Once in a .......

Here's another one of my more popular photos. No surprise that it is a moon shot.

White Sands

This is quickly becoming one of my most popular photos. It was taken at White Sands National Monument during the solstice moon. There was a thunderstorm moving in when I shot this. The photo is looking towards Alamogordo and you can see a lightning strike in the middle of the clouds.

Here are a couple of shots from my Sunday drive. They both were taken on the Rio Grande close to Canutillo TX. I really like taking photos in and around this area. I also like seeing the Rio Grande full of water. I'm not sure why but it makes me feel good knowing that some of this water is making it past the Franklin Canal.

My first magazine published photo

This photo was taken when I got my first ever hot air balloon ride. It also was the first photo that I took that was published in a magazine. This photo was spread out over 2 pages and made the January issue of El Paso Magazine. The person whose silhouette you see is the pilot. He is checking the balloon during inflation to make sure everything is ok and is pulling out the balloon so it can inflate properly. This experience was extremely cool to say the least and is one I'll soon not forget.

My Motorcycle

This is my motorcycle. It is a 2005 Suzuki Boulevard M50. I'm not into crotch rockets. Not that there's anything wrong with them, I just don't trust myself on one. I would probably be too tempted to go zero to 200 in no time flat. At my age, a good cruise is all I need. Most of the time I stay in the slow lane and let everyone else in a hurry pass me by. Normally, if it is not raining or too windy, or if I don't have to carry anything that would not fit in my saddlebags, I will be on my bike. I like feeling the subtle changes in temperature as I hit warm or cold air pockets. I also like the smell of good food as I ride by a restaurant. These are simple pleasures you miss when you cage it.

Sunday drive

Yesterday we went out on a Sunday drive along Highway 28 which runs from Canutillo through to Old Mesilla, New Mexico. We stopped at this ranch to photograph the horses. They seemed very friendly and came over to where we stood. I don't know anything about horses so I'm not sure what kind these are.

Sunset Grocery and Meat Market

When I was about 8 years old, we moved from Smeltertown to Sunset Heights. We lived just a couple of blocks from this store which has now become an El Paso icon. For many years it was owned and operated by the Vitela family. I used to go inside the basement to look for boxes to play with. The basement was dimly lit and cluttered with empty boxes and shelves. There were things on those shelves but I can't remember what they were. It was a bit spooky and after a while Mrs. Vitela would call down for me to come back upstairs. She still is a very nice lady and it's always a pleasure to see and speak to her.

Prospect street bridge at night

This is looking at downtown El Paso from Prospect street. We lived on this street for many years and would walk downtown using this bridge. As a kid, I would love to stand on this bridge and see the cars zooming by.

Mount Cristo Rey

This was taken at the top of Mount Cristo Rey. I can remember making the pilgrimage to the top of this mountain several times during the annual ascents in October of each year. I would see people climbing up on their knees keeping promises for wishes granted or asking for prayers to be answered. This mountain was also a welcomed site every time I came back to visit my family in El Paso during the times that I lived in San Diego, Midland, or San Antonio.
This area was once completely under water and it takes about a minute to find shell fossils near the base of this mountain. Once you reach the top of this mountain, you can see 3 states ( Texas, New Mexico and Chihuahua) and 2 countries (United States and Mexico).

Moonshot

Soon after I started shooting photos again, I discovered how to take photos of the moon. I knew that I was hooked and to this day, many of my photographs have something to do with the moon.

Sunrise

This was a sunrise photo that I took while fishing at Elephant Butte. The fisherman you see in the boat is my brother.

El Paso

This has been my most popular photograph. It has been viewed over 8,000 times with 207 flickr members calling this a favorite!

Elephant Butte, NM

I also love to fish so I try and get out to the lake as much as possible. This is Elephant Butte lake in New Mexico.