image © Robert Luis Chavez

Wetlands, Ghost Ranch... 8" x 10" silver print
This is part of an experimental wetlands
that helps to treat all the waste water at Ghost Ranch.

JAN TERM CLASS UPDATE

(from previous page)
About the images: I actually had four film cameras to play with at the ranch. I brought my Nikon FM10 and lenses, and a Minolta Autochord 6x6 cm. Tim Tracz, the college rep from Austin College lent me a Lomographics with a fixed fisheye lens, and a plastic Holga that shoots 120 film. The square images in this section were shot with the 6x6, the rest are from the 35mm Nikon and one image from the fisheye camera. I did not shoot or show many of the "grand landscape images" this year, I just saw different things this year. I also had some limitations with the Minolta 6x6: not having any filters yet for that camera, I did not shoot many images with big patches of sky. Instead I shot more close ups, details, and images with no sky or horizon when using the Minolta..

What's it like to take a class, teach, or assist as I did, at Ghost Ranch in the middle of winter? Well for one it's much less crowded and quieter in January than in the summer or even the spring. Also, the land feels different in winter that it does during the growing seasons: It's a much more intimate and secluded feeling in winter at the ranch when the vegetation and many of the critters are dormant or out of sight. Some days are extremely cold, like below zero in the mornings, and in heavy snow or ice conditions, the far and steep hikes can be more difficult, or just off limits.

Driving is discouraged once you get to the ranch, and most of the buildings are spread out so you can get in quite a bit of walking, depending on your room's location, and where and how often you get around the ranch. The walking is usefull for burning off the abundance of food from the dining hall if your not already hiking around with camera gear.

The food is not always five star, but they do a pretty good job at the dining hall, even cooking up some local cuisine like enchiladas, green chile stew, and one of my favorite meals at the ranch, navajo tacos.

The rooms are small, but comortable and warm enough, you can even come and stay at the ranch if you are not taking classes.

Contact Ghost Ranch, www.ghostranch.org, for more information, or view Kents current class schedule at the ranch. Click on the "next" buttons to see the rest of the photographs in this section. Robert Chavez