Sharing some photos... August 7-14, 2007

[Diane Cutter]

We all seem to have traveled quite a bit throughout the Southwest and West. I thought, if the group is up for it, a sharing of some of our photos with a bit of the history (yours or of the place) might be fun.

So I'll start. In my most recent trip to New Mexico we got over to Abo (http://www.southernnewmexico.com/Articles/Southeast/SaltMissionTrail.html) (accent on the 'o'), which is part of the Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument in New Mexico. It's located just west of Mountainaire.

The water run area where the mission got it's water, I can just imagine people collecting water and kids playing.
http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/07-Aug-2007/28135-Photos-Abo-07-2.jpg

This is my favorite photo from that visit, taken from inside the church ruin, looking toward the stream area.
http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/07-Aug-2007/28135-Photos-Abo-07-WEB_1.jpg

I kept seeing movement out of the corner of my eye and, thinking it was a rattler since the signs said 'stay on path, give the rattlers a rest' (or something like that), I was a little alarmed until the creature finally popped up for a photo op.
http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/07-Aug-2007/28135-Photos-Abo-07-Squirrel-1.jpg

Diane

[Barbara Art]

I'll dig up some of my old photos, too, Diane. I have hundreds; I'll see if any are worth posting. Many may be of mystery subjects, though. Plus, it could take awhile...... :D
Barbara

[sassybird]

I'll have to look through my archives. These are really cool pics. I love the one taken through the window of the ruins.

[Katherine T]

Good idea Dianne.

I was SO PLEASED that I had a digital camera last summer. Just think I used to use 36 print films and now the skies the limit when taking photos...........I've just awarded myself 2 gigabyte card!:rolleyes:

I was wondering if this thread could maybe focus on different states or areas in different weeks so that we get a really good sense of different places. Do you think that might be a good idea?

[ann chavez]

Diane--those are very nice photos. that area is the only part of new mexico i've never visited--(oh, that and mesilla valley)--but it's next on our list--especially having seen your pictures--it looks lovely! and your photos are very nicely done. thanks for posting them.

[Kathryn Wilson]

I've got lots of photos but will wait to post until the Mods decide how to handle Katherine T's suggestion of doing this thread by state.

[Katherine T]

I'm thinking - but would love to know what others think - maybe by geographical area as well? For example Sonoran Desert, Northern California; SoCal etc. I'm only just beginning to appreciate how different Northern New Mexico is from Southern New Mexico.

What would be really excellent is if we could geotag the photos - or maybe post them to another site as well where they could be geotagged so that people can see exactly which part of the southwest they relate to.

Alternatively, if people were so minded we could even make it into a game of "Guess where...?"
...like for this one for example
...now where is this and what is it called?

http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/08-Aug-2007/48045-where_in_new_mexico.jpg

[Hoss_Lass]

Great topic, Diane! I have a ton of pics of the Las Vegas Nevada area, I go there often ;) . On my last trip this May, I took over 100 pics of the Red Rock Canyon area as I plan to do a series of paintings of horses in the canyon area one day!

Driving to Red Rock park entrance from the south hwy 160 side:
http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/08-Aug-2007/85710-Red_Rock_open_road_ahead.jpg

The park has a 13 mile scenic drive around the area. Several stopping points for walking the trails or climbing rocks. The area has MILES of trails to explore. One of the first stops at Calico Tanks where the red rock is:

http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/08-Aug-2007/85710-Red_Rock_close_up_red_on_rocks.jpg

Some more pics as you go further on the scenic drive:

http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/08-Aug-2007/85710-Red_Rock_Turtlehead_peak_view.jpg

http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/08-Aug-2007/85710-Red_Rock_Valley_Shot_Ice_Box_Canyon.jpg

http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/08-Aug-2007/85710-Red_Rock_Trailhead_Ice_box_Canyon.jpg
The lone figure here on the left is my husband who wandered around a lot as I would trek off and dissapear taking pictures :D .

I really enjoy being out in Red Rock, I think it's beautiful out there.

[Hoss_Lass]

Katherine T, I'm going to make a wild guess and say somewhere around Death Valley? I really don't know what the structures are, but I bet I'm going to learn!!! :wave:

[Enchanted]

...now where is this and what is it called?


Looks to be Elephant Butte reservoir in south-central New Mexico. If it is, the photo was taken when that reservoir was at one of its historically low points.

???

:wave:

[Diane Cutter]

I could swear I posted here earlier in the day... the gremlins are at work!!!... because I definitely remember typing out how very much I like the second photo, Hoss Lass, with those very red rocks at Calico Tank, a painting waiting to happen...

And my thoughts, too, that the mystery photo looks like a very dry Elephant Butte Dam, just off I-25 in New Mexico...

Diane (still puzzling over her missing post)

[DesertDarlene]

Katherine, I don't know where that photo was taken, but that looks like an old volcanic cone like they have near Amboy, CA.

I have tons of photos of the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, but I don't have time to sift through them and have already posted a lot of them in the photography forum. Here is the reason why I go out there in summer. I haven't gone out there for this year's summer as the storms and my schedule don't seem to match.

http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/08-Aug-2007/66688-borrego.jpg

[Enchanted]

What a difference a "few miles" makes when it comes to traveling in the Enchanted Land of New Mexico.
http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/09-Aug-2007/80464-NM1.jpg
From the 11,000 ft. elevation of the White Mountain Wilderness in the Lincoln National Forest of south-central New Mexico, above, it is a mere 20 miles (as the crow flies) to the Valley of Fires lava fields in the desert, below.
http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/09-Aug-2007/80464-NM2.jpg
:wave:

[Diane Cutter]

Nice photo, Enchanted, of the lava flow area. I love stopping there to photograph it but have never gotten a nice picture!

Diane

[debsn2paintn]

I'm thinking - but would love to know what others think - maybe by geographical area as well? For example Sonoran Desert, Northern California; SoCal etc. I'm only just beginning to appreciate how different Northern New Mexico is from Southern New Mexico.

What would be really excellent is if we could geotag the photos - or maybe post them to another site as well where they could be geotagged so that people can see exactly which part of the southwest they relate to.

Alternatively, if people were so minded we could even make it into a game of "Guess where...?"
...like for this one for example
...now where is this and what is it called?

http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/08-Aug-2007/48045-where_in_new_mexico.jpg

This looks like Amboy, and the Amboy Crater. Amboy is know for being on Route 66 in the Mojave Desert. What is throwing me is the water? That is water? Most of the time it's dry, but they can have flash floods.

[debsn2paintn]

Antelope Canyons (slot canyons) in Page AZ.
http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/11-Aug-2007/60422-antelope_canyon_Page_AZ.jpg

Drive by shooting on the 15 almost to Baker CA
http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/11-Aug-2007/60422-Picture_592mf.jpg

Amboy Crater Mojave Desert Ca
http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/11-Aug-2007/60422-bb_249sm.jpg
Mojave Desert CA
http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/11-Aug-2007/60422-bb_190m.jpg

[Barbara Art]

Here are some photos that I dug up from trips to New Mexico.
1: The Ghost Ranch Library, after a storm
2: Sun on Mesas
3: Entrance road to Ghost Ranch
Barbara

[Barbara Art]

....and a few more....
1: Ranchos church, back view
2: Bell tower, Santuario de Chimayo
3: Taos Pueblo closeup
Barbara

[Alachua Artist]

absolutely GREAT photos, Barbara and Deb! I recognize several of those places. Do you mind if I use one for a painting?

[Barbara Art]

It's OK to use my photos for reference, Wendy, though if you use the Pueblo one, you might want to make it a bit more vertical! I hope you'll post what you come up with.
Barbara

[Sonni]

Bow Willow, Anza Borrego SP, CA

--




http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/13-Aug-2007/111873-2006_So_padre,_Anza_B_and_Benton_484.JPG


http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/13-Aug-2007/111873-2006_So_padre,_Anza_B_and_Benton_505.JPG

Painting in pastel started on location finished using the photo reference--sold but working on another...

http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/13-Aug-2007/111873-Bow_Willow_spring_2006_small.jpg

http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/13-Aug-2007/111873-2006_So_padre,_Anza_B_and_Benton_435.JPG

Ocotillo, Anza Borrego, Bow Willow

[Enchanted]

Painting in pastel started on location finished using the photo reference--sold but working on another...


WoW! That is really a great rendering. Love the color choices.

:clap:

[Jo Castillo]

All the photos are great. Sonni, great pastel painting included. Wow.

Katherine, I was out all day. You know I would know where your photo of Elephant Butte was. :) We saw it near the same time!

Later,
Jo

[Diane Cutter]

All the photos are great! But the Antelope Canyon is spectacular! One thing I especially like is the color of the sky in all of these...

Diane

[Mikki Petersen]

Wonderful photos all! Really gets my fingers itching to paint the Southwest landscape. Here are some of my favorites...

Near to home, this is a Lake Tahoe view:
http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/14-Aug-2007/14550-SAND_HARBOR_2_4.JPG

A little more north but still Western, Crater Lake, OR:
http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/14-Aug-2007/14550-crater_lake_3.JPG

Mikki

[Mikki Petersen]

And some of my 3000 photos from New Mexico/Four Corners trip.

The Abiquiu Valley (Ghost Ranch Country):
http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/14-Aug-2007/14550-Abiquiu_Valley_2.jpg

Tent Rocks National Monument:
http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/14-Aug-2007/14550-Tent_Rocks_Natl_Mon_2.JPG

A Colorado Horse Ranch:
http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/14-Aug-2007/14550-CO_Horse_Ranch_2.JPG

Mikki

[Mikki Petersen]

But wait...I have more!

A Canyonlands scene. Check out that sky!
http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/14-Aug-2007/14550-Canyonlands_7_r_2.jpg

The Shasta Valley looking away from Mt Shasta in Northern CA:
http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/14-Aug-2007/14550-Shasta_Valley_2.JPG

Okay, okay! I'll stop for now before I get accused of forum flooding. Post more photos folks!

Mikki

[Sonni]

:clap: great photos, keep them coming--here are some others.

http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/14-Aug-2007/111873-COYOTETR.jpg

Coyote Gulch, when I could still backpack, Escalante River, UT

http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/14-Aug-2007/111873-HAMBARCH.jpg

Hambin Arch, Coyote Gulch to the Escalante. Eat your heart out folks, it's about a 7 mile backpack to get there!

http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/14-Aug-2007/111873-ICEWHEELnear_Escalante.jpg

On the way to Kodachrome ...We had just come off the backpack trip (1997?) from Coyote Gulch to the Escalante and were driving back to CA via Bryce, and detoured into Kodachrome State Park. It began to rain on our way out of the canyon, and up above it was much colder. This irrigation system was preserved in ice.

[Mikki Petersen]

I love that frozen irrigation system! I, too, miss backpacking...the chance to explore the less beaten path. We still do day hikes but mostly on the heavily travelled trails in the Sierras where there is a lot of traffic. Too old for carrying those heavy packs...sigh!

Mikki

[Barbara Art]

I'm falling asleep, so I'll wait until tomorrow to put up comments (yaaawn), but I wanted to send out this idea: other forums have challenges (Landscape, Printmaking). We could do that, too, if people were interested. Someone could choose and post three or so photos (their own or from the ref library); participants could work from one or more in any medium and post their results. It's fun to see the different ways that people see the same subject.
'Night.....
Barbara

[Sonni]

Barbara, regarding challenges and painting from photo refs, I posted something this a.m. on the new "Fireside" thread. Maybe that isn't the place for it, dunno. It's a little structured, based on a Maggie Price exercise (which is wonderful; I've done it). If folks like the idea, and that isn't the place for it, perhaps the moderator could twitch her magic wand and have it appear somewhere else.

Mikki, I used to lead backpack trips for the SF Bay Chapter of the Sierra Club, and a couple of nationals, one of which was into Choprock Canyon on the Escalante, with the artist Bill Kohn in tow--an easy trip, llamas did most of the work. It was wonderful to watch him do water color sketches which he later used for reference on his larger acrylics. He was a great fellow, did some fantastic pieces (Google William Kohn for the website), but died of cancer a couple years after the trip.

[debsn2paintn]

Sure you may use one of these photos for a Reference if you would like. I have a couple photos of the Antelope Canyon in the Ref. Image. Lib. the link is in my signature line :)

Thanks everyone :)

So many gorgeous, beautiful photos. This thread is so much fun!

[Katherine T]

Sorry not to have been back earlier to confirm that yes indeed my photo was of Elephant Butte - take middle of last July just before the hottest weekend ever.

I've got a post about this and the journey it was taken on over on my Travels with a Sketchbook blog. It's called "Chillis and a big elephant butt" - I'm afraid my sense of humour gets the better of me at times - but we had just driven up from Tombstone via Hatch - the hot chilli capital.

This is what I said in my post - which i thought some of you might be interested in.
I'd spotted what looked like a lake on the map and insisted we had a quick diversion to go and look at the view (I like views!) Our jaws all collectively dropped when we saw the size of the lake. It was huge and took six photos to get a panorama shot!

This was Elephant Butte Lake and obviously hosted a wide variety of water-based activities. I've always had a problem with the promunciation of buttes and mesas ever since I first learned about them in a geography lesson. Let's just say my pronunciation of butte in the UK causes much less hilarity than in the USA where it sounds like 'butt'. This is already a long post so I'll just make it a bit longer by quoting from the New Mexico Tourism people about the nature and origins of the lake
The name "Elephant Butte" was derived from the eroded core of an ancient volcano, now an island in the reservoir, in the shape of an elephant. Elephant Butte Reservoir, created by a dam constructed in 1916 across the Rio Grande, is 40 miles long with more than 200 miles of shoreline. Although constructed to provide for irrigation and flood control, the lake is New Mexico’s premier water recreation facility.

Over 100 million years ago, the area was part of a vast shallow ocean. Once the sea receded, the area was the favorite hunting ground of the tyrannosaurus rex dinosaur. Evidence of the Rex, the largest land-dwelling predator of all time, and other species of dinosaur have been discovered in area rock formations.
We then headed on up the Rio Grande valley to Albuquerque - and the CPSA Convention.

[Diane Cutter]

Hey, ladies... regarding challenges and proper places to post... I'm all for you opening a new thread on the topic so we can read all the info in one place. It sounds like a great idea...

Diane

PS I'm all puffed up, Katherine, because I guessed right on Elephant Butte (that doesn't always happen :rolleyes:).

[Katherine T]

Diane - how about my idea of opening one thread at a time for a specific location? We could then list all the threads for different locations in a sticky at the top of the forum - which means they are easy to find and easy to add to in the future.

Otherwise this thread will become impossible for people on dial-up to open.

[Enchanted]

PS I'm all puffed up, Katherine, because I guessed right on Elephant Butte (that doesn't always happen).

AHEM.... Diane.... If you'll read back over the thread I think you'll find that I beat you to the punch.

:rolleyes:

[Katherine T]

But if she didnt see it then she's still OK :) I think this is only a personal victory for Diane - no competitive element involved - purely Diane versus Diane! ;)

[Lisa M]

I had the chance to attend the White River (South Dakota, on the edge of the Pine Ridge Reservation) rodeo last weekend, and thought I'd post a pic I managed to get with my low-grade camera. Maybe I'll get to drawing it someday. . . . I know all the awesome photos in this thread are of landscapes (and that very cool frozen irrigator--wow I love that one), but I was just tickled to get some shots from across the arena with my point-and-shoot. It was a beautiful day for a rodeo, and nobody was seriously hurt, so it was a wonderful event. I did have to miss the wild horse races the following day, though, since I had to begin the drive home for work.
http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/21-Aug-2007/100809-2007_WhiteRiver_rodeo_002.jpg