Traveling all over the state of New Mexico for rural land photography work allows me to explore some off the beaten path places in between shoots. The latest was Spring Canyon State Park, which is really part of Rockhound State Park, and this particular canyon is Lover’s Leap Canyon. That’s complicated! All without mentioning these parks are made up of the Florida Mountains! The trail up Lover’s Leap Canyon is allegedly only 0.9 miles, but it takes over 30 minutes due to how steep and rocky it is. The view just keeps getting better and better as the trail gets higher. Once at the top, take off your backpack, get out a snack, and enjoy the fruit of one’s hiking labors! This is another hidden gem in New Mexico.
In bookend visits to Monument Valley in Utah, I made a lot of photos being there for sunset one evening, then sunrise the next morning. I had time during these two forays into this stunning environment to look for other shots besides sweeping landscape photos, like this one with a twisted tree. There was so much movement and texture in this gnarled tree that I wanted to find a way to photograph it that really made it come through the frame. I set my camera on my tripod at its lowest leg extension for a below standing eye level perspective. This eerie tree composed this way as to obscure the beauty of the mesas creating a contrast in visuals.
Truly in the middle of nowhere New Mexico, but it has to be somewhere, so it is in the northwest of the state, Bisti Badlands hides itself to all but those willing to leave behind civilization to set foot on it. No amenities, no paths, Bisti Badlands just exists. If you have the vehicle and the desert exploring skills to get into it, the rewards can be seen in the photos below. The rock formations in both macro and micro view are equally odd.
My job as a professional photographer in New Mexico takes me all over the state. After photoshoots, I sometimes have the opportunity to seek out unusual places in the remote area I happen to be. On a recent 4-day photo shoot in Silver City, I had the chance to visit City of Rocks State Park. This is a place definitely off of the beaten path, as Silver City itself is out of the way, and City of Rocks is another 30+ minutes drive into nowhere. The investment in miles is certainly worth it though, as you can see in these photographs this is a unique place of natural wonder. Out in the midst of flat desert is an appropriately named city of unusual rock formations. There are no set trails or paths in this park, you have to just wander. It’s fantastic!
Back out in Belen, New Mexico on yet another rural land real estate assignment for Hemingway Land Company, I did not expect to find this view. I have been to this area many times and the land is flat and desolate. However, this time the property was much further south and west than I had been before and a short walk from the property itself revealed this dramatic landscape. Mesas jut out and then expand into a valley that goes all the way to a distant mountain. All of this combines for a fantastic sunset view. Not a bad place to work for an evening!
While out on a rural land real estate photo shoot in Belen, New Mexico, I made some new friends. My dog, Kiki, was with me on this desert shoot as she often is. I noticed that she was noticing something in the distance to the east. I was focused on the west getting ready to make my signature HDRsunset shots. In the far distance I saw two animals moving. I thought they were cows as those are the most common large animal sighting in that area. One was really white though and I thought that is an odd coloring for a cow. Looking closer I saw they were in fact horses. I had already been to that area of the property and knew there was a barbed wire fence. I wondered if they would jump over it?
San Diego and Ocean Beach in particular have many gems in them that may not appear on the front pages of many travel websites. Open up Google Maps and zoom in and you will see a place simply called Tide Pools. There are no signs in Ocean Beach pointing the way to them directly, and likewise no clear way of getting to them exactly. In fact one must scramble down a steep slope to a concrete wall, jump off it, and then there you are. Standing on a shore of black rock with all of the Pacific Ocean before you. It is quite a place to take in the sunset and get splashed by incoming waves! The tide pools are only visual, however, not like the ones I grew up exploring in New England that were full of aquatic life. Nevertheless, the Tide Pools of Ocean Beach, San Diego are a hidden gem worth finding.
