Monjeau Peak

BasilFawlty · Aug 26, 2020

I drove down to Monjeau Peak, a 1930's era stone fire lookout tower, in southest New Mexico with the intention of taking some Milkyway photos with the "stone lookout" in the foreground. When I got there I discovered two problems. First, the road to the actual tower was closed and second, forrest fires in the state (and probably those in California) were causing a lot of smoke and haze so Milkyway pictures probably would not have worked out well.

However, I did decide to get some mountain landscape images since, with the smoke and haze, it reminded me of the Smokey Mountains. I used it as an opportunity to try some different looks using different focal lengths, including wider angles and some telephoto shots to "flatten" the images. The smoke that hung in the mountains added some interesting effects. Here are a few from the day I spent on Monjeau Peak.

Dean_Gretsch · Aug 26, 2020

My very first impression when I saw these ( without reading anything yet in post ) were that they were from the Smoky Mountains. My next impression was that there must have been a fire there. I then had to read the post to see where these were and what had created the lack of trees.
I like the depth created by the layers of peaks. Nice set.

Jeff G · Aug 26, 2020

Some beautiful shots, nice to know the trip was not wasted. :encouragement:

BasilFawlty · Aug 26, 2020

Dean_Gretsch said:
My very first impression when I saw these ( without reading anything yet in post ) were that they were from the Smoky Mountains. My next impression was that there must have been a fire there. I then had to read the post to see where these were and what had created the lack of trees.
I like the depth created by the layers of peaks. Nice set.

Thanks. Actually the lack of trees in this immediate vicinity is due to fires that occured about 10 years ago. The smoke is from several fires in California, Colorado and in parts of New Mexico north of Las Cruces (in the southwestern part of the state).

BasilFawlty · Aug 26, 2020

Jeff G said:
Some beautiful shots, nice to know the trip was not wasted.

Thank you. It wasn't what I had planned but I was happy with some of the results. While I was there, a wedding party showed up and a hired photographer was taking pictures of the new bride and groom in this setting. It was educational to watch how the pro was working with the couple to get their shots.