A clearing thunderstorm is backlit by afternoon sun in this view from a cliff above Villanueva State Park, New Mexico. Made with my Fuji GW670III medium format camera and shot with an orange filter on Kodak Verichome Pan Film, it is one of my favorite black-and-white landscape images of the film era.
In the summer of 1998, my newspaper made the transition from conventional cut-and-paste production to desktop publishing, which meant instead of printing, I would be scanning my images. I happily began using my new Nikon LS-2000 scanner, and abruptly stopped making photographic prints. It happened that I still had over 1000 sheets of black-and-white glossy printing paper in stock, so I began to ponder what to do with it. Eventually I concluded that I wanted to shoot something new, preferably medium format black-and-white with my Fuji GW670III, and preferably somewhere in the desert.
Your host poses at Amarillo’s Cadillac Ranch on the road to Villaneuva.
By the spring of 1999, I knew I wanted to do a New Mexico tour.
This was the first image I made on this trip, of a ridge on New Mexico 3 south of Villanueva, as the deep blue sky started to fill with afternoon cumulus clouds.
Arriving in Villanueva, and The Grotto
I arrived in the tiny desert hamlet near the Pecos River by about 2 p.m., and after settling in to a borrowed adobe abode, began shooting.
A thunderstorm approaches Villanueva, New Mexico. This church roof caught the brooding light very nicely.
I walked around town to make pictures, but I was set upon by a sudden downpour. Later, I hiked at Villanueva State Park to an overlook to photograph clearing storm at sunset. Finally, I hiked up to grotto for view overlooking town.
This wIndow at an adobe house in Villanueva was exactly the kind of texture I wanted to capture with my 6×7.Your host poses for a self portrait in the house I borrowed in Villanueva.This is the interior of the summer house I borrowed in Villanueva.A frame leads to a crumbling, overgrown sidewalk in Villanueva.This is the view from the Grotto above Villanueva.
Fort Union National Monument: Highly Recommended
I had Fort Union National Monument almost entirely to myself. I bypassed the campy exhibits and concentrated on photographing the ruins against a perfect morning sky. The shapes reminded me of Stonehenge.
Fort Union National Monument, New Mexico, protects decaying adobe structures.An adobe pillar is set against deep blue morning sky and high cirrus clouds at Fort Union National Monument.This deep rendering of the ruins at Fort Union National Monument was the results of using a deep orange filter with the very forgiving Kodak Verichrome Pam Film.Many of the ruins at Fort Union National Monument are similar, but I think it made decent pictures. I am glad I went.
Capulin Volcano National Monument: Highly Recommended
My next stop was Capulin Volcano National Monument. From the rim I saw excellent views of the Folsom volcano field, and the hike into the caldera then around the rim was nice.
Bold clouds hang over the rim of Capulin Volcano.The author poses for a snapshot at Capulin Volcano.An isolated cloud drifts over the rim of Capulin Volcano.As the morning progressed, these cumulus clouds gathered over Capulin Volcano.
Later I drove the length of Cimarron Canyon for five minutes of photographic success at the Palisades, followed by rain.
The author poses for an image at Cimarron Canyon, New Mexico.I have been driving past the Palisades of Cimarron Canyon since 1981.
Pecos Wilderness Area: Recommended
At Pecos National Monument, the light was muted and the view cluttered, so I didn’t shoot much. I made a nice drive up into the Pecos Wilderness Area.
A mission church stands in brilliant morning sun in the Peco WIlderness.I photographed this stream in the Pecos Wilderness with a roll of Kodak Plus-X Pan film that had expired nine years earlier.Pebbles catch boring light as the clear waters of the Pecos River flow over them.
Puyé Cliff Dwellings: Recommended
My next stop was the Puyé Cliff Dwellings, where I shot some nice stuff, and made nice ladder climbs and hikes.
At Puyé, I guessed a woman’s camera’s date of manufacture on the first try. It was a 1970 Nikkormat FTn.
The author climbs a short ladder at Puyé Cliff Dwellings. Note my Fuji 6×7 medium format camera.The tuff cliffs at Puyé Cliff Dwellings made interesting details in my images.The author poses for a photo at Puyé Cliff Dwellings.A thunderstorm approaches the face of the Puyé Cliff Dwellings in central New Mexico.You can see a signature spiral symbol in this images at the Puyé Cliff Dwellings.There were a few openings in the cliffs at Puyé Cliff Dwellings that allowed me to shoot from the inside looking out.
Chama Valley: Recommended
In the afternoon, I drove up Chama Valley. It made a few decent images before a thunderstorm muted the light.
Clouds gather above the cliffs near Ghost Ranch in the Chama Valley.The Sentinel stands against a gathering thunderstorm at south end of the Chama Valley.
Sandia Peak: Recommended
I drove to the top of Sandia Peak, where I had good light, both sunshine and when the mountain was enshrouded in cool clouds. Sandia means “watermelon.”
The author shoots with a Fujifilm medium format camera at Sandia Peak.Clouds envelope Sandia Peak in this view from along Sandia Crest 5000 feet above Albuquerque, New Mexico.This is the antenna farm at the top of Sandia Crest.This trail leads down the mountain to Albuquerque.Clouds envelope Sandia Peak in this view from along Sandia Crest above Albuquerque, New Mexico.The author stands at cliff’s edge at Sandia Peak as the area is shrouded in fog.
Petroglyphs National Monument: Not Recommended, so much so that I didn’t shoot a single frame. It is encroached by sprawl, and is littered, crowded and boring.
I made this image of the open desert in southern New Mexico on my long drive the Very Large Array.
The Very Large Array: Recommend Further Research Due to Configuration of the Array
The author poses in flat, featureless light at the Very Large Array near Magdalena, New Mexico. The dreary light and the position of the radio telescope dishes resulted in shooting very few photos.The author poses with one of the VLA’s radio telescope dishes.This view shows the San Mateo Mountains west of Socorro, New Mexico. I made this image on the drive east after visiting the Very Large Array.After a long drive to and from the Very Large Array, I enjoyed dinner at the Luna Mansion in Las Lunas, New Mexico. I ate there once before, in 1992.
Villanueva State Park and The Sad Café: both Highly Recommended
I made another hike at Villanueva State Park, followed by Madison Winery and The Sad Café. After dinner, I got about a million sticktights on my socks and shoelaces going into the back yard to photograph the sunset.
The Pecos River snakes through Villanueva State Park.This is the view from the bridge over the Pecos River at Villanueva State Park.The author poses for a photo at the top of a short hike at Villanueva State Park.A thunderstorm builds over Villanueva State Park.I spotted this collapsed adobe roof along New Mexico 3 south of Ribera.An abandoned house stands in midday light along New Mexico highway 3.This is the Sad Café in Ribera, New Mexico. I had a piece of their pie.I originally shot this sunset in Villanueva in color, but it rendered far better in black and white.
The Drive Home
I stopped at an abandoned travel plaza east of Santa Rosa, New Mexico, which I nicknamed the “Plague Town,” in honor of its appearance.
The “Plague Town” along Interstate 40 is a bleak reminder of the unforgiving nature of the desert.
My time in New Mexico is, as always, some kind of journey home to a place I’ve never lived.
This is one of my all-time favorite self portraits, in a mirror on the ground at the so-called “Plague Town” along Interstate 40 in eastern New Mexico.
2 Comments
I love that these images are grayscale. Some of the most impressive photos you’ve made. I like the cotton-candy look of the water in “Stream, Pecos Wilderness.” Also the light and texture in “Mission in Early Morning Sun.” Some especially nice interior images, especially of the house you borrowed. And isn’t there a movie called “The Ballad of the Sad Cafe?” I think I’ve heard that name. Anyway, superlative. The narrative flows nicely.
I recognize that feel of plus-x in your Stream, Pecos WIlderness image. I know it’s nostalgic but it just feels better -like how vinyl actually does sound warmer than a CD.
I love that these images are grayscale. Some of the most impressive photos you’ve made. I like the cotton-candy look of the water in “Stream, Pecos Wilderness.” Also the light and texture in “Mission in Early Morning Sun.” Some especially nice interior images, especially of the house you borrowed. And isn’t there a movie called “The Ballad of the Sad Cafe?” I think I’ve heard that name. Anyway, superlative. The narrative flows nicely.
I recognize that feel of plus-x in your Stream, Pecos WIlderness image. I know it’s nostalgic but it just feels better -like how vinyl actually does sound warmer than a CD.