Sidetracked Charley

The Climb Trinidad, Colorado May has been very busy, sometimes difficult, occasionally exhilarating, often unbalancing, and surprisingly educational. I am glad it is almost over. I am exhausted. The easy part of preparing for a photographic exhibit was done in April. I would not have guessed that would be the case. But I had all photos selected, printed, mounted, and boxed two weeks early for the May 4th opening. Then began my education in patience, flexibility, and tolerance. The new gallery was not granted an occupancy permit until May 11. My work was not hung until May 12th. The Trinidad Photography Gallery  did not have its grand opening until the 18th. And I could not disentangle from all my obligations to make it up to Trinidad, Colorado until May 25th for my introduction to the photographic community there.  I kept repeating to myself the W.C. Fields quote, " Even a dead fish can swim downstream ," as I kept on keeping one day at a time. I would flip from time ...

Shadows and light in Taos Once again I have been asked about where to live in Taos. And once again I had a difficult time explaining to the friend of a friend that I do not live there. Would not live there. I lived in Taos County for nine years and so wanted to leave that county I was willing to get a divorce to do so. I live on the other side of the mountain now. I try to explain to people how very different this side is. The Mountain Between us We're the wet side. We can drive through the pass to the other side in 45 minutes to an hour. But there is a huge cultural divide between the two sides. Taos was on the Camino Real and settled by the Spanish who took the land from the Native tribes who lived there. Then they enslaved them. The Moreno Valley was settled by miners at Elizabeth town and homesteaders who took advantage of the 1862 homestead act to settle the Black Lake area and the Moreno Valley grasslands. The Trujillos and Torres built huge ranches by blending...

Windows off Main Trinidad, Colorado Every dying town has its cave people. I have been doing research on the Village of Angel Fire, New Mexico for an article I just finished writing. I live five miles south of the village near what was once the town of Black Lake. It once had a store and a school and a church and a post office. Now Black Lake is where they shot the Montana scenes for Lonesome Dove. I love old towns with history. Angel Fire is not old and it does not have history. No old school house or cemetery with tell tale dates to contemplate. It has no grand buildings or even a real main street. No sidewalks. Angel Fire was incorporated as a village in 1986 severing itself from the ski resort of the same name opened in 1965. The resort is still upset. As I was preparing to write this blog it dawned on me I have no pictures of Angel Fire. It has nothing worthy to photograph beyond the mountains which surround it. It has no park like Los Alamos, also a young town, and wh...

Moon Over Distant Peaks When you are an early riser you get to see lots of dawns. My moon rises tend to be in the winter because I do not have to stay up so late. Yes, the full moon rises as the sunsets but when you live in a valley surrounded by mountains the moon rise can be an hour after sunset. Last night, however, I was driving back from Trinidad when the moon made an appearance going over Raton pass. It rose looking like something from Battle Star Galatia. There were no safe places to pull over on the pass and retrieve my camera from the trunk. But as soon as I got off I25 and headed home on Hwy 64 I took advantage of the wide shoulders to record its diminished size. Then it became just a matter of getting the right combination of peaks lined up underneath it. Horizontal version Or horizontal vs vertical. I ended up adding 30 minutes to my travel time, but it could have been a lot more if I had tossed my tripod into the trunk too. Then there was the sun setting be...

2nd Street I seldom, if ever, go anywhere without my camera. You just never know when you will have the opportunity of a great picture of need something to occupy your time. Yes, there is Angry Birds on tablets but they seldom bring me the peace of a walk about on empty streets in the early morning light. On this particular morning in Trinidad, Colorado, a resident apologized for the cloudy skies. I replied that I much preferred them. Something I learned in Photography 101 at UNM. It takes the harsh shadows out of the equation. Balustrade of Light Defused light defines and gives depth. It allows a focus on form. Strong shadows flatten. Court House Early morning with a cloudy sky also makes for great reflections in glass. And no glare to have to consider. Or over exposed areas during post processing.  Second Story Available Ad Space I love the details in photographs I take on a cloudy day. And I love the peace of walking about with nobod...

On the Road to Raton Had the cataract taken out of my right eye on the 25th and on the 29th drove to Trinidad and Raton. If my first reaction after surgery was that the world has edges, my reaction on the familiar road to Raton were the colors. Who knew the plains could be so colorful even in a drought. Distant Volcanic hills Vision is about light, color and definition. Painting is about all those and sometimes lack of definition as Monet proved. Photography is supposedly about light. Though lately it seems to be about pixels and hyper definition. A photographer friend and I got into a discussion about the differences in photography as a craft and photography as an art. We were, as artists frequently, critiquing the judging on a recent show. And talking about the ones we will not enter again because of the judging. I was thinking about that and color, light and definition as I drove. It takes effort and money to enter shows. I do it to expand name recognition and audien...

Teeth of Time by J. Binford-Bell I drove to Raton again on May 1st and it was a dazzling spring day. But it was clearly evident, if by spring we mean the bursting forth of buds and flowers, that spring was very late. Delayed by cold or drought? Or are our definitions getting in the way? Time as we mark it on calendars is arbitrary. There have been many changes in calendars that have governed our lives, and by the Mayan Calendar, some say, we should not be here. Spring or the lack there of and a recent experiences in Raton and Trinidad had gotten me thinking about definitions, and boundaries, and divisions. I had just picked up my paintings from the New Mexico Women Artists Show in Raton. The Old Pass Gallery it seems wants to put the focus back on local artists. And that got me thinking of the definition of the adjective Local. How would you define it? One source says "Belonging or relating to a particular area or neighborhood, typically exclusively so . . ." This le...

Open spaces Trinidad, Colorado is just 23 miles north of Raton, New Mexico where I go it seems entirely too often. But it seems I do not pop over Raton Pass and the state line very often. I have before because there is a super Walmart. And there used to be a rather fantastic Chinese restaurant under the overpass by the train tracks. It could still be there. If you are from a rural area like Black Lake Trinidad seems a whirl wind of railroad tracks and on and off ramps. I have come a long way since my days of commuting 25 miles across downtown Kansas City. I was delivering paintings for the Splash Exhibit at the Trinidad Area Arts Council (TAAC) on the suggestion of an artist who has shared wall space with me at the Old Pass Gallery in Raton. I had printed out a Google Map but never had time to consult it because I had just started breathing after going over Raton Pass when I was at exit 13A and B or Main Street. Trinidad has a lot of those cute midwest street names like Main and...