I was recently invited to join a local gallery here in Albuquerque, New Mexico. One of their members saw my winning photographs at this year’s State Fair and left a business card on the back of one of my prints. After interviewing with the members, I was invited to be a part of this exclusive gallery. I feel very honored to have been chosen to be a part of this small group of co-op artists.
The gallery is called Albuquerque Photographers Gallery and is located on the plaza of Historic Old Town. I love the fact that this gallery is comprised solely of fine art photography. The atmosphere is inviting and the work of the artists is outstanding.
My work will be on display and available for sale beginning October 3!
If you are ever in Old Town, be sure to visit this beautiful gallery! I hope to see you there some time!
Mariachi Band above Church Street Cafe in Old Town Albuquerque, NM
On day 2 of my visit to Carrizozo, I got up early and drove an hour south to White Sands National Park. I haven’t been there since the mid 70s. It brought back lots of fun memories of playing in the sand dunes, eating grilled hotdogs and enjoying family time.
On this day in January, there definitely wasn’t any kids playing in the sand dunes and nobody was grilling hot dogs! It was 20 degrees outside! But it made for perfect hiking weather.
Believe it or not, they have designated trails in the dunes. They must have to hike them regularly to make sure the markers are still visible. You basically follow markers sticking up out of the sand and they guide you on a roughly 2-mile loop. This day and age it’s pretty difficult to get lost in the dunes now that we have apps like Map my Hike that show you where your starting point was. But if you were to head out in the dunes without any new technology, it could be very easy to get lost and turned around in that sea of white.
So Scarlett and I headed off on a trail soon after the park opened. It was very cold out but the sky was clear and the sun was shining brightly. Hiking the dunes by yourself can be eerily quiet but so peaceful. I mostly followed the trail, but at times wandered off to get pictures without footprints in the sand.
Scarlett loved the dunes. She ran and ran and ran! Up one dune and quickly down the other. I soon lost sight of her and realized she was way far away. I called her back and told her to stay close to mom!
Come back Scarlett!
She loved running up and down the dunes.
My pretty girl!
While hiking I noticed two other people hiking the same trail but taking the reverse route. I got a nice pic of them way out on the dunes. Gives you a real idea of the scale of this place.
There are lots of critters that live in the dunes. I didn’t see any while I was there. But I saw lots of signs of life.
Coyote or fox tracks and a lizard walking in circles.
Lizard and bird tracks
And I left my own prints too!
Kelly’s Footprints
I eventually crossed paths with the two other people on the trail. I asked them to take a picture of Scarlett and I. They were nice enough and took several!
Telling my girl to pose for the camera!
I was bundled up for the cold!
There are a few plants living among the dunes. It’s a gamble for them to take hold there.
Proof that the dunes are constantly shifting and moving.
With all that running around, Scarlett got hot. She managed to find the one shady spot among the dunes!
One spot of shade to cool off after all that running!
Here’s a photo of Scarlett below me. Some of the dunes were steep to climb up and go down.
Scarlett had a much easier time going up and down the dunes than me!
We had a fun time exploring. But soon we had to head back home.
And now for the exciting news!!!
While at the banquet in Carrizozo, I was told about the Annual New Mexico Photographic Art Show (ANMPAS). Entries for the event could be submitted by January 31 and I heard about this on the 28th!
So when I got home I had to quickly choose 3 photos to enter. While reviewing my photos taken at White Sands I came across one photo that really stood out. So I submitted the following photos to the event.
Ripples in the Sand
Tricolored Heron
Red-Eyed Buffalo
And I got 2 photos chosen!!!!
They chose the white sands photo and the tricolored heron. 🙂 They had over 400 entries this year and said it was difficult to choose the winning entries. I am honored to be a participant of this event.
There will be a gallery opening reception on April 1 and the gallery opens to the public on April 2. The event will run through April 23 at the Fine Arts Building at Expo New Mexico, Albuquerque. So if you get a chance, go by and view some outstanding photography by New Mexico artists. And all the art is for sale!
Last weekend I traveled to Carrizozo, New Mexico, to attend a banquet in honor of the winning photographers of the 2016 New Mexico Magazine Photography Contest. The banquet was held at the gallery hosting the winning photographs: Tularosa Basin Gallery of Photography. This is a beautiful gallery of New Mexico Photography by New Mexico Artists. I would love to be an artist hanging in this gallery. Someday maybe 🙂
The Tularosa Basin Gallery is located in a unique old building.
Inside the gallery – lovely displays
My friend Valerie was going to attend with me, but sadly she wasn’t feeling well. But the attendees of the event were all wonderfully gracious and friendly. I had a fabulous time speaking with other fellow winning artists, New Mexico Magazine staff, local attendees and the gallery staff.
The dinner was prepared by a local family and was absolutely delicious! The dinner setting was in the basement of the building. I love how the rooms had been kept as original as possible.
Beautiful setting for dinner
Warren (gallery owner) is standing and the New Mexico Magazine staff are seated.
Proudly standing by my winning photo
I left early in the morning to attend the event last Friday. I wanted to have plenty of the day to explore the area.
I stopped briefly at the Valley of Fires Recreation Area. This a big lava filled valley. There was a one-mile loop trail built out into the lava field. I had a fun time hiking the trail.
Edge of Valley of Fires
Trail through Valley of Fires
You couldn’t walk very easily through this valley without the trail.
Next stop was Three Rivers Petroglyph Site. There are over 21,000 petroglyphs at this site. I hiked about 1.5 miles exploring the rocks along the trail. There were drawings everywhere. It was amazing! The trail starts climbing right away so that you end up walking along the ridge of a hill. This made for a wonderful backdrop in some of my photos. The Sacramento Mountains were beautiful with the snow on them.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
I think the main drawing is a roadrunner catching a snake
Stunning views
Lizard
I love how this drawing is peeking out from the rocks.
Big Horn Sheep, Antelope, and Wolf Print among others
Some of the drawings were quite detailed. Real works of art.
This looks like a man in the fetal position.
I loved this big horn sheep with the arrows in it. Plus you can see the Native American designs on the body of the sheep as we still see them portrayed in their art today.
Beautiful depiction of the native peoples
It was a cold (20 degrees) and breezy day, but I had a great time and ended it with a wonderful evening at the Gallery.
