Angel Fire, New Mexico is famous for being a winter destination. However, even at the end of April snow still dusts the mountain peaks adding to the drama of dusk. Staying at an Airbnb (Covid-19 safe) condo with amazing views right off the back patio, even though I had already been shooting for hours that day for a rural land real estate client, I got my camera back out to capture the last twilight light of this spectacular spring sky. Here at Jason Collin Photography, after this spring sky show, Angel Fire became my favorite place in New Mexico.
New Mexico is a desert state, but mostly high desert, not like the sandy dunes most thought of when picturing a desert. Mescalero Sands North Dune, however, outside of Roswell, New Mexico, is a more traditional sand dune desert, surrounded by an ocean of hearty desert flora. As you can see from the many tire tracks in the photos below, these sand dunes are an all terrain vehicle playground. Even for a person on foot, this desert is a special place to explore and experience. I sent the drone up for a 360 panorama photo as well as video and aerial photos, and had my Sony a7R IV with me for still photos as my shoes filled with sand making my way over the dunes.
If you find yourself in Roswell, New Mexico and you want to do some non-alien exploring, nearby Bottomless Lakes State Park is a hidden gem worth seeking out. The lakes are actually sinkholes filled with water, and as always, to my disappointment with such things, not truly bottomless! Some are up to 90 feet deep though, which for the desert, is pretty far down. You can hike all along the ~6 lakes even circumnavigating the rims of each which offer unique views adding even more to the sense of bottomlessness of the water. I had both my camera and drone with me to capture these lakes from all angles. Let me know in the comments if you have been to this state park, or after seeing these images, if you will be planning to visit.
On a recent trip to Angel Fire, New Mexico for a rural land client, I sent my DJI Mavic 2 Prodrone up and was shown a landscape totally different than from where I stood surrounded by tall trees. Going up a hundred feet allows for unique landscape photography. Combining dramatic clouds filling the sky, with the tall pine treetops, and the distant mountains, these drone aerial photos are some of my personal favorites that I have ever made in New Mexico. Here on the Jason Collin Photography blog I always like to show you unique views of known places. Angel Fire is a ski resort town, but I have actually never seen it in snow despite three trips there! So if you have only seen it in snow, from these drone photos, you can see how visiting Angel Fire in the spring after the snow melts reveals it is still a very special place with amazing scenery, especially from the drone’s viewpoint!
Many times I have driven up and down HWY 550 in New Mexico on my way to and from home in Albuquerque to Navajo Dam or Farmington in northern New Mexico. Each time I stared at this mesa, or rather a volcanic plug as Wikipedia describes it, off to the west visible from great distance. This rock formation is named Cabezon Peak, and finally, I had the time to actually drive right up to its base. From this vantage point I sent up my DJI Mavic 2 Pro drone to capture 4K drone video, a 360 panorama drone photo, as well as regular aerial drone photos, before finishing with sone telephoto shots of the peak with my Sony a7 III mirrorless camera. I actually found viewing Cabezon Peak from a little bit of distance to be the more impressive view than standing right before it.
For those with enough adventurous spirit, and the right vehicle, and the in the desert with not-so-accurate-GPS navigating skills, somewhere far south of Bloomfield, New Mexico, some 18 miles down dirt roads, you can find Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah Wilderness Area and its amazing hoodoos. What are hoodoos? They are a rock formation that look like toadstool mushrooms. This was actually my second hoodoos rock formation site to visit (check out the first). What an alien landscape this was to explore with the hoodoos forming on the banks of an arroyo, very, very far from any civilization. This is a fantastic New Mexico True site to visit. There is a map at the bottom of this blog post, and be sure and watch the video below I made right in the middle of the hoodoos!
Wall of rock home to hawks in Cimarron Canyon State Park
If you blink while driving past Palisades Sill along HWY 64 in Cimarron Canyon State Park, you are likely to not even notice it was there. How can that be when you look at the drone video above and see the 100 foot wall of rock? That is because the canyon is very narrow, with tall timber along the road, that twists and requires the driver to keep a keen eye. However, if you do stop, you will be treated to a hidden gem of a rock formation that hawks swoop down from and has the Cimarron River gently gurgling at its foot.
