Taos (Río Pueblo), New Mexico Photo

Photographer’s Note

On the banks of the Río Pueblo in Taos is the Hacienda de los Martínez, one of the few northern New Mexico style, late Spanish Colonial period, "Great Houses" remaining in the American Southwest. This is a view of the river that runs by the property. The water is rushing, cold snow melt from the distant Sangre de Cristo Mountains, in this springtime shot. (The shot is a scan that has been desaturated from the original Ektachrome slide, presented in Workshop.)

The Martínez Hacienda was built in 1804 by Severino Martín (later changed to Martínez). It was the final stop in the old Camino Real from Mexico City to New Mexico, and it became an important stop in the Santa Fe Trail, which connected New Mexico to the United States.

I envision the spirit of so many people who walked these trails over the centuries.

robertosalguero, luiscar, sacimar, alfreherrero, enedimd, mphotographies, jmcl, Mikos has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

robertosalguero (110) 2007-06-02 2:57

I wonder who ever walked these trails and the many stories that took place in them. Your scan is very good actually. The dramatic look of the clouds and the dual tones affect the mood of the scene very well. It does show a very old scene, though not old in reality. Nice work Jose :-)

Rob

luiscar (3282) 2007-06-02 9:35

hola jose, me gusta la conversion a BN que has hecho de esta fotografia, creo que has logrado algo que la otra no tenia y es el dramatismo y el acpecto tenebroso.
felicidades, un saludo
luiscar.

sacimar (7694) 2007-06-02 11:58

Hola Jose,

preciosa vista de la hacienda. He visto la fotografia en color y me gusta mas que en blanco y negro. Una gran toma.

Un saludo

Sergio

prantik (1134) 2007-06-02 13:23

Very classic shot Jose. Very well balanced, love the tension between the foreground and the background. The monochrome version is much better than the colour. I like your conversion, however, there may still be room for some improvement. If you could bring out the fences little more from the background that will look fabulous, I think. The sky and the hill are very well done.

alfreherrero (998) 2007-06-02 15:10

Hola Jose.
Me encanta es una foto muy bonita, con unos colores en B/N muy ajustados me da la impresión, al punto de vista que quieres darnos.
La foto tiene una bella composición y con esos colores parece muy antigua.
Un saludo

enedimd (1528) 2007-06-03 12:01

Hi Jose,
Excellent BW shot. Ws is also superb. Clouds view so attractive. Scan is very well. Well done job,
TFS,
Have a nice day.
Emir Nedim

mphotographies (1976) 2007-06-04 0:38

Hey Jose,

The original is fantastic, looking at a bright colouful side of what history might have been for many who have crossed the border and made a better life. The B&W is more dramatic, a story behind those perimeter fence, those clouds adds 'theatrical' suspense to its long history. Dude you did very good interepretation on this image...plus your notes are interesting, a good photo essay here in TE. This makes me look bad with my boring presentation :(

Your good man!

Jom

jmcl (14149) 2007-06-05 1:54

HI Jose.

I really like the black and white .. it really gets at the point of your photo and amplifies all these wonderful textures of the earth and sky.

take care,

John

Mikos (4324) 2007-06-06 9:53

Hi again José!

Such an effective effect you have given to your image turning it into black and white choice, the clouds, the ambience and the rest of the elements appearing on the image gain a strong visual strength that in colour I think they would not had.
Visually, it is a very beuatiful image, full of message!

Cheers my friend!

Miguel

jonathane (961) 2007-06-10 15:57

It's a great composition Jose. Also one of the cases where B&W do much more justice to the subject as the sky looks very dramatic and texture of the sand is emphasized. Well done!
Regards,
Jonathan