The foreign minister

Last week I had the pleasure - bleary-eyed though it was given a late return from the US - to cover the visit of the Australian Foreign Minister, Stephen Smith, to Mexico City. He was on his way to Peru and was stopping over to talk trade and education with local ministers and business leaders. I used to cover these trips as a reporter at Dow Jones, so it wasn't unfamiliar territory to trail him around. But I had one of my cameras, my Canon 40D, die on me without warning, leaving me with my back-up camera, an old 10D, more than 700 pictures on various CF cards and about two hours to process and deliver the images. I think the experience of following US Treasury Secretaries around on world trips had prepared me well. Deadline made. Client happy.

Bandelier National Monument

During our break in New Mexico, Sylvie and I popped into the Los Alamos National Laboratory to visit the museum there, and the next day came back to Bandelier National Monument, where Oppenheimer and the rest of the Manhattan Project scientists would come for treks among the pueblo dwellings in the Frijoles Canyon. A little stream winds its way through the canyon and I took advantage of the lack of folks around to leave the trailwith a tripod and grab some photos of the stream - but of course was busted by a Ranger before I could scramble back to the trail.

Santa Fe, and the start of the blog

Welcome to the the blog site of damfoto. Along with www.damofoto.com, this is the cyber home for me, Damian Milverton, a photographer and communications consultant. 

Brevity being the soul of wit, the posts will be short - at least that's what I'm promising myself - and will hopefully expand a little on my photography and on the work I undertake now and again in the world of communications.

I thought I'd accompany my introductory post with a photo of a wind sculpture, one of several to be found in Santa Fe, New Mexico. It's one of our favorite spots to hide away in the US, given its blend of art, Mexican and Spanish colonial influences, stunning scenery and the Japanese spa, 10,000 Waves. 

The web probably won't do the colors justice but I love how the burnished metal blades reflect the sunlight with a pinkish hue - an effect it took some practice to capture.