Artist Georgia O'Keeffe once said, "I realized no one could tell me how to paint the red cliffs, so I decided to sit down and figure it out for myself."
She was speaking of the red bluffs that surrounded her home at the now infamous Ghost Ranch property in northern New Mexico.
I recently had the opportunity to travel to those same cliffs for a special photo shoot that was the culmination of many things I hold dear. (More on that later.)
My trip began with a scouting stop at Ghost Ranch, giving me the opportunity to study the light and how it played with the surroundings.
The ranch, originally known as "Rancho de los Brujos," is an hour north of Santa Fe, New Mexico. It was named by cattle rustlers in the 1800s who used the land to hide their stolen goods. They spread rumors that the land was haunted to discourage intruders.
The land itself is also the site of a well known dinosaur skeleton discovery as well as sacred ancestral pueblo ruins.
In more recent years, Ghost Ranch has been the site for many movies and commercials. Its main mission, however, is as a spiritual retreat, owned and operated by the Presbyterian Church since the early '50s. The lure of the unique landscape is known for inspiring artists such as O'Keeffe and Ansel Adams.
My designated location on the ranch for my upcoming shoot was a cabin featured in the opening scene of the Billy Crystal western, City Slickers.
In the four hour window of mostly solitude and sunset, I was treated to a few visitors, including a group of all female bikers -The Moto Maidens- who were touring New Mexico, with a mission to raise money for shelter animals. We chatted and I snapped a few photos of them before they rode off. This brief encounter offered me the opportunity to set a subject against the backdrop and I learned how important it was going to be to know where my own shadow was so that it didn't interfere with crucial angles.
I've included the journal of photos that show how shadow and sun dance together as the light moves from high in the sky to after it's dipped below the horizon. It's really impossible to put it into words. To witness it, gave me a new love for the desert landscape in all its raw beauty.
My time at the ranch that evening was a wonderful prelude to the rest of the week, and I came away understanding what O'Keeffe meant about experiencing that landscape and discovering its visual intricacies as an independent artist. It's true. No one else can tell you how to "paint the cliffs" so you just have to go figure it out yourself.
More soon!
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