Bob Eckert Photography
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    • Lowrider Summer
    • Lowriders: Vintage San Francisco Bay Area Show
    • Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego
    • Matachines de Alcalde
    • Mirror Images
    • Moon Photos
    • Moving Arts Espanola
    • Moving Landscapes
    • Murals in Espanola, New Mexico
    • New Mexico Press Association 2022 Award Winner
    • New Orleans Street Photography
    • NM Treasures 2023 Calendar Image
    • Northern New Mexico
    • Norteno Artist Portraits
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    • San Francisco Chinatown
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    • Shadows
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    • Storm and Rain Photos
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    • The Yin/Yang of Families
    • Trailer Landscapes
    • Trees
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    • Vintage - Pre -digital photos
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    • Widelux F6: First Roll
    • Widelux Panoramic Photos
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  • Selected Writing/Published
    • Agricultural Profile: Christopher Bassettt: Freshies of New Mexico Farm, Velarde, NM
    • Behind the Scenes at the Circus
    • ​​Book Review: "Orale! Lowrider: Custom Made in New Mexico"
    • Carlton, Oregon
    • Comic Con New Mexico
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    • Luck in Photography vers 2.0
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    • Rocket Heads Jewelry
    • Scale in Photography
    • Shooting Into The Sun
    • Spanapalooza
    • Tibetan Monk Sand Painting
    • Timing in Photography
    • United Farm Workers
    • Variations on a Theme
    • Why I Take Photographs
    • WWII Reenactment
  • Archive

Luck in Photography

Picture
Timing, or one might call it “luck,” in photography.

I was thinking about timing/luck in photography the day I photographed this small, western-looking church at Ghost Ranch in Northern New Mexico.

I had come across this church, which was used in a movie whose name I can’t recall, about a month before I took this photo.

The first time I photographed it was midday with a bright sun overhead — not the best time, or light, for a photograph. I did get a couple of images I thought worked: one with a dramatic sunburst above the church, which cast a cool shadow of the cross in the foreground. The other included the church and Cerro Pedernal.

Apparently for the movie there was a large wooden gate with numerous antlers attached to its top that lead to the church. I thought it distracted from both photos above so didn’t include it in those compositions.

Neither of those two photos captured the feel I wanted, which was one of a small church in a desolate area, sort middle of nowhere, feel.

My (lucky) visit came about a month later while driving home. I noticed a snowstorm moving in from the north toward the Ranch and decided it might provide some nice atmosphere.

The “luck” came when I arrived at Ghost Ranch this second time. There were two Ranch maintenance workers removing the antlers from the gate. All the antlers were spread on the ground under and around the gate with the church in the background being framed by the gate.

About the time I arrived, the workers were just taking a lunch break and the snowstorm was just reaching the area, adding a nice ambiance to the somewhat surreal scene of church and antlers.

Regardless of the workers removing the antlers and the luck of that occurrence, I did get a number of other photos on that second visit that were more in line with my vision of this small church in the middle of nowhere, but the “lucky’ image of the antlers, gate and church remains my favorite of the day.
Picture
Picture
Picture

November 1, 2022

Since I had enjoyed photographing the small church at Ghost Ranch I decided to visit again with a recently purchased Widelux F6 panoramic camera. I exited Highway 84 at the Ghost Ranch gate, headed up the bumpy dirt road and as a crested the hill anticipating the small church being in front of me I was greeted with the absence of the church.

Its absence confirmed to me my initial thoughts about timing and luck playing an important part in photographs.
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  • Home
  • About
  • Clients
  • Projects
    • 2022 New Mexico Treasures Calendar
    • 2022 Pic of the Day
    • Abiquiu Dam
    • Abiquiu Livestock Sale
    • Adjective Challenge
    • Aerial Photos
    • Aircraft - BW Portraits
    • Albuquerque Aquarium
    • Albuquerque Sunport Lowrider Show
    • Alt Fashion
    • Amish, Kalona, Iowa
    • Angel in Albuquerque
    • Astro Zombies Murals
    • Birds
    • Black and White Photos
    • Black Mesa, San Ildefonso Pueblo
    • Cabezon Peak
    • Car Portraits
    • Cell Phones
    • Cerro Pedernal
    • Chicano Park Murals
    • Children Portraits
    • Churches
    • Circus Behind the Scenes
    • Colors
    • Computers
    • Concorso Santa Fe
    • Contrast
    • Descansos
    • Design photographs in the style of Charles Sheeler
    • Detroit Street Photos
    • Dogs
    • Explora Albuquerque
    • Fisheye Lens Photos
    • Gay Pride Parade
    • Ghost Ranch
    • Goggles Sunglasses and Masks
    • Goofing Around with mime Mark Wenzel
    • Horizont Camera Panoramic Images
    • Humor
    • Industry
    • Infrared Photos
    • Insects
    • International Center of Photography
    • Isolated Trees
    • Isolation Photos
    • Juxtaposed
    • Lady of Guadalupe
    • Landscape Photos
    • Lowriders
    • Lowrider Summer
    • Lowriders: Vintage San Francisco Bay Area Show
    • Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego
    • Matachines de Alcalde
    • Mirror Images
    • Moon Photos
    • Moving Arts Espanola
    • Moving Landscapes
    • Murals in Espanola, New Mexico
    • New Mexico Press Association 2022 Award Winner
    • New Orleans Street Photography
    • NM Treasures 2023 Calendar Image
    • Northern New Mexico
    • Norteno Artist Portraits
    • Panoramic Photos
    • Photographers
    • Pic of the Day
    • Plants and Flowers
    • Portraits
    • Port of Portland
    • Portraits of Strangers
    • Published Favorites
    • Repetition in Photos
    • Road to Pedernal
    • San Francisco Chinatown
    • Shadows
    • Snow Photos
    • Still Life Photos
    • San Francisco Street Photos
    • Service People Portraits
    • Shadows
    • Stand Alone Photos
    • Storm and Rain Photos
    • Street Photography
    • The Yin/Yang of Families
    • Trailer Landscapes
    • Trees
    • Urban Landscapes
    • Vintage Ford and Cadillac Manufacturing
    • Vintage - Pre -digital photos
    • Water
    • Widelux F6: First Roll
    • Widelux Panoramic Photos
    • Working
  • Selected Writing/Published
    • Agricultural Profile: Christopher Bassettt: Freshies of New Mexico Farm, Velarde, NM
    • Behind the Scenes at the Circus
    • ​​Book Review: "Orale! Lowrider: Custom Made in New Mexico"
    • Carlton, Oregon
    • Comic Con New Mexico
    • Crosswalk Painting
    • Cumbres Toltec
    • Day of the Dead, Albuquerque's Marigold Parade
    • Fog Smoke Haze in Photos
    • Gordon Tooley, Apple Guru
    • Indian Market Native Costumes
    • In Praise of Kit Lenses
    • In Praise of Manual Lenses
    • Instagram
    • Jeff Brock and Bombshell Betty
    • John Lea's Painted Truck
    • Light Quality
    • Luck in Photography
    • Luck in Photography vers 2.0
    • National Museum of Nuclear Science and History
    • Natural Dyeing with Glenna Dean
    • Pet Store Animal Photos
    • Rio Arriba: A New Mexico County
    • Rocket Heads Jewelry
    • Scale in Photography
    • Shooting Into The Sun
    • Spanapalooza
    • Tibetan Monk Sand Painting
    • Timing in Photography
    • United Farm Workers
    • Variations on a Theme
    • Why I Take Photographs
    • WWII Reenactment
  • Archive