March 20, 2010

I am lost and I am alone! But I have found something.... Something at a place called Santuario De Chimayo! Like no other!

I am lost and I am alone! But I have found something.... Something.....



I’ve met all types of people; farmers, cops, bankers, CFO’s, day laborers, bartenders, truck drivers, a few celeb’s, hunters, the unemployed, the old, the young, the retired, etc. Work has blessed me with nights under a canopy of stars, the luxury of staying at five-star resorts, or enjoying the most amazing experiences with new acquaintances.

And then I arrive ,I am lost, I am alone , and I am at a place called Santuario De Chimayo It is just outside Santa Fe which should have been a 20 minute ride from where I was in New Mexico… But on this day after driving for around for 7 hours searching for this magical place I was flustered I was thirsty I was annoyed..

I was had just about giving up on finding this town this church this place that sits on the Chimayo Indian reservation. I was on the phone complaining to my friend about my day and then the road I am on just ended. Nailed to a tree starring at me was a heart painted sigh! Next to that sign were arrows pointing north and south, leaving me with 3 choices: turn around, make a right or make a left… I went left and drove for 15 minutes attempting to find I25…….

The sign, the dirt road, the arches and now I had come to a halt in a empty driveway. I have arrived. Nearly 8 hours after I had begun this journey with the morning sun glaring at me to now watching the sun retreat for the night!

I first felt this “”change”” when I exited the car. My breathing had slowed down but my pulse raced as I took the first steps in the dirt. I felt the chill of the afternoon air on my neck, my eyes start wandering and I am stopped dead in my tracks by a horse with a blue eye….




Entranced by him as he was by me a couple of moments passed and I have a feeling of floating on a level that I have never experienced before anywhere in the world. I am transfixed I am completely out of my body out of my mind out of everything I was taught, everything I believe in.

Here at Santuario De Chimayo the wind speaks, the animals speak, the ground you walk on speaks, I am seeing hues of color, I am talking with out words. Something has gotten a hold of me. I walk through the old stone gates and walking in sync with me was a horse that is behind a fence walking along the fence with me. Instead of my shadow I have this horse. Above many hawks circled around criss-crossing each other flight paths and I noticed that I had stop walking and was looking up at them as turning slightly the horse had stopped to. I take a few steps forward the horse takes a few steps forward. I take a few steps backward and the horse takes a few steps backward. There are a few people in the distance that I noticed watching me watching the horse watching the hawks watching me. I as survey the town, the church, I feel as I am not me . I am someone else. I am here for something, I am in deep thought and I speak up and direct my voice towards the family starring at me from 50 yards away. Do you see this I say? Do you hear me? Is this horse following me some answer me… from another direction a voice who’s pitch is high this child voice is almost like a whisper in my ear he says I acknowledged it I saw the change begin once you left your car. I close my eyes I take a deep breathe and I reopen my eyes and the kid is now walking off heading west up a dirt trail that leads to town.



I also see that while he is walking away the sun is at the most perfect height and it following him through 2 arches that separate the church grounds and the town. Words simply can’t justify this experience: images cant capture this and here I sit months after this and my hair on my neck my arms stand at attention as I try to explain it……

March 19, 2010

A night in Santa Rosa New Mexico

Every now and then I end up meeting or staying with friends after the job has ended or during. This time I was in New Mexico I was wrapping up a job on tourism in Santa Fe and was heading back to Albuquerque when I received a call from a friend asking me where I was said somewhere between Santa Fe & Albuquerque he asked do I have plans.. huh I ask him as it so happens he was going to a friends ranch in out Santa Rosa for a country BBQ …it was only about an hour away… Sure I said ..I pulled over to write the directions and learned I had to do a U-turn... The Blue skies a few powder clouds above so stopping my car in the middle of the road I see a cool sigh so I shoot it as I am returning to the car I get caught up on the yellow line.. Did I tell you I stopped in the middle of the road…. And I forgot as well lol …. I was squatter right in the middle of the road when a car almost hit me while I was crouching down to get this shot lol…The Ranch… Steaks, BBQ, a few sink holes, a stream and some lakes were surrounded by mountains…. Good friends, big fire pit and one of the best steaks I have ever had…..







Thanks for the meal, cold beers and the bug repellant

March 18, 2010

Faces and foods of the Mandarin Oriental Miami



As I am clearing out over 200 gigs of images from my Dell and moving them to my Mac.. I am beginning to see how I got to where I am.. It all goes back to gourmet foods and the people that had provided me with opportunities to set up, shoot and sample the dishes.. I am getting hungry, I am hearing there voices as I recall the details of this shoot! The team at the Mandarin were ready for me and my team, everything was set and after the initial introductions we began the tasks of plating the foods from Chef Tony...




I can tell you that each of the members of the Mandarin Oriental take there positions very serious but the one thing I recall is how pleasant and friendly or helpful they all were. Shooting only for about 4 hours we managed to capture some fantastic portraits and delicious foods.

More images to come! Bon Appetite!