Here we are in New Mexico, returning to our home base in Bernaillo after checking out a dreary little town called Cuba. Rather than taking the main road back, we made the questionable decision to take Route 4, which looks ok here, but going through the mountains the asphalt road soon gave way to a switchback rutted unmaintained nightmare of a one lane donkey trail of a dirt road winding through the desolate wilds of the Jemez Mountains with storm clouds dogging us all the way and threatening to turn an already iffy situation into mud as we struggled to make our way back through this landslide prone area back to Bernalillo. A risky move that had us on the edge of our seats for 5 or 6 miles. We didn't believe the warning signs, or more accurately, I didn't, but in the end it was worth it.
As we dodged a bullet and reached the base of the mountain covered in dust but none the worse for wear, we found ourselves passing through the town of San Ysidro close to sundown when all of a sudden, the sun broke through the clouds at that oblique angle that turns the world on its head for a short moment of time and then fades to grey. The clouds in New Mexico have been spectacular and this late afternoon was no exception, producing this striking photo of the San Ysidro Catholic Church, reminding me in some vaguely photo romantic way of Ansel Adam's 1941 photograph, Moonrise over Hernandez...fortunate to be in the right place at the right time and completing the job during a narrow window of opportunity.
Being the recipient of good fortune in addition to a good eye, photographically, I have occasionally been accused of photoshopping some of my shots. Sour grapes I'm sure, but this is to assure you that the above full building shot of the church was taken and published as seen. There are still people out there who wonder out loud whether Ansel Adam's might have superimposed two negatives to produce his iconic Hernandez image, something that always irked him.
Jackie took this great photo of the church with me in the lower left corner moving in to take the above picture of those doors. Whenever I look at Jackie's pictures I am humbled. Weather permitting, Sunday we head off to Acoma, the Native American Sky City, but for now I am signing off to take a shower and wash off the dust.
Pablo
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