The Not So Obvious

Last weekend we went on a long drive past Taos to Questa, then decided on a whim to drive the loop through that area known as the Enchanted Circle Scenic Byway.  On the way back to Santa Fe, we passed through Taos and stopped at the San Francisco de Assisi Mission Church in Rancho de Taos, a place I've written about previously.  This church, specifically the rear exterior, was famously painted by Georgia O'Keeffe and photographed by Ansel Adams, among others.  

After we parked, I started to walk around, taking a few shots of the rear of the church, but I wanted to capture more than the standard shots of the rear (and front) of the building.  I began to look around, not at the church as much as the buildings that lined the narrow street to the left.  Before long these flowers caught my eye, and I liked how the flowers looked with the adobe wall in the background, as well as the texture of the wall itself...

I then walked around the back of the church to the street on the other side of the church, taking a few shots, when I saw this window.  The classic blue window nestled in the adobe wall, the rostra/wreath hanging to the side, the flowers in the blue pot sitting below the window all combined for a nice composition...

A few steps to the left, on the other side of the building doorway, was another blue window.  The window, wall, and flowers  made this an easy shot to take...

Turning towards the church, I decided to take a few shots of the statue of Saint Francis of Assisi that stands in the church's front courtyard.  I decided to move in close and isolate the statue a bit, to make the statue the focus...

Walking back to the car I saw this single pot sitting in a corner of the church...

I hadn't planned on stopping at this church that day, since I had already taken photos of it previously.  It was the clouds in the sky that pulled me in (thinking that they would make a good backdrop for a few photos), but the smaller things like windows and textures were what captured my imagination...

Nikon D7000, Nikkor 16-85 DX VR
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