7am - Not Early Enough in Santa Fe

It's easier for me to fly half way across the globe to shoot than to walk around my own neighborhood, and that sad fact has got to stop. Photography great Jay Maisel, among others (including Paris Parfait), is an inspiration in that regard. The trick of course is to be able to practice my art without having the camera in front of my eyes so often that I don't actually see anything. If my excuse is that I don't want to lug my Canon 5D around, there is always the Canon PowerShot. There are no real excuses!

This morning I set out to the Plaza at 7am. Next time, I'd like to start an hour earlier.

The Palace of the Governors is the oldest continuously occupied public building in the U.S. It is beneath the portal here that Indians (and yes, "Indians" is an acceptable term here) have been selling their wares since 1909. In 1957, at age 3, I was here with my family. I remember being enamored with their dress; at that time, they wore more traditional Indian garb.
This morning, before the Indians sat at their assigned spots, they threw their blankets down and went out for breakfast:




Up the street one block is another portal with lots of fun shops and restaurants:




At this store, you can buy anything typical of the area - ristras (chile peppers strung together), ladders, skulls, coyboy hats, broom skirts, etc:




Sure, there are touristy shops in and around the Plaza. But there are plenty of interesting, unique places as well. Shop with confidence indeed...shop with confidence that you'll spend way too much money:




You can find some nice cowboy boots:




You'll need a hat to go with those:





And who doesn't need some tricked-out Pez dispensers?




"Our Lady of Guadalupe" is everywhere. Whether it's devotional or campy, there is something for everyone as far as she is concerned. The motto here is "In Guad We Trust."