I had been to Taos before for rural land real estate photography and drone video work, but this was my first time to Angel Fire, New Mexico. Even though they are quite close to each other, Angel Fire feels very different from both Taos and everywhere else in New Mexico. The scenery was sweeping and wide open, but green and mountainous. The architecture and design of many buildings was that of a ski lodge. Even in the middle of August, there was a chill in the air! It was fantastic to escape the hot Albuquerque summer even just for a few days and get paid to watch a great sunset through my Nikon on the ground and my DJI Mavic Pro in the air.
Earlier this year I drove through Phoenix and the amazing saguaro cactus desertscape and kept thinking, around the next corner I will stop and get some photos. The next corner turned into the next corner and then at the next corner, the saguaro cactus were all gone. I had missed my chance. On a recent return to Phoenix I made sure to be ready to stop on the approach to the city, find a dirt road, pull off, and both get still photos with my Nikon and 4K video with my DJI Mavic Prodrone.
All my brief time in New Mexico I heard of something called, Shiprock. I heard many things about it. "It is a spiritual place." "It is very hard to drive to." "You have to go there." I can now say all of those statements are true. After several wrong turns, accompanied by Jessica, our dogs, and two friends visiting from Florida, I pointed my Jeep Renegade Trailhawk down the correct dirt road and rolled slowly toward this towering rock formation that the day before was visible from 30+ miles away in Arizona. Twilight was already arriving as we arrived. The rain held off and provided dramatic clouds for the background of the photographs I took from the surface with my Nikon, and the drone photos and video I took from the air.
Out on a rural land photography assignment in Edgewood, New Mexico, I was warned by the land broker that access to this 5-acre property might be challenging. It certainly was! Barbed wire and gates blocked the first few access road, and the last, "legal access" point was down an eroded incline even too extreme for my Jeep Renegade Trailhawk! I had to park at the top of the incline, then carry about 40 pounds of photographer gear, drone gear and my tripod for about a third of a mile first down that incline then up a rocky ridge.
Return to the San Juan River in northern New Mexico
The very green and beautiful San Juan River flows for miles through New Mexico. This portion of the river is near Navajo Dam, an area I first visited in February. I only had time for a quick drone flight over the dam area itself, but on this trip I was able to fly over a large stretch of the river! I was out on another rural land property assignment, but now since I have my own off road capable vehicle (Jeep Renegade Trailhawk), I no longer have to rush back to Albuquerque to return the rental truck to Enterprise so I can stay in places like this with Jessica and the dogs at our leisure!
In my second trip to the Navajo Dam Lake area, I was able to fly my drone more over the lake itself and make aerial photos with my DJI Mavic Pro drone as well! The first time was only able to fly over the dam, this time I got to fly out over the lake, even very low and fast to the water! There is a surprisingly large marina at this lake, and not something one would expect to find in a land-locked, desert state that's for sure! A head's up though, if you are thinking of renting any kind of watercraft, be there early! Me and Jessica and the dogs were too late (even at 10am!) to get a boat, but that could not stop us from having fun!
A few months ago I went to Dona Ana County, New Mexico for the first time for a rural land photography shoot and drone video flight. I visited White Sands on the way back, and after that the desert highway took me through a wild landscape of lava. There was no time to stop then, but on my return to the area for another photo and drone shoot in Cloudcroft, I made sure I had time to stop and fly my DJI Mavic Pro drone over the Valley of Fires!
