Dr. Singh wanted new commercial portrait photos for his website so we met in downtown Albuquerque at the Albuquerque Convention Center. I thought we would mostly be using the Civic Plaza area as I had for another portrait shoot, but that was taken over by setting up for an outdoor concert. Part of being a professional photographer is being able to improvise right on the spot, so instead of starting outside, we went inside to the convention center. Having photography many events there, I knew a few spots that would work well. No one told us we could not make photographs inside, so we just went about it!
The BMW Car Club New Mexico Chapter got invited to a very unique car show right at the top of a mountain at Santa Fe Ski Resort! We actually drove from the Sanat Fe BMW dealership on to the foot of the ski slope itself! Yes, that means my M3 along with a host of other sports cars and classic cars actually went off road. This could not have been a more stunning setting and a fantastic day overall. It felt like a whole different world up there. We capped the day with a hike up to the summit of the mountain, some 11,000+ feet of elevation! To top it all off, they had great veggie burgers grilled right before us with green chili and homemade cookies. In a side note, from the photo below you can see that Jessica and I are living in two totally different temperature zones!
Inside the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting I was able to begin a day of event photography at the Hyatt Regency Albuquerque by photographing Mayor Tim Keller giving a live press conference. I have photographed the mayor perhaps a dozen times in the past, but this was the first time to photograph him at a press conference. It was pretty cool! From there, everyone went in to the ballroom of the Hyatt Regency Albuquerque for the formal part of the Greater ABQ Chamber’s annual meeting festivities where the mayor then gave a lengthy speech addressing mostly the issue of homelessness in the city. Being a professional event photographer has always taken me inside worlds I would otherwise never be privy to.
Luxury Home with Stunning Mountain Views in Rio Rancho
My photography work often takes me to nearby Rio Rancho, New Mexico, but never before have I seen views of the Sandia Mountains like this from a residential home. Step out into the backyard and there before you, totally unobstructed by anything artificial, loom the Sandias. Look to the north and south and catch a glimpse of the Rio Grande River. Inside this architectural home features those views from all the rooms on the east side of the home, with its open floor plan. Want to own these views? You have a choice of one night or forever as the owner does list this house as an AirBNB, but is also thinking of flat out selling it. If you value views, privacy, and an awesome home office space, this is the property for you!
Going to 1 Million Cups each Wednesday morning here in Albuquerque, New Mexico provides me with many opportunities on a weekly basis. A recent one was meeting Athena Christodoulou who is running for Albuquerque City Council. She needed new headshots and I hold her I make the best headshots in the city and have photographed many politicians at all levels of government. We had a headshot shoot here at the JCP Home Studio, then I proceeded to run into her at several other events, like the 2019 AFRL Awards where her husband took home an award. Thank you for choosing me as your headshot photographer Athena!
My first rural land real estate shoot with the new Sony a7R IV mirrorless camera took me all the way down to Alamogordo, New Mexico. I was nervous about using this new camera along with the new Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 ART lens, so luckily the weather cooperated and the skies were great for the sunset shots in particular. How different is it shooting with the Sony mirrorless camera compared to my Nikon DSLR camera? A lot actually. It is hard to tell the exposure just by looking at the photo on the back of the Sony camera. However, with its EVF (electronic viewfinder) I can just look at the photo right in the viewfinder like using a mini monitor in totally protected viewing conditions. That took some getting used to! The Sony camera and Sigma lens are significantly smaller than my Nikon DSLR and huge Tamron lens I have used for the past 2 years. So I appreciate having lighter weight and a smaller system in general to carry around the open desert.
As part of a day of flying in Gallup, New Mexico for a client, I visited Red Rock Park to get some of the footage I needed for the overall drone video. I only had a brief time to fly at Red Rock, but I tried to make the most of it showing both details and sweeping panoramas that reveal Church Rock in the distance.
