February 2013

Route 66 at night, Albuquerque, NM

Route 66 at night, Albuquerque, NM

Photo taken the day before the snow of a man on the biking trail next to our hotel. Albuquerque has over 400 miles of local city biking trails, and it's almost possible to get from any part of town to another via a bike trail.. www.cabq.gov/parksandrecreation/recreation/bike/bicycling

Yep. Next visit I'm going up another couple of floors at the hotel so I don't have power poles and power lines to try to shoot through. One of the smaller peaks adjacent to Sandia Crest. more info: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandia_Mountains

I have mixed feelings when I can't look out and see Sandia Crest because of the cloud cover. On the one hand, I miss the beautiful view, but, on the other hand, that means (at least in this case) that they're getting some more snow, which is good if you're intending on going to Sandia Crest or the Tramway later in the week. :)

I didn't pack a tripod in my bag before flying out, and I didn't stop anywhere to buy one. This is a hand-held shot with a standard lens, but I was able to get a decent view of the towers on top of Sandia Crest overlooking Albuquerque and Santa Fe. I'm sure with a tripod and the proper lens I would have been able to get a great photo. Because of the mountains, most Santa Fe or Albuquerque radio and television stations aren't able to get a signal into both cities. By locating their towers on top of Sandia Crest, they can have a signal that can be seen or heard not only in both cities, but for a hundred miles each direction with a quality receiver.

Albuquerque by the dash panel at night. Other than by plane, the best way to view the city lights in Albuquerque is on a cloudless night from the top of Sandia Crest, or from a hot-air balloon during the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. ( www.balloonfiesta.com ) The next-best way to view the city lights (in my opinion) is traveling in on Route 66 from the West Mesa, heading east. This photo is the view heading east into town on Route 66, from around nine miles out of town. (There's also a decent view of town coming into Albuquerque traveling east on I-40, beginning at the top of nine-mile hill, but I much prefer the view from Route 66.) You can't tell from the photo, and even the video I shot doesn't convey it well, but the lights are very bright, and sparkle and flicker as you gaze at them. I've seen lots of city lights in my time, but the clarity of the air here lends to a really brilliant light-gazing experience that is unsurpassed in my book. note: I've only captured a tiny part of the panorama, as the lights extend past what can be captured using an ordinary camera, without resorting to a special camera, or panoramic software to combine multiple shots. There was a much better view of the lights as I drove further down Route 66, but, unfortunately, no good place to pull over and get some nice shots. (and no, I wasn't driving on the shoulder of the road. I pulled over so we could get these shots.) :)

Albuquerque by the dash panel at night. Other than by plane, the best way to view the city lights in Albuquerque is on a cloudless night from the top of Sandia Crest, or from a hot-air balloon during the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. ( www.balloonfiesta.com ) The next-best way to view the city lights (in my opinion) is traveling in on Route 66 from the West Mesa, heading east. This photo is the view heading east into town on Route 66, from around nine miles out of town. (There's also a decent view of town coming into Albuquerque traveling east on I-40, beginning at the top of nine-mile hill, but I much prefer the view from Route 66.) You can't tell from the photo, and even the video I shot doesn't convey it well, but the lights are very bright, and sparkle and flicker as you gaze at them. I've seen lots of city lights in my time, but the clarity of the air here lends to a really brilliant light-gazing experience that is unsurpassed in my book. note: I've only captured a tiny part of the panorama, as the lights extend past what can be captured using an ordinary camera, without resorting to a special camera, or panoramic software to combine multiple shots. There was a much better view of the lights as I drove further down Route 66, but, unfortunately, no good place to pull over and get some nice shots. (and no, I wasn't driving on the shoulder of the road. I pulled over so we could get these shots.) :)

Albuquerque by the dash panel at night. Other than by plane, the best way to view the city lights in Albuquerque is on a cloudless night from the top of Sandia Crest, or from a hot-air balloon during the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. ( www.balloonfiesta.com ) The next-best way to view the city lights (in my opinion) is traveling in on Route 66 from the West Mesa, heading east. This photo is the view heading east into town on Route 66, from around nine miles out of town. (There's also a decent view of town coming into Albuquerque traveling east on I-40, beginning at the top of nine-mile hill, but I much prefer the view from Route 66.) You can't tell from the photo, and even the video I shot doesn't convey it well, but the lights are very bright, and sparkle and flicker as you gaze at them. I've seen lots of city lights in my time, but the clarity of the air here lends to a really brilliant light-gazing experience that is unsurpassed in my book. note: I've only captured a tiny part of the panorama, as the lights extend past what can be captured using an ordinary camera, without resorting to a special camera, or panoramic software to combine multiple shots. There was a much better view of the lights as I drove further down Route 66, but, unfortunately, no good place to pull over and get some nice shots. (and no, I wasn't driving on the shoulder of the road. I pulled over so we could get these shots.) :)