11/24/2025
A solid 20 years ago, I bought a picture frame from IKEA, approx 3 ft by 4 ft. Not because I needed a frame, but because the image on the cardboard filler thing was that of "Route 66, Albuquerque, NM, 1969" by Ernst Haas. I liked the pic, the composition, the lighting, etc. But I didn't actually know the title, the location the picture is taken at, or even who the photographer was. Just thought the picture was cool. A few years on, my curiosity and my imagination had me trying to do some detective work to figure out the particulars of the image. I was able to make out one street sign, Carlisle, I could see mountains in the background, and the lighting suggested either sunrise or sunset. So I set about looking up cities in the western US with that street name. Fairly quickly figured out Albuquerque was likely the one. Then I was able to use a large building in the distance and perspective to figure out exactly where on the street the picture was taken from. Turns out, it's Central Ave in the Nob Hill neighborhood. I also learned the title and photographer's name. I was deeply satisfied with my sleuthing, and left it at that.
Fast forward to about 2019. I had a little bit of money and time, and as part of a larger family vacation, my wife encouraged me to drive out west ahead of them and explore the area that this picture was taken from. I did, and was greatly satisfied to find the exact vantage point from which the picture was captured and see it in person, though I had no more sophisticated a camera to take the picture with than my cell phone.
Fast forward yet again to yesterday, when I finally made it back to Albuquerque from Chicago, finally with a good camera and lens, and was able to capture the picture again properly myself. Haas appears to have used a lens equivalent in focal length to my 300mm zoom lens paired with the 24mm APS-sized sensor on my Pentax K-70, and he seems to have captured the image from closer to the buildings along the sidewalk. I moved closer to the street as more recently planted trees would obscure more of the image had I stayed to the right. Anyway... Deeply satisfying to me in a way that many don't understand, but it is what it is.
