Massena House

In the mountains just outside of Santa Fe are filled with aspens and fir trees.  The aspens turn gold and red in the fall.  Managed to get some great shots the afternoon before the snow began.  View the slide show here.

Went to the Balloon Fiesta the other day and took some early morning shots. It was the Special Shapes Rodeo that day but a lot of other balloons launched as well. See the photos here.

Since Mikey is down to visit for a few days, we thought a little whitewater rafting was in order. Here are some pics from the adventure!

Spent a few days over at the Grand Canyon. Camped out at Mather Campground in the park. Got to see a good of the park area. Went for a hike down South Kaibab Trail. Hot. Dry. Gorgeous views! Would love to hike from the North Rim to the South Rim, but would definitely no do it in July. Enjoy the photos.

Stopped by the Petrified Forest on the way to the Grand Canyon. The raven spoke to us on the way in. “Nevermore.”

On the way to the Grand Canyon we had to stop by the Petrified Forest. So why is this about the Painted Desert. Well, the Painted Desert is a pretty big area that includes the Petrified Forest. So as long as you’re seeing the forest, you may as well stop at the spots to see the desert too.

Drove up to Colorado Springs, CO to meet up with wife after her conference. From there we just had to hit Pike’s Peak and get a few shots. Cheryl didn’t care much for the idea that the road had no guard rails, and a berm of only a few inches before the sheer drop off, but it was a fun drive non the less.

On the spur of the moment Cheryl and I decided to go there. Threw some stuff in the car and headed out trusting our GPS to get us there. Which it did more than 4 hours later. At first I was thinking we should have left earlier, but when we got there and I saw the sun I thought we should have left just a little bit later.

Canyon de Chelly is in northeastern Arizona. The Anasazi lived there for awhile and built their homes there in the cliff walls and on the floor of the canyon. Shear cliffs rising 700 feet above the floor with their homes set into the walls provide some awesome views. The Navajo still live in and around the canyon and some still raise cattle on the land as you can see their fields Tsengi Overlook (East). Sorry, cows weren’t out.

Click the image to go to the album.

We took a ride on the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad last weekend.  It’s a fun trip from Chama, NM to Cumbres Pass, CO.  The fall foliage was great, and the ride was fun.  It’s a real steam engine pulling the train and burned coal.  I got more cinders in my hair than Cinderfella.  And some pretty good shots, though shooting from a rocking train isn’t exactly the easiest thing to do.  If you’re ever up in the Chama, NM area be sure to stop by and take a ride, or at least check out the cool trains.  BTW:  No one road in the last cars of the train.  It was cold enough as it was, those cars would have been awful.

For Studio Lighting II class we were to take photos of Gesture and Gesture with Portrait. Two different assignments, I’m just doing them together.

Here are some of the photos I took of her.  Not sure yet which I’ll present in class.  I’ll find a way to mark the ones I submit for assignments.  Keep watching so you can you find out.