Harold Joe Waldrum’s paintings of New Mexican adobe churches and moradas are now considered his signature pieces. Taking what he had learned from painting his Window series, he added the dynamic of organic form and structure to his work. He mostly kept to the square format of the Polaroid studies, giving the churches a monumental feel.
At the time he was photographing thm, a few of the churches and moradas were in a state of collapse. Some dated back to the 17th century and needed a great deal of renovation. Waldrum founded the El Valle Foundation to raise consciousness and funds for the most endangered.