On a recent trip through New Mexico I stopped through Taos and put a face to the name, "Adam Schallau". It was fun chatting with Adam and his lovely wife in the parking lot of the St Francis de Asisi Church. Since most of my photography plans had been nixed by the strong overcast and high winds across the region, I was open to any suggestions Adam had for sunset/sunrise/anything.
Adam told me about a neat, recently restored, steel bridge near the beginning of the Rio Grande in southern Colorado. The scene he described sounded like an intriguing sunrise shot. I'm a sucker for bridges with some character. So off I went.
I drove out to this location in the middle of nowhere and holed up in my camper on the side of the road for the night. The day dawned with light clouds to the north and west. It was still a little hazy from the winds the day before, but the view north to Blanca Peak was great and it looked like the bridge and cliffs nearby would catch the morning light.
Here are three shots from that morning. I don't think they'll make the gallery walls, but they're interesting anyway. Tell me what you think.
#4 OK an obligatory St Francis de Asisi Mission shot since this was my first time shooting it. I was playing with my 45 TS-E to keep the verticals straight. I need to go back and spend some dedicated time there. Especially if they remove the meter like Adam said they plan to do.
HA! Nice Kalin, I once took my wife on a wild goosechase to try and find this bridge, and eventually we did (man those roads are confusing!). As I climbed down the rocks and approached the river's edge, I heard the distinct rattle of MULTIPLE rattle snakes on high alert, so I hightailed it back to higher ground. A funny story my grandpa has shared, is that when they used to go fishing around here, there were always so many rattlers, people used to wear aluminum chimney pipes around their ankles to protect them from the bites! Whether true or not, still a funny thing to envision!
As for the shots, I think I like #1 the best of the bunch, prob b/c of the longer focal length, but I do like the spotlighing on the peak in #2. It's a very difficult place to shoot to get separation between the bridge and the surrounding landscape, but if you're in the area, a nice little detour!
That's cool Kalin, and Jody as well ! I remember using that bridge as a put in for a kayak day trip back in 1979. We took out at the normal put in for the Upper Taos Box (a class V section which I've paddled a couple of times in the years since). Didn't see any rattlers that day thankfully.
Those are cool, Kalin. I hate to admit it, but I think Fielder has about the best shots from this place that I've seen, but yours are nice, as are Jody's. They only re-opened the bridge to traffic within the last 3-4 years, and before that you had to choose one side or the other. I love that place, but will keep my eyes peeled for rattlers on future visits.
Hi Kalin,
It was great to meet you! Sally and I had a nice time chatting with you about photography. Here's my take of Blanca and the Rio Grande viewed from the bridge, from September 2006.
Thanks everyone. And thanks for sharing your shots Jody and Adam, nice to see other takes. I'd be interested in seeing what John came up with. The view up the river to Blanca is pretty nice, I can see that I'll have to revisit this sometime in the future and see what else I can come up with now that I know more about it.
Kinda funny sidebar, I was driving my big rig camper, Dodge 3500 Dually with a LARGE (4500lb) camper on it. Not really knowing how big the rig was, Adam had said the bridge was open to traffic and I probably wouldn't have a problem. As I approached from the east, there was a sign that the bridge was restricted to 5 tons. I thought the rig might be heavier than that but had to look at the door placard anyway (truck grosses at 11000 lbs alone), so I decided to sleep on the east side, although there looked to be some nice areas to shoot from on the west side.
Jared, I'm sure glad I didn't encounter any rattlers as I clambored around. I didn't go down the cliffs, but played around the edges a lot. As dusk set in the night before, there was a lot of noise from owls. I hoped I'd come across some of those but didn't see any.
Discussion
12 repliesOn a recent trip through New Mexico I stopped through Taos and put a face to the name, "Adam Schallau". It was fun chatting with Adam and his lovely wife in the parking lot of the St Francis de Asisi Church. Since most of my photography plans had been nixed by the strong overcast and high winds across the region, I was open to any suggestions Adam had for sunset/sunrise/anything.
Adam told me about a neat, recently restored, steel bridge near the beginning of the Rio Grande in southern Colorado. The scene he described sounded like an intriguing sunrise shot. I'm a sucker for bridges with some character. So off I went.
I drove out to this location in the middle of nowhere and holed up in my camper on the side of the road for the night. The day dawned with light clouds to the north and west. It was still a little hazy from the winds the day before, but the view north to Blanca Peak was great and it looked like the bridge and cliffs nearby would catch the morning light.
Here are three shots from that morning. I don't think they'll make the gallery walls, but they're interesting anyway. Tell me what you think.
Canon 5DII, Canon 100-400 f4.5-5.6L IS
Canon 5DII, Tamron 28-75 f2.8
Canon 5DII, Canon 45mm TS-E
As for the shots, I think I like #1 the best of the bunch, prob b/c of the longer focal length, but I do like the spotlighing on the peak in #2. It's a very difficult place to shoot to get separation between the bridge and the surrounding landscape, but if you're in the area, a nice little detour!
Bill Brennan
It was great to meet you! Sally and I had a nice time chatting with you about photography. Here's my take of Blanca and the Rio Grande viewed from the bridge, from September 2006.
Kinda funny sidebar, I was driving my big rig camper, Dodge 3500 Dually with a LARGE (4500lb) camper on it. Not really knowing how big the rig was, Adam had said the bridge was open to traffic and I probably wouldn't have a problem. As I approached from the east, there was a sign that the bridge was restricted to 5 tons. I thought the rig might be heavier than that but had to look at the door placard anyway (truck grosses at 11000 lbs alone), so I decided to sleep on the east side, although there looked to be some nice areas to shoot from on the west side.
Jared, I'm sure glad I didn't encounter any rattlers as I clambored around. I didn't go down the cliffs, but played around the edges a lot. As dusk set in the night before, there was a lot of noise from owls. I hoped I'd come across some of those but didn't see any.
Later!