Welcome!
This website will forever be a Work in Progress, an on-going evolution of images, meditations and -- with your involvement -- dialogue.
I tend to make photographs on a daily basis although this has slowed due to the pandemic. I am privileged to live in the mountains of Northern New Mexico and so I have many photo opportunities right outside my door.
Note the website page "New Work" which will be refurbished regularly.
I doubt I can ever exhaust the richness that is New Mexico and the Greater Southwest; it is a feast for the visual artist.
Some Coming Attractions:
Ranches and Ranchers: Photo collection of modern life in Cattle Country, the enduring myths, economic realities, and the romance of the Cowboy in the Modern Era. Horses in the age of airplanes and drones.
Roswell: A Visual Essay: The town of Roswell NM is known the world over; indeed, when I was preparing to come back to the States after several years in Australia, "Oz" to the Aussies, my friends asked where I was moving, I replied, "New Mexico". More than one of them wanted to know why I was not moving back to the United States, re-thought their question, and then said, "Yes, Roswell, New Mexico".
While my academic training is in Anthropology and I relish witnessing the birth of a myth, I am also a connoisseur of conspiracies. Walking Rain, my present writing project, features several chapters set in Roswell: "That's my point... because there is no evidence whatsoever, it proves my case. The government's coverup is so complete there is zero proof of the space aliens landing and that is precisely how serious it is."
Several characters offer associated theories: Why do so many UFO's keep crashing in New Mexico? The driving is so bad in this state, why would anyone expect anything else from the UFO jockeys here?
The space aliens did not come to Roswell to conduct surveillance on the various nuclear weapons programs nearby and they did not crash, but rather landed and came into town. Why? At the time of the landing Roswell boasted the world's largest mozzarella cheese factory, something wholly unknown by the public today. It was the cheese.
We may not like to admit it, but we learn from conspiracy theories. During the aftermath of the JFK assassination, when I was a child, I learned about suppositories. But it was mysterious for a while there. Just why did Texas have a Schoolbook Suppository anyway? And what form of sadistic education did they conduct there? Further, just how many lone gunmen were there? I digress.
Roswell is a favorite of mine and when it becomes safe to travel again I shall photograph its highpoints, from the present cheese factory, the omnipresent space alien/UFO motifs, the New Mexico Military Institute (notable alums: Conrad Hilton, Roger Staubach, Sam Donaldson and Owen Wilson. Coincidence? I think not.), pistachio orchards, and the friendly folks who live there who will happily engage in conversation regarding intelligent life in the universe.
Other Future Projects:
Portraits of New Mexicans. Finally, I will train my camera on actual human beings.
Ode to Georgia O'Keefe. A brief photographic exploration of the landscapes near her home in Abiquiu, New Mexico.
Taos. The town, the mountains, the Plateau, the History, the enduring myths, and the complex villainy of Kit Carson.
Fritz Lang in New Mexico. To my knowledge, Fritz Lang never visited New Mexico. However, I have long been a fan of the great filmmaker, particularly his "Metropolis", set in a 1927 vision of The Future with all its attendant Technological Wonders. I keep finding machinery in out-of-the-way corners of New Mexico that looks suitable for that film. There is an off-beat surrealism here.
The Tracks of Billy The Kid. No other tale of Western History is as packed with authentic American Themes as that of the young outlaw and legend, nor have many other American Myths been as poorly reported. And most of his story unfolded in New Mexico.
The Street. I am passionate about Street Photography, improvising in existing light and capturing scenes of daily life. The diversity of human communities in New Mexico is a constant flow of outward difference and universal experience.
Bug Music. Macro Photography (extreme close-ups) of local insect faces. Really. They are not creepy. Alien, yes, and often unexpectedly expressive.
Around New Mexico. From White Sands to Los Alamos to Carlsbad Caverns to Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness Area to green chile fields and beyond. Where else can one stop at roadside jerky stands? I love this state.
I would enjoy hearing from you.
Let's start a conversation through this blog.
Stay well,
Jim