Then a miracle occurs . . .

To shoot our July-August Peggy’s Kitchen section, an article by Cynthia Lair on do-it-yourself soda, Staff Photographer Melyssa Holik and I spent the day at the El Rey Inn, a favorite “staycation” getaway spot of mine and Tim’s, right here in Santa Fe.

The El Rey is pretty special: a Route 66-era inn tucked away just off the main drag behind white adobe walls and surprisingly lush—for the desert, I mean—gardens. Mothering Editor and Publisher Peggy O’Mara and I thought it would provide a casually elegant, summery background for the soda shoot. And it was really lovely. . .

Here are a few behind-the-scene shots from the day.

Above: The opening spread of the article, a lineup of syrups and fruit teas, mixed by Mel in preparation for the shoot.

Below: 1) Mel lines the bottles up along a wall conveniently situated beneath a skylight and above a stairway; 2) You can see that the rooms were being cleaned while we were there—oh, the glamour of the photo shoot . . .  3) We had to have a poolside photo in an article about summer drinks! 4) Mel sets up the last shot before the wind blew the placemat (and the drink) off the table; 5) I liked how cool and inviting this photo was, and wanted to show at least a hint of the Spanish-style architecture of the El Rey; and 6) Mel sets up that shot.

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