Albuquerque Zoo: Chilin Out

Chillin Out

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     The Albuquerque Zoo was a great place to visit and I can't wait to go back. They have a wide assortment of animals in photo friendly environments. If you can make the trip, I totally recommend it. This guy was one of my favorites. It was a hot summer day and he was hanging half in/half out of his pool, just chillin out. Definitely was a lazy day for the polar bear.

     I felt like this was an appropriate Hump Day image. Wednesday is the lazy day of the week. Halfway to the weekend!

Have a great day!

If you want to visit the Albuquerque Zoo or Aquarium click HERE for park information.

Connecticut Fall Foliage: A Trip Into the Litchfield Hills

New England Pond

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                     I love New England, especially in the fall. I went for a drive into the Litchfield hills today and even though it is past "peak" leaf peeping, the colors in the landscape were still amazingly vibrant.

Rathbun's Sugar House: Adirondack Mountain Exploration

Milk Bottles

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      Rathbun's sugar house is a place my extended family has been going to for years. I just discovered it within the last couple years and can't believe I didn't know about this place earlier. Nestled away in the Adirondack Mountains this quaint little restaurant is always busy. Expect to wait a while! They have a sugar shack behind the restaurant where depending on the time of year you can watch them make maple syrup or learn about their history. Along side the restaurant they have an area chock full of old American farming equipment and old knick knacks. To some it may look like a pile of junk, to me I see a time forgotten. Surprisingly a lot of the stuff is still in decent condition for being outside year round. 
     I am enamored with these bottles. These are glass milk bottles from once local farms. You can still read the farm's names on the sides of the bottles. The row of bottles caught my eye immediately when I walked into the enclosure. It was a beautiful day and the way they were catching the light made it look like they were sparkling from a distance. From this angle the light softly fills each bottle highlighting the years that they have seen. The landscape behind the bottle is full of beautiful fall foliage.

Expect to see more images from my treks 

around the Adirondack's!

New Mexico's High Plains

Bottomless Lake Road

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              The high plains can be beautiful. It's the type of landscape where the colors are amazing but it's flat, no trees, and a lot of sky. You feel like you can see forever there. Like I have said before that can be an "image killer". I feel like this image should be printed and displayed as large as a wall. So you can really get engrossed in the landscape.  In the foreground you have the natural landscapes flora and off in the distance are the bottomless lakes.  The complementing contrast of the yellow and green shrubbery, to the red clay earth, and the blue sky are harmonious. 

Adirondack Mountain Walkway

Mountain Walkway

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I wanted to share with you a simple image that anyone can put a story too. What would your story be?

Lets Get Bottomless

Bottomless Lakes

Roswell, NM

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            While driving across New Mexico I wanted to stop at the Bottomless Lakes State Park, which is situated outside of Roswell, NM. I know what you are thinking, "OMG the alien place". Yes, it is the alien place. If you have to drive through Roswell there are two places you should definitely stop: 

1.      Pecos Flavors Winery- doesn't look like much from the outside, being in a little strip mall, but it really is fantastic on the inside. They have a beautiful bar where you can either sit and have a glass of New Mexico wine or they also have a variety of New Mexico micro-brewed beers as well. Their staff was very friendly, inviting, and knowledgable. You could have a hole in the wall establishment but if your staff is inviting and knowledgeable that is an A+ for me. They have a beautiful space, good wine, and were knowledgeable. It was really worth the drive through Roswell. 
2.      The original reason I started this post, is the Bottomless Lakes State Park. Just a short drive outside the main city of Roswell, you get to see something really beautiful. The colors there are amazing, striking clear blue water, the land ranging in color from a deep red to a mustard, and the landscape around the lakes has wonderfully colored shrubbery.  The landscapes natural colors were impressive. The colors were so vibrant they seemed almost fake. The clouds that day were surprising and it really was a stroke of luck. I have noticed that the high plains part of New Mexico down to the desert tend to be cloudless often, which in the photography world is an "image killer". Some people have also said that a cloudless sky is like a flowerless garden. My garden was full that day! Believe it or not these lakes are really sinkholes. Yes, sinkholes! Apparently, the New Mexican state parks department feels like they are stable enough for people visit and swim in. So if you are planning a drive through that part of New Mexico, I would encourage you to stop and enjoy the view.

         If you really want to see some "Alien stuff" I believe there a few alien wax museums in Roswell, along with lots of alien stores that you could visit. But honestly while driving through you will see your fare share of Aliens. One of the aliens is the McDonalds that looks like a alien space ship. 

Here's the Pecos Flavors Winery's website, just in case you decide to make a detour. ;)  www.pecosflavorswinery.com/

The Bottomless Lakes website is http://www.emnrd.state.nm.us/SPD/bottomlesslakesstatepark.html

A Trip to the Mountains

             

Mountain Brook

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          While editing images I took this past summer I came across this one and decided to share it with you. This is a very special place that I have been visiting ever since I was a child. Every time I visit there I am put into a trance at how absolutely serene it is. A professor once told me you never get the same shot twice. You can go to a place a million times over and take a different picture of the same landscape. He was absolutely right. I have photographed that mountain brook hundreds of times and every shot was different. The landscape keeps evolving and changing. Everyday the lighting is slightly different. I feel like we take our surroundings for granted. I try to appreciate it every day.  

Giving You A Little New Mexico

Santa Fe At Night

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                Over looking the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi on a beautifully cloudy night. I was born and raised in New England. I have traveled to several different countries but haven't had the opportunity to explore our own until the past couple of years. It really is amazing to see how diverse our own country can be from state to state or even within one state. Keep an eye out for more images from my treks around New Mexico. 

Trekking Around

Exploring Santa Fe

I've traveled the world and now I am exploring our country. Santa Fe is an eclectic little community living at a high altitude.

Black Locust Tree

Santa Fe's Peppers

An Ongoing Project

NightScapes

Right Side of the Brook

11" x 14"

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        NightScapes is a series of experimental photographs that was my senior thesis in college.  It is an ongoing series that I believe I will continue experimenting with throughout my entire life.  For me it was about finding a place in nature that hasn't been touched by man.  That the night has a beauty all it's own. The kind of beauty we didn't know was there and that the naked eye cannot see. I have been slowly scanning in all my film images to create a digital library of all my work.  This portfolio is also a work in progress as I continue to scan in my other NightScapes and as I progressively shoot more.  I still want to carry on this series with film but have decided to also experiment in a digital format as well. Click HERE to view my NightScapes Portfolio and to read my artist statement about these experimental photographs.