Showing posts with label New Mexico. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New Mexico. Show all posts

Sunday, April 16, 2023

NM Ghost Towns - Finale - Pinos Altos & Silver City

 Well we are finally finishing up this epic photographic journey. Hard to believe that only two days could lead to this many posts! But this is what happens when the spirit of Espouses Fotograficus fills you. As I have always believed, "Beware the Newly Converted."

After the long drive back from Hillsboro ( I failed to mention earlier, I think, that we had to drive way more than we thought because the main road between Silver City, our base, and Hillsboro had been washed out and closed) we went to a small Ghost Town right outside of Silver City called Pinos Altos. It was small and like some of the other communities was coming back in a small way with people developing the properties. Then we finally stepped out into the historic center of Silver City where our hotel was located. By then it had been a very long day and we were beat.

In Pinos Altos, I was still using the fish eye lens. No triads here . There are some comparisons of black & white vs. color of the same image, and some just my impression of the best shot. Silver City, I switched back to my regular lens and shot mostly in color because the city is so colorful. Though there were a couple of scenes that seemed appropriate for black and white.

Pinos Altos




 The town had an opera house. It has been converted into rental space for events. They were going to have a band and dancing the evening we were there. We really needed a bathroom. The managers were nice to let us use the facility and then roam around to take pictures.




 Chatting with the proprietors, they told me of a legend of photographer who was supposedly obsessed with the property and whose ghost inhabits the building. I decided to my paranormal filter on my lens to see what would it would catch. 

Would you believe!

Sure enough. The Ghost Photographer. I even got a shot of her when we went into the bar/restaurant next door.

 

 Finishing up Pinos Altos

 








 Finally taking our exhausted bodies out to Silver City itself, there are a ton of historic buildings, well marked with signs describing the history. And all maintained now in a very colorful state.








Then, as we were walking, I saw this old truck and thought using black and white would capture the image of the town of old.

 

 One last whimsical take. There was a huge Ice Cream Emporium with a big ice cream cone sign which we were going to finish our evening. As we approached, its reflection was on the window of a fitness place. The irony had me laughing.

 

NM Ghost Towns - Finishing Up Hillsboro

 I've got two more posts to go! I took more pictures on this two day trip than any other I've been on. But I guess since the whole purpose was photographic that makes sense. This time no triads, just black/white vs color comparisons (for the most part).



















Wednesday, April 12, 2023

NM Ghost Towns - Photography Triads

We are continuing on with the results of the great photographic experiment adventure. 

Seeing the results of the black and white photos from the first day, I was inspired to use our fish eye lens. This is a lens that magnifies and distorts. It is great for panoramas and also for catching detail. I have never been that enamored with it. Wife has loved it and uses it all the time. But there was something about the idea of the additional distortion and greater detail that seemed to me to be ideal for the kinds of experimenting I was doing. 

So I finished up our time at Lake Valley using it. Then we ventured up the road to Hillsboro where I used it exclusively. This post will only include part of the Hillsboro pictures as I want to keep the number of photos limited per post. For most of the images, there are the three versions I was shooting. They were:

  • Black and white at normal exposure
  • Black and white under exposed three stops
  • Color under exposed three stops 

I am very interested in your feed back. So I've numbered them to make it easier to comment. Remember this is just an experiment on my part so whatever you say is good for me to hear. 

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