forms —> hyperlapse video, 360 aerial panorama, and aerial still photos. I want to give unique views of commonly photographed events and things here at Jason Collin Photography.
Cold Winter Sunrise at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon
The first day in the Grand Canyon was mostly covered in clouds overhead and fog within the canyon. Up early the next day for the sunrise I was worried it would be for nought, but the canyon was clear of fog and the clouds opened up to let some light in to highlight this natural wonder. It was very, very cold standing on the snow of the South Rime despite sunset coming relatively late after 7am on December 28th. I could not see the actual sunrise directly from this point on the South Rim, but I was still pleased to have several vantage points of the canyon and the opportunity to use foreground tree framing and clear shots into the canyon itself.
When I first arrived at the Grand Canyon in northern Arizona, there was a bit of down time before I could actually go and see the canyon itself. Fortunately for me, a group of elk was foraging right across the street. This was my first time to photograph elk like this. It turns out these animals are real characters sticking out their tongues at me, laughing, and getting themselves covered in snow just to make a photo more interesting! Thank you Grand Canyon elk for being so photogenic and letting me get some great wildlife shots!
After 20 years I returned to the Grand Canyon to find quite a different landscape. In March 2000 there was only patchy snow/ice along the south rim, and as I hiked all the way down via the Kaibab Trail to the Colorado River, the temperature actually increased as I descended. Visiting now in December 2019, the winter season presented Grand Canyon views dominated by white. Snow blanketed all the trails, viewpoints, and even the walls of the canyon itself. In fact snow was all I could see at first because the entire canyon was filled with clouds, or mist, or cotton candy for all I could tell. Finally, after several hours the clouds lifted and the Grand Canyon in its winter colors were revealed!
Albuquerque does not get much snow, and especially not nearly 6 inches in November! Thanksgiving morning revealed a city covered in snow so I sent up my drone before cooking to get a couple of quick shots of a rare view of the city.
