Last month while driving from New Mexico to Tennessee, I was blown away by how wonderful everything looked. Even the Great Plains of eastern New Mexico and western Oklahoma looked fantastic. It finally dawned upon me that late fall’s low angle light was responsible for everything looking so great.
When it’s at a low angle, the sun lights up everything from the side and intensifies all the colors. Everything glows when the light is right. And when you add in the contrast of a brilliant glow on one side and a long shadow on the other, it is possible to see even the smallest details and textures. It may be the best time of the year to get out and wander.
You may remember the connection between Halloween and Groundhog Day that was mentioned in the recent blog post, Wandering Through the Bosque in Autumn. The same connection also applies to light. By the beginning of November the sun is low enough on the horizon to light up everything from the side. And sometime in February the details and contrast start to wash away as the sun travels higher on the horizon.
To check on this idea, the dogs and I went out with my friend, Bob Julyan, on the day after Thanksgiving to wander around the badlands the Ojito Wilderness. The Ojito is on public land and is an officially designated wildeness area about an hour northwest of Albuquerque. We thought it would be a perfect place to see how the light would play upon the details of the badlands.
Here is some of what saw in the area of the Hoodoo Trail.
As you can see, we picked a perfect day.
