TITLE: Enchanted New Mexico

New Mexico is a wild, ageless and spiritual land, largely unchanged by the elements or man. I've often thought former residents from hundreds of years ago could return and feel right at home again. That belief led me to create this series. I inserted people from my old tintype collection into well-known New Mexico landmarks, as the Cathedral of St. Francis, the Taos Gorge, the melting- back- to- the -earth old adobe town of Guadalupe -- even the popular Curandero's House, all as they appear today. Then I tried to create again the aged, dark look of the antique tintypes from which they sprang. New Mexico's motto is "The Land of Enchantment" so it seemed natural to call the series, "Enchanted New Mexico."

AUTHOR: Dolores Smart (United States)

I've been a photographer for over 30 years, largely self-taught. A photography course when I returned to college after my children had grown, changed the course of my life. I worked as a graphic designer and photographer for a large, non-profit retirement home for over 20 years. I've taught photography to children and older adults and the community at large. Now retired and living in magnificent Santa Fe, New Mexico, I volunteer my time at Camp Corazones, a summer camp for children infected/affected by HIV Aids.
Photography still holds the same enchantment and challenge for me as it did so many years ago. I'm so grateful for discovering this elusive, life-enriching medium -- I will always doggedly strive to be better than my last photograph. That's my blessing and my curse!
Dolores Smart