Last Day in New Mexico

Today was the last day in New Mexico. The NANPA conference was great. I enjoyed the chance to explore and to photograph New Mexico. Here are a couple of images that I captured today with Dick Templeton, a summer Traverse City resident and a winter New Mexico resident. We both agreed that this area has a lot of potential. Not sure that the middle of the day is the best light for this area. . Well, the camera will probably be shelved until the next trip - maybe the Smoky Mountains in late April or early May. I can hardly wait.

Three Rivers Petroglyphs

One era's graffiti is another era's history lesson. I did have that thought as I visited the Three Rivers Petroglyphs Park near Tularosa, New Mexico today. Might as well, the winds picked up and it looked like White Sands was going to blow away. The mountains to the west of Alamogordo were not even visible due to the dust and sand in the air. So, I visited the Petroglyphs. They are really fascinating. What were the people who created these thinking? What do the pictures on the rocks mean? Some pictures depict animals, some perhaps are landscapes as one appeared to be an image of the mountains to the east. I also had an observation that the workers at the tourist sites in New Mexico must be some of the friendliest I have ever encountered. The staff person at White Sands took the time to draw a map of photographic locations at White Sands. The staff person at Three Rivers Petroglyphs was equally helpful.

Amazing Day in New Mexico

This has been an amazing day. It started at 4:00 a.m. as I headed to Bosque Del Apache for one last day. I had a thought while photographing the cranes and snow geese. I think that action photography is alot like playing video games. You have to have the same split second reflexes. I think that I got a few good images at Bosque this morning. Then it was on to White Sands National Monument. Here is one image that I got from there. I was so excited, first for the opportunity to witness a glorious scene. Second, the opportunity to capture this spectacular sunset was a dream come true.

Evening at Bosque

I headed back to Bosque Del Apache in the evening hoping to get a few more images. There was a huge difference between the morning and the evening. While the morning was sunny, cold and windy the evening was cloudy and still. For photography this was totally different. Different light and a different feel as I had to boost the ISO and concentrate on landing snow geese and sandhill cranes. So, here are a few more from Bosque Del Apache. Tomorrow one more try at Bosque to get a keeper image. Then on to White Sands. Not sure if that will be a campout night or not. This is my first trip out west in the winter. It is not bad, but not as warm as usual or as I was hoping for.

Greetings from New Mexico

Greetings from sunny, but very chilly New Mexico. I am taking the opportunity to attend the North American Nature Photographers Annual Summit in Albuquerque, New Mexico later this coming week. In the meantime I am touring around with camera. This morning I visited Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge near Socorro, New Mexico. This area is renowned for the winter snow geese and sandhill cranes. Here are several of the photos that I was fortunate to capture. The cranes and geese spend nights on the ponds near the Rio Grande. In the morning is the lift off when the geese rise enmasse at sunrise to head for the nearby grain fields for feeding and the cranes do much the same. I hope to be able to capture more images this evening as they return from feeding.