Indian Market
August 20, 2023
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3 Comments
One of the largest yearly art events in Santa Fe, and probably New Mexico, is the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts (SWAIA) Indian Market. It was held this weekend on the Plaza and surrounding streets. This year's market was the 101st, and it was the first we had attended in five years. It was a joy to spend time at the market. In addition t...
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Gilman Tunnels
August 13, 2023
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Having lived much of my life in New Mexico, I often find myself wondering why there are so many places in the state about which I have read or heard very little or nothing. One such place is the Gilman Tunnels in the Jemez National Recreation Area, roughly five miles northwest of the intersection of Highway 4 and Highway 485. I read about the tunne...
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this and that
August 06, 2023
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As the summer heat continues here and in many places around the globe, and beads of sweat roll down my brow, I still find myself grateful for living at 7,000 feet elevation in the Southwest, where a breeze or a pool of shade can provide almost immediate cooling. Opening windows in the early morning hours allows cooler air to fill the house before t...
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a bug and a seed
July 31, 2023
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It was literally Christmas in July when Fred received the box containing ten pounds of Navajo-Churro wool from the Rainbow Fiber Co-op. Skeins of the indigo and cochineal-dyed wool are eye popping. But first, some background on the Co-op.
"Rainbow Fiber Co-Op is a Diné-led agricultural co-operative established to improve the financial sustainabili...
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the power of nature
July 24, 2023
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Nature is part of us and we are part of nature. Sometimes we notice it more than others, especially when nature reflects the changing climate, as has been the case for the past couple of weeks, or the truth be known, decades. It was just much more profound this July than during years past. Searing heat around the planet, drenching rains resulting i...
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alien plants?
July 16, 2023
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There are plants on this earth that look extremely alien or other worldly. In my 4 June blog, I featured the yucca, the blooms of which can look quite alien. But the process by which the agave (in the same family as yuccas) blooms is truly bizarre.
The agave likes heat. It can grow in desert, high desert, and tropical climates, and many of its spe...
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following the blooms
July 09, 2023
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Since I have been immersed during the last month in flower photography, specifically photographing peonies, it seemed appropriate to follow the peony blooms for one more week. The blooms are long gone from the garden and the vase, but they remain visually alive, courtesy of cameras and technology.
Nearly every photo shoot I do involves some sort o...
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time sensitive
July 03, 2023
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There are many eminently photographable things that are more or less static - mountains, meadows, trees, buildings, sculpture - and others that are not. I would call those "time sensitive". In other words, as a photographer, one needs to make the photograph relatively quickly or the subject changes. Time sensitive things include plants with showy b...
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mountain refractions
June 25, 2023
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From certain points in the city of Santa Fe, one can look up and see the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. In that first glance, the season becomes evident. Gold and red in autumn, snow in winter, bare stone in early spring, and then shades of green begin to creep up the slopes as the aspen come into leaf. The draw of the mountains is clear, and we must...
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fiber abounds
June 18, 2023
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Artists of any ilk know there is much more involved in creating a piece than the end product. It is the culmination of concept, materials procurement, resources, communication, production, and advertising. That was the essence of this week in Fred's weaving business. Not only was he able to make new contacts with people in the Navajo-Churro wool bu...
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paper or poppy
June 11, 2023
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At the risk of becoming known exclusively as a flower/plant/garden photographer, which is not the case, I, nonetheless, venture again this week into the world of flowers. Some extraordinary poppies in a neighbor's yard captured my attention. Fully three to four feet tall in all their glory, they were hard to resist. The saturated salmon color of th...
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equal time
June 04, 2023
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On 14 March 1927, House Bill # 371 officially declared the yucca (Yucca glauca) the New Mexico state flower. I am the first to admit my time photographing the impressive flower stalks is limited. But after spending a good chunk of time photographing columbines, the Colorado state flower, I thought it was appropriate to give our state flower equal t...
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we remember
May 28, 2023
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It is Memorial Day in the United States of America, a day designated by Congress on 11 May 1950, to honor U. S. military members who died while in service.
"In honor and recognition of all of our fallen service members, the Congress, by a joint resolution approved May 11, 1950, as amended (36 U.S.C. 116), has requested that the President issue a p...
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inside, out, and all around
May 21, 2023
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In between the most delicious and welcome rain showers this week, my camera and I were photographing numerous columbines. The state flower of Colorado, the columbine is complicated and photogenic, and there are abundant species. Here is an image I took years ago of a Rocky Mountain Columbine Aquilegia caerulea, along the Winsor Trail in the Santa F...
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red dirt
May 14, 2023
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The human brain is an extremely complicated entity. And each human brain, although basically structured the same way, is different. It dictates how we learn and how we remember. Driving around the Jemez Mountains during the last couple of weeks has brought back memories but has also made me realize how our memories are heavily based on a person's a...
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© Daryl A. Black