May 1, 2025
Photographer Gabriela Campos takes you on a ride showing the scene as poetry in motion.
January 17, 2025
Come together: MLK celebrations across New Mexico
As we enter a new era in American history on Monday, we would be wise to remember the following two sentences that the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke in the auditorium of the University of Oslo, Norway, upon receiving his Nobel Peace Prize on December 10, 1964:
“I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant.”
The New Mexico Martin Luther King Jr. State Commission and other related or affiliated organizations invite everyone to come together this weekend to reflect and celebrate Rev. King’s legacy of nonviolent protest and resistance, of love and unity, and to help further build on Rev. King’s dream of a “Beloved Community.” Full article here.
details
Statewide MLK events, coordinated by the New Mexico MLK State Commission
Various times, Friday, January 17, through Monday, January 20
Albuquerque, Clovis, Santa Fe, Grants, Las Cruces, Farmington, Rio Rancho, Hobbs
Many events are free while some are ticketed and require registration
Of the many beautiful and complex traditions in Northern New Mexico, one of the most unique is the annual Pilgrimage to Chimayo on Good Friday. Pilgrims travel on foot—some for hundreds of miles—from Santa Fe and other starting points to El Santuario de Chimayo, a small adobe chapel nestled in the Santa Cruz Valley. The road to El Santuario is filled with decisive moments: individuals are seen silhouetted against the sky, some with crosses on their backs; families walk together; the young and the old alike complete the journey. Upon their arrival, the travelers offer prayers and ask to receive the healing powers of the site. A tradition that is said to have spanned nearly 200 years, this is one of the largest pilgrimages in all of North America.
This April, join photojournalist and native New Mexican Gabriela Campos for this truly one-of-a-kind opportunity to document the Good Friday traditions and Pilgrimage to Chimayo. With her years of experience covering this cultural touchstone, Gabriela guides you to understand and visualize the essence of these traditions. You witness and photograph the events of the weekend up close and learn best practices for approaching subjects with respect. Gabriela also shares insights from her fieldwork and covers documentary storytelling techniques such as environmental portraiture, improvising and adapting to new photographic situations, and understanding cultural perspectives.
We begin this three-day workshop by visiting El Santuario de Chimayo, where we witness the devotions of thousands who make the trip annually. The processions begin around noon and provide ample opportunities for photographing subjects, cultural and religious details, and the beauty of the landscape and architecture surrounding the chapel.
Holy Week in New Mexico is famous not only for its pilgrimage but also for its car and Lowrider culture. Every year, artists, engineers, and car enthusiasts gather in Española for their own annual celebration, including a car show and Lowrider hopping competition. Participants experience this visually rich event firsthand and have the chance to meet Lowrider artists and create meaningful portraits and photographs during the festivities.
We balance our time in the field with conversation and an image review on the Santa Fe Workshops campus. Participants receive feedback from Gabriela and their peers and discuss editing their images to form a comprehensive narrative.
Running from Thursday morning through Saturday afternoon, this workshop offers a rare opportunity to immerse yourself in a rich cultural experience and create memorable and unparalleled imagery. Join Gabriela and Santa Fe Workshops for this special program to expand your photographic skills and deepen your understanding of this unique part of the world.
To register for this in-person spring course, click here.
"This is a project I’ve been working on the last year with colleagues at Princeton and Columbia about the US nuclear arsenal and our plans to spend nearly 2$ trillion building more weapons. It will be published as a package (video, podcast, print pieces) on Scientific American and on our website missilesonourland.org on Nov 14. Like most things that concern the US military, there has been almost no public engagement around these policies and so I hope you find it informative."
October 12, 2023
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The artist Judy Chicago in her studio in Belen, N.M., with her minimalist sculptures, “Moving Parts.” The anatomical shapes echo a feminist theme that still informs her practice today.
Credit: Gabriela Campos for The New York Times
Chicago with her piece “Grand Bronze Head with Golden Tongue” in her gallery and studio in Belen, N.M.
Credit: Gabriela Campos for The New York Times
On view at the Harwood from June 2023 to January 2024, the Harwood Museum of Art Centennial exhibition will take visitors on a journey through the museum’s rich history. Touchstones will include the cultural history of the land where the museum now stands, and the many roles the property has served since it was purchased by Burt and Lucy Harwood in 1916. The property was the site for Taos’ first library and art gallery, including a permanent art collection from donors such as Mabel Dodge Luhan. It housed the Works Progress Administration’s (WPA) Taos County Project, the University of New Mexico Summer Field School of Art, and served as a nexus for the Taos Moderns.
The Harwood Museum of Art Centennial exhibition is a survey of the museum through time, the history of the town to which it is so central, and the role that art from Taos and its surroundings played in the larger artistic movements of the last century. Through unique historic and contemporary exhibition vignettes, the Centennial is a dynamic chance for guests to understand the evolution of one of the Southwest’s oldest museums. With a focus on the future, contemporary artists will be showcased through a series of community art installations and a juried artist commission.
Monroe Gallery of Photography is honored to have loaned a print by Margaret Bourke-White for the exhibition.
December 27, 2022
Gallery photographer Gabriela Campos photographed the feature "Native American chefs are redefining the food truck scene while building a loyal customer base" for the UK Guardian Full article here.
Gabriela Campos, born and raised in Sante Fe, New Mexico, began cultivating her photography skills in high school. Seduced by the magic of the dark room film process, Campos slowly (and intentionally) transformed a creative outlet into her lifeblood. Her camera is now a vehicle for telling powerful visual stories, building community, connecting with strangers and showcasing the people and stunning natural beauty of her home state. As a freelance photographer, her incredible work has been featured in several noteworthy publications, including The Guardian, High Country News, Al Jazeera, VICE, The Daily Beast and various local publications. She’s also exhibited in Washington, D.C. alongside fellow photographer Nathaniel Tetsuro Poalinelli.
I connected with Campos to explore the genesis of her career, her creative vision and the importance of being a homegrown creative.
When did you know you wanted to be a photographer?
Gabriela Campos: I first fell in love my senior year of high school. I switched to a new high school and they had this program where you could take photography classes at the community college. I was always interested in [photography] because my dad used to be into [photography]. I took black and white number one, got my dad's old Pentax camera and I experienced the beauty and magic of the dark room — where you just watch something come out of darkness. From that first class, I was hooked.
Why is it important to tell New Mexican stories?
Gabriela Campos: Some people are always seeking to go outside of themselves, and they don't see the potential of their home. There are so many culturally significant things in New Mexico. I'm going through a phase where New Mexico is very much a muse. I am so inspired by the people, the places, the textures, the landscape. It's important to tell the stories that you feel passionately about.
How do you build trust when you go into a new space?
Gabriela Campos: There are two different ways that I approach it. For [The Santa Fe New Mexican] newspaper, I have to be thrown into new situations every single day and feel I can create that sort of intimacy. I show up and I'm interested, and I'm curious. I like to ask people questions. I feel genuine interest goes a long way. Because, it's not often that people get to show off their worlds. Sometimes it's about talking to people. Sometimes I go on assignment and I take photos for the first five minutes, but then people just want to sit down and tell me their story, what's really going on in their lives and the worst of their worlds.
Have you learned a lot from other creatives?
Gabriela Campos: I learn a lot from watching other photographers work. I've been in situations where there's five [or] six photographers and we're all covering the same event. Everybody approaches it a little differently. It's fun to see if people are throwing themselves directly in there, if they're standing far back in the corner trying to get environmental things or if they're trying to get close. I try to remind myself to touch on all the things. Sometimes, I have to say, “step back, show a little bit more, there's more to the story than just people.”
Why is natural lighting your preferred environment?
Gabriela Campos: When you step into somebody's world, you don't often have the luxury of being able to orchestrate all the details. It's about working with what you have, because then you're never reliant on having a flash or a strobe; you're equipped to do what you need to do anywhere if you just train your eye to seek out that natural light. There's nothing more beautiful, [when] it hits in that perfect way.
What’s better, color or black and white?
Gabriela Campos: Sometimes colors can be a little bit distracting. Certain colors, like reds and yellows, are really flashing and people are drawn to them. But maybe you're drawn to it for the wrong reasons. Maybe what I like about the frame is the expression of the person, the shapes, the lines or the way the light hits something. There is definitely a place for colors, because sometimes I'm really attracted to the vibrancy of something.
Could you ever imagine sitting behind a desk?
Gabriela Campos: No, I always wanted to be interacting with people and entering people's worlds; photography is the most absolute, ideal situation for that. Every day I get to be something different. Some days, I'm a firefighter. Some days, I'm a doctor. Sometimes, I drive an Impala around. It lets me see life from [different] perspectives.
"A nursing station in the Frost 19 unit, Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center, Santa Fe, NM, December, 2020" was taken during a surge in Covid-10 cases, and was part of a series that resulted in a first place New Mexico Press Association award. View the full essay here in the Santa Fe New Mexican.
October 31, 2021
The New Mexico Press Association recognized the best of New Mexico’s newspaper writing, photography and advertising at the Better Newspaper Contest Banquet on Saturday.
The Santa Fe New Mexican captured 24 first-place honors and 18 second-place finishes and was the winner of the General Excellence award Saturday night in the New Mexico Press Association’s Better Newspaper Contest.
The contest honors work in all aspects of a news platform, including website and advertising content. The New Mexican competes in the largest category, daily newspapers with a circulation above 11,000. Journalists from throughout the state received their awards at a banquet Saturday night at Santa Fe’s Eldorado Hotel.
Photo Series: First Place, Gabriela Campos
Online Photo Gallery: First Place, Gabriela Campos
