Iron Creek Photography®: Photographing New Mexico

Sony A7rII FE24-70

70mm f/13 1/200 ISO 50

Fujifilm 50s GF32-64

32mm f/8 1/800 ISO 100

We recently spent a couple days exploring a small portion of New Mexico where Billy the Kid once roamed. The above images were captured along Route 60 as we headed east towards New Mexico.

The VLA outside of Socorro NM

Sony A7rII FE70-200 GM

112mm f/11 1/200 ISO 50 (slight crop)

Fujifilm 50s GF 120mm

f/8 1/640 ISO 100 (slight crop)

We hadn’t been to the area before and were uncertain what we’d find and considered this trip more scouting than anything else.

Abo NM

Sony A7rII FE24-70 GM

35mm f/8 1/200 ISO 50

Fujifilm 50s GF 32-64

64mm f/9 1/125 ISO 100

In the past Don would have taken both the Phase One XF and a Sony A7rII using the Sony as a scouting camera and the XF for more “serious” work. That’s changed with the Fujifilm 50s as he is able to do double duty with it using it as both a scouting tool and for serious work. While he's certainly glad he had the Fuji Don did have an occasion to miss the 100-megapixel IQ1-100; next time he'll bring both…

Route 60 near Willard NM

Sony A7rII FE 24-70GM

f/8 1/500 ISO 50 (slight crop)

Route 60 near Willard NM

Sony A7rII FE 70-200GM

108mm f/8 1/640 ISO 50 (slight crop)

Route 60 near Encino NM

Sony A7rII FE24-70

69mm f/11 1/500 ISO 50

Our plan was to stay in Fort Sumner NM and drive 14-miles east to Taiban in order to photograph an abandoned church. We stayed on Route 60 driving east stopping whenever and wherever we saw anything of interest; which there was plenty.

Salt ponds, Route 60 near Willard NM

Fujifilm 50s GF 32-64

32mm f/11 1/500 ISO 100

Negra Road, Rt 60 Encino NM

Fujifilm 50s GF 32-64

32mm f/8 1/640 ISO 100

Abandoned ranch on Negra Rd Encino NM

Fujifilm 50s GF 32-64

32mm f/8 1/1000 ISO 100

We couldn’t have asked for better conditions driving east on Rt 60. The light was perfect and the clouds were wonderful. A little east of the windfarm is Negra Road. Turning off the 60 onto Negra we saw what appeared to be an old ranch house in the distance.

Negra Road NM

Sony A7rII FE 70-200 GM

70mm f/8 1/640 ISO 50 slight crop

We found the house abandoned with little glass left in the windows. The yard was overgrown with weeds and littered with rusty objects. We also found an old clothesline in the backyard. We had been thinking of doing a shoot using a red union suit and white diapers and just happened to have them in the truck. The rest as they say is history…

Sony A7rII FE24-70 GM

24mm f/10 1/500 ISO 50

Fujifilm 50s GF 32-64mm

32mm f/8 1/800 ISO 100

The main purpose of the trip was to find and photograph an abandoned church in Taiban NM. We had originally planned on staying 3-nights in Fort Sumner hoping to get at least one-day of good shooting conditions. Little did we know that the day we arrived would satisfy all our needs as a huge storm was developing to the west heading right in our path. We took a couple images shortly after finding the church before returning to Fort Sumner for lunch and resting from the drive.