#198 Taos Photo Tour

You know we're in the SW, just look at the driver's hat.

During our trip to Santa Fe and Taos, New Mexico, we had planned to spend half a day on a guided photo tour with a local professional photographer. I had toured with Geraint Smith three years before and knew he was a good guide and instructor. Geraint was born in Wales and lived in the UK before coming to the US in 1978 as a young man. Moving to Taos in 1988 Geraint grew as a photographer and sculptural artist. With a huge and varied list of clients, 

Geraint's recent solo show at the Bareiss Gallery in Taos.

Geraint now shows his works at local galleries, produces photo prints of the beautiful Southwest, has a book on the market (Rio Grande del Norte: an Intimate Portrait), and guides photo tours and workshops year round. 

Our afternoon tour on Sunday, October 19, was to center around fall colors and composition skills. The tour started out by adapting to the only rain in several days; where we had planned to go wouldn’t be good for landscape photography. Geraint instead said, “How about we go to Colorado where the forecast is drier.” My response was, “You’re the guide.”

From Taos we headed north in Geraint’s 4-sheel drive small SUV. Our first stop was in Arroyo Hondo, a small village Anne and I had driven through a couple of days before. I hadn’t seen anything to make me stop and photograph, but he stopped on Hwy 522 and pointed out a spectacular cottonwood in full autumn color—a photographer’s dream. 

Using his iPhone camera Geraint showed me a possible composition and checked my shot with approval. The next stop was a little further up the road for a classic horse in the field photo. 

He reminded me to get the horse in focus while keeping the surrounding bushes softly out of focus. 

After a couple more stops along the highway, Geraint suggested we go to the Wild Rivers Recreation Area in the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument, 

Neither Anne nor I had ever been in this area and we were thrilled with the view of the river and canyon.

The weather was still drippy, but the further north we went the better it was for photography—dry with clouds and sun. Our photo subjects now included abandoned buildings, 

quaint churches in small villages, 

Church in Garcia, Colorado.

local wildlife (especially birds},

Magpie

Red Tail Hawk

general landscapes, all with a background of either the Sangre de Cristos mountains or the closer 10,000 foot Ute mountain. 

Geraint Smith checking a composition.

I shot dozens and dozens of images trying to follow Geraint’s composition hints as well as throw in a few ideas of my own. 

Anne was all this time a participating member of the tour—watching both Geraint and myself, taking a few pictures, as well as actively taking part in the discussions.

It was a long drive home to Taos from southern Colorado with only a couple of stops. Our last photo opportunity was back in Arroyo Hondo at the grand cottonwood along the highway. 

The light was different—sun and clouds rather than gray overcast. The tree and surroundings were even more dramatic than when we started the tour. It provided a fitting ending to a wonderful day’s adventure. Thanks, Geraint Smith.

For more information about Geraint Smith, his photos and tours, see his website: www.geraintsmith.com. 

NEXT: More of our trip to the Southwest.

The Southwest Trip that Wasn't

     On Saturday morning in the Taos, NM, Urgent Care the first customer called up was a man with his young daughter. Their insurance had expired a year ago and Urgent Care wouldn’t see the girl without $130 co-pay up front. He seemed to be known in the clinic and they absolutely wouldn’t see the girl without payment. He stormed out. Next called was an Australian couple where the woman had severe back issues. They did have traveler’s insurance and were told, after checking their policy, it would be $130 to see the doctor, but they’d get that back from their insurance. This post is about why we were witness to this early morning scene in Taos and what resulted from our visit to Urgent Care.

Oldest House in America

The plan for our fall southwest trip was well thought out and meticulously executed. Two days in Santa Fe staying in timeshare, three days in Taos timeshare with time to visit our adopted niece and her family. There would be lots of time for photography. Then we’d move north to Durango, CO, for four days with visits to Mesa Verde and Silverton. Next, we’d swing into Arizona to visit Canyon de Chelly with a Navajo guide and a couple more days in the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest before driving back to Albuquerque and flying home. Brilliant! Too bad reality didn’t match the planning.

New Mexico Museum of Art

Trying to make a little art of my own in the museum.

     The first part of the trip ran smoothly, even though we had to run clear across the Las Vegas terminal because we misread the reader board and sat in C9 until they were calling our name for our flight leaving from B9. In Santa Fe we did just what we had planned. We visited the Oldest Church in the US, the Oldest House, numerous shops, the Governor’s Palace for native jewelry shopping, and the New Mexico Museum of Art. We ate well with good breakfasts at the New York Deli and The Pantry (the number one dining spot in Santa Fe). We also found some of the best pizza we’ve ever had at Backroad Pizza,  a Guy Fieri’s Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives selection.

Breakfast at The Pantry

Great Pizza

On our way to Taos after two nights in Santa Fe we stopped to visit our adopted niece Jas Cecelic, her husband Zach, and two-year-old daughter Zea. 

They live in a modified yurt on five acres outside Truchas, NM, at a little above 8,000 feet. Here they have a natural farm supplying local produce to area restaurants and are building their own home. It’s a truly rustic lifestyle, but Jas and Zach are brilliant, well-educated, happy, and dedicated; and Zea is beautiful and so in touch with the environment. We visit every chance we get. In Taos that evening is when things started to slip off the rails. I started feeling badly—cough, sniffles, headache, breathless—and felt worse the next morning. That prompted the visit to Urgent Care I mentioned earlier.

San Fransisco de Asis Church, Taos

A favorite subject for artists such as Ansel Adams and Georgia O'Keeffe.

When I got my turn—no co-pay required with my insurance—my vital signs weren’t too far off the norm. The young doctor wasn’t sure what to tell me. I had cold symptoms, but no fever (even though I had had the chills) and heart and lungs seemed fine. Finally, her diagnosis was possible walking pneumonia with a touch of altitude sickness. She gave me three prescriptions and said to rest. We got the meds, went back to our timeshare, and I took a nap. A little after noon I thought we might yet do a bit of sightseeing, so we drove out to Arroyo Seco for cokes at the Merchantile. By the time we got our cokes I was so dizzy I could barely make it back to the car. To the Urgent Care for our second visit. Again, the doctor couldn’t figure out what to tell me. Now I had a fever of 101.6 and was in a drug fog that was closing in. She finally swabbed for flu and got a positive. Her reaction was, “That explains everything. You’ve got the flu!” Drop one of the earlier meds, keep the second one, and use your judgement on the third. Also, add a new flu medication and rest. It sounded fine.

Farmhouse Cafe, Taos

Rural Art, Taos

Too bad it wasn’t fine. I finally dropped the third medicine and some of the fog went away, but the flu medicine, although it seemed to make me feel better, had the side-effect of No Sleep. Saturday night I got maybe an hour and a half of sleep all night. And even though I felt good enough to be more active—out for a light lunch and some photography at the Rio Grande Bridge—Sunday night I got no more than two hours of sleep. Earlier on Sunday we had seen the writing on the wall and cancelled all those well planned stays and tours and changed our tickets to fly home on Tuesday. 

I did make it back to the church twice to photograph it in different light.

The drive on Monday with very little sleep and Anne helping was a fright (not because of Anne's driving) and it was four in the morning on Tuesday before I got real sleep, two hours worth. In total, I had gone about 85 hours on four hours of sleep before I got on the plane for home. Thankfully, I did sleep on the plane. At home we got in to see my doctor early on Wednesday and the diagnosis was the flu along with a reaction, sleeplessness, to the medicine. Rest and recovery is now the treatment, but there are some lessons from the trip: First, always be prepared for the unforeseen with cancellation information, medical data, insurance, etc. Second, be flexible and prepared to change. And third, always listen to your wife (spouse)—if I had had my way I would have tried to soldier through the trip, which would have been an absolute disaster, physically and financially. As it was, Anne’s good judgement got me the best care we could get (even with the missed diagnosis), allowed us to recoup most of our planned expenses, and saved us from real disaster. 

Rio Grande Gorge Bridge

Rain Storm

    The trip may have not been good, but I hope at least it makes an interesting story.

Rio Grande

Out of Denver on the flight home.

NEXT: Trying to get well.