This was my second time seeing a tarantula in New Mexico, and my third time overall seeing one in the wild (the first was in Malaysian Borneo). In the same area where I photographed this mule deer, the day started with a big spider encounter. I know I was certainly surprised to learn that there are tarantulas in New Mexico, and I was reminded of this meeting this fellow in a remote area of Ramah some 11 miles down dirt road. Have you seen a tarantula in New Mexico or elsewhere in the wild?
Where is Regina, New Mexico? It is tucked away on a small country road that eventually becomes 16 miles of dirt road that ends at a lake. It is one of my favorite areas of New Mexico. I returned there to photograph a rural land real estate property for Hemingway Land just in time to get these blue skies and scenic clouds as the forecast for the rest of the week there called for rain and snow! If you would like to own these views for real, check out the property listing. If you’d just like to see these views from your desk or sofa, use the buttons below to get a fine art print.
I am often out in very remote areas from late afternoon until sunset and into twilight times here in New Mexico. I love to photograph wildlife, but despite so much time out in nature, I very rarely have the opportunity to photograph large animals, like the mule deer seen here (learn about mule deer). This is in part because when I am done shooting a piece of rural land real estate, I pack up both cameras into a backpack in the back of my Jeep. So if I do happen to see a deer, or other animal, I have to stop, get out, and then get my camera ready. This always results in the animals taking off never to be seen again.
Driving back from a long afternoon of rural land real estate photography and drone flying down the very scenic Bluewater Road, with the interstate nearly in sight, these pale horses caught the corner of my eye. I have an axiom that a real photographer never passes up a chance to get a shot. So even though I was tired and had a long 2-hour drive still ahead of me to get home, I pulled my Jeep over and went back into my camera bag to take out the Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 G Master lens to make a few photos of these horses. I approached slowly, as I always do to animals to let them know I am a friend and just want to share space with them for a moment. The horse in the top photo seemed to understand this as it obliged me by lifting its head up so I could get the shot you see.
If you have never driven down Southern Blvd in Rio Rancho, New Mexico all the way west until it becomes a dirt road, then may I suggest taking a little road trip so you can be treated to views of the Sandia Mountains from the open desert.
As soon as I saw the above old corral, I knew what shot I wanted to make once the sun went down a little more. I was out on a rural land photography shoot, very, very far off the beaten path, some 16 miles down dirt road, in an already remote area to begin with near Ramah, New Mexico. I like to wonder when I come across these abandoned things far from anyone things like, “when was this last actually used?” What do you think when you look at these photos? Let me know in the comments below. If you would like to have this view every day, prints on canvas, metal, or framed are available to bring the remote high desert to your home.
I have been waiting a long time to get a photograph of a roadrunner, the New Mexico state bird. In Florida, I regularly photographed birds. There are far fewer birds in easy sight in New Mexico, but in my new neighborhood in central ABQ, I regularly see, I believe, this particular roadrunner when out walking my dog. I do not tote around a 70-200mm lens on those walks usually, so I never get a chance to photograph this roadrunner.
