Santa Fe area, camping and riding on a mesa at 7500 feet. Only recently did I get a digital camera. For ten years of full-time RVing through the western states and boondocking in beautiful spots, I didn't take one picture.
I had allies. Consider Edward Abbey, the nature writer most associated with Moab, UT. He once advised the backcountry explorer to throw away the $%@!* camera in photogenic, red rock Utah.
Yesterday the little poodle and I took a nice mountain bike ride through a meadow at 7500 feet, if meadow is the right term. There were several square miles of grass, made green by all the rain New Mexico has been getting this June. The two track road was comfortable to bike on, and great for the dog's pads; the terrain was mild and flattish; the air was mildly humid.
There were distant views of the Rio Grande Valley, south of Santa Fe. The edges and tops of these meadows were framed by ponderosa and pinyon forests. The flowers were out, and in three main colors.
Yet they never grew in large, dense, photogenic clumps. Their wide dispersal added to the sense of luxurious spaciousness. In fact the whole impression was one of gentleness and spaciousness.
Yet they never grew in large, dense, photogenic clumps. Their wide dispersal added to the sense of luxurious spaciousness. In fact the whole impression was one of gentleness and spaciousness.
Photographs would not have been interesting. How do you photograph the subtle and non-visual qualities that this land had? It angered me that I even asked the question; I don't want the camera to dominate the outdoors experience.
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