I picked out somewhere I had never been before and that landed me at Oliver Lee Memorial State Park in New Mexico. This was a hot trip, and I encountered some difficulties while I was there (including a corrupted memory card), but I still enjoyed myself and came back with some images that I like.

One of the first things I came across on a morning hike was these bamboo-shoot-like plants along the trail. I chose to shoot this in black and white to take advantage of the contrast and textures. I like how the plants fade into the shadows giving the feeling that they could go on forever.

At the head of the trail I explored that afternoon was an old homestead that still had a few of the original handmade brick walls standing. When I took this photo I wanted to accent and fill the frame with the patterns of the mortar as well as the rocky texture of the handmade bricks.

While I was hiking I kept an eye out for what I wanted to shoot at sunset. I struggled to find something and ultimately decided to set up in the bushes across from my campsite. That evening the sun painted the sky a beautiful gold color, and I used the silhouette of the bush creeping into the frame to give the image an anchor.

On the next morning, I couldn’t resist getting a photo of the mountains as the sunrise was starting to touch them with its light. I like how the clouds gathered in the upper right corner balance against the rest of the landscape in the frame. Camping in the shadow of these mountains, I wanted something that captured how impressive they are, and what I got to wake up to.

I hope you’ve enjoyed these images, if you would like to see more of my trip to Oliver Lee then check out the video below. Bye for now.