Melinda

An Umbrella, A Spoon, Some Music, and a Tornado

Such a fun adventure we had yesterday in Sedona! We drove over in the middle of the afternoon and had a great time wandering around and checking out the galleries and shops at Tlaquepaque Arts & Crafts Village. We enjoyed a fabulous dinner at El Rincon, where, to the amusement of our waitress, I couldn’t resist photographing the reflection of the little white lights on the overhead umbrella on my spoon. Midway through dinner, the flamenco guitar music began!

During dinner, Lonnie was googling best places for sunset photography in Sedona, so we ended up on an overlook on Airport Road. The wind had kicked up, and it was threatening rain, making for dramatic clouds.

After we walked across the road and began setting up, I realized I didn’t have my cable release, so I walked back to the car and lugged my whole camera bag back across the road to where my tripod was set up. Lonnie and Carol were busy photographing the scene while I got set up again. What I didn’t realize was that they were photographing a tornado forming! I continued taking photos of the rocks, oblivious to what they were seeing. Fortunately, I have a few shots at the end of the event- although I didn’t know what I was shooting. It wasn’t until we got home and they started talking about the tornado, that I realized what I had missed! You can check out Carol’s magnificent twister photos at http://infocusdaily.com

September 1, 2015September 1, 2015

Melinda7 Comments

More Moon!

Another super moon image- edited with Topaz Impression and a texture from Jessica Drossin

August 31, 2015August 30, 2015

Melinda3 Comments

Moon Over Prescott

My friend, the intrepid photographer, Carol, is here visiting- so of course we had to photograph last night’s super moon. The moon kind of took us by surprise as we were out in the driveway photographing the sunset- and it quickly rose up into the clouds before I could even get my camera on the tripod. These photos won’t win any prizes, but I enjoyed seeing the huge moon over my neighborhood. Next time, maybe I’ll take photos from a more picturesque spot!

August 30, 2015

Melinda5 Comments

Textures of the Barrio

From last month’s trip to Tucson’s Barrio Viejo

August 28, 2015August 26, 2015

Melinda3 Comments

Cloudscape

Last night’s sky called me outside at sunset. Looking out the window, I saw everything bathed in a warm glow . There were pink and orange clouds, the moon was peeking through wispy clouds, and there was thunder and lightning in the distance. I had my Lensbaby with Edge 80 attached (a very zoomed in focal length for my crop sensor camera), but, knowing how quickly the light changes at this time of day, I didn’t dare stop to change lenses. I have no images that capture the panoramic view of these majestic clouds across the sky. I know, I know- I should have used my iPhone. . .

August 27, 2015August 26, 2015

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Chapel of the Holy Cross

Whenever we take out of town visitors to Sedona, we always take them to Chapel of the Holy Cross. Built into the rocks with a spectacular view, it is a very special place. Despite being full of visitors, you can always sense the spiritual and sacred essence of this spot. When we visited Sedona a week or so ago, I took a few photos inside with my Lensbaby Edge 80.

Editing notes:

The top photo was taken a year or so ago, and I just re-edited it in Perfect Effects (my current go-to tool for editing landscapes) for today’s blog. The head of Christ and the candles at the bottom were edited in Lightroom and Photoshop. The middle photo of the person lighting a candle was edited in Topaz Impression, using the Van Gogh filter (I wish there was a way of recording that so I could remember- maybe a post-it notes feature in Lightroom!).

August 26, 2015August 25, 2015

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Close Encounter

From last month’s visit to Tucson:

I ran across these and just had to post them for my bird photographer friend, Carol. I think there might be a bit of “gesture” in the top left photo- I think it was looking at my husband, not me. 🙂

August 25, 2015

Melinda1 Comment

Lily Pond

These shots were taken at the lily pond on the grounds of the beautiful Ferrari Carano winery, which we visited a few weeks ago. This large frog was so still that we thought it was a garden statue; however he hopped away when my friend, Georgia, started tossing (very small) pebbles his way. Yes, we (I) screamed. . .

August 24, 2015August 23, 2015

Melinda4 Comments

Van Gogh Peaches

One of my AAUW photo group friends was giving away peaches yesterday- a perfect opportunity for me to finally get back into my still life “studio.” I have been so busy lately that I have had to put still life photography and macros on the back burner and just rely on the travel shots I’ve done throughout the summer.

I used my Lensbaby with the Edge 80 attached for these photos- and then ended up doing a version in Topaz Impression as well.

I added a texture to the original photo below to soften the black background.

I used one of the Van Gogh filters, although there were MANY other options that would have worked well too. I usually take the photos back into Photoshop and mask off portions to reduce the painterly effect, but I really liked them straight out of Impression this time.

Have a great Friday!

August 21, 2015August 20, 2015

Melinda3 Comments

Van Gogh Ducks

I had some fun trying out Topaz Impression (using the Van Gogh filter) on these ducks from our visit to Benicia.

Here’s the original photo:

August 20, 2015August 19, 2015

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Colors!

I fell in love with the colors of the Tucson Barrio when we were there a few weeks ago. Here are some images that didn’t make the blog:

August 19, 2015

Melinda2 Comments

A Hot Day in Sedona

Last weekend we had a wonderful visit with our dear friends, the Jansons, who came from California so that Carolyn could present a HeartMath workshop at our church, Unity of Prescott. It was a wonderful weekend in so many ways, with the highlight of course being Carolyn’s over-the-top inspiring presentation on Sunday. They flew home last night, and we miss them already.

We spent the Saturday before her workshop in Sedona and Jerome, and it was the hottest day we’ve experienced in that area. Armed with sunscreen, hats, and water bottles, we took a short walk at Bell Rock until we decided it was just too hot. I did manage to take a few photos despite the heat- I never get tired of these views!

In the shot below you can see the Chapel of the Holy Cross built into the rocks in the distance.

And here are the Jansons!

August 18, 2015

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Meanwhile. . .

. . .back at the barn!

August 17, 2015August 8, 2015

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In the Barn

We spotted this photo op on our drive through the wine country. There was another photographer snapping away as we drove by, so we returned later in the day on our way back. Thank you, Jerry, for stopping the car!

I bet the light in that barn is fabulous- I love how it shines through the boards.

August 14, 2015August 8, 2015

Melinda2 Comments

Strangers in a Strange Land

During the 45 years we lived on the outskirts of the wine country, the number of wineries seemed to grow exponentially. I have no idea of the statistics, but there are wineries everywhere now. We hadn’t been in the Healdsburg area in years, and that is where we spent the afternoon with our friends, Georgia and Jerry when we stayed with them in Petaluma. It is so beautiful, and it was fun to visit as tourists from Arizona.

Ferrari Carano is a fairly new winery and vineyard, despite its classic design. We enjoyed tasting the wines and exploring the beautiful manicured grounds. The California drought was not apparent here! Here are a just a few photos from our visit.