When I was in New Mexico earlier in the spring I spent a wonderful day with my photographer friend R. David Marks (if you don’t know his work, you need to) and he took me to this place. It is the ruins of the Santa Rosa de Lima church, an adobe building that was constructed in the 1730s. It was still used as a place of worship until the 1930s.

Earlier this month, I was back in northern New Mexico, this time with my photographer friend Kim Cook (look for her work, too; she’s @kcook64 on Instagram). It was her first visit out west and New Mexico helpfully provided all the things I was hoping it would: dramatic skies, unbelievable scenic vistas, interesting people, and centuries-old ruins. And thanks to David, I knew to return to this place.

near Abiquiu, New Mexico
photographed 7.3.2024

PS: To be clear, the ruins are behind me in this shot. I realize that posting about ruins and then not even showing them is weird and confusing.