Lost in New Mexico

CRW_0559, a photo by joe_gremlin on Flickr.

I came to New Mexico with one goal. I wanted to bring back pictures that could at least capture a little bit of what this place looks like and feels like. And it wouldn't hurt if those pictures also looked good. The first step of course is to do some research and try to find some locations that would give us the best shot at pictures that lend themselves to kite photography and capture a little bit of what it looks like out here.

So the obvious choice is of course, the White Sands National Monument which as luck would have it, was about an hour from where we would be staying on our trip. White Sands really is the place to go if you're in this part of the country. It is one of those places where almost every square inch contains a really amazing picture.

But in case you haven't figured it out yet, these pictures are not from White Sands. Since it was the obvious choice we went there our second day here. And we got skunked. Not a lick of breeze to be had anywhere. Sue did take some really impressive pictures none the less. But they were all from the ground. They can be seen here if you're interested.

So we left White Sands amazed at having the seen the place and disappointed at the same time and we weren't able to get photos from the kite rig. When we got back to the room, I checked the forecast for the next day. Winds were forecast to be out of the South 10 to 20 mph. Perfect conditions for kite photography. Sue would be working all day (its a business trip after all) but I knew I had to go back. So while she was working, I set out on my own to go back and photograph White Sands from 100' up.

And I was skunked again. The forecast winds just didn't happen. I left even more disappointed than the day before.

But as I drove back to Las Cruces, I happened to catch a glance from the highway of a road that seemed to head off into the sunset all by itself. On a hunch I decided to get off the highway and see if it would lead me to any decent pictures. That turned out to be a very good decision.

So this is Baylor Pass, New Mexico. The landscape here is just amazing and although I couldn't begin to tell you how I did it, somehow I managed to capture a piece of it in these pictures.

I wanted to shoot White Sands in the worst way. But this was just one of those days where I ended up getting what I wanted all along even though I thought I wanted something different. In other words, it was pretty good day.

For a slideshow of the full set, click here.