And now … the final installment of our celebration of 2011 photographs. Some you may have seen before, others not …
Santa Fé & Taos, Georgia O’Keeffe Land – Arnie and I fell in love with this area decades ago, long before we met. I have always been drawn to architecture and textures, and this detail of an adobe wall at our B&B lent itself well to black and white. Arnie has long photographed the bizarre and strange, and this colorful artwork on the side of an adobe building on a secondary road caught his fancy.
Arches & Canyonlands National Parks – In Arches, Canyonlands, and the whole Moab area, one never runs out of subject matter. On a road that we had not yet really explored, Arnie found this gentle jumble of backlit trees, while in another location, I did a night sky and was lucky to capture two meteors.
New England Fall Foliage – I spent most of my life (thus far, as they say) in northern New England. There is one set of falls that I have photographed countless times, always finding something different. At a well-known farm where we have permanent permission to photograph, Arnie was drawn to the different barn elevations (used as an architectural term, not height).
Lighthouses of the Outer Banks – Just because we run a workshop around the lighthouses in this area does not mean that there aren’t other things to photograph. Arnie found some lovely patterns in the sunset reflections, while I had fun with a piece of driftwood in the early morning. The driftwood was gone the next morning, spirited away by the tides.
Death Valley National Park – This part has a stark beauty that is awesome. We shudder when we think of what those early settlers went through to cross this inhospitable desert. In fact, on the salt flats, I thought it strange to find this “tree of life” pattern giving false hope in the midst of desolation. In another area of challenging, hardscrabble slopes, Arnie was drawn to the layers and different colors.
Joshua Tree National Park – And speaking of desolation, there is a rock here aptly called Skull Rock. In black and white, Arnie gave it a ghostly (ghastly?) feel. I found a simple composition in a huge crack, one side lit by the natural fill offered by the other. This is probably my favorite kind of light.
No, as I wrote in the previous blog, these are not your typical images from any of these locations. Those who know the places, however, will know where these photos were made, even without the workshop titles. Those “just another pretty postcards” are good for destination ideas, but for heaven’s sake, make your work more interesting! And have fun doing so as we embark on a new year.
P.S. Don’t forget to update your copyright template as well as your copyright notice on your website(s).
For more information on our workshops, go to Barefoot Contessa Photo Adventures.
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Many thanks for a beautiful blog. Although I have not been able to physically attend each of the workshops, I have been able to be there through your blog and photographs. As many professional photographers have stated, you can learn a great deal from observing great photography. I believe that is what I do each time I check out a TBC blog. Thanks Margo and Arnie. Here is to a tremendous 2012.
John,
Thank you for your beautiful comment! It is great to hear that the blog inspires others through what we share.
Meanwhile, hear, hear; here is to a tremendous 2012 for all!
Take care,
TBC