Sandia Crest near Albuquerque, New Mexico is the highest point in the Sandia Mountains at 10,678 ft (3,255 m) and, most of the time, it’s windy, cold, and pretty stingy when it comes to rewarding photographers for their suffering—so I rarely take my workshop groups up there. But after wrapping up the workshop, Julie and I had a few extra days around Albuquerque and figured… why not?

To my surprise, I’ve never seen Sandia Crest behave so kindly. Warm, sunny, barely a breeze—it almost felt wrong. A rare, quiet kind of beauty up there.

We did see a few small flocks of Black Rosy-Finches, which is always great, but there really weren’t many strong photo opportunities. Instead of chasing the impossible, I shifted gears and went small-scale, spending time trying to catch a Mountain Chickadee in flight. They’re tiny, fast, unpredictable, and ridiculously fun to try to photograph—exactly the sort of challenge that keeps me smiling behind the camera even when the action is slow.

One of the neat things about Mountain Chickadees is just how tough and clever they are. These little birds live year-round in high elevations and harsh winters, and they survive by caching thousands of seeds and insects in tiny hiding spots—then remembering where they put them. Their remarkable spatial memory is one of the best in the bird world, and that distinctive white eyebrow makes them instantly recognizable, even when they’re zipping around at full speed.

The frame preceding this one was actually even better… but a building crept into the background and spoiled it. Not every outing delivers portfolio images, and that’s OK. Sometimes it’s just about being on the mountain, enjoying the moment, and appreciating whatever nature decides to offer.