Snerkology

I am having an incredible day.

Right this second I am sitting on the patio of Mangiamo Pronto un Cafe Italiano in Santa Fe, New Mexico – just down the cobblestone sidewalk from our hotel. The sun is shining on me, the wind is still, and the temperature is in the mid-60′s. I’m wearing a sweatshirt and sipping a cafe mocha, breathing and watching the people pass by. The bells of the The Cathedral Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi toll at the half-hour and the hour – the sound is so exactly perfect for this setting that it makes my heart ache in a pleasant way. I just finished working for an hour or so – I couldn’t continue any further than that for the ITCH that came over me to write about this moment. I can’t help feeling that I would be inspired in my work much more often if I had this exact setting to dwell in each day.

I was out the door at just after 7:00 this morning, eager to catch the golden hour lighting. This little village is so ridiculously photogenic that I’m happy to be labeled a tourist in my efforts to capture each nuance. The adobe walls, the brightly painted doorways and windowsills, the tree-lined walkways – all combined to achieve culture without kitsch, tourism without the trap.

I walked and wandered, paused and absorbed, for a couple of hours. The peace and quiet of the early morning was sparsely occupied with the early risers such as myself unwilling to disturb the tranquility. I saw a pair of priests in their cassocks striding down the sidewalk on the way to services in the Loretto Chapel – they could have been from a different century, but for the cups of Starbucks they each grasped. I found a bench in Cathedral Park and watched the sky brighten – but I could only pause for a few minutes, so great was the urge to photograph while the golden light lasted. Everyone I passed on the sidewalk smiled and said good morning to me. I wandered until I was tired, and popped into the French Pastry Shop for a light breakfast and some coffee. It was lovely to take my time, linger and sip, listening to the conversations around me while I indulged in some reading.

Then it was back out into the sun, to wander around the Plaza and spy on the pigeons – dozens were perched on the roof’s edge. I leaned against a column and waited for about twenty minutes, for the inevitable full-flock launch into the sky. With only the warning flip of a wing, suddenly they all launched at once, circled the Plaza two or three times, then settled back on the roof. My shutter going like a machine gun, I followed their path with my lens. Confident that I got a good shot, I continued to choose directions at random, and each corner I turned revealed more inspiration, happy photographic happenstances.

When the light brightened and the sidewalks became more crowded, I opted to grab my laptop from the hotel room and camp out on the patio of the Italian cafe. I was served the prettiest cafe mocha, availed myself of the free wi-fi, and here I sit still, nearly two hours later. I may not leave for hours yet. I’ll just move from table to table, alternately chasing and fleeing the sun. The reflection on my screen makes photo editing difficult, so I will save this entry and pull out a book.

It’s such a lovely morning. I am so very happy.

———-

I wrote the above last Thursday morning. I had last week off, and since Bill had to work in New Mexico I decided to meet him in Santa Fe and hang out while he conducted his business, from Wednesday afternoon through Friday. The drive is remarkably boring. The village is astoundingly lovely.

We saw Arnold Schwarzenegger.

I took a million pictures.

Bill got a cowboy hat.

The few days we spent there were full of rich moments such as the one I wrote about above. Thursday evening was particularly lovely – after Bill finished with his work, we wandered down along the Plaza and had the most incredible dinner at the Sleeping Dog (if you go, get their Doggie Wings!). Then it was up on the balcony of the Marble Brewery and Taproom for some local brews and conversation with a fellow photography enthusiast sitting at the next table (as an aside, you wouldn’t believe how many conversations start when folks see me lugging around my camera).

The weather was perfect, cool enough for jackets but completely comfortable. We watched the lights come up along the Plaza, then wandered back in the direction of our hotel, taking a bunch of pictures as we walked. Bill kept finding more shots – “Oh, Tiff! Look at that! Here, stand right here and look… see that? With the shadows? And the cross looks like it’s floating… whoa, cool, look at THAT…” It was awesome. I love that he loves that I love taking pictures.

We finally ended up at the Pink Adobe (I purchased their cookbook when we visited the taproom on Wednesday night, their food was so remarkable), and sat outside next to fire pit sipping whiskey, smoking a cigar, and talking about eternity.

We packed a whole lot of wonderful in just two days.