"The Rio Chama"

The world of photography has changed significantly since leaving (a previous) photographic career. Now in retirement not only do I recognize the importance of continual, mindful and spiritual growth I also recognize my need for day to day stimuli and connectivity; hence this, my photographic journey 😊 When I left my photographic career, we used 35mm cameras and (we all) had to wait to see the end results (after the negative had been processed, printed and corrected/adjusted). That said however, I was fortunate to own a photo lab and I could tweak my photographic processing to fit my vision; it was a long process! Who would have thought that I can do all of my pre-editing (processing) on my computer, at home and see it immediately..... AND then share it with you! What an amazing world! Anyways, where I’m going with this is that I’m now trying to master the digital end of the photographic world and I’ve tried 5 different photography editing sites and I think I’ve chosen this one; it gives me the ability to save crisp photos for web applications. About this photo; I had taken a number of photos of the Rio Chama River (in Abiquiu county, New Mexico) and although I usually prefer to include a sky (to add linear perspective) I felt this chosen photo had so many colorful layers of interest, the sky wasn't needed. Together (the foreground weeds, the field, the lower ridges, the middle ridges and the distant mountain) create the perspective I wanted. Yay.... I love this photo! *Full format of this photo is also available.

"Shiprock Adventure"

As we drove west through north-western New Mexico, on Indian Service Route #36, this uniquely towering, volcanic rock formation slowly came in to view. “Shiprock”, as its called, stands alone on the desert plain, at 1,583 feet above the valley floor and 7,177 above sea level, it can be seen from 60 miles away. It is an “oddity” about it because it doesn’t match the surrounding landscape. As we drove around, looking for a place to park our RV, we quickly discovered that the Navajo Nation owned and governed the lands that surrounded Shiprock. That stated, not only could we not find a place to park, but we also couldn’t find a good spot to take a photo either. As luck should have it however, we happened upon a local, rough and rocky gravel road that lead led us through a Navajo community and towards Shiprock. With some trepidation (we wondered if we were trespassing), we continued on. After taking a few shots, an uneasiness began to set in, so we turned around; sensing this was a sacred place and we didn’t belong. Shiprock got it’s name because of its formation, which resembles an enormous 19th. century merchant sailing ship. Note: There are two other versions of this photograph on this site, search “The Towering Shiprock” and “Exceptional Shiprock"

“Exceptional Shiprock"

As we drove west through north-western New Mexico, on Indian Service Route #36, this uniquely towering, volcanic rock formation slowly came in to view. “Shiprock”, as its called, stands alone on the desert plain, at 1,583 feet above the valley floor and 7,177 above sea level, it can be seen from 60 miles away. It is an “oddity” about it because it doesn’t match the surrounding landscape. As we drove around, looking for a place to park our RV, we quickly discovered that the Navajo Nation owned and governed the lands that surrounded Shiprock. That stated, not only could we not find a place to park, but we also couldn’t find a good spot to take a photo either. As luck should have it however, we happened upon a local, rough and rocky gravel road that lead led us through a Navajo community and towards Shiprock. With some trepidation (we wondered if we were trespassing), we continued on. After taking a few shots, an uneasiness began to set in, so we turned around; sensing this was a sacred place and we didn’t belong. Shiprock got it’s name because of its formation, which resembles an enormous 19th. century merchant sailing ship. Note: There are two other versions of this photograph on this site, search “The Towering Shiprock" and “Shiprock Adventure"