I am planning a trip to the Santa Fe/Taos area beginning this Sunday, but, heard an unconfirmed report of fires in the area that may hamper good conditions for photography. Can anyone provide infomation about this?
Thanks,
Joe Rogers
Posted by Doug Koepsel on June 3, 2011 at 11:29 AM
The 106,000 acre Wallow Fire in eastern Arizona near Alpine may be sending smoke that way. I have read reports of smoke from it in ABQ.
Joe,
A new fire, the Osha Fire, began on Wednesday June 1st. It is approximately 15 miles south-southeast of Taos and is moving to the east-northeast. As of this morning it is 7% contained and it's expected to be contained by the middle of June.
We have a combination of smoke from the Wallow Fire and Osha Fire filling the air. The sunset last night was amazing, but the air quality right now is not conducive to producing typical landscape photographs. My wife and I both woke up this morning suffering from congestion and headaches due to the smoke.
We have dry thunderstorms with lightning in the forecast for this weekend. Who knows what we may wake up to on Monday morning.
Yeah, it was nasty last night in Santa Fe. This morning was okay, but it's smoking up again. If you're in the area, though, my plan would be to take advantage of morning hours, when it may be better, and to plan on shooting more intimate areas as opposed to long views. Inside the Rio Grande Gorge, Bandelier, Plaza Blanca could all have good potential.
You can find some degree of updates at http://air.nmenv.state.nm.us/index.php. Try the "Maps" dropdown. I'm not sure how frequently they're updating these, so they may be a few hours behind.
FWIW, I talked to a buddy in Telluride yesterday who said they'd had a day of crazy smoke up there, so it's not just us.
Edit: I should also add that http://nmfireinfo.wordpress.com/ is probably the best one-stop site for updates. They've got links to info on forest restrictions/closures too; I doubt those will be an issue for you in Santa Fe and Carson NF, but it's not out of the question if something blows up.
What I was interested in shooting was churches, etc along the High Road and architecture shots in Santa Fe, Taos. Of course, what I love about the area is the blue crisp skys...Man Oh, get a few days off and look what happens.
Joe Rogers
Smoke from the Wallow fire was really bad in Los Alamos last night. Had to shut all the windows! Today is not so bad. Can barely smell the smoke and the skies are fairly blue.
There is a chance of rain (God, we need RAIN!!!) in northern NM this weekend which might give you some relatively smokeless days. Unlike you guys up north, NM has no snow pack and has had almost zero rain for months! Depending on how the Osha fire behaves, you may or may not be able to get through on the High Road to Taos. Nothing is closed yet. Stay tuned...
If you are going to shoot around the plaza area in Santa Fe, I would recommend early morning. The New Mexico Museum of Art is a great building to shoot! (corner of Washington and Palace). The Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) Museum and the St. Francis Cathedral are also right there on the Plaza. There are many other wonderful buildings in the area too. Canyon Road also has lots of architectural subjects to shoot.
On the High Road there is the Sanctuario de Chimayo, and the Church of San José de Gracia is in Trampas. Adam S. can give you info on other subjects in the Taos area. The spring festival at El Rancho de las Golondrinas in Santa Fe is June 4th and 5th. They have grist mills, churches, log cabins, a plaza, old wagons, and other buildings from Spanish Colonial times. Its a cool place to walk around and shoot. The Guadalupe District and the Rail Yard might also interest you in the Santa Fe area.
NM 518 has been closed at the Rock Wall (which is part of the High Road) due to the Osha Fire. New Mexico DOT is still reporting as closed on their website. I spoke with Joe earlier today about the smoke and weather concerns, and I gave him a follow-up call (Joe...I got your voicemail) a few minutes ago to update him on the change in weather.
Great suggestions for locations to shoot in and around Santa Fe.
We got back from Fort Worth this past Wednesday. After having our vehicle beat to (near) death by hail near Trementina, we came into Las Vegas only to discover that we would have to detour around the fire through Santa Fe. It wasn't a fun day.
Oh, yes. This thread is turning into a support group for New Mexicans here. Glad I'm heading north soon!
Joe, if your trip is that optional, I think saving it for later is a good call. If you had to come anyway, I think you could still do okay shooting that kind of subject matter. But it's just not very nice down here right now. Fall is really our best season anyway, you'd probably have a much more satisfying visit in September/October.
Discussion
13 repliesThanks,
Joe Rogers
A new fire, the Osha Fire, began on Wednesday June 1st. It is approximately 15 miles south-southeast of Taos and is moving to the east-northeast. As of this morning it is 7% contained and it's expected to be contained by the middle of June.
We have a combination of smoke from the Wallow Fire and Osha Fire filling the air. The sunset last night was amazing, but the air quality right now is not conducive to producing typical landscape photographs. My wife and I both woke up this morning suffering from congestion and headaches due to the smoke.
We have dry thunderstorms with lightning in the forecast for this weekend. Who knows what we may wake up to on Monday morning.
I would normally agree with what you have said, but it's pretty bad here at the moment.
FWIW, I talked to a buddy in Telluride yesterday who said they'd had a day of crazy smoke up there, so it's not just us.
Edit: I should also add that http://nmfireinfo.wordpress.com/ is probably the best one-stop site for updates. They've got links to info on forest restrictions/closures too; I doubt those will be an issue for you in Santa Fe and Carson NF, but it's not out of the question if something blows up.
Joe Rogers
Joe Rogers
Smoke from the Wallow fire was really bad in Los Alamos last night.
There is a chance of rain (God, we need RAIN!!!) in northern NM this weekend which might give you some relatively smokeless days. Unlike you guys up north, NM has no snow pack and has had almost zero rain for months! Depending on how the Osha fire behaves, you may or may not be able to get through on the High Road to Taos. Nothing is closed yet. Stay tuned...
If you are going to shoot around the plaza area in Santa Fe, I would recommend early morning. The New Mexico Museum of Art is a great building to shoot! (corner of Washington and Palace). The Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) Museum and the St. Francis Cathedral are also right there on the Plaza. There are many other wonderful buildings in the area too. Canyon Road also has lots of architectural subjects to shoot.
On the High Road there is the Sanctuario de Chimayo, and the Church of San José de Gracia is in Trampas. Adam S. can give you info on other subjects in the Taos area. The spring festival at El Rancho de las Golondrinas in Santa Fe is June 4th and 5th. They have grist mills, churches, log cabins, a plaza, old wagons, and other buildings from Spanish Colonial times. Its a cool place to walk around and shoot. The Guadalupe District and the Rail Yard might also interest you in the Santa Fe area.
Good luck!
NM 518 has been closed at the Rock Wall (which is part of the High Road) due to the Osha Fire. New Mexico DOT is still reporting as closed on their website. I spoke with Joe earlier today about the smoke and weather concerns, and I gave him a follow-up call (Joe...I got your voicemail) a few minutes ago to update him on the change in weather.
Great suggestions for locations to shoot in and around Santa Fe.
I wasn't aware that 518 had been closed.
Pray for Rain!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Pray for the freakin' wind to stop!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm very tired of this spring!!!
We got back from Fort Worth this past Wednesday. After having our vehicle beat to (near) death by hail near Trementina, we came into Las Vegas only to discover that we would have to detour around the fire through Santa Fe. It wasn't a fun day.
Oh, yes. This thread is turning into a support group for New Mexicans here. Glad I'm heading north soon!
Joe, if your trip is that optional, I think saving it for later is a good call. If you had to come anyway, I think you could still do okay shooting that kind of subject matter. But it's just not very nice down here right now. Fall is really our best season anyway, you'd probably have a much more satisfying visit in September/October.