Sandia Sunset

Story

The day was cold and blustery, which was a typical autumn day for Albuquerque, New Mexico. It wasn’t cold but you could feel the crisp in the air. Winter would be here before long. The leaves were rapidly changing colors right before my eyes. One moment, the leaves were bright and vibrant green, and when I looked again, they turned golden yellow. Still, I was determined to make Sandia Sunset.

The day was also cloudy, and my hopes of making the photograph I pictured in my mind’s eye darkened with the incoming clouds. These were not the white, fluffy clouds that accentuated the skies. Instead they were thick and dark, cold and drag, and completed the thought that winter would be here, perhaps tomorrow.

The sun managed to find a crack to peek through now and then, giving me hope. I thought today would be the day. I packed up all my equipment and headed to a spot I knew in Rio Rancho, which would make the perfect photograph—if the conditions cooperated. The clouds were thick, though, and not letting any sun through.

Sunset came and went, and still nothing. Then, at the last possible moment, the sun snuck through the clouds, lighting up the Sandias and allowing me to create Sandia Sunset, the photograph I had imagined for so long.

More Views of the Sandia Mountains

Snowhere Trail, one of my favorite and deeply meaningful photographs, shows us the peak on a winter day. Halcyon Sandias is a peaceful and tranquil sunset.