My reason for visiting San Miguel de Allende was primarily to photograph around the Day of the Dead, but a large part of our time there was spent simply wandering around the town, totally free of any agenda. I was checking things out to determine if this was a place I could relocate to for a few years while I recharge my creative batteries and immerse myself in the task of learning the Spanish language. It is really quite a lovely place, full of friendly people and, literally, a photograph waiting around every corner.

Here is a gallery that will give you a general idea of the local architecture.

Somewhere along the way, the image of the dapper skeleton came to be merged with our Halloween traditions and these costumes emerged. Some of the young people you see in this gallery appear to embrace this new tradition with gusto, parading around the town square and posing for pictures with anyone who wants one. They stay completely in character and don’t speak a word to anyone, although they are not above drinking a Coke or sending a quick text to a friend.
I hope to learn more about these young people and would like to get an opportunity to photograph them in depth, but I will first have to become fluent in spanish. Currently, “mi espanol es muy mal”.

I made photographs of these structures in every season while they stood here. This image was made in the fall, when the trees had nice color (which gives them a variegated look in black and white) and the foreground was full of soybeans that were dried and ready to be harvested.

This is my most recent effort in the Van Dyke process and is one of my best alt process prints to date. I don’t think the scan does it justice. The actual image is 4″x9″ on Arches Platine paper. It will be toned in selenium to improve archival qualities which will also alter the tone and color a little bit.