a gift of water
September 20, 2026
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After a summer of extremes with skin-cracking dryness, and copious sweat-producing heat the likes of which we rarely see at 7,000 feet in elevation, it appears the monsoon season has finally arrived. Two months late, albeit, but we are grateful nonetheless. I can only imagine the cheers exploding from every building in the city when the rain began...
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in praise of books
September 13, 2026
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After meeting with fellow photographer Steve Immel nearly a month ago, it was easy to realize that the get together not only kicked our respective creative juices into high gear, but provided enough subject matter to keep me busy through the remainder of the year and beyond.
Many of you know that photography, writing, assorted media, and libraries...
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I had a plan
September 07, 2026
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After having met with fellow photographer Steve Immel, reading a number of Blurb postings featuring the photographic knowledge of Dan Milnor, and pondering methods for putting my photography out into the greater world during the past month, I had a blog formulated in my head for today. However, when I turned the calendar to September, it hit me tha...
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natural mysteries revealed
August 30, 2026
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One of the good and educational things about watering any garden by hand is the discoveries you make in the process. I was headed out to our small garden on the north side of our house this week and saw the largest caterpillar I have ever seen. It had the girth of a tomato worm (without the horn), but was probably double the length. Being a rich br...
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SWAIA Indian Market, part two
August 23, 2026
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After some stellar photo opportunities at this year's SWAIA (Southwestern Association for Indian Arts) Indian Market, and a lively meeting with fellow photographer Steve Immel this week, I was on a photographic roll. Steve and I discussed a great many things, including the development and marketing of books, and recent photo shoots, not to mention...
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a touch of Indian Market magic
August 16, 2026
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This weekend was the 104th SWAIA (Southwestern Association of Indian Arts) Indian Market on and around the Plaza in Santa Fe. According to the SWAIA website, it is the world's largest Native American Art market. To say it is very nearly overwhelming is an understatement. The depth and quality of work displayed and sold is quite incredible indeed. T...
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fine dining for insects
August 09, 2026
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Despite the heat, (which granted is not nearly as severe as it is in places such as Phoenix and Dubai), there is plenty of sweat as we work our way through one of the warmest summers on record. It makes me wonder how nature's creatures other than humans are coping with the heat and relative lack of moisture in their environments. There is plenty of...
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green chile cheeseburger joy
August 02, 2026
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It is typical for me to shoot a number of different subjects, day to day and week to week. During the spring through summer months, flowers loom large on the horizon, along with assorted other things in nature. Because of that, there are photographs that "wait in the wings" for their role in my blogs. There are some that you may never see, except p...
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quality time with...carrots?
July 26, 2026
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Several weeks ago, a good friend asked me how I came up with ideas for my blogs. No one had asked me that before. I proceeded to babble, and in the end rendered a fairly uninformative answer. However, it did make me think about my process in photography again. Unless I have assigned myself a project, for instance a landscape or nature shoot, or I h...
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three lenses, one flower
July 19, 2026
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"Gardening is an active participation in the deepest mysteries of the universe."
Thomas Berry
Last week, the weather was a bit more gentle, with occasional fitful light rain showers that brought the temperatures down, even if temporarily. A friend of mine says that rain is nature's fertilizer. And so it is. All living things seem to come out of...
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getting to the root of things
July 10, 2026
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During the dark of winter, I dream of beautiful fresh mixed lettuce, arugula, green onions, cabbage, potatoes, basil, red, yellow, and heirloom tomatoes that actually taste like tomatoes, bell peppers, and absolutely roasted green chiles. Because of an earlier than normal spring, several vendors arrived at the Tuesday Santa Fe Farmers' Market in la...
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water, oh, sweet water
July 06, 2026
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The fanfare and fireworks of the 4th of July holiday - celebrating the American Declaration of Independence - are over, but the work of keeping our democratic republic intact continues. That work now includes how the dwindling water supply of the Colorado River is distributed among seven states and Mexico.
The photographs included in today's blo...
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250 years
June 28, 2026
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As the heat settles over the land, and we begin to slow down during midday to take a break, shade of any sort is always a bonus. But summer is the peak travel season, and people are on holiday. We are traveling to exotic places or those close to home, attending baseball games, World Cup matches (and discovering American fast food and American ingre...
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blooms, Monet, and life
June 21, 2026
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Yesterday was the Summer Solstice, the longest day and the start of astronomical summer in the northern hemisphere. It is also the beginning of astronomical winter in the southern hemisphere. One of the great wonders of the planet on which we live. Nature doesn't bother with marking these events. Instead, birds and other animals, and insects and fl...
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up to the mountains, into the shadows
June 14, 2026
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As the temperatures began to rise, informing us in no uncertain terms that summer had arrived, we felt it was time to head into the Sangre de Cristo mountains, and take a deep breath of the wildly wonderful air at 9,000 feet elevation. Given my obsession with nature, trees, and wildflowers, it was a no-brainer that a camera would be swinging rhythm...
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© Daryl A. Black