After years of returning to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, I have had several opportunities to shoot images in El Charco del Ingenio Botanical Garden.  This is truly one of my favorite places on the planet.  A constantly changing environment, this place shifts and transforms dramatically with the seasons.  This was the first time I have been there during the height of the dry season, when the presa reveals itself to be an exquisite cracked mud plane.  It was such a strange sensation taking photos in places that, only a few months ago, were under several feet of water.

I arrived at sunset on a hot sunny day expecting to work into a warm and productive night.  Unfortunately, weather in the desert is always unpredictable, and where I had been wearing summery sundresses all week, a bitter cold wind decided to blow in and really ruin our fun.  My companion was truly impressed with my ability to strip down to a dress and get at least a few hours worth of work done.  By the time we returned home we both needed long hot showers to thaw out and get our core temperatures back to normal.

Though the almost full moon and the beautiful location were truly perfect, the freezing temperatures really hindered my creativity.  We left vowing to return the following night but I ended up getting really sick and just could not muster enough late night energy.  Thankfully, the Charco is always there, ever changing but ready for future projects.

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