Blog Archives
Blurry crosses of Chimayó
The walk from the parking area up to the sacred church has a chain link fence on one side where people leave crosses and other items woven into the wire. On my most recent visit, as I stood looking at the artifacts and to the building beyond, I let me eyes focus on the distance, which blurred the fence and its contents. And I made a photo.
Later, the blurry crosses and the diamonds of the fence started to make me think of women’s hats, that kind with the dotted-net veil, and this scene started to feel like what the world would look like from behind a hat veil.
I know. None of this makes any sense: welcome to the way my mind wanders around.
El santuario de Chimayó
Chimayó, New Mexico
photographed 3.16.2019
Window/Frame
When I’ve taken classes from the wonderful Sam Abell, he always speaks of the use of internal framing to make photographs more layered and more interesting. Although he was really encouraging more subtle uses of internal framing, sometimes there is a flagrant example. Like right here.
(Maybe all photographers are like this – the scene as they saw and photographed it seems like it’ll be there forever, unchanged, as though the photograph became the scene. I am that way, so when I passed through this town a week after I made this photo, I was very disappointed that the machinery had vanished.)
Yeso, New Mexico
photographed 3.14.2019
Train, arriving
The Rail Runner train from Albuquerque pulls into the station. It’s a nice way to see New Mexico from a vantage point that doesn’t include driving on an Interstate highway. There are a few places where the route passes through tribal lands, and photography is prohibited; the time I rode the train, as part of a photography class, the conductors kept a close watch on us during that part of the trip. Fifteen photographers and 30 or so cameras had them on high alert…
(Anyone age 62 and older can ride the train free on Wednesdays. Plan accordingly.)
Railyard Arts District
Santa Fe, New Mexico
photographed 3.15.2019
Two Georgias
A nice way to spend a morning in Santa Fe is to visit the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum. In case you were wondering.
This confusing image is the painting called “Church Steeple” reflected in the one called “My Last Door.” Here’s what they actually look like:
There was a woman at the museum who was on Skype; she’d stop in front of each painting and say, “And this one is ‘Church Steeple.’ And this one is…” all the way through each one of the galleries. Later, she was sitting on the bench in the main gallery and I heard her say, still on Skype, “That blue sky reminds me of our trip, and that’s one of my favorite memories.” A security guard said the woman’s mom was on hospice care and too ill to make it to the museum, so her daughter was Skyping the visit. It was a sad and lovely story.
Georgia O’Keeffe Musuem
Santa Fe, New Mexico
photographed 3.15.2019
The other cross
Sun + shadows + pipe + downspout = one more cross at this ancient church.
San José de Gracia Church
Las Trampas, New Mexico
photographed 3.16.2019
One Day | One Image 