A selection of images from my recent trip to the USA can be viewed on my Flickr site. The gallery comprising 50 images from locations including a small section of Route 66 between Albuquerque (New Mexico) and Holbrook (Arizona), White Sands National Monument and Bosque del Apache. The gallery includes a number of images not shown in the blog entries shown below.
Neon Art Gallery, Central Ave, Albuquerque
My Flickr galleries also include images from earlier trips to USA, Antarctica and Iceland.
This was our last full day in New Mexico. The day began with an early morning trip to Bosque for more bird photographs and anything else that presented itself. As it was the pre-sunrise lighting was perfect for some dawn shots as the sun began to rise behind the San Pascual mountains. The near clear sky and crescent moon seem to attract the attention of more than myself as we waited for the sandhill cranes to awaken from their slumbers 😉
Dawn at Bosque del Apache
Early Morning Light
Sandhill Crane Prepares for Take-off
Sandhill Crane over Chupadera Mountains
Sandhill Crane in Early Morning Light
After breakfast we headed back to Albuquerque for our last night in the US. Fortunately, the journey was relatively short and we arrived in time for lunch at the 66 Diner on Albuquerque’s Central Avenue (Route 66).
The history of the 66 Diner dates back to 1987 when a former Phillips 66 gas station was converted into a diner. However, in 1995 the original diner was destroyed by fire, and only portions of the foundation were saved. The owners rebuilt the diner to retain the nostalgic look and atmosphere of the original. Actually, the interior cries out to be photographed and by mid afternoon the number of diners had reduced enough that the manager agreed to our group taking a few photographs as keepsakes 😉
For the photographs shown below I used a Canon 5D MkII fitted with a Canon 16-35mm f2.8L MkII zoom. The minor lens distortion was automatically removed by the relevant lens profile in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3. Adobe Lightroom 3 was also used to adjust the verticals.
66 Diner, Albuquerque
Interior No 1, 66 Diner, Albuquerque
Mixing a Milkshake, 66 Diner, Albuquerque
Interior No 2, 66 Diner, Albuquerque
So, that’s it! First thing tomorrow it’s off to the airport and our flights back to the UK.