The mission church at Rancho de Taos
“I often painted fragments of things because it seemed to make my statement as well as or better than the whole could ...I had created an equivalent for what I felt about what I was looking at ...not copy it”.
Georgia O’Keeffe
This year we spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in Taos , New Mexico. This has been on my list of “must dos” for years and 2018 ended up being the year that it came true. We met up with an old college friend and his girlfriend in Albuquerque. After spending a fun time day tripping around Albuquerque we headed north towards Taos. On our way we stopped at San Francisco De Asis Church located in Ranchos de Taos. This church has been made famous by artists like Georgia O’Keeffe and is one of the most photographed churches in the West. Of course I couldn’t resist the chance of taking a few photos of mine own.
Church Courtyard
Bell tower
Crosses
Towers and Crosses
The back view of the mission church
I just returned from two weeks in France. Since today is Bastille day I thought it would be fun tp share these images from Paris.
The view from our room.
Just another summer day at the Louvre.
Friends
The city at our feet.
The Louvre.
This week, while on vacation, I had the opportunity to visit the studio of NC Wyeth in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. The studio is part of the Brandywine Art Museum and can be visited by private tour. The studio has been kept just as it was when NC was painting before his death in a car accident. NC Wyeth was a prominent illustrator and muralist during the first half of the 20th century and the father of one of America’s most famous artist, Andrew Wyeth. Here are some images from this studio.
Looking down to the Wyeth house from the studio.
NC Wyeth’s painting smock.
Looking out the window.
Props
A picture of NC Wyeth and his desk.
The windows and scaffolding in the part of the studio where he worked on his murals.
This past October I attended a family wedding in Colorado. I’ve never thought seriously about shooting weddings but I was ready to take up the challenge of capturing the preparation of the festivities and the wedding itself, if only for my own skill development. The young couple getting married were excited that someone would be chronicling the days proceeding the wedding and I was happy to fill that void.
So with camera in hand I got to work. I was so pleased with the moments I captured and was excited to share them. The day of the wedding came and even though I wasn’t the wedding photographer I was hoping to keep practicing my skills with candid shots. As I got my gear ready I decided to change out my memory card. I tucked it away in a “safe place” and dashed off to the ceremony. The next day I packed up the hotel room getting ready to leave. What I didn’t realize was that my old memory card had somehow gotten swepted up in the room trash, never to be seen again. When I started to unpack from the trip it became painfully real that the card was gone. I frantically called the owner of the inn but the trash had all ready been picked up. It was gone and so were all of those special moments. I had my shots from the wedding but nothing from the days leading up to the main event.
Thinking about it now still makes me sad and frustrated. I have made changes in the way I carry my cards and camera when I travel so that I never lose anything that important again. Here are a few of the pictures from the wedding day - sure wish I could share the others.
Quiet morning by the bay.
Martinez, California
Yesterday I took the train from Martinez to Sacramento for a meeting I needed to go to for work. Taking the train up to Sacramento is so relaxing and I can spend an hour just watching the world pass by my window, imagining the stories of the people I observe.
