I have now been to Navajo Dam more times than any other place in New Mexico for my rural land photography and drone video work, that is an overnight drive away from Albuquerque. In the first 6 months of 2019, I have been there 4 times already! At the end of my most recent trip, due to the land of the property being behind a hill and thus sunset coming earlier to it, I was able to leave the property in time to my surprise with the actual sunset still visible some 10 minutes down the road where you can see a large expanse of Navajo Dam Lake and the marina itself too. A real photographer never passes by a chance to stop and make a photo, so even thought I was tired, and all my photo gear and tripod were well put away, I got my Nikon out and hustled to the road’s edge to make theses New Mexico True photos to share with you.
Getting titled for lens flare in Timberon tree tops
My third return to the very remote New Mexico town of Timberon was for shooting rural land real estate once again, but this time 12 properties in done day! This meant not being there my usual 90-minutes before sunset as that would not leave nearly enough time. Which in turn means no signature sunset HDR photos of the properties. Add to the fact that nearly all of these properties were nearly all covered in very tall pine trees. There was not only no sunset, but also no horizon to even see. What was my solution for getting creative shots? Tilt the lens upward and embrace the lens flare and sunburst effect from having an ultra wide 15mm lens looking right at the sun. What do you think of this style of photo and the unique effect of shooting tilted up at the sun?
With all the storms across the midwest, it made me recall the storms that would strike Florida, some of which allowed me to still take my camera out and capture how they transform the sky into, in this case, a palette of electric pink. This is the view along the seawall of the apartment complex I lived at in St. Petersburg, Florida. On calm days manatees and dolphins could be seen from this spot, but this evening a powerful and beautiful thunderstorm dominated the horizon.
If you love any of these New Mexico True views, you can either get a fine art print for your home or office, or actually own the land by contacting Hemingway Land Company. Rural northwest Rio Rancho is a different world, just about 30 minutes from Albuquerque proper. Your neighbors are cactus, jack rabbits, beetles, and birds!
From a summer western trip, I present in these photos the less famous bendy rivercanyon wonder of the southwest, Goosenecks State Park in southern Utah. The size and scope of this natural feature is tremendous, yet it is not apparent at all until you walk to the very edge of it. There is a tiny cabin booth to collect your entry fee, then that’s it. You walk yourself to the edge and behold the expanse of Goosenecks on your own. What must have it been like 200 years ago to be riding your horse and all of a sudden this is in front of you?
On a recent return to Rio Rancho, New Mexico for a rural land real estate shoot for Hemingway Land, I found the property to be rather sand dune like in places. New Mexico is a high desert environment, not the typical sandy desert many may picture when hearing the word desert. There are places that are kind of sandy, like this one where you can leave prints, or paw prints, like the ones you can see in the above photo from my dog Kiki who joined me on this desert real estate shoot.
While out on a rural land real estate assignment in northwest New Mexico near the town of Aztec, the client wanted to include some drone video of the nearby Animas River. I have flown over the Animas River before in an area north of Durango, Colorado even catching some people jumping high off the cliffs into the river! The river there had a beautiful matte emerald green color to it. In this area of New Mexico, the river was an unattractive brown, but nonetheless the surrounding mesas still made for a stunning scene. This drone video shows a small, hidden area of New Mexico True.
