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.
I long dreamt of Malibu, in particular its miles of coastline offering near infinite sunset views over the vast Pacific Ocean. In December 2017 I got to fulfill that dream, but just for one sunset. At least it was a great one and though it is a rare thing in life, expectations long daydreamed about were met and surpassed. Some day I will get to see more sunsets in Malibu, perhaps even from my own back door.
Revisiting the photographs I made at Echo Amphitheater in Abiquiu, New Mexico I found some more that I wanted to edit and offer as fine art prints and commercial license usage for businesses that want to display a unique view of New Mexico natural wonder in their home or office for friends and clients to enjoy as well. Standing in the base of the curved rock formation that produces the echoes the place is named for, I found the shape of the rock wall to be fascinating and photographed it from multiple angles. If you have received a business card from me you have already seen my favorite angle of it (check it out here), but I like these for their partial views of the upper edge as well.
I had the chance to go west for a rural land property shoot in Grants, New Mexico this week. I most often go north or east of Albuquerque. This was a completely new area for me. This property was not that far from the city of Grants itself, but it rested high up in the shadows of a black mesa over looking an interstate, train tracks and an airport! I also usually only shoot very flat land properties, where this one was nearly completely rolling foothills allowing for more creative sunset landscape composition.
Going through my recent rural land photography archives while out in remote places in New Mexico, I was reminded of being brushed by a strong thunderstorm. It does not rain often in the winter in the greater Albuquerque area of New Mexico, much less a thunderstorm. Thus, my surprise at having to stay close to my Jeep Renegade Trailhawk in case a deluge broke from the sky or lightning started striking the ground.
Yet another week started out with time in the high desert of central New Mexico out on a rural land photography assignment for Hemingway Land Company in remote, northwest Rio Rancho. This area off of Northern Blvd was a little more to the southeast than I had been to before. It was sandier with less brush covering everything. It's rare to see sandy desert in this area of New Mexico. It caught my eye to make a photograph featuring the sand itself, as seen above.
Back in Torrance County New Mexico on a rural land photography shoot for Hemingway Land Company, at a property much more covered in trees than I typically encounter. The last time I had hardly any open space to make photos with a view from. This time there was a good swatch of open land that allowed me to make landscape and sunset shots to help the client sell this rural land property fast! How fast? Well, read the Google review about how much my photographs and drone video help sell his New Mexico rural land properties.
