timkeller

I've removed the lens flares.

The main house at the isolated TO East ranch in northeastern New Mexico, this building

housed a post office a hundred years ago.

If I do anything else with this picture, I'll take the flares out.

This picture was taken at an elevation of 6600 feet. The larger mountain in the distance is Sierra Grande, 8600'. (The smaller mountain is called, oxymoronically, "Little Grande".) My home sits at the base of Sierra Grande, only about 12 miles from the camera. (The 10mm lens makes it look farther!)

 

Your photo of the girls is remarkable and unforgettable.

Racing on snow?! I've never thought of such a thing. I'm so slow and careful on it.

 

Two things make this one stand out from the photos of white cars. The red provides a nice "pop" and bright subject. The fact that the car is sliding off its line, drifting, adds to the effect of the pan to give a nice sense of speed and risk.

This is exquisite. I envy you and this photo.

There is nothing like first light, and never so good as in winter. One always take a chance, getting up and dressed and out before there's any way to know what they'll will find, always the chance it will not have proven worth the sacrifice. Then, one way or another, it always is.

 

That's certainly the case here.

I always like path pictures, leading the eye in...

Classic, very nicely done!

That's a lens flare. There's another, smaller one near the horizon. I always use a lens hood, but here of course I'm shooting straight into the sun. I was pleased that it turned out at all. The flares would be easy enough to remove, but I like lens flare.

Thanks...

This one might have been taken here in New Mexico. I like what looks to be the effects of a wide lens, causing a gentling tilting distortion that adds to the effect. Perfect use of light and shadow, B&W conversion, and composition here. Bravo!

An alluring image, rich in detail and enhanced by a perfect focus with luscious shallow depth of field. The B&W conversion -- and maybe the skirt? -- makes me feel like I'm viewing an image fifty years ago. Nice.

Thanks...

Thanks...

Fascinating find, well seen, captured, and presented.

Thanks Matt and Pnina. Archie's father came to Santa Fe in 1926 and became one of its early famed painters, Hal West. Archie's older brother is Jerry West, another great guy and renowned painter. Archie opted to become a cowboy. His neighbor in the '50s, Jack Schaefer (author of Shane) used Archie as the archetype for his character Monte Walsh, later portrayed in movies by Lee Marvin and then Tom Sellack.

 

My wife's family has been Archie's neighbor and friend since the mid '50s. I'm writing a magazine feature and took my photos to accompany the article. Archie had agreed ahead of time, but he didn't know when I was coming over. His house was immaculate, everything in its place; it smelled of woodsmoke and fried ham. The Martin guitar he bought in 1955 was leaned against a corner across from woodstove in the living room.

 

Here, in the kitchen, he was browsing through old newspapers he'd taken from my mother-in-law's recycle bin, to be used for starting his woodstoves. I was taking photos of details around the house when I swung and got this.

 

A guy that recognized Archie on Flickr wrote to me, "I wish my girlfriend would want to dance with me as much as she wants to dance with him." Archie's often out dancing to live music, a magnificent two-stepper. The women virtually line up to dance with him. He's a gentleman and a charmer.

If I could get a shot this attractive with available light, I'd have no interest in using the strobes.

 

Living where I do, I also have to be impressed to see someone using a word such as "sommelier". Way cool.

I like this kind of light for dinner, too...but you haven't said how you lit this shot! Okay, a couple of strobes off-camera, dialed down, one sitting on the table? Or from above left? His right hand looks like it's picking up light from above left. I ask because it's so effective and, as you know, this is something I'm trying to learn. Thanks.

What's the light source, Matt? Besides the way you've composed and tightly framed the image, it's the light that holds my attention.

Archie's lived in the house since 1943. He bought his Martin 0-15 in 1955.

Archie's lived in this house since 1943.

The last stockman on the Turquoise Trail between Santa Fe and Albuquerque. Thanks...

Thanks...

Thanks...