For those of you who either subscribe to Earth Images, or who visit us on a regular basis, the images you see below have been published here many times before. I simply wanted to produce a post strictly on the subject of the ruins of Pecos, and Quarai in New Mexico. It’s just a matter of having these few pictures in one place for people to see. I made many more pictures at these locations that still exist on film, but those you see here are the only ones which were copied into the digital format, and they will suffice for this purpose.

The overall point of this post is to help make sure photographers, especially landscape photographers, do not forget incredible historic locations such as these.

It has been many years since I clicked the shutter at these places but it feels like I was just there. When you stand amidst the ruins of human history, you can feel the life that once existed there. How many lives where played out within the borders of these places?

My pictures were made in the 1990s.

The full history at both these locations goes back a couple of thousand years.

The building you see below is in fact the  Quarai Ruins,  and is a mission church built by Spanish explorers in the 1600s.

I am not sure of the ages of the buildings and ceremonial kiva (middle picture) in the Pecos pictures below, but the 1700s is a fair guess.

Given the opportunity, I would suggest to anyone that they explore (and photograph) the human history that surrounds us. When you photograph old places like this, don’t be afraid to explore the possibilities of black and white imaging. Even if you’re only using a cell phone, usually even the most modestly priced software for your computer can alter color scenes into black and white.

God Bless,                                                                                                                                                 Wayne