Madrid, New Mexico--Recovering Ghost Town

Madrid was a coal-mining town owned and operated by the Albuquerque and Cerrillos Coal Company. Electricity was unavailable to homes as late as 1913. Generated in a company powerhouse, electricity was limited to company uses only. After Oscar Huber acquired the company, he paved the streets, built new homes on lots made vacant by fires, constructed a six room hospital and made arrangements for unlimited use of electricity and much, much more. Its Christmas display of the nativity and other lighted Biblical scenes created a display the like of which had never before been seen in New Mexico. Thousands of visitors from all parts of the state came each year to view the magnificent pageant through 1941 when the lights were turned on for the last time.

Madrid is now a creative community with over 40 shops and galleries, several restaurants, a spa and museum. Madrid (local pronunciation of the name emphasizes the first syllable: MAD-rid) has become an artists community with galleries lining Route 14. It still has remnants of its past with the Mineshaft Tavern and the Coal Mine Museum. The ending of the 2007 film Wild Hogs was set and filmed in the town. The novel The Witch Narratives Reincarnation is set in Madrid during the 1920's and 1930's when Madrid was a company-owned coal-mining town.

The high altitude along with the cold and the snow still on the ground in spots provided an inspiring setting for soaking up the moment.  Luckily the general store was open and through the creaky door was tremendous warmth and the rich aroma of freshly brewed coffee.  Not sure how life could have been much better at that moment.  Stepping back out onto the porch with a hot cup of coffee to enjoy as the morning sun poured down at a steep angle…yeah, it doesn’t getting any better than this.  Another fellow was out on the porch enjoying the same moment.  After chatting for a while, he agreed to let me take his photograph.  Madrid is a must see, must stop location…wish we had had the entire day to spend there, but there was much more back country to explore within the limited time available for our photo shoot.

The charm, and enchantment of New Mexico is ever present along the Turquoise Trail.  You can see more at my website gallery at:  http://www.costamesaphotography.com/Arizona-New-Mexico/Turquoise-Trail

Lamy--Small Town, Big Heart!

Lamy the smallest of the towns we visited along the Turquoise Trail, but probably the one with the biggest heart.  It reminded me of a small dog with a big dog attitude.  This town had one road in and out from the main highway, U.S. Route 285, but had a hustle and bustle that was unexpected.

Lamy, first called Galisteo Junction, is located 18 miles south of the city of Santa Fe and is named for Archbishop Jean-Baptiste Lamy.   The former Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad (ATSF), now the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF), passes through Lamy. This railroad, usually called just the "Santa Fe," was originally planned to run from Atchison, Kansas, on the Missouri River, to Santa Fe, the capital city of New Mexico, and then points west. However, as the tracks progressed west into New Mexico, the civil engineers in charge realized that the hills surrounding Santa Fe made this impractical. Hence, they built the railway line though Lamy, instead. Later on, a spur line was built from Lamy to Santa Fe, bringing the railroad to Santa Fe at last. In 1896 the Fred Harvey Company built the luxurious El Ortiz Hotel here. Thus Lamy became an important railroad junction. The spur line has since been taken over by the Santa Fe Southern Railway, which operates a popular excursion train, using vintage passenger railcars and modern freight cars, up to Santa Fe.

It was lunch that really made Lamy one of my favorite spots of the day.  We sauntered into the Pink Garter, renamed the Legal Tender, and remodeled to depict an era of Western mining. The old bar is straight out of a western movie…wait a minute, it’s not a movie, it’s reality!  This is an old bar in an old building in an old town in the middle of nowhere…and I’m in it!!  This old relic of a bar was brought from Mexico City in the early 80's to Santa Fe by mule train. The bar has a picture gallery hung to the ceiling with original paintings, chromolithographs and two large paintings of the Grand Canyon done by Moran.   Green chile cheeseburger and a tall glass of beer…not sure if that’s what John Wayne would have ordered, but it felt all right to me!  The only thing missing was me wearing a six-shooter and set of spurs!

The charm, and enchantment of New Mexico is ever present along the Turquoise Trail.  You can see more at my website gallery at:  http://www.costamesaphotography.com/Arizona-New-Mexico/Turquoise-Trail

Santa Fe, New Mexico

The seat of power, the center of culture, the hub of tourism…that is Santa Fe.  One afternoon is nowhere close to the amount of time needed to even scratch the surface of the sights, sounds, smells, and scenery of this astoundingly beautiful place.  There was barely enough time to hit the “major” tourists spots—Palace of the Governors, La Fonda Hotel, the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi (shown here), Canyon Road, and the Capital Building (“the Roundhouse”).  The list goes on…too many places, too little time. 

If one starts their journey on the Turquoise Trail outside of Albuquerque, that trip invariably takes them to Santa Fe.  The feeling of arriving at such an important hub of activity must rival that the early explorers and settlers had when making their own journey into Santa Fe.  The place is magical.  Our photo journey was winding down but not our appreciation for such a beautiful day and such a great opportunity to capture much of what gives New Mexico its motto of being the Land of Enchantment.

This image and many others from the day's journey can be viewed on my website gallery at www.CostaMesaPhotography.com  Also, feel free to drop me a line with any comments or suggestions at CostaMesaPhotography@gmail.com

New Mexico--The Land of Enchantment

To attract and move deeply--that is, to enchant.  Long a reference to the beauty and culture of New Mexico, the phrase "Land of Enchantment" was first used in a book title by Lilian Whiting in 1906, however, its use did not focus solely on New Mexico but also covered Colorado, Arizona, and California. Seeking to develop automobile tourism in the early 1930s, New Mexico originally tried to market a slogan as the "Sunshine State," but gave it up in 1934 after Florida officially adopted that slogan. In 1935, the NM Department of Tourism used the phrase "Land of Enchantment" in one of its brochures. In 1941 the phrase was added to license plates, and it has been in common usage from the 1940s forward. "Land of Enchantment," however, was not officially adopted as the state nickname until 1999.

Just east of Albuquerque, the most populous city in New Mexico, lies the village of Tijeras. To the south, lies the Manzano Mountains, but today's journey will lead north  toward Cedar Crest, Sandia Crest, Golden, Madrid,  Cerrillos, and eventually Santa Fe along what is often referred to as the Turquoise Trail.  Before leaving Tijeras, our first stop would be the Rio Grande Portland Cement Plant, located just outside town to catch the day's first light and enjoy the full moon over the sprawling factory.  A hot cup of coffee on a below freezing morning was also a welcome find at a local gas station and gave us the inspiration to go stake out our sunrise!

I have much more to share with you from this day's journey.  If you have questions or comments along the way, or just need to stop for some fresh air and a handful of snow, let me know!!  CostaMesaPhotography@gmail.com

What's in YOUR backyard?

Founded by Major General William Lyon, Lyon Air Museum is adjacent to the John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California. It is comprised of authentic aircraft, rare vehicles and related memorabilia, with emphasis World War II.

This photo depicts the “Flagship Orange County,” Lyon Air Museum’s own DC-3.  It started life as a C-47A built during World War II. Prior to its conversion to airliner configuration, it flew with the USAAF’s famed 440th Troop Carrier Group. And just before midnight on June 5, 1944, this aircraft was positioned at Exeter Field in England, ready to fly across the Channel with hundreds of other Dakotas. Its assigned mission: Drop members of the 101st Airborne, the Screaming Eagles, over Drop Zone DELTA, to support the D-Day invasion in Normandy at 1:40 AM, on the morning of June 6, 1944.

I visited the Lyon Air Museum this month—my first visit there despite the fact that I’ve lived in Costa Mesa for over 30 years.  Well worth the visit, this museum is a special place.  It is incredibly clean, extremely well lit, and small enough to give you up-close, intimate views of its various planes, cars, jeeps, motorcycles, and other displays.  Though World War II was before I was born, its larger-than-life impact on all of us is due to the overwhelming significance and success of its global campaign for freedom.

 A quiet Sunday afternoon was the backdrop for my photography excursion there as I moved about the hangar.  There were few other visitors there at the time but it seemed as if they were always at the opposite end of the building from where I was...the volume of the space absorbed all the sound to the point where I often felt like I was by myself.  It was a special place and provided me with a special experience—right in my own backyard.  Any special museums or galleries in YOUR backyard that you’ve not been too?

 (Metadata:  1/250 sec @ f/2.8 and ISO 200, focal length 100mm)

Lemons and Lemonaide

The past few days we've been dealt with chilly, rainy weather.  Here in Southern California, we're not accustomed to doing for days without the warm sunshine.  So this morning, I decided to get out for a nice long walk along the Santa Ana River and turn the gloomy weather into a melancholy backdrop for my exercise.  And just in case, I took my point-and-shoot camera with me in case there was anything that caught my eyes.

As luck would have it, I was rewarded for my efforts...great exercise and some fun photos!  I saw a number of folks on bicycles braving the wet pavement and wind chill that comes with cycling.  I also saw the artistic expression of flowers that someone left on top of a chain link fence.

Hey, wait a minute?  The sun is starting to come out...AND it's already above 60 degrees!  Gotta go...

For me, two is better than one...

Sharing...one of the early behaviors taught to us by our parents.  You start by either being the giver or the receiver, but you quickly learn the joy of being either.  It's one of those things in life where 1+1 is 3.  Such was the experience I had when I began this year with a very good friend of mine who was in town and had extra time to go on a photo shoot with me.

Just as my friend and I share several common interests, and some common work history, I would like to share with you a small piece of my enjoyment from the day.  As photographers, you know that it takes a certain amount of brute determination to get up early to be at your destination for dawn's light.  That wasn't our initial plan though as we had picked a more humane time to get together and start our adventure.  But the night before, my friend suggested that he was going to arrive early to catch the sunrise.  Just the suggestion was enough to push me to do the same and join him.  And I'd like to think that by me saying I'd be there too, it pushed him to follow through on his initial idea for showing up early to catch the best light. That's some of the sharing I'm referring to where the whole is great than the sum of its parts.

We arrived nearly at the same time high above the Port of L.A. with a perfect view of the skyline.  It was a little breezy and quite brisk, at least by Southern California standards, and thankfully I had a tripod to steady my gear (and my shivering hands) for the shot.  Oh, that's another thing.  I had a new tripod thanks to my friend.  No, he didn't buy it for me--it was a Christmas gift from my wife.  The reason I have my friend to thank is that during our ongoing communications and sharing of our photography hobby, he convinced me that I really needed a quality tripod and ball head.  What I had been using was ok by my judgement, but I came to realize with his help, that good gear is the foundation of good results.  How else can you receive such valuable advice but by having someone willing to share it...

Photography can be a lonely pursuit.  If you're reading this, chances are you're one of those photographers that goes out by yourself, based on your own interests, on your own terms, and as time allows.  I do that too.  There's a great deal of enjoyment that comes from that.  But as my title suggests, for me, two is better than one.  I would much rather go out on a shoot with another photographer than go by myself.  I've seen the benefits of sharing too many times.  It occurs spontaneously, in the moment, and can be either something about technique, position, or something about life and not photography at all...  And whether I'm the receiver, or the giver, the outcome is the same...a great sense of enjoyment for my photographic pursuits. I'd also like to think that that enjoyment translates into more interesting, beautiful, and inspiring images.

As always, feel free to drop me a line if you have comments or questions, at CostaMesaPhotography@gmail.com and take time to check out my website photo gallery at www.CostaMesaPhotography.com  If you see images there that you like, they can be ordered as prints, or as imprints on a variety of product merchandise.