raindrop joy
June 26, 2022
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6 Comments
It has been a miraculously rainy week in northern New Mexico, which, for the most part, has helped firefighters working on the two biggest wildfires in our state's history. During the monsoon season, rain can be a mixed blessing as it pertains to forest fires. There is always the risk of flooding in the burn scar areas, and the soil can become satu...
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made in the shade
June 19, 2022
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4 Comments
As everyone in the Southwest knows and appreciates, the shade of a big tree, even a healthy yucca, calms the eyes and keeps the shaded area from heating further. Shade trees actually reduce the peak temperatures by 2-9 degrees, and more on some surfaces, through evapotranspiration, according to the EPA. But like a sturdy wide-brimmed hat, the shade...
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red enough?
June 12, 2022
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12 Comments
It is that time of year again to assemble entrants for Shadow and Light Magazine 's Color It Red contest. So this particular blog is photograph-heavy. I am never 100% sure if all "reds" qualify or if it is fire-engine red, tomato red, or wine red that the judges are considering. Most of those are included here. Are they red enough?
If you have a m...
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crenation
June 05, 2022
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3 Comments
It was some years, probably decades ago (and I have no idea how long), that I first heard or read the word crenulation, in reference to fabric. It was a nice piece of literary license. Because when I searched the word, there were several spellings, meanings, and uses. The first - crenulation - is geological in context. Crenulation cleavage is a fab...
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the churro factor
May 30, 2022
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19 Comments
Andrea Harrell of iiidogfarm
People who raise animals are perpetually busy and in motion. Attending to their basic needs, including feeding, watering, and exercising, are only part of the day. Procuring food, giving vaccinations, and in the case of Navajo-Churro sheep, shearing once and sometimes twice a year are part of life. Andrea does her ow...
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Pecos National Historical Park
May 22, 2022
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12 Comments
A short drive this week to Pecos National Historical Park was in the "we have not been there in some time" category. In point of fact, we had not visited this wonderful part of the National Park Service system since the mid-90s. Which is ridiculous because it is only 30 miles away from our house. In addition to the site, I was curious if we could s...
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where there is wind
May 16, 2022
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4 Comments
Awakening this spring morning to high winds, one thing was assured. Pollen and dust would fill the air, but it doesn't necessarily follow that there will be smoke. However, at 7 a.m., the sky was dirty, tinged with yellow, and full of smoke from the Hermit's Peak/Calf Canyon Fire. I cannot even imagine how miserable the fire fighters are, and the r...
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garden dancers
May 08, 2022
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5 Comments
I look at Columbine flowers and they make me smile. They are like little dancers in the garden, poised for anything, including the winds that have been our near-constant companions during the last two months. The first ones to bloom in our gardens are the Aguilegia canadensis "Little Lanterns". The diminutive flowers have red outer petals surroundi...
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music to my ears
May 01, 2022
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5 Comments
Shrouded by stories of the bizarre, supernatural, ghostly figures, rattling skeletons and gloom, cemeteries have been given a bad, or at the very least, a spooky rap. But the ones that are lovingly cared for and beautifully landscaped are like parks of peace for the living, brimming with history. Being in close proximity to one definitely has its a...
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spring opportunities
April 24, 2022
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5 Comments
Everything in nature is cyclic. Growing things abide by their own cycles, and in many cases, the beauty of the cycle is demonstrated only once or twice a year. So when spring presents photographic opportunities once a year, as is the case with flowering fruit trees, it becomes a priority for me. Throughout the past month, I have been photographing...
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a perfect backdrop
April 18, 2022
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7 Comments
Our recent trip to El Malpais National Monument near Grants, New Mexico, served many purposes, including a product shoot featuring two of Fred's rugs. After walking around the nature-carved pillars and rubble for a bit, he found a protected area that not only kept the wind from shredding us but provided a perfect backdrop for his work. It was part...
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El Malpais
April 10, 2022
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5 Comments
It was a bit like visiting an old friend upon arriving at El Malpais National Monument near Grants, New Mexico last week. During his time working at the Bureau of Land Management in Albuquerque during college, Fred walked all over the Sandstone Bluff area, and surveyed roads and hiking trails. In October of 1994, we walked the Zuni-Acoma trail with...
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and so it begins
April 03, 2022
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2 Comments
Suddenly, it is April, and seemingly, just as suddenly, many things have evolved from sticks to green or colorful buds and flowers. All of you know I frequently photograph blooms in various stages, and part of that process is finding creative ways of seeing and making images of them. I intentionally planted lots of daffodil bulbs two years ago to b...
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on the rocks
March 28, 2022
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3 Comments
The days of "near spring" weather continue here in the southern Rocky Mountains. Last week, a wet, soaking snow fell, providing much needed moisture to the earth and to the bulbs, shrubs, and trees that will soon be in bloom. But there is nothing like seeing the bright and bold during the waiting period. We are lucky to have access to flowers liter...
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contest work
March 20, 2022
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8 Comments
Since I received an email from B&H Photo Video in New York - my place for purchasing cameras, computers, photo and digital paper and inks, and scanners - I have been pouring over photographs that would be suitable entrants for the "B&H Depth of Field Challenge" categories. I needed to make sure that I had permission of the subjects before I submitt...
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© Daryl A. Black