Tumacacori Grave Site

I have visited the area south of Tucson Az. a number of times to photograph the Tumacacori Mission.  The first mission built on this site was constructed in 1691 by Father Kino, and the current mission was constructed in the mid 18th century.  There are numerous old grave sites in the courtyard from people who worked and lived at the mission.  This mission is now part of the National Parks system and is  wonderful place to spend a day looking at the structures built by an old civilization and learning about their culture.  I made this image around noontime in intense sunlight.  I compressed several different exposures together to render some detail in the harsh shadows.

http://www.nps.gov/tuma/index.htm

Saguaro Cactus

We have travel numerous time in the Sonoran desert in Arizona, and always enjoy camping in the area of the Saguaro cactus.  These majestic cactus take on an almost human form with their arms that extend off the main trunk of the cactus.  I have tried to photograph these cactus many times and feel I have not captured the true character of the subject.  Hopefully we can spend some more time there in the future and I can work with these great giants of the desert once more.

http://www.desertusa.com/cactus/saguaro-cactus.html

Mississippi Crossing

I have crossed the Mississippi River numerous times and always find it an exciting place to stop and spend a few days to photograph.  This bridge is located at the river crossing between the towns of Vidalia, La. and Natchez. Ms., and straddles the state line.  I made this image with a Canon 5D11 at around 9 p.m.  I was on the western side of the river in the town a Vidalia and found a nice public walk way that goes down under the bridge.  On the other side of the river is the old historic beautiful town of Natchez.  It is fill with old civil war era homes and plenty of history to explore.  The Mississippi River is a fascinating place to just sit and watch the barges go up and down the river.


http://www.johnweeks.com/river_mississippi/pages/lmiss10.html
http://www.yelp.com/biz/mississippi-river-bridge-natchez
http://visitnatchez.org/

Monarch Canyon

In the Colorado Plateau area of the American Southwest there are numerous old structures and cliff dwellings from an ancient civilization.  The people that inhabited this area were know as the Anasazi Indians.  Most every canyon in the region hold some form of markings (petroglyph) or structure left behind by these early Indian tribes.  It is a fascinating place to hike and explore the remains of an ancient civilization.  It is important to use extreme caution when hiking into these locations not to disturb or alter any of these old sites.  I have found over the years that most people that have the desire to explore such regions do so with great respect and try to avoid impacting the area as much as possible.

http://cpluhna.nau.edu/Places/places.htm
http://pages.towson.edu/brenda/newmexico/anasazi.htm
http://www.indians.org/articles/anasazi-indians.html

Goodhue Hill

I made this image on January 1st 1978 on a cold but sunny day in upstate N.Y.  I used my view camera and can remember it was a quiet day without any wind.  I use to enjoy those calm days in winter when the sun was out and the temperature was around 15*.   The air was crisp and dry, and I can remember the sound of the snow crunching under my boots as I made my way onto the ice in the swamp up on Goodhue Hill.  The only sounds that day were a few crows flying over head that broke the silence with their calls.  The wintertime offered many opportunities for making photographs.  After a few hours with cold fingers and toes I would head back home to the darkroom and start my processing with a warm cup of coffee.  They were fun days that helped to break up what was usually a long and dreary winter.

Ricketts Glen

When I lived in the Northeast I would spend a lot of time hiking and photographing the numerous waterfalls in the region.  I enjoyed the quiet times wandering along the trail and wading through the water working my way up to the next waterfalls in the stream.  One place that I liked to go was Ricketts Glen in Pennsylvania.  It is a state park that has a 7 mile hiking trail with 22 waterfalls, with the highest being 94'.   The park is in a remote section of Pa. without any major cities around.  The area offers camping and plenty of hiking trails to explore.  I made this image with a 4x5 view camera on a early fall afternoon.


http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks/findapark/rickettsglen/
http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/North_America/United_States_of_America/Pennsylvania/Ricketts_Glen_State_Park-861209/Things_To_Do-Ricketts_Glen_State_Park-TG-C-1.html

Mexico in the mountains

We have made a couple of trips into Mexico the past few years to spend three or four months photographing and traveling around.  We particularly enjoyed the mountain region in central Mexico.  It is an area of mountain streams,waterfalls and wonderful vistas.   The little villages we stopped in gave us the chance to try the local foods from the area.  These were often poor little town where life has remained the same for many years.  We found the people friendly and somewhat curious about us being in their community.  Many of these small towns on the backroads rarely see a foreigners past through.  We would spend a few hours walking the streets and experiencing the everyday life that was going on around us.