Music to read blogs by:
Taking cherry photos, editing cherry photos, EATING cherries, and listening to Neil Diamond SING Cherry, Cherry!
Lensbaby Sweet 35 (with macro converters in first image)
Textures and painting with Topaz Simplify in first image
One of the areas we enjoyed the most at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum was the aviary- mostly because of the hummingbirds. As we wandered around the paths, we were able to catch glimpses of many of these cute little guys.
Probably the highlight for me of our trip to Tucson (beyond lying by the pool and having guacamole with every meal) was seeing the Sonoran Desert. I now get why people love the desert. The landscape there is different from what we’ve seen around Phoenix and definitely not like the high desert climate we live in- it is BEAUTIFUL and full of life. I would love to go back and see more.
This view is from when we stopped the car on the way to the museum.
This is the view next to the museum.
I can only imagine what this looks like at sunrise or sunset (these were around noon. . . and it was SO HOT! ). Beautiful country!
And this one is for Miles, my fellow lover of “old, falling apart things”.
When we visited the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum in Tucson, the hills in the distance looked like layers of tissue paper.
Framing fun using the new Rule of Thirds Blend kit from Photomorphis!
Since we moved to Arizona, I’ve wanted to visit Tucson’s famous Barrio Viejo, the historic district of quaint and VIBRANT old adobe buildings. We managed set aside a morning out of our anniversary trip last week to stroll through the area and take photos- MANY photos. You will be seeing many more photos like the ones in this diptych in future posts!
Nine miles south of Tucson, on the Tohono O’odham reservation sits the beautiful Mission San Xavier del Bac, an incredible structure constructed in 1797, with the mission itself dating back to 1692. It is undergoing repair and reconstruction, as you can see from the photos.
I had to wait patiently for tourists to move so that I could have a clear view of the building. It amused me how people would walk toward me and my tripod, looking straight at me and then turn, still standing in front of me, and take cell phone photos. I started thinking about how to clone them out in post processing. Finally, I took some shots with only a few people in the photo, and we went inside to tour the building.
When we came out, Lonnie noticed that the front of the building was clear, so I raced back to the car to get my tripod and set up again.
I like the photo below too, because of the foursome walking toward the mission.
The image below has the completed tower in the foreground, the incomplete behind. Edited with Topaz Simplify and Flypaper textures.
I’ve just returned from a wonderful, quick midweek getaway to Tucson, where we celebrated our 44th anniversary at a beautiful resort. We did a couple excursions in the mornings and then spent the afternoons relaxing by the pool- my kind of vacation! I always say (correctly so) that I am not a landscape photographer- I don’t have all the best gear, I hate to use my tripod out in public, and I don’t like getting up early to get the best light! But recently it dawned on me that, when I travel, I always take landscape photographs anyway- usually without a tripod and never in good light- even though I KNOW BETTER. I decided that on this trip I would take my tripod and perhaps even use it in public if appropriate. Since we had a view from our hotel room of the mountains, I decided to get up early one morning and do it right. The night before, I put the camera on the tripod, attached the cable release, and adjusted the settings. I set my alarm and got up well before the sun came up; I haven’t counted the photos but I clicked that cable release many, MANY times over the course of an hour. I really like how the rays of the early morning sun peek up over the horizon in this image.
I also took my tripod along when visiting the Mission San Xavier del Bac- but you’ll have to wait for those photos!
Our very sweet and un-self conscious Henry loves to watch the bluebirds flying in and out of the birdhouse. When the birds tweet, he tweets back. It is difficult to keep a straight face while this is going on, and it is highly entertaining (at least for the humans- not so sure about the birds)!
Here is Henry enjoying watching the birds.
And here is his tweeting face!
Overwhelming cuteness!
One of the recent prompts in the studio is BERRIES, which I have photographed many times and never tire of, so I thought this theme would be a good one for me to do to get back into the swing of still life. As usual, the simpler compositions worked best for me.
When I saw that my daughter had a bouquet of peonies on her dining room table, I couldn’t resist carrying them over to the window for a quick still life shot. The house Caitlin and family live in is over 100 years old and is part of what used to be Fort Yellowstone. I love the old windows!
I used one of Kim Klassen’s presets (darklight) for the edit in Lightroom and then added textures in Photoshop. The peonies were actually hot pink, but I wanted more of a vintage look to go with the window.
I have recently been introduced to canva.com through Kim’s Studio group. What a fun and easy way to make collages! This was a quick layout done totally online (nothing to buy) of Henry smelling peonies outside his house.
My daughter and husband took a walk while we were at Yellowstone and came back with a snakeskin they had found. Despite being a little grossed out, I was fascinated with the textures and patterns and couldn’t resist taking a few photos.
Miles was fascinated as well.
I am hoping this is the last time I photograph anything related to snakes.
My wonderful son-in-law drove me and my sweet and very patient family through a section of Yellowstone to see some beautiful country- and mostly so I could take some photographs. Although it was midday and therefore not the best light, the sky full of white puffy clouds made a beautiful backdrop- and there were wildflowers everywhere!
These were all taken on Blacktail Road. The Gallatins were behind us; the predominant mountain is Electric Peak.
Several times over the last few years, we’ve seen owl babies in a huge nest waaaaay up high in a tree by the Visitor’s Center at Mammoth in Yellowstone. When I’ve photographed them, the images were never sharp, because they were too far away. We came later this year, after the owl babies had already fledged, so I didn’t think we’d be able to see any. However, the babies were still in the area, and one evening, I managed to get photos of this guy on the roof of one of the residences near our daughter’s. Despite being a juvenile, he still has the fierce, don’t mess with me look of his mother!
The star of the show this trip, was undoubtedly three month old Penny; she entertained us every moment she was awake (and sometimes while asleep). The puppy cuteness was overwhelming! Miles is her biggest fan; Henry is somewhat of a puppy himself, so he loves playing with her.
I struggled with taking photos of her, because, although she is generally well-behaved, she is a puppy, after all, and in constant motion. One evening after dinner, I looked out the window to see my son-in-law, Justin putting Penny through her paces out on the grass (the elk were off somewhere- yay!). The after sunset light was beautiful, and Penny will do anything Justin tells her to do- this was a perfect opportunity for some puppy portraits!
She’s a beauty, isn’t she?
melinda anderson photography 