The adobe of Santa FeA typical adobe structure in Santa Fe.

I am back from Santa Fe and I can say, without qualification, that it was an absolute delight!  I was there for a work-related conference, which was excellent and informative, but that's another story.  What I want to talk about is Santa Fe, the city.  It is relatively small and picturesque, much more so than I expected.  I see now why "Popular Photography" has it listed as the best city in the world for photography--there is a picture around every corner!  Whether you like street photography, landscape, candids, nature, or architecture, Santa Fe is a feast for the eye. 

The eye is also overwhelmed by the art you see everywhere, all over the city.  There must be more galleries per square mile than any place else on earth--metal sculpture, wind chimes, monumental glassworks, paintings of every style and description, and in many different themes, with southwestern motifs predominating. There is one street that is very well known to art collectors and gazers--Canyon Road.  There the galleries are stacked up one after the other, each a bit different.  I asked a local how they all stay in business and he confided that they don't--there is a pretty big annual turnover, especially when the economy is bad.  I guess its the old story--you get lots of foot traffic, but not a lot of sales.  Chelsea in New York City is like that--lots of galleries and traffic, but not a lot of sales, but just enough to keep it all going.

The one thing I did not see much of however, was fine art photography. This was strange as I was told by my brother, who visited the city a few years ago, to check out several galleries that had excellent work,  In fact, I found only two, both were small and neither were on Canyon Road. In trying to figure out why, I came to a rather disturbing conclusion--there are few people interested in purchasing photographs. This is not a surprise and, unfortunately, part of a national trend.  Many non-photographers do not appreciate the work it takes to create great photographs and are instead happy with the snaps they take with their smart phone. There may always be a need and appreciation for great photography, but the art is becoming so ubiquitous, its value is crashing.....hmm.

Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed taking photographs in the city, especially of the southwestern architecture and the adobe structures in particular.  It is amazing to me how much the color of the adobe buildings change with the changing light.  A building can be dark brown one minute, brick red the next, and then a pale ocher after that.  The other notable component is the light. Everyone who has been to Santa Fe remarks on the stunning blues of the sky.  Unfortunately, I only saw glimpses of that famous sky as the weather was often overcast.  It even rained briefly--and I thought we were in a desert!!

The last notable thing about Santa Fe I will mention is the food.  It is simply amazing!! Every restaurant I went to was excellent, and as usual, some were pricier than others.  They even had a chocolate bar--where all that was served were various mixtures of European and Mezo-American chocolate.  Each was unique and delicious--especially the one based on an Aztec recipie.  The taste was like nothing I had ever tried!!

Anyway, that's all for now.  I have illustrated this post with a few images from the trip.  I will post a gallery of them when I finish going through my 400+ shots. All I can say is that any place with great photo opportunities, great food, and great chocolate can't be at all bad....and Santa Fe is much better than not bad!!