Fields and Clouds at Bosque del Apache, Part 2
Grasses glow in a field under the setting sun and winter clouds at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico.
Fields and Winter Clouds (#2, Color), Bosque del Apache NWR, NM (12″x21″)
Fields and Clouds at Bosque del Apache
Fields and winter clouds at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico.
Fields and Winter Clouds, Bosque del Apache NWR, NM (12″x21″)
Mountains and Clouds at Bosque del Apache
I love to drive down to Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in central/southern New Mexico and watch the cranes land around sunset. However, I’m not a wildlife photographer, so I like to arrive early to stroll around before sunset and look at the clouds, surrounding mountains, and open fields.
Bosque Mountains and Winter Clouds, Bosque del Apache NWR, NM (15″x22.5″)
Sandia Ridge in Clouds
A fin of rock along one of the ridge lines in the Sandia Mountain Range pokes up into the clouds.
Sandia Ridge in Clouds (Single Frame #1, 2021, B&W), Cibola National Forest, New Mexico (22.5″x15″)
Loo with a View at Galisteo, NM
Old outhouse on the Galisteo Basin Preserve outside Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Outhouse and Hills, Galisteo Basin Preserve, New Mexico (16″x31″)
Sandia Mountain Winter Storm, Part 5
After shooting a several panoramas, I used my ND filter to make a few long-exposure photographs of the passing winter storm. I shot a series, ranging from 30 seconds to 6-7 minutes. There wasn’t enough blur in the clouds at <30-60 seconds, and at >3-4 minutes the clouds started losing most of their texture/blur, so I decided to share the 61s and 91s exposures.
Sandias and Winter Clouds (ND Single Frame 61s, 2021, Color), Cibola National Forest, New Mexico (15″x22.5″)
Sandias and Winter Clouds (ND Single Frame 91s, 2021, Color), Cibola National Forest, New Mexico (15″x22.5″)
Sandia Mountain Winter Storm, Part 4
After shooting a series of panoramas, I decided to make several single-frame photographs focused on the foothills and the patch of light on the mountains in the background. Here is one of my favorite single-frame photographs.
Sandias and Winter Clouds (Single Frame #1, 2021, Color), Cibola National Forest, New Mexico (15″x22.5″)
Sandia Mountain Winter Storm, Part 3
Another panorama of the Sandia foothills as winter storm clouds lift over the Crest. This is one of my favorite sets of photographs from the evening because the brighter foothills and clouds seem to frame the dark mountains. I can’t decide if I like the color or black and white version of the panorama better, so I decided to post both; the clouds appear more dramatic in the black and white version, and the foreground pops out more in the color version. Note the splash of light in the far left mid/background on the foothills.
Sandias and Winter Clouds (Panorama #8, 2021, Color), Cibola National Forest, New Mexico (21″x76″)
Sandias and Winter Clouds (Panorama #8, 2021, B&W), Cibola National Forest, New Mexico (21″x76″)
Sandia Mountain Winter Storm, Part 2
Last week I posted a panorama that focused on the path in the foreground, but for the second round of panoramas, I decided to focus more on the dramatic clouds draped over the mountains.
Sandias and Winter Clouds (Panorama #4, 2021), Cibola National Forest, New Mexico (21″x64″)
Sandias and Winter Clouds (Panorama #3, 2021), Cibola National Forest, New Mexico (20″x52″)
Sandia Mountain Winter Storm, Part 1
Winter storm clouds obscure the top of the Sandia Mountains outside Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Sandias and Winter Clouds (Panorama #1, 2021), Cibola National Forest, New Mexico (18″x67″)
Santa Fe National Forest Winter Storm Clouds, 2019
Winter storm clouds gather behind cholla cacti on a plain west of I-25 between Albuquerque and Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Cholla Cactus and Winter Storm Clouds (B&W Panorama #4),
Santa Fe National Forest, NM (16″x40″)
Bosque del Apache Sunset
Around sunset, geese begin to return to the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge after spending the day in fields throughout the Middle Rio Grande Valley.
Bosque del Apache Sunset (#1), Bosque del Apache NWR, San Antonio, NM (16″x39″)
Bosque del Apache Sunset (#2), Bosque del Apache NWR, San Antonio, NM (16″x36″)
Sandia Mountains and Clouds, 2019
The road to the Sandia Tram winds up the Sandia Foothills outside Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Road to Sandia Tram and Storm Clouds (B&W Panorama #1), Cibola National Forest, NM (16″x68″)
Road to Sandia Tram and Storm Clouds (B&W Panorama #1), Cibola National Forest, NM (16″x53″)
Sandias and Winter Storm Clouds, 2019
A lone juniper stands on a grassy slope in front of the Sandia Mountains in the high desert outside Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Juniper, Storm Clouds, Sandia Mountains (B&W Panorama #6), Cibola National Forest, NM (16″x38″)
Santa Fe Summer Sunset
Red setting sun casting shades of orange and pink across layers upon layers of summer clouds in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Unfortunately I wasn’t in a spot to get a nice foreground, but the sky was fantastic.
Summer Sunset over Santa Fe Botanical Gardens, Santa Fe, New Mexico (23″x30″)
Santa Fe, NM Summer Clouds
Bulb exposure of gathering summer rain clouds over a sculpture at Meow Wolf in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Meow Wolf Sculpture and Summer Clouds, Santa Fe, New Mexico (12″x18″)
Cerro Bonanza, NM
While driving from Santa Fe to Albuquerque, I stopped to photograph the shifting evening light on passing clouds and Cerro Bonanza.
Cerro Bonanza and Evening Clouds, near Santa Fe, NM (16″x54″)
Looking North from Sun Mountain, Santa Fe, NM
The shapes of the clouds appeared to mimic the shapes of the foothills outside Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Clouds over Baldy Peak and SF National Forest, near Santa Fe, NM (16″x54″)
Spring Clouds over Santa Fe National Forest
Late winter/early spring winds blow tumbleweeds against a fence as clouds pass over the Santa Fe National Forest near Route 16 and Peña Blanca, NM.
Clouds over Santa Fe National Forest, near Peña Blanca, NM (16″x47″)
Tree in Slot Canyon at Tent Rocks National Monument
Erosion has washed away the rocks and soil under the ponderosa pine hanging onto the rock walls in the main slot canyon at Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument. One of my favorite trees in the world to photograph.
Tree in Slot Canyon, Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument, NM (18″x12″)
Spring Rain Clouds over Slot Canyon at Tent Rocks National Monument
Spring clouds over a slot canyon composed of eroded layers of volcanic rock and ash from ancient pyroclastic flows in Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument, NM.
Spring Clouds over Slot Canyon, Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument, NM (12″x18″)
Spring Rain Clouds over Sandia Mountains
Rain clouds pass over the Sandia Mountains and Cibola National Forest at sunset outside Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Spring Rain Clouds and Sandias at Sunset, outside Albuquerque, NM (10″x16″)
Winter Sunset and Cottonwoods
Last rays of sunlight poke through winter clouds over cottonwoods near the Rio Grande River outside Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Winter Sunset, Clouds, and Cottonwoods, Albuquerque, NM (16″x44″)
Panoramas of Sandia Mountains and Winter Storm Clouds
A few black and white panoramas of winter storm clouds over the Sandia Mountains on New Year’s Eve, 2018.
Winter Storm Clouds and Snow over Sandias (B&W Panorama #4, NYE 2018), Cibola National Forest, NM (16″x35″)
Winter Storm Clouds and Snow over Sandias (B&W Panorama #1, NYE 2018), Cibola National Forest, NM (16″x63″)
Luke Parsons Photography 