‘IT WAS WORTH IT’

Photographer charged with trespassing near Rio Grande Gorge Bridge but has no regrets

Photographer Raul Velderrain spent two months planning the perfect shot: He would spend two hours climbing to a spot in the Rio Grande Gorge and then 20 seconds with an open shutter to capture the Milky Way as it loomed behind the gorge bridge.

What he didn’t plan to do was spend 28 hours in jail on a count of trespassing.

“It was worth it,” Velderrain told The Taos News, “because I got to see my vision and my art come to fruition.”

Planning for the photo began in February, when Velderrain scouted the gorge for an easy way down. Prioritizing the northwestern area of the gorge, just across from a rest area, he spent an entire day finding a route to a vantage point suitable to his skill level as an outdoorsman. He marked the starting point and the destination with rock cairns.

Velderrain, 25, said he has been enjoying outdoor activities like climbing and hiking since he was 18. After graduating from high school, he left home and lived on his own, hitchhiking, backpacking and hopping on freight trains. He came to Taos on a bicycle, which he rode 3,000 miles from Oregon.

In the gorge, Velderrain traversed switchbacks that led to a pile of boulders, which he climbed over. This led him to a 15-foot cliff, which he was able to climb. Not far from there was his “spot,” just 100 feet above the bottom of the gorge, with a good view and a place to sit.

In addition to finding his route, Velderrain had to track the stars to ensure they were just right for his shot. First and foremost, he wanted to get as many details of the Milky Way in the photo as possible, which is why he shot during the new moon, when the moon is reflecting the least amount of light. This placed his time frame at early to mid-April.

Next, he had to wait for the sun to begin its rise, which is called the “blue hour,” a 20-minute transitional period between night and morning. As the sun rises, it washes out the details of the

night sky, but blue hour provided Velderrain a moody sweet spot for his photo.

In other words, he had to time everything just right.

“I’ve been trying to make some pictures that haven’t been made before,” Velderrain said. “I see lots of images of the Milky Way and lots of images from the gorge. I’m trying to make new boundaries.”

He set out on his adventure at 1 a.m. April 10. Arriving at the bridge by 2 a.m., he informed the security guard at the bridge of his mission. The guard was unaware of any trespassing boundaries in the area that would interfere with his shoot, he said.

He now had to descend his path in the dark, using a flashlight on his phone for guidance. After a two-hour hike, he arrived at his post and awaited blue hour. Along with his camera and tripod, he brought a backpack filled with hand warmers, 2 liters of water, a whistle and a knife.

From his northern vantage point, he captured the Milky Way as it lingered in the southern sky. He set the exposure time on his camera to 20 seconds, allowing it to collect as much light as it could to flesh out the details of the galaxy, emphasizing all of its celestial bodies and cosmic dust.

When he returned, morning was beginning to arrive, and a new security guard was on duty. This guard, aware of the trespassing boundaries, called law enforcement. A New Mexico State Police officer arrived and issued Velderrain a written warning for trespassing on private property.

Velderrain learned the land around the Rio Grande Gorge is all under Taos Pueblo or Bureau of Land Management jurisdiction, except for the land across the highway from the rest area. This northwestern corner of the site is owned by Hemphill LLC, an Oklahoma-based cell tower company.

He got home around 8 a.m and began editing his photos, stitching the shots together to make one large image. But he thought the shot could have been something more. He fell asleep before dusk and woke up around 1 a.m., and figured he might as well try for another shot.

“I didn’t get the picture that I really wanted,” Velderrain said.

He made a second attempt the morning of April 11, this time bringing a lens that would offer less detail but a wider image. However, the camera malfunctioned, and he didn’t get his desired shot.

He again made his way back to the bridge, where a party of law enforcement and emergency vehicles were waiting for him.

They tracked him with a spotlight as he walked toward his vehicle. He was arrested around 7 a.m.

Robert Weyand, a deputy with the Taos County Sheriff ’s Office who arrested Velderrain, said the photographer was a quick climber, calling him “Spider-Man.” Since Velderrain had been issued a warning the morning before, Weyand said, they had no choice but to place him under arrest.

“If we go through the trouble of issuing somebody a criminal trespass warning and we don’t enforce it, then we’re just bluffing,” Weyand said.

Taos County Sheriff Steve Miera said the Bureau of Land Management has enacted a no-trespassing boundary around the bridge to deter hikers and potential suicides. Velderrain trespassed on Hemphill property as well as the bureau-designated boundary, he said.

“If he had done the research,” Miera said, “he may have been able to mitigate all of this if he would have just simply made a call to the property owners and gotten express permission for him to be on their property.”

As Weyand drove Velderrain to be booked at the Taos County jail, the two began talking, and the photographer told the deputy about his project.

When he saw it, Weyand said, the shot was “spectacular.”

“I actually asked him to send me a copy of the picture once he gets out of jail,” Weyand said. “I want to be his first customer.”

Velderrain said he is still waiting to hear if his case will go before a judge. He hopes it can be resolved without further jail time.

“That 28 hours in there was enough for me,” Velderrain said. “I’ve never had my freedom taken away like that.”