We headed back to St. Francis Asis to get a different light on the church. It was different! The best part, however, is that Tom took up a conversation with the lady that owns the house across from the church. We posted a couple from that house yesterday. She invited us into her patio and back yard to photograph whatever we found interesting. YIKES, it was gorgeous inside and we have loads of photos. Tom's favorite shot was of her Fiat, parked just in such a position that he could play with his fisheye lens!
Her patio was just lovely.
The church was finally opened. But, no photography allowed. I really do understand their position, but . . . disappointed. Bought a couple of postcards at the gift shop that show the interior. The outside still presents photographic challenges with any extreme light. The two tall trees are lovely but obstruct a good view. The cross is smack dab in the middle of anything from the front, impeding a view of the door. Any shadow is extreme. Found out that every year in the first two weeks of June the parishoners get together and re-mud the whole church and walls!! No wonder it appears so fresh. You can still see the straw in the mud. What a commitment!!
We finally gave up on the church and headed back to the older part of downtown Taos. There is one street in particular that has some interesting galleries . . . Le Doux Street. Many of the structures there are several hundred years old. We spoke with a shop owner in the area and while she liked the idea of the older buildings she said it was almost impossible to drive a nail into that old adobe. It was more like stone!
The photo below is typical. While a long way from the Bario in Tucson, it made me feel at home.
The following photos represent an architecture that is very strong in Taos and one that is emerging with a refreshing lighter color.
White or cream adobe is not so popular here, but we see more evidence of it in the newer parts of town. With the brown adobe we saw a lot of turquoise trim. With the lighter adobe the trim is a darker blue or a lighter white.
The street is the home of the Blumenschein Museum. What a treat!! Ernest B. was the artist who started the artists' migration to Taos. He lived from 1874 to 1960. His home has been restored with exquisite detail, complete with the art that he collected, the books he illustrated and the cups he drank from. Very impressive. Of course, no photographs allowed.
This is the photo from the patio at the entrance of the museum. Hey, ya do what ya gotta do. Photography outside was "allowed".
We are finding that everyday there is the unsuspected fun shot. For Tom it was the kitten at the church that followed him around. For me it was a moth (?) that apparently has no feet as it cannot stop flying even when getting nectar from flowers.
We made the trip up to Ski Valley. It was raining so hard we just looked out the windows and drove back down without even one shot!! Nice up there.
Then on to Alamosa where we have spent the night. Along the way we stopped at what is regarded as the oldest church in Cororado, the Our Lady of Guadalupe in Antonito. It was getting pretty dark and stormy, but we ran into the churck keeper and he would like some photographs of the front to use on a sign and other church booklets. So, tripods out folks! We went inside the church as well and will process the photos and send them back to him. Tom has started processing his images. I went to bed!!
Today we are headed to the Great Dunes Natioanal Park. Going to mix Colorado brown sand with the black lava sand from Iceland that is still seeping into the bottom of my shoes! Seriously, I am still emptying Icelandic black sand from my shoes!
Hope you are staying cool and shooting often.
