aspen beneath nature's blanket
October 09, 2022
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Viewing fall color in the Rocky Mountain west is a spectator sport, as it probably is all over the world, because under perfect conditions, it can be one of nature's perfect plays. The best of the colors show themselves in our area any time between the last week in September and the second week in October. Looking at the Sangre de Cristo mountains...
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fiber abounds
October 02, 2022
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Fiber of many types and stripes was in abundance this week, as the Mountain and Valley Wool Association presented its first Wool Festival in Santa Fe this weekend. The MVWA board made the difficult decision to move the festival from its previous location in Taos after 38 years to the Santa Fe County Rodeo Grounds. Having participated in the festiva...
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Snake Woman
September 25, 2022
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If you are currently in the Santa Fe area, an exhibit at the FOMA Gallery should be on your list of photography exhibits to see. Photographer and activist J. E. Newman and wildlife activist and artist Victoria Seale collaborated on a project that explores coexistence, comfort zones, and beauty, and resulted in the exhibit that hangs through the end...
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among the vines
September 19, 2022
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During the past week, there were hints of change in the air. A low temperature of 49° one morning sealed the deal. There is nothing like the coolness to remind me, again, that the autumnal equinox is on its way, this year on Thursday, 22 September. It is time to explore farmers' markets, fields, and vineyards, and document the goodness and beauty t...
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best of the harvest
September 11, 2022
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It is in the air. The feel, the slight morning chill, the light. Life is working its way into autumn in the northern hemisphere. And it is harvest time. The photographic possibilities are nearly endless in both subject matter and joy. Included in today's blog are a few photographs I made in a number of places, beginning with the peppers in a Budape...
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Labor Day 2022
September 05, 2022
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Memorial Day and Labor Day sandwich the official summer/travel season in the United States, and each holiday has its origin stories. Because labor unions were not particularly popular with business owners, and the fight for and against them exists even today, Labor Day did not become a national holiday until the 1930s and beyond. It is celebrated o...
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mysteries of the forest
August 28, 2022
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A thick overcast blanketed the mountains, opened only by the aspen. Near 10,000 feet, fog, mist, and then rain enveloped us as we walked up the Aspen Vista Trail near the Santa Fe Ski Basin. It was a day to breathe in the rarified air, and enter a dream-like state, surrounded by moisture and growing things. The "fix" is as important to us as walkin...
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100 years and counting
August 21, 2022
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In the pouring rain fifty years ago, roughly twenty-four hours after our wedding, Fred and I literally stumbled onto an arts and crafts fair on the Plaza in downtown Santa Fe. At the time, we had no idea what it was, but there were crowds of people peering in the booths and strolling the streets. There was more Native American art than we had ever...
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the power of art
August 15, 2022
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The third Monday in August. A time when many students are headed back to school while some in the northern hemisphere are enjoying the final days of their summer vacations. But regardless of where you are on this planet, it has been quite the week as far as politics, climate change and the world condition are concerned. Perhaps some solace might be...
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optical illusion of pick and pick
August 08, 2022
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Although the fun of working on the Blurb family reunion book mentioned in last week's blog continues, cameras emerged to photograph Fred's latest Navajo-Churro wool rug and details of it. He used a weaving technique called "pick and pick" exclusively throughout the piece. I searched the web and found an explanation of the process.
"With Pick and P...
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joy and organization
August 01, 2022
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There is a reason (many, actually) that businesses and organizations as well as families, hire "event planners". To coordinate any party, wedding, or other event, and pull it off seamlessly, takes certain skills. In last week's blog, you read about and viewed a few of the photographs from the Aufleger family reunion near Taos. It was dedicated to t...
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reunion
July 25, 2022
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Yesterday's sky and combination of overcast skies with thunderstorms in the distance and dappled sunlight provided a near-perfect backdrop for the family reunion I photographed near Taos. This was the third reunion I was lucky enough to photograph for them. There was one member of the crew missing but celebrated, one who had grown up so much that I...
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continual curation
July 18, 2022
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As summer progresses and heat soaks the earth, life slows down to a snail's or, perhaps, a beetle's pace. Before writing this, I watched a darkling beetle (family Tenebrionidae with some 20,000 species) taking its morning stroll, following the base of a stucco wall. Perhaps it slowed or fell and could not correct its position, but it caught the att...
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season of the arts
July 10, 2022
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The summer art festival season began mid-week in Santa Fe with the International Folk Art Market on Museum Hill. It will be followed on July 28-29 by the traditional Spanish Market in its 67th year on the Plaza, and the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts (SWAIA) Indian Market August 18-19, also on the Plaza. We attended our first Indian Marke...
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Independence Day
July 04, 2022
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In these United (and some days not so united) States of America, the 4th of July is celebrated as the day a huge North American land mass officially declared its independence from Great Britain. The Second Continental Congress voted for the Lee Resolution on 2 July and adopted the Declaration of Independence two days later in 1776. John Adams wrote...
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© Daryl A. Black