I have had the opportunity to photograph Albuquerque, New Mexico Mayor Tim Keller many times, including making his official portrait for when he played arena football! The latest time to photograph the mayor was at the 4th anniversary 1 Million Cups ABQ event at Fat Pipe. 1 Million Cups ABQ is a fantastic weekly event every Wednesday morning at 9am where an entrepreneur speaks about her/his business and asks the audience for input. This Wednesday was extra special as not only did we get to hear from Kerry Brennan Bertram of Stride Inc., and not only did we have great cake, but also we got to hear Mayor Tim Keller's plans for increasing volunteerism in the city and more about the One Albuquerque concept. Even though there will not be cake nor the mayor next week, I hope you still join us for the next 1 Million Cups!
I heard about SOMOS ABQ directly from the head organizer of the event himself at a board meeting I was invited to. His passion for bringing affordable entertainment on a large scale to all of Albuquerque was inspiring. At the time I noted this is an event I should attend, and last Saturday I did! The variety on display ranged from flamenco dancers to lace acrobatics to environmental art to music concerts across genres. Right on the streets of downtown ABQ were erected stages and the acts playing really brought it. The EDM stage in particular had the energy of a full on music festival finale! In the photo gallery below you can see a cross section of what was on display at SOMOS ABQ 2018.
I do not often eat out at restaurants, as I think it is the least value for money in nearly all of modern society. However, after a very long day of photography and drone video at 40+ rural land properties the day before in the middle of nowhere west of Taos, I thought Jessica and the dogs (well, they at least got free water!) deserved a treat. In our previous trips to Taos, we never got to stop at Overland Ranch, which is really just a very mountain-town looking style shopping plaza. This time we did and in it we found the Farmhouse Cafe with its wonderful outdoor setting.
This rat rod style hot rod at a small car show in Rio Rancho caught my eye for where it was parked, as well as how it looked. I cannot say I had ever seen a parking space marked "SENIOR ADULT" before. Does that mean there must be a junior adult or a senior child space somewhere in the world? This hot rod was about as ratty as they can come, and I mean no offense by that! It looked awesome and make me think I needed a tetanus shot just for standing next to it!
When I first got my DJI Mavic Pro drone in November 2017, the first place I really flew it was in Taos, New Mexico. Driving there I had no idea there was a mini-Grand Canyon just on the edge of the town, so to my great surprise was the Rio Grande Gorge revealed to me! I thought the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge would be a great place to fly the drone, but having such little flying experience and with it being so windy when I visited the bridge, the drone stayed in its case that time. Fast forward to the present, with dozens of flights of experience, having already flown under the Bixby Bridge, with the weather at near ideal conditions I did not hesitate to fly over the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge this time!
Ceramic artist Noah Starer, now Santa Fe based, brought his latest collection of ceramic art to the JCP Home Studio in Albuquerque, New Mexico for photos to be made of 25 new pieces. I have photographed a lot of Noah's art in the past, and was glad to be able to attend his opening weekend exhibition of his work, titled Naked Clay, at Santa Fe Clay earlier this summer! I am glad to have seen his art career journey from Las Lunes now to Santa Fe and all the success he is deservedly having now. He is also teaching classes at Santa Fe Clay so check for when his next classes are to learn how to create your own naked clay!
The Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce knows how to put on events, and the Hispano Chamber Golf Classic 2018 is the biggest event of the year where 100% of the profits go to educational scholarships. With some 36 foursomes out on the greens, a lot of local students will be benefiting from participants' generosity. My contribution was to go out and make as many photos as I could in the short time I had available to be on the golf course! What did I learn? A lot of dancing goes on at a AHCC golf event!
