White Sands photographic challenge

Richard Charpentier Adventure, Airstream Blogs, National Monuments of the Southwest, RV, Travel Leave a Comment

Dry Camp in New Mexico

Camp for the next few nights. No hookups, but with the warm temperatures all is well.

Ah, this week is going to be something else photographically.  Trying to relay what a person sees when visiting White Sands National Monument is going to be difficult.  Well, actually, trying to relay what you want someone to see when you visit White Sands is what is really going to be the challenge.

Today the Airstream is parked about 30 minutes from White Sands National Monument near Alamogordo, NM.  Our initial boondocking site didn’t work out, as the max length advised for trailers on the road is 23 feet, and my Airstream is a 25 footer.  Fortunately there are many other camping opportunities in the area, and we found a great one!

After unhitching and setting up we decided to head right over to White Sands to get an idea of the place.  It’s been 7 years since I last visited, and it feels different than last time.  Of course on the last visit, February of 2007, it was pretty cold here.  This go around, same month of the year, I was running around in shorts.  Nice!

So, the challenge in shooting White Sands?  Well, how about a solid blue sky with a solid white foreground?  Does that sound appealing to you?  No?  It’s not appealing to me either.  We’ve got to find some contrast, some movement, some “umph!”  Combined with the challenge of a hyper blue sky and a hyper white foreground is also the challenge of finding an area that isn’t rife with footprints.  Seriously, footprints everywhere!

Hopefully, as with most of my landscape photography, I’m holding my breath for some clouds to roll in.  Love the clouds!  They always liven a scene up.

Growth in the White Sands National Monument

Taking a different approach to adding some contrast to the scene

With or without clouds, we’re visiting the White Sands National Monument and the surrounding area for the next few days.  There’s plenty to investigate.  Many Forest Service camping areas, a few other BLM locations, a very cool looking canyon, and more that we haven’t even learned about yet.

Oh, by the way……today I was wearing shorts….for anyone interested in my attire for the day.  🙂

 

 

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