Storm Ahead Hubbell Trading Post, Arizona 2013

A raven flying over Hubbell Hill into the gathering storm.

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Lintel Cloud Hubbell Trading Post, Arizona 2013

Southwestern adobe architecture is the only traditional architectural styles that I know of that allows significant room for asymmetry in it’s features. The free flowing shape of the exposed portion of the lintel above this window gives the impression of a long cloud bank floating across the sky.

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Lectio #46 Hubbell Trading Post, Arizona 2013

This stone bench by the front door to the trading post was a popular spot for visitors to sit in the mid-day sun. This fellow was reading a novel while his wife was inside shopping.]]>

Day of the Dead Hubbell Trading Post, Arizona 2013

This skeleton in a cage was in the rug room of the Hubbell Trading Post. Given that the room was filled with historic items I figured this was part of that collection. And because it was in front of an image of the Virgin Mary I thought it might be somehow tied into the Day of the Dead celebration (which is closely intwined with Catholicism in Mexico). It turns out it is a quite modern Halloween decoration that was hung there temporarily because it was in fact the week of Halloween. The association with the Virgin Mary was purely coincidental and my assumption about the Day of the Dead a result of that coincidence. Still it’s all tied together since the Day of the Dead celebration in Mexico overlaps Halloween.]]>

Untrampled Navajo Nation, Arizona 2013

This type of badland terrain is very fragile; walking on it even when it is dry leaves very definite footprints. How long does it take for those footprints to disappear? A week if it’s windy or rainy? A month? A year? Decades? The large tracts of such ground in Arizona gives me at least the illusion that it’s not seen a human footprint in a long, long, time. Given there are not a lot of reasons for someone to want to walk all the gullies and valleys of this barren country, it makes me wonder if there are some areas that have never seen a human footprint at all.]]>

Spread’em Hubbell Trading Post, Arizona 2013

A raven soaring over Hubbell Hill spreads it’s wings to the max. It may be my imagination but it seemed to me the feathers on Arizona ravens are lighter colored on the underside than those on the ravens in Montana. They are certainly better at posing for me than those around here; in terms of detail this is one of the best airborne raven shots I think I’ve ever taken.]]>

Raven Wall Canyon de Chelly, Arizona 2013

I don’t usually carry my heavy 500mm telephoto lens with me when I hike because, well because it’s too heavy. But for some reason on one of my hikes down into Canyon de Chelly I did. It turns out that having it in my pack wasn’t much better than having it in the car because the only time I felt like using it was when I saw this raven flying back and forth across the face of the canyon wall above the White House Ruins. There was obviously not time enough to switch lens so before the raven flew up and out of the canyon I took a few shots with the lens I did have on the camera, a 22-135mm (35mm equivalent) zoom. At least I had the camera around my neck, not packed away with the 500mm lens. This was the best of the few shots I got. I actually like it a lot. That it presents the broader view gives it more drama I think. I like how the abstract nature of the background gives the impression the raven is flying through a surreal storm of some sort.]]>

Wind Power Navajo Nation, Arizona 2013

A back-road tumbleweed barreling down toward me on a very windy afternoon.

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The Old Rocking Chair Ganado, Arizona 2013

 

This image reminded me of two songs. The first was Jerry Jeff Walker’s version of the song The Old Rocking Chair. I couldn’t find a video of his recording so here’s one by Gary P. Nunn:

 

  The other song, perhaps more appropriate given the condition of the chair and easier on the ears for those who are country music averse, is Bob Dylan’s Everything is Broken:  

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Downward-Facing Raven Hubbell Trading Post, Arizona 2013

Several times during my artist residency, I spent time on Hubbell Hill on windy days to photograph passing ravens. When they hit the turbulence and updrafts at the top of the hill they would often perform acrobatics; diving straight down for a bit, flying upside down in barrel rolls, scrapping with each other and otherwise inventing what could have been dynamic aerial yoga positions.

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