Between workshops and catching up with family long not seen, Arnie and I scouted for next-year’s workshop in Santa Fé. We have both loved this area of the Southwest for a long, long time, even before we met.
This workshop has been an idea that has been brewing for several years, and this year, we carved out the time to scout for good locations.
During these scouting times, Arnie and I get to shoot for ourselves. Workshop time is devoted to our participants, so we have scant time for photographing.
Our friends Bill and Laura were a huge help. They have lived in, visited, and known the area forever. A couple of days, they came out scouting with us and showed us some gems that we might have otherwise missed.
We puttered here and there, but what struck Arnie and me was the variety of textures, including this sandy wash with a reddish rock in the middle.
There are so many designs to play with. Should I include that element or angle this one? Shall I break “my” rules to create an effect that pleases me? I could photograph there forever and never tire of it.
In one area, we were greeted by very light rock that reminded me of a drip-castle version of Habitat at Expo ’67. Some of you may remember the layers of apartments, each with its own view. It was a building such as none of us had ever seen before.
These formations also reminded us of Gaudi’s work in Barcelona. Fantastical and ignoring the normal rules of architecture.
Here, the combination of patterns and textures was amazing.
The sandstone of the Southwest always intrigues us. In some places, the wind has carved out arches or the rivers have created bridges in this soft stone. The landscape is ever changing, albeit slowly to the human eye.
In the triptych above are examples of how wind and water have carved out slot canyons. While they might not be as bright as the more famous ones, they are certainly compelling. And we were happy that there weren’t any flash floods careening through! As it was, the approaching thunderstorms made us nervous, and we hightailed it back to our car.
We also love the adobe buildings with their softly curved edges and rounded corners. They settle into the landscape and mimic some of the shapes there. I love doing abstracts of them, rather the way Ernst Haas would do with sand or snow, letting the rim light accent the shapes. They can be so sensual and intruiging.
In the next blog, I’ll share some more images of various adobe structures. Meanwhile, go out and see if you can create some abstracts of familiar scenes. Challenge yourself to come up with something interesting, a different view.
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Northern New Mexico is an amazing area for photography. I’m glad to see you are planning a workshop there.
Larry,
We look forward to seeing you there. We have already gotten a lot of response on this one. Now, we just need to finish up arrangements there. Most of them are done, but there are a few missing things to finish it all up.
Take care,
TBC