January 2009 Archives - Santa Fe Homes with Views

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Capturing a perfect sunset in Santa Fe, New Mexico

After two days of snow, Santa Fe was buried in over 12 inches of fresh powder. We had road closures, school closings, 2-hour delays… it was so much fun! That is if you enjoy winter weather, which I happen to. Yeah, there is the occasional incident where your 4×4 gets stuck in a 20 inch snow drift (doesn’t 4×4 mean you can drive through anything?) OK, so there are some drawbacks to all the snow. But overall, I absolutely love the winter and the heavy snows that come with it. Besides skiing, building snowmen, having an occasional snow ball fight with the kids and drinking hot cocoa next to the fire, there are not too many things that I love more during winter then watching a sunset.

The Sangre de Cristo mountain range had been hidden underneath the thick winter clouds for almost three days straight. It was around 4:00pm when I noticed the clouds beginning to break apart. When the mountain peaks finally started to show through the cloud cover, I was amazed at how much snow they got, the mountains were glowing! I knew that mother nature had something spectacular planned. The stage was set, and I was rushing off to Monte Sereno for a front row seat where I intended to take it all in.

It didn’t take me more then ten minutes to get from downtown Santa Fe and into Monte Sereno. Each minute I drove, the mountains seemed to get brighter. The sun reflecting off the mountain side was hypnotizing, I couldn’t keep my eyes off of them. I took the Tesuque exit near the Santa Fe Opera house, and drove into the subdivision. I found myself a spot on the side of the road, pulled out my Nikon and started shooting.

Memories of burning orange sunsets reflecting on the snow capped mountains started to fill my head… oh yeah, this time I was ready to capture it! As I watched the color in the sky change from blue, to pink, to orange and blood reds, I was not prepared for how terrific this sunset was going to be.

Sitting on top of the world alone in my 4Runner, I was so excited to see what was unfolding in front of me. The clouds hiding the mountains seemed to roll over the summit just in time. And the sun, which was also being covered by the departing storm in the west, broke through the clouds like a spotlight; lighting up the star of the show on center stage. I didn’t stop shooting, not until after the last bit of blood reds faded away and only after I filled a 2GB memory card. Truly an amazing experience, and one I will not soon forget.

Ok, Its time to show you what I captured, and I am excited to be able to share it with you. Here is a small set of photos that show the incredible beauty Santa Fe has to offer. With views like these, who wouldn’t want to live here?

I hope you enjoy the sunset…