Top Landscapes of 2014

Herd Before the Storm

I consider myself primarily a landscape photographer. And I live in an area with fantastic natural beauty. So out of the 365 days of posts a large percentage were landscapes. Those which made up one of the 365 for 2014 were culled from an even larger amount photographs taken. The six photographs included in this blog I consider special for one reason or other. The first photograph could be just another picture of clouds. And I have so many pictures of clouds. The combination of clouds with the herd and the light created a great photograph. Even the slant of the land and the bit of snow fence added to an otherwise ordinary picture.

If you live in the Enchanted Circle of northern New Mexico you are definitely familiar with Old Mike's and Wheeler Peak, the two highest points in the state. Needless to say these two peaks are photographed a lot. Old Mike's in the predominate mountain in this photograph and the all white tiny point to its left is actually the taller Wheeler Peak. The aspects of this photograph, which to me, make it special among the dozens I took in 2014 are the early fall snow, the patch of golden aspens on the foot hills, the clouds, and the play of light and shadows.

But especially important was the point of view. This photo was taken on a walk up the hill from my house. It is not just the mountain but the grass meadow, the near by forest, the distant hills, and the mountain all of which adds to the feeling of distance and size. And to me the mountain itself has great mass when not entirely covered in snow. The early fall snow left the rock structures of the Sangre's not only visible but defined. And, the morning light on the pines helps too.

The Top of the Sangre de Cristos

Ansel Adams said a great photograph was about being in the right place. I would add, at the right time. On a drive back from Albuquerque a friend and I stopped at the top of the Horseshoe turn at the Taos Volcanic Plateau overlook because of smoke rising from a prescribed burn on the distant Apache Reservation to the west. The smoke had drifted into the plateau and filled up the Rio Grande Gorge which splits the plateau.

Here again an often photographed subject by tourists, professional photographers and myself. I have always been rather disappointed at the results. I figured with the smoke this was not destined to be satisfying but, heck, it is digital and I do not have to pay for film or developing so I snapped a few of the smoky gorge. The resultant images were colorless enough that I wondered what they would look like in black and white. And got this great image. The smoke defined the gorge rim and added to the perceived depth of the canyon. BTW it is about 400 to 600 feet deep at this point along its course. It also increased the reality of distance often flattened by full sun.

The Crack

The photograph below was taken in the neighborhood. It is a road I often take. And too often stop to photograph. But an 18 inch snow storm transformed this road through the woods. And the long winter shadows of the morning added to the depth. Never neglect the familiar.

The Road Often Taken

I loved these rocks on a sandstone bluff near Aztec, New Mexico. There they were with no other rocks around. The sandstone underneath them had been worn away by wind and rain to leave these former cap stones stranded. But all the photos seemed ordinary until I tried one on the slant. It is one of my favorite landscapes of the year but obviously impressed nobody else.

Aliens?

While the photograph below turned out to get more likes than any other posted from that same trip. It was for me a "throw away." One of those photos you take just to prove you were there. Or in the old film days to take the one more photo on the roll so you can reload the camera in case a herd of elk come over the hill.

Homestead

In fact, I did not originally even post it as one of the 365 photos for 2014, but to my Back Country Page on Facebook.  When it proved so popular I had to take a second look at this abandoned homestead outside Pagosa Springs. All I remembered were the weeds (thistle) and prairie dog holes. And that I did not want to walk through either to get a better angle or close up on the buildings. But time and distance from the subject revealed the composition and clouds and shadows and light which made it a good photograph.

Tip: Don't consider only your opinion.

All these photographs are for sale. Many are featured on Fine Art American site.

Week 41 - 2014 in Images

Day 281
Fall Begins

It is a very colorful time of the year here in New Mexico and my bow to that time is this solitary tree. And one of aspens in reflection below. I am going to do a blog just on the aspens and soon, but this week three of my posts for the 365 day challenge were in black and white. There is a challenge going around on Facebook of posting five days of black and white photos. It got me thinking out of the box. I have even done aspens in black and white and posted on Binford-Bell Studio.

Day 285
Fall Reflections

And then there was this prescribed burn a but out of control across the Taos Volcanic plateau which I captured when I returned from Albuquerque. Burning in the Carson behind a ridge of volcanoes it looked a but like an eruption.

Day 282
Conflagration 

The fire added a layer of smoke which sunk into the gorge offering an unique perspective on this landmark. Even though I posted this later in the week I am posting it here because the pictures were taken in the same few minutes. Stopped for the dramatic smoke photo but remembered to turn a complete circle and found this beautiful photographic opportunity.

I have photographed this land mark a lot and never been totally satisfied and the haze would have been the perfect excuse to not take the time.

Day 286
The Gorge

I have taken and posted lots of hollyhock pictures this year. They and poppies are my favorite flowers and they all performed well this year. This delicate pink hollyhock with the rain drops in the early morning was a perfect example of being in the right place at the right time.

Day 283
Hollyhock after the Rain

The two remaining posts were returns to Cold Creek and a look at the two falls in black and white. In color these two features were very busy. The black and white treatment brings out the textures better on the big fall below.

Day 284
Big Falls on Clear Creek

Not as happy with the result of black and white on the little falls except that it defines the depth better, and makes you want to look further into the image.

Day 287
Little Falls on Clear Creek

Up and down a lazy river

Rio Grande Gorge in the Taos Volcanic Plateau

Took another photographic outing to the lower end of our newest national monument. There are other accesses to the beauty this monument holds but from where I live the lower end is the easiest to access. Many of the highway travelers to Taos are familiar with the scene above taken after the horseshoe turn. Turning north off of Hwy 68 on to 570 at Pillar gets you into the beautiful camping and day access areas of the monument.The Rio Grande River is very low because of the drought but my photographic partner and I were thrill to find the river a bit higher than our last trip due to recent rains.

 The gorge and canyon walls that enclose the Rio Grande in the monument area are primarily basalt. The Taos Volcanic plateau was formed by seven different lava flows. The remnant cones of the volcanos are throughout the park area. But between flows the run off created layers of sandstone and gravel. And along the river there are areas of soil and sand where vegetation has taken hold.

And because the flow of the river has been diminished due to the drought there are even some mid river islands forming. Fly fishing is one of the favorite activities in the river, as well as rafting. White water rafting this year has been in short supply.

Fly fishing in the Rio Grande

Study for future painting?

On the left of the above picture you can see a park road which is dotted with day use areas and camping grounds. And in the picture below you can see to the right one of the more popular trails that access some great hiking areas. As you go north beyond this point the canyon walls get taller and access to the top or from the top is more limited.

Looking North

Take out point for rafts

County line roadside overlook is actually below the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument but still on the Rio Grande. It is below the Rio Grande Visitor's Center and one of the popular pull out areas for rafting outfitters. It is within Bureau of Land Management control and very nicely managed.

A sign of the drought

The low water makes for more stones visible which was a great photo opportunity. The river polished rocks made for texture but when the water is high they make for white water. Hopefully the clouds will make for more rain.

Opportunists in the shallows

High or low the Rio Grande Gorge makes for great photographs. And a great place to tune out from the rest of the world.

Week 12 of the 365 Day Challenge

Day 77 - John Dunn Bridge

One of my photographer buddies and I hit the Rio Grande Gorge area in search of big horn sheep as I mentioned several places on the ethernet. And some of the photos in this weekly review of my 365 day challenge have been featured in other blogs as this area is to be given National Monument status today by President Obama. So rather than duplicating all that I want to focus on a conversation Jessica Duke and I had about photography.

Jessica entered her first official photography show and was one of the accepted photographers. Her photos are three of 500 to be featured. Nothing new for me because I also get beat out constantly by my sister, Deborah Binford Baker. But I digress. She was asked to come up with 50 to 150 words about her photography. BTW for those that have never done this 150 is easier than 50. And I have done it a lot for my painting but not often for photography.

Day 78 - Water under the bridge

There are a lot of levels of photography. At one time I was heavily into photo journalism. I was doing freelance writing and supplying at first just background photos for the stories so the paper would know where to send a photographer. They quickly told me not to worry about the directions of how to get to the locations of the photos. Just take the pictures. I just as quickly started looking at photography differently. Even if it was for a travel article I wanted my photographs to be artistic and to capture a moment in time. The top photo catches the early morning light coming down the Arroyo Hondo Canyon to the John Dunn or low bridge over the Rio Grande. Both photos are also about the quiet mirror surface of the water at this point on the river. Just below comes the first little rapid as the river winds down rapidly to the Taos Box.

Day 79 - Looking Down River

I live in an area where the purpose of photographers is often the capturing of the beauty of the land. There is in fact so much beauty so often recorded that the competition begins to become about getting a special or elusive moment; a special light and shadow, etc.

Day 80 - further down the river

And sometimes it is just about aiming your camera and recording your own personal journey: I have been here. Most of the photos posted in week 12 were in that category. I might submit them as accompaniment to a travel article or use them as basis for a painting. Day 80 was that sort of reference photograph. I like the shape of the river and the bluff behind it; the red willow stalks on the edge. It needs a house or a cross or something more. Day 81 below was taken in that same vein. 

Day 81 - Balancing act

Day 82 - Yucca Seed Pod Husk

Day 82 is more where I think I am heading with photography. It is my newest discovery in a hobby I took up  as a child with a simple Brownie camera. No, not necessarily macro photography but capturing the beauty others may not see in objects that are all around us. This simple seed pod devoid of seeds was the one image out of more than 500 I took on this day outing which I explored beyond just simple post processing. 

Beyond day 82

Growing as an artist be it in photography or painting or sculpture or writing requires exploration. And it is one reason I left the art fair circuit. Fairs seemed to require that you find your signature and stay there. Entering exhibits and contests with art asks for me to stretch beyond my comfort zone. Yes, I could paint or photograph 500 variations of poppies or churches. Piece of cake. But be it in pixels or paint I want to capture what I have not captured before and what the viewer probably missed on the same path.

Once they announced that the Rio Grande del Norte was to become an National Monument I felt obligated to spend week twelve with the photos I had just taken of that area. Sometimes the photo journalist just takes over. And why not. I can do both or three things if you count reference photos for paintings. One more day remained and I think I would have been remiss if this week of the challenge did not include at least one Big Horned Sheep photo.

Day 83 - Big Horned Ewe

Those who have been to Binfords Back Country Photography or to my other blog Sidetracked Charley linked in the right column have seen all the more spectacular photos including the big horned rams but I like this photo because it is a ewe quietly watch us strange people with the big black objects. She seems almost Zen like in her contemplation. And she is so one with her universe. May there always be Big Horns on the basalt cliffs of the Rio Grande.

So what would be my 150 words about my photography? I will let you know when I figure it out.

Rio Grande Del Norte National Monument

Rio Grande by Arroyo Hondo

Some 240,000 acres of land along the upper Rio Grande in New Mexico will be designated as a National Monument today by President Obama. It is an area I am very familiar with and much love. In fact I was just there on Monday showing parts of it to my friend and fellow photographer, Jessica Duke. We were looking for Desert Big Horn Sheep that have been re-established in the Rio Grande Gorge. And we found them.

I have been posting photographs of the wild river and the Big Horn Sheep all week but it seemed appropriate today to post a blog here about our newest gift to ourselves.

John Dunn or Low Bridge

The high bridge spanning the gorge some 600 feet above the surface of the Rio Grande gets all the headlines these days. But before that engineering feet in the 1960's there was the low bridge built by Long John Dunn of Taos. He was a bronc rider, stage coach driver, gambler and a legend in northern New Mexico.

The Denver and Rio Grande Railroad built a narrow gauge line from Alamosa, Colorado to Espanola, New Mexico on the wrong side of the Rio Grande Gorge and missed the town of Taos by going through Tres Piedras. John Dunn, who left Victoria, Texas to hide from the law in Taos, built a bridge where the Arroyo Hondo meets the Rio Grande and ran stage coaches out to pick up passengers off the Chili Line. It is easy to get down to the John Dunn bridge from the Taos direction but the switch backs up the opposite canyon wall must have given passengers a few nervous moments.

Big Horn Ram on the Canyon Wall

The high basalt walls of the Rio Grande Gorge does not seem to bother the Big Horn Sheep. Visitors going across the high bridge in the mornings report seeing them on the rim and the mesa beyond. We went down south further and caught them on the walls by Pillar.

Rio Grande before Embudo

Checking us out

That location, however, didn't get us that much closer to the sheep. It did put us in awe of the ability of these agile animals to climb. They seem very much home in Rio Grande Del Norte National Monument. And hopefully this designation will keep them and one of America's last wild rivers safe.