Santuario de Chimayo - III

This Chimayo chilli seller is closed for the season. I think it would be interesting to visit when he's open, don't you?

Santuario de Chimayo - II

Photographs inside the sanctuary are not permitted but I believe the more compelling images are found outside anyway. Inside are people intent on their prayers and a small chapel with few decorations. And that decorations and iconography there is, it is largely primitive. Worth seeing but not really something I can turn into a photograph very easily. Certainly not without disturbing the people who take this serious.

In the sunny afternoon, the B&W images begin to take on some of the textures one finds in images from Ansel Adams, Edward Weston, and Georgia O'Keefe. not that I am in any way trying to claim that my images are as good as theirs; certainly not. Just that the appearance of stucco walls under the New Mexican sun looks similar to what one finds in those images. Add to this the strong contrast, the ability to manipulate the light and dark colors in a B&W image and you get a hint of what is going on in a real art image from a true artist. Too bad I'm not a true artist.

There is an old house near the church that has a drawing/faded painting on the side. You can see it just under the balcony. there is something about this old house and its current state that I believe makes a compelling image.

The gingerbread quality of the stucco church set among the glowing aspens makes an image that might have come from a fairy tale or native folklore.

 

Santuario de Chimayo

The small village of Chamayo is known for two things: their chilli and the Santuario de Chimayo. Although we are here in the off season (God doesn't close shop but the locals do), you can still tell that the religious tourists also spend money on chilli as well.