I found myself at 5:50am on a piece of ranch land just outside of Artesia, New Mexico recently. After somehow getting buzzed by a semi on the tiny dirt road as I stepped out of my Jeep, it was all quiet after that, save for the sounds of farm animals on the neighboring ranches. I like to make animal friends when I am out on these rural shoots, like these horses in Belen earlier this year. So I was glad that two cows came over to see me this sunrise time and even prop up an ear in curiosity at perhaps the two large cameras and lenses I had on my person. It was nice to have company, but I eventually had to move on and finish up photographing the property. I feel like the cows, like the horses, were sad I went away. Maybe some day I can have an animal sanctuary as long has been my dream and then I can stay with all the animals all the time!
Black backgroundheadshots have gotten more and more popular with my clients here in Albuquerque, New Mexico in the past year, as each new client sees the work I did with past clients and ask for a black background headshot too. That is fine with me as black background headshots offer a bold and modern look. Jessica contacted me about making headshots for her management services company that would match the black and white look of the company’s website. I suggested going with a black background to standout against the white background of the website itself. The results you can see in context for yourself below.
It is rare I get to go to a new place in New Mexico already haven criss-crossed the state dozens of times in just over 2 years for the rural land real estate photography and drone video work I do. So it was very welcome to make my way to Artesia, New Mexico for my latest shoot. I drove east out of Cloudcroft down a beautiful country road through tall timber along a canyon for miles. This is very unusual scenery for southern New Mexico which is mostly empty desert.
Breaking the rules for this comedic actor headshot in ABQ
I have had an increasing number of actors visit the JCP Home Studio lately to get great headshots to help them with their show business careers. It is always great to have an actor in front of the lens as I can just tell them to turn it on, and then all I have to do is make sure the lighting is right. For this shot though, I did suggest breaking the rules sort of, by having Connor turn back against his body, but then have his eyes look back toward center. When I made the shot I thought it did not work, but once we looked at it on the big 27” 4K monitor at the studio we both liked it right away. Thanks Connor for letting me suggest some unusual poses that turned out to be our favorite in the end!
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?
On a recent rural land photography shoot in the Navajo Dam area, the road to the property was a beauty for driving: winding and sweeping between mesas with good pavement and sight lines. Even though I was just in my Jeep Renegade Trailhawk, that is designed to shine more offroad than on, it was still a great drive. I made this HDRlandscape photo to show that New Mexico indeed has some great driving roads.
Almost exactly one year ago I first flew my drone over Elephant Butte Lake in New Mexico, over the aforementioned butte itself. This time, I flew over the marina at sunset (in very strong winds). The video shows how you can just pull up your RV trailer right to the lake’s edge and camp there! The boat ramp to the lake is the most massive and steep one I have ever seen! Lastly, you can see all the mesas and mountains surrounding the lake that would make it a beautiful place for a sunset cruise.
