Benedictine Abbey of Christ in the Desert

This was a great assignment from Sony Entertainment. Our goal was to capture the monks in their breath-taking environment and generate images for an upcoming album cover and associated collateral. Sony had the creative team flown in from NYC to meet me and a video crew was on-hand for sound/motion coverage.

The weather was classic New Mexico: alternating snow, wind and blaring sunshine. I used every piece of gear I brought, including sandbags, every lens in my bag, ND filters, speedlights, and modifiers of every size & shape. At the end of the day though, it was about letting the images make themselves as I followed the monks through their day of prayer, meals, contemplation, meetings, and relaxation. While I wasn't there to photograph the landscape, I couldn't help but indulge myself at dawn and throughout the evening. Thanks to Sony for the opportunity, and to the monks themselves for putting up with me all day long.