9 November 2019 - Downtown Albuquerque

I realize the title of this post might be a little confusing. The month is not a typo, unfortunately. I just got a little behind on my posts. Between Thanksgiving travels and weekend rock climbing trips I found myself with little time to put these posts put together. But, as they say, better late than never; so I’m going back through and retroactively posting from my weekend outings.

This particular photographic outing found me back on the streets of downtown Albuquerque. I often find myself with mixed feelings about shooting downtown. The more and more I visit the more and more I feel like I’m taking the same shots over and over again. But every now and again I end up with a unique shot, just by being in the right place at the right time. I started this trip, as I start most of my downtown trips, by strolling through the transit center. I find it’s a nice place to warm up as there are usually a decent stream of people and the architecture and light can make for some interesting scenes.

A couple shots of the same scene from outside the Greyhound Bus terminal

This image (above) was the last of a series I shot as the woman in the green jacket passed by and the man with the bag left to catch his bus. Below are a few of the images leading up to this. In the end, I ended up choosing the above image from the series as I particularly liked the fact that only the shadow of the man is present in the image.

After a leisurely pass through the transit center I began my walk up Central Ave. through the heart of downtown.

While not the sharpest image, I felt like keeping this one as the shadow of the man’s outstretched hand, with a cigarette between his fingers, felt like one of those unique moments in an often photographed place.

After a lap up and down Central Ave. I decided to head down the streets a little further south to escape the shadows of the taller buildings that obscure the early-setting winter sun.

A melancholy face staring back at me from the bricks of the sidewalk

2 November 2019 - ABQ Rail Yards Plaza Opening

The Albuquerque Rail Yards, located just south of central downtown, once housed the main rail stations for a number of large railroad companies. Now, the dilapidated buildings play host to a number of city events, including a weekly farmers market. This Saturday the city hosted an official opening event for a newly renovated plaza nestled between the old iron buildings. Being a fan of photographing crowds, and even more so when those crowds congregate in interesting locations, I decided to see what I could get out of the event.

Playing with a slower shutter speed to try and capture the movements of the mariachi dancers

An interesting character, with sapphire blue sunglasses, dances along to the music from the live band

It’s almost like looking in a mirror… almost

1 November 2019 - First Friday Downtown Art Walk

The first Friday of every month is the Downtown Art Walk where local business and galleries host art show openings, vendors line the streets, and a small section of road just off Central is shutdown for a block party. As someone who enjoys photographing people in downtown Albuquerque the event always promises unique evening scenes to photograph. The first few times I tried photographing at night I was less than impressed with the results. The photos were noisy, the different color temperatures of the street lights made for ugly colors, and I missed the more pronounced shadows I got from the late afternoon sun. The issue, I soon learned, was trying to bring my daytime photography techniques into the night. I needed to adjust how I sought out at a nighttime scene in order to take advantage of the creative possibilities the night had to offer. This meant paying more attention to artificial light, slowing down and holding the camera steadier when taking a shot, and embracing the lack of light. After a few more trips into the night I had better developed my method for photographing the streets at night, and used the lack of light for some more creative images.

I spent a lot of time just standing in front of this closed shop and letting people pass in and out of the scene. I was initially drawn to the shop as the half illuminated store provided an eerie source of light. After about ten minutes of standing there these two people entered the scene and sat on the pedestal in front of the shop which usually displays a 5ft tall pink dinosaur.

A few of the other photos I got while standing in front of the ominous shop

I was initially trying to photograph the “TAKE ME” neon sign in the window when these two showed up. Shot this one form the hip, but was happy with how the framing turned out.

I was just bringing the camera down from my face after taking a pervious photo when this woman appeared beside me practically drowning in fabric. I assumed she was in the process of transporting some sort of art piece and luckily got this shot as she passed me.

12 October 2019 - Balloon Fiesta 2019 - Day 2

After missing the mass ascension during the first weekend of Balloon Fiesta, I made a second trip the following weekend in an attempt to witness hundreds of balloons filling the sky at least once this year. Despite the drastically colder temperatures and a little bit of a breeze, the balloons were given the green flag to fly! For this trip, photographically speaking, I definitely tried to get a few classics of the balloon filled sky, while also trying to use a wider field of view when shooting. Usually, I shoot with a more telephoto field of view so changing things up was defiantly a bit of a creative challenge

An emergency services vehicle moves through the densely packed crowd

Staying warm in classic New Mexico fashion

A flyover marks the beginning of the festivities as the sunrise colors the sky

A single dawn patrol balloon hovers over the attendees entering the park

A man double checks a selfie he just took

A group huddles for warmth while eating breakfast

A few of the first balloons to hit the skies

A crew member begins packing up their balloon after an early deflation

It’s almost like star gazing during the day

An old school bus makes for a unique chase vehicle

5 October 2019 - Balloon Fiesta 2019 - Day 1

October in Albuquerque can only mean one thing - Ballon Fiesta is here! The challenge for me, and for any photographer I think, is how to uniquely photograph the “most photographed event in the world”, especially after coming to the Fiesta year after year. I like to think I get something special every time, and there’s always something to be said for the classic balloon-filled-sky photo. The first day , unfortunately, only a few of the balloons actually launched due to fog, making a second trip the following weekend a mandatory activity. Despite the lack of a mass ascension however, the first day fog, dramatic morning light, and billowing sheets of nylon from deflating balloons still yielded a plethora of great photos.