Desert Tango

Now that winter is pretty much over (although I’m sure we’ll get at least one more snow storm here in New Mexico before summer), I recently spent some time reviewing photos from my winter outdoor activities. I came across several images from the dozens of excursions I’ve done this winter and early spring. In terms of pure fun and good times, I have to say that this winter has been one of the most memorable to date. Copious amounts of snowfall in the mountains meant that our winter backcountry  skiing activities extended well into March this year. Plus we were able to make a quick and easy transition from skiing to mountain biking; there was even an afternoon where I did both in the same day.  So with spring, singletrack and sunshine up on us,  I present a collection of images that celebrate this past winter’s glory.

New Mexico Magazine called me a few months back looking for images to illustrate a story about the works of author Tony Hillerman. Much of Hillerman’s detective novels are set in western New Mexico and deal with crime on the Navajo Nation.

While I do not consider myself much of a stock photography shooter, I do maintain a Photoshelter website with images from my outdoor adventures in the Southwest. I happened to have a couple of images that they were interested in, and in the end they picked this one of my friend Nicholle Kovach hiking at Chaco Canyon.

The cool thing about this photo is that it was shot during what was more of a vacation than a photo excursion. While I try to take a camera with me everywhere I go, sometimes it’s nice to not always be in that creative mode of shooting. This image was more of a result of me immersing myself in the beauty of my surroundings than me looking for compelling imagery.