best time for visting New Mexico

I thought I'd ask you folks from the region for a bit of assistance...

My sister-in-law lives in Los Alamos and there's a good chance that my wife and I will be heading out there some time this year. If at all possible, I want to maximize the opportunity (from a landscape photography perspective). I would anticipate being there for approximately one week and I definitely want to spend some time down at White Sands. Beyond that, I'm open to suggestions. My sister-in-law has a "cabin" in Jemez Springs and suggested that mid- to late-September would be the best time to be there, but I thought I'd solicit other opinions.

I've never been to New Mexico before and I'd like to make the most of it, so any suggestions re timing and locations would be most appreciated.

Thanks.

I don't know a thing about New Mexico, but we have the same last name!

New Mexico shares alot of the mountain conditions with Colorado. Wildflowers in the mid-summer and aspen colors in the fall. It also has the more dessert influenced sections where the wildflowers would come earlier like now.

I don't know what the peak dates are, but I'm sure someone here could tell you. It would help if you were more specific about what you would like to shoot.

Jon: Re the last name thing...go figure! I'll go out on a limb and guess that many of our relatives share the same last name.

Mel, it's hard for me to be more specific about shooting subjects since I'm so unfamiliar with the locale. At least 95% of my shooting interest is of the landscape variety, but beyond that I'm open to just about anything. I haven't done any shooting west of the Mississippi since I became "serious" about landscape photography five or six years ago. My sister-in-law (not a serious photographer, for what that's worth) raves about the scenic beauty, particularly when the aspens turn gold, in the Jemez Mountains, the Santa Fe National Forest, the areas around Taos and Abiquiu and so forth, all in th north central part of the state. I'm absolutely committed to spending at least a day or two at White Sands National Monument, several hundred miles away near Alamogordo. Beyond that, I'm wide open.

I've spent a fair amount of time in both Colorado and southern Utah, but it was back in the late 1980s and early 1990s, before I became serious about photography. As I mentioned earlier, I've never been to New Mexico at all.

I hope this is of some modest help, and thanks for the reply.

White Sands is a pretty good haul from Los Alamos; plan on spending a good part of a day driving out and back - perhaps plan to drive out one morning, spend an evening and a morning at WSNM, then drive back? Also, if you're planning on being out on the Dunes outside of regular hours (aka not during daylight), be sure to schedule with the WSNM office - I believe a fee is also involved, but it's reasonable for shooting such a unique place. (See the White Sands web page for permitting forms...)

Bandelier National Monument is nearby; as Mel noted, it shares a lot of characteristics with Colorado. Spring should be just coming to the mountains around Los Alamos; I'm guessing late September for Fall colors. The Monument has some nice woodland trails, a couple of waterfalls, some interesting rock formations, and a Puebloan ruin.

A few places to consider:

-Kasha Katuwe - Tent Rocks National Monument between Santa Fe and ABQ
-Ghost Ranch near the village of Abiquiu
-Plaza Blanca near Abiquiu
-Rio Grande Gorge near Taos, the west side near Carson can be great at sunset
-Chaco Canyon NHP
-Taos and Santa Fe for the architecture
-The "High Road" from Taos to Santa Fe

You may want to consider picking-up Laurent Martres book Photographing the Southwest, Volume 3 - A Guide to the Natural Landmarks of Colorado & New Mexico.

Hope this helps

I concur with Adam about the locations. September sounds good. You'll have relatively long days, low chance of storms/rain, not too hot or cold. Have fun.