Chimney Rock Panorama

Title: Chimney Rock Panorama - Ghost Ranch, New Mexico

Capture Date: September 15th, 2008 2:54 PM

Process: High-Resolution Digital Panorama

Artist’s Statement:

The vistas from almost any point in the high-desert of Abiquiu and Ghost Ranch are all breathtaking, but this particular point in space and time has held a place in my heart ever since I first experienced it. I had just returned to my homeland of New Mexico after years of working in the city of San Francisco. As soon as I could, I made a pilgrimage to Ghost Ranch, a place held dear in my heart from childhood summer camps spent within it’s canyons. 

As a child, my sisters and I would take sunset hikes in the hills above our house in Chimayó, I found a beautiful comfort in being immersed within the immense space of the New Mexico sky, surrounded by the sculpted forms of it’s geology, and walking over the bright colorful earth that reveals it's self anew with the erosion from each precious rainstorm. Sometimes we would watch the brilliant stars come out while philosophizing of our place in the universe. The vista from Chimney rock embodies all of this with an ineffable lightness, and I felt particularly blessed to be there on this day. 

The monsoon clouds were gathering in the afternoon providing shade and a light breeze for the hike up. After being in the city for so long, the desert air felt clean and light, and every breath smelt of piñon, indian paintbrush flowers, and the earth’s delight to feel the rain again. Standing on this ridge I was overwhelmed by childhood memories of being here, relishing all of the elements in such a grand theater, and the feeling of being welcomed home.

~ Amadeus Leitner

I had a great time creating these pieces and their frames, which I custom milled out of a large plank of spanish cedar wood that I discovered at Albuquerque Exotic Woods. After milling the frames and gluing them up, I finished the wood with a treatment of hand-rubbed Danish Oil from Woodworkers Supply, which smells sweet, has a light satin finish and accentuates the rich color and texture of the wood grain. 

I've decided on an edition of 100 for these pieces, of which the first three are on display at the Museum starting October 24th and is on display into December.

This juried museum exhibit showcases some of the finest artists in the region, and is a wonderful way to support the Albuquerque Museum.

~Amadeus Leitner

First Snow on the Sandias - Panorama I Sandias First Snow

Chimney Rock Panorama Chimney Rock Panorama - Ghost Ranch

Nambé Outcropping ​Nambe Sandstone Outcropping

Cundiyo Starlight from Amadeus Leitner on Vimeo.

Cundiyo Startrails

I've seen this area hundreds of times, as it's my preferred route between Chimayó, where my parents live, and Santa Fe. This afternoon did not scream "TURNER SKY!!!" like a big pink sunset might have, but it did strike a chord of gratitude from me just for the fact that the space is still open and preserved from development, and is still fairly protected from the scars of 4x4 and ATV tracks.

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Alas, not all of the locals share my reverence for the beauty of this open space, as evidenced by illegal trash dumping (despite the availability of a transfer station nearby). This is something that has always angered me, yet I cannot find a better way to combat it than to share my own appreciation for natural, un-marred beauty through my photography in hopes that recognition and respect for it's value might catch on.

Nambe Arroyo

In the Fall, the Arroyos get a burst of color from the Chamisa plants that line their sandy edges.

Nambé in Winter

In the winter, the yellows give way to blues and deep greens, as well as the occasional snow white powdering.

Tiny Rainbow over Chimayó

Sometimes when there is a summer storm flying through, the rain will fall gently from the clouds. In the afternoon or evening the sky to the west might open up for a moment to create a rainbow, or at least a piece of one...

I'm sure you can see why I feel so strongly about preserving this open space, which is currently managed by the Bureau of Land Management. Hopefully, it will someday be designated as a protected wilderness.

~Amadeus

Pedernal Plains

The earth is parched and dry, the plants beg for the clouds to accumulate and offer some relief. The irony is that the landscape is so clearly erroded by water, there is no question as to it's anticipated arrival.

Pedernal From Ghost Ranch

There exist more "lush" areas by desert standards, places that are preserved from over-grazing. Here the native grasses get a more reasonable respite between the munches that eventually become our filet mignon. Seen above from Ghost Ranch, Pedernal rises into the sky above Abiquiu Lake to the south. Once you've witnessed this, you have arrived.

Abiquiu Meadow

From a the seat of an aircraft at 30,000 feet above the desert ground it may seem a bit drab, but with boots on the ground and on location, one is immersed in the seasonal dynamism of the high desert landscape and atmosphere. Quickly the focus changes. This is only the beginning of your journey.

Chimney Rock - Ghost Ranch

On hikes like these elevation becomes a right of passage, not because of your height from the ocean floor, but by virtue of existential experience.

Crawling up the passes on the way to Chimney Rock brings to mind the metaphor of primordial amphibians climbing up and out of the soup, unaware of the implications that may trickle on-and-on...into forever. Climbing to this point, and arriving at it's climax evolves one's perceptions in a beautiful way. At this vantage point, it's clear that we stand on the shoulders of millions and millions of years of geo-morphing. The layers of carbon-dated fossils and dinosaur bones within entice a journey into the past...far beyond the human settlement of the area.

It's called Ghost Ranch for a reason.

Gazing across the landscape, looking inward and all around all at once, dimensions melt into One.

Time from this vantage point is sublime.

The seemingly infinite layers of experience flatten in my lens, and I wonder how this all happened, and more importantly, why.

~Amadeus Leitner