Lone Tree at Red Rock State Park
While I don’t consider myself a landscape photographer, I will occasionally go out in search of a something beautiful. Living in the Southwest means that we are surrounded by beauty, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to make an extraordinary photograph. For me, the thing that sets a quality landscape apart is the light, and we have plenty of great light here in New Mexico. The challenge is finding it and then wait for the right moment, which is why I don’t often make these types of pictures. As a photojournalist by trade, I’m prefer to be where the action is. That being said, this photo has little to do with spectacular light. The overcast skies brought out the texture and color of the rock at Red Rock State Park. I was pleased with this photo and even saw that it made it onto the a few photo blogs put out by some of the country’s larger newspapers, including The Washington Post.
Snow is great if you get to play in it and then head home to a city where all of your needs are a quick jaunt to the store, like I do. But living in a remote area when a big storm hits can make daily life challenging for some, especially on distant parts of the reservation. The Ramah Navajo reservation has seen it’s share of powder this winter, and the resulting mud from the melting of all that white stuff creates access problems. The chapter house has been delivering loads of supplies of food, water, firewood and hay to residents who either live on inaccessible roads, or are elderly and unable to make the journey into town.
